Be a River, Not a Reservoir

The folks at Simple Truths shared this with us a couple of weeks ago. We thought as we head into the New Year it was appropriate to think about how we can affect change among those with whom we are charged developing. Have a great week at the pool!

"Introduction" from The Right to Lead by John Maxwell

How do you define leadership? What gives a man or woman the right to lead?

These, and other questions, are answered by John Maxwell in The Right to Lead. John is an amazing leader in his own right. His books on leadership have sold over 13 million copies, and two of them have reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In addition, his organizations have trained over two million leaders world-wide.

Today, I'd like to share John's Introduction to The Right to Lead.

What gives a man or woman the right to lead? It certainly isn't gained by election or appointment. Having position, title, rank or degrees doesn't qualify anyone to lead other people. And the ability doesn't come automatically from age or experience, either.

No, it would be accurate to say that no one can be given the right to lead. The right to lead can only be earned. And that takes time.

The Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow

The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go. As you prepare yourself to become a better leader, use the following guidelines to help you grow:

* Let go of your ego.
The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, "Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things."

* Become a good follower first.
Rare is the effective leader who didn't learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first - and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.

* Build positive relationships.
Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today's generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.

* Work with excellence.
No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

* Rely on discipline, not emotion.
Leadership is often easy during the good times. It's when everything seems to be against you - when you're out of energy, and you don't want to lead - that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.

* Make adding value your goal.
When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership - and its highest value.

* Give your power away.
One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You're meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.

In The Right to Lead, you will hear from and read about people who have done these same things and earned the right to lead others. Because of the courage they found and the character they displayed, other people recognized their admirable qualities and felt compelled to follow them.

The followers who looked to these leaders learned from them, and so can we. As you explore their worlds and words, remember that it takes time to become worthy of followers. Leadership isn't learned or earned in a moment.

OK, We Surrender

We had our thoughts all ready for this weekend's blog and then we went to the pool and then things changed...that happens very frequently so why should we be surprised? Our pool, like yours we hope, is very dynamic. The lanes are changing, the speeds are changing and the folks who come see us continually change. Swimming and coaching are never boring, that much we know for certain.

We were asked by Kelly to lay down some thoughts about goals since the calendar flips over what with folks making resolutions and all...so here goes.

We think Napoleon Hill was the one who said that goals are dreams with a deadline. We like that one a lot. For your dream to come true it needs to be acted on; for that to happen the goal needs to be "real" enough to cause you to change what you are currently doing so that you can effect change and achieve your goal.

The following guidelines may be helpful for you.

* Goals need to be written - in the first person, present tense stated positively

* Goals need to be specific - vagueness leads to missed targets

* Goals need to be exciting - this makes the effort worthwhile

* Goals need to be imaginable - believable works as well; we don't like the word "realistic" since it has negative connotations

* Goals need to be reset as you reach them - otherwise you get stuck

For example...I want to get in better shape is a nice sentiment...but this works better...I love going to 4 workouts each week. It is a great way to start (finish) the day! I lift Monday/Wednesday/Friday at home (the gym) and feel myself getting stronger. I am so proud of myself!

Give this a try. We believe you will be very pleased with the results...Happy New Year to all...see you at the pool!

What We Want for the New Year

“We take all the action we can meet
And we cover all the northeast state
When the strip shuts down we run ‘em in the street
From the fire roads to the interstate
Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece,
Some guys come home from work and wash up,
And go racin’ in the street.”

Racing In The Street - Bruce Springsteen

So Simple, So Effective

You may remember Terry Stoddard from a blog a year or so ago about the difference between being disappointed and being discouraged. Terry coaches the Pasadena Swim Association US Swimming club team. We are in Long Beach this weekend so we had a chance to chat with him while competing at the Speedo Sectional Championships.

We were comparing notes about how we began our training block back in late August which is culminating for many swimmers right now. We found his comments and approach refreshingly straightforward, simple and - if done correctly - very effective.

He said he began the season with a 5 week block that focused for one week on each of the following 5 topics. His contention is that if his swimmers could master these 5 things they would improve dramatically.

They are as follows:
1 - head position
2 - body position
3 - kicking
4 - pull pattern
5 - breathing pattern

You may not agree with his 5 or the order of importance but we think if you will pick a manageable number of focal points and drill those until they are second nature you will be well served. We see far too many swimmers striving valiantly with easily correctable bio-mechanical flaws. None of us are "perfect" in the sense that our way is "best". The object is not to be "right". The task as coaches is to impart what we know to our swimmers so they can use it to be more effective and faster. Our goal is to make certain that what we are imparting to them is correct...and then to do it in such a way as to make a difference in their performance.

Have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. Keep coming to the pool and keep smiling...and keep your head down!

What is "Pain" Anyway?

There is a distinct difference between the pain of an injury and the discomfort (pain) that comes from exerting yourself while exercising. In the athletic world these two are often lumped together - unfortunately. We hear phrases such as "play through the pain" and "you can heal in the off season" and it makes us cringe.

When you feel your body sending you a signal that you are injuring yourself you need to listen or you might not play again for quite a while.

Today we are interested in an athlete's reaction to the other kind of "pain", the one that comes from exercising, often strenuously, in an effort to improve her/his game.

You build your body's ability to do work by - well, working. Some folks say "you have to work hard" to get anywhere. We don't like the word "hard" since it often has negative connotations. We encourage you to look for a more accurate way to express what you are doing - perhaps "challenging" or "rigorously" would do the trick. The idea here is to get away from the negative when it comes to working out strenuously so as to improve your body's ability to deliver a higher level of output.

When you push yourself you either work aerobically or anaerobically, or both. When you do so vigorously, pushing to previous limits, or beyond, your body sends signals to your brain which in turn sends signals back to your body to "give me a break". This is the "pain" of exercise. If you are either an athlete getting better or an active person working to stay fit this "pain" is indeed a good thing to experience. It is the best verification you can get that you are making a difference right now! We encourage you to embrace it!

How do you do that? Well, if you change your "comfort zone" as regards "pain" tolerance you will end of welcoming this discomfort rather than dreading and or avoiding it. Superior athletes welcome the distress that comes from training. The "regular" person (what a misnomer, none of us is regular!) who simply enjoys working out likes the discomfort now and then as well. Both know this signal is a sign of good things happening...and good things won't happen without it!
So, figure out how to search for, embrace and relish the "pain" of exercise. It is a key ingredient to your athletic improvement and a long and healthy life as well (ultimately way more important!).

Learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Really good things happen when you do this.

Life’s Wonderful Surprises

This one’s for all you coaches and parents out there…an early Christmas present of sorts. Those darned kids, what are you going to do with them.

In the swimming world in the United States, December marks the “unofficial” end of the short course season. We say “unofficial” because while US Swimming wants us to focus on long course training and racing from January through August the reality tells a different story. Many regions in the country have high school seasons that are winter or spring. College swimming is a winter sport with their championships in March so there is a ton of short course swimming in that arena still to come. But, most teams look for a meet or two in December to “peak” for, something to validate all the training that has gone on since late August/early September.

And that is what we live for; the racing. Training is fun and stimulating and all that malarkey but racing is where it’s at! This weekend provided us with two classic examples of why our sport is so fulfilling…a couple of nice gems if you will.

The first took place here in Northern California at the local Junior Olympic meet. Our (North Bay Aquatics) 13-14 boys had two 200 yard medley relays entered. As race time neared we were missing one backstroker. It was five minutes to start time and still no backstroker. So we made an adjustment. We took the “B” team backstroker and put him on the “A” relay. The remaining three guys from the “B” team became the cheerleading group for the “A” team. The 13 year old handled his leg well – we were around 6th in the final heat - against many bigger 14 year olds. Our breaststroker put us almost to 4th; our flyer swam lights out and gave the freestyler the lead which he never relinquished. Those guys finished 1st when ten minutes before race time a bit of chaos was developing. Talk about a turn around. And while the three who missed a chance to race were no doubt disappointed all seven were pretty darned pumped!

The second took place at a big college invitational in Texas where one of our club swimmers was racing as a member of her college swim team. (Notice as coaches how possessive we are; what are you going to do with us?) This young lady has been chasing a sub 2 minute 200 fly for two years. Not anymore. This was her text last night, “1:59.7 – 27, 30.8, 30.4, 30.9 – no death, 14 kicks under last lap.” We texted back our congratulations and her final comment was the “a ha” moment every coach lives for, “Thanks, I’m happy but I know there’s a lot more I can do. It’s a good feeling!” Priceless in our estimation.

So, for all you parents and coaches out there, keep doing what you are doing for those youngsters in your sphere of influence. You will be rewarded – that much in life is certain!

Jim Tracy – A Coach for All Seasons

60 year old Jim Tracy coaches cross country at San Francisco’s University High School. We are going to make it a priority of ours to meet him personally before too long since we live so close.

SF Chronicle High School Sports writer Mitch Stephens introduced Tracy to those of us who never knew about him in his November 23rd column “Coach enjoying wins while he can”.

Jim Tracy has ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. There is no known cure at this time. That is not deterring him from his passion; “I’ll coach as long as they’ll have me – as long as I can keep making a difference.”

If you are/were lucky to have a coach (or teacher for that matter) in your life that cared enough to “keep making a difference” we think you are/were lucky enough. Period!

Tracy’s coaching philosophy is “brutally honest and direct”…we like it a whole lot: “1- Show up; 2- Keep improving; 3- Enjoy what you do”. Like many things that have a great impact in our lives it is quite simple…all the verbiage boiled down to the basics. We have reminded our swimmers often this week that since they are at the pool, they have shown up; next we challenge them to improve.

We especially liked his comment about winning; “One thing I’ll never apologize for is winning. The way I see it, if someone is going to win, it might as well be us.”

In case you were wondering, his University High teams – boys and girls – have won 32 North Coast Section titles since 1993, the most of any school in any sport. They are also tied for the most state crowns in any division in California.

For you coaches out there, listen to what one of his athletes has to say about Tracy; “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had in any sport because he knows so much, he gives great individual instruction and he’s incredibly fair.”

Enough said for this week.

It’s All About Team

Our North Bay Aquatics team had a visit from Ed Spencer who is on the National Team Staff at US Swimming. He shared with us the value of “Team” as it relates to working with the Nation Team at US Swimming. When a National Team, such as the Olympic Team, is chosen, the first and foremost task of the coaches and managers is to “bond” the swimmers together into a “team” so that each individual swimmer will know they matter, that their performance and actions in support of their teammates counts. Relays are obvious extensions of the team but so too are the individual actions of each member so that all members know they have value and “matter” to each of the others. The following came across our desk this week and we think it speaks directly to this matter…that teams come first and when they do, individuals have success beyond what they could have done on their own.


What sets a successful organization apart from its competitors? You can bet having a successful team is at the foundation of the answer.

• Are you putting your team first?
• Do your team members really understand your overall vision?
• Do team members know what is expected of them?
• How can each team member contribute most effectively?
• What constants hold the team together?

John Murphy's book, Pulling Together...The Ten Rules for High Performance Teams will help you answer these questions...and more...in an easy-to-read format that will give you the tools you need for success, John is a highly recognized author (seven books), speaker and management consultant who has helped some of the world's leading organizations create environments that value and reward teamwork.

Today, I'd like to share an excerpt from John's book entitled "Rule #1 - Put the Team First."

An Excerpt From
 Pulling Together
 by John Murphy

At the center of every high performance team is a common purpose-a mission that rises above and beyond each of the individual team members. To be successful, the team's interests and needs come first. This requires "we-opic" vision (What's in it for we?), a challenging step up from the common "me-opic" mindset.

Effective team players understand that personal issues and personality differences are secondary to team demands. This does not mean abandoning who you are or giving up your individuality. On the contrary, it means sharing your unique strengths and differences to move the team forward. It is this "we-opic" focus and vision-this cooperation of collective capability-that empowers a team and generates synergy, the power of teamwork.

Cooperation means working together for mutual gain-sharing responsibility for success and failure and covering for one another on a moment's notice. It does not mean competing with one another at the team's expense, withholding important data or information to "one-up" your peers, or submitting to groupthink by going along, so as not to make waves. These are rule breakers that are direct contradictions to the team-first mindset.

High performance teams recognize that it takes a joint effort to synergize, generating power above and beyond the collected individuals. It is with this spirit of cooperation that effective teams learn to capitalize on individual strengths and offset individual weaknesses, using diversity as an advantage.

Effective teams also understand the importance of establishing cooperative systems, structures, metrics, incentives and rewards. We get what we inspect, not what we expect. Think about it. Do you have team job descriptions, team performance reviews and team reward systems? Do you recognize people by pitting them against standards of excellence, or one another? What are you doing to cultivate a team-first, cooperative environment in this competitive, "me-opic" world?

It is Never Too Late to Start

We thank fellow Masters swimmer James Collins for sharing this excellent article. If this won’t inspire you – or someone you know! – into action well, then we guess we will have to try another approach. We find it interesting that all over the world folks are getting motivated to “do something with their life”. We also find it instructive that the impetus so often comes from a friend or colleague who pulls, pushes or otherwise moves a person in need off of dead center. Thanks James and we will see you at the pool very soon!

Training for Ironman Triathlons at Age 70

Short and Sweet

"Good Judgment Comes From Experience

Experience Comes From Bad Judgment"

Mark Twain...wiser than most and certainly more adept at expressing his ideas...

Perhaps a good goal for us as athletes, coaches, parents and supporters of same would be to garner as much good judgment while making as little an impact as possible while gathering it.

Lots of Truth in Here

"What is the use of climbing Mount Everest? My answer must at once be, "It is no use." There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possible medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It's no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for."

- George Leigh Mallory, one of the English mountaineers who took part in a British expedition to Mount Everest in 1924

Coach Allan Kopel shared this with us. It came to him from a runner he is helping be more proficient in the water.

David Winters, who coaches with us at North Bay Aquatics, observed a few months back that swimming is not extra-curricular but rather co-curricular. When viewed this way, the pursuit of personal success seems rather worthwhile regardless of the outcome.

Larry Fulton, a local basketball coach and trainer we know, said he thought swimmers, runners and rowers (and we add tri-athletes) are the toughest and smartest athletes around since they work so hard without compromise in a very exposed way; they get no rest break; they either keep going and succeed...or they don't.

Lots to think about here...seems to us. What say you?

Connecting the Dots

We have our senior team training really well right now preparing for the November “mid-term” meet which comes up in three weeks. As coaches we always strive to get the swimmers to see how things they do in practice relate to results in meets. We refer to this as “connecting the dots”.

We came up with a simple explanation that seems to be taking hold, having a positive effect if you will. We tell swimmers that “you race like you train, so train like you want to race.” We apologize to the English teachers out there for the grammar. Having said that, this rather simple statement is having an effect. We had a tri meet last Saturday and our finishes are much better. We have been emphasizing that recently…no breathing at the end of free and fly races.

We have also been talking about turns…turning at the same speed you are swimming, as opposed to relaxing through the walls. In this last meet we saw that we need to be better at this in the later stages of the race. We had a number of swimmers who turned well at the 25 and even the 50 wall in their 100’s but really coasted into the 75 wall. It is as if they were taking a short pause in their effort while readying themselves for the last lap and the finish from the 7 or 8 yard mark to the touch pad. So we need to fix that…and we will.

It is really simple sometimes and as coaches we tend to make things a little too complex now and then. Football coaches talk about the fundamentals of blocking and tackling; basketball coaches talk about getting in position for the rebound; swim coaches talk at length about the importance of the start and the turns.

Effective coaches are able to communicate the essentials to their athletes in such a way that those same athletes learn the value of the skill(s) and then make it habit. We are willing to bet a large amount of money that Ryan Lochte spends a lot of time underwater off turns in practice whether he is swimming easily or going for it. He is more than someone who turns really well. Indeed, he is an underwater phenom who to no one’s surprise crushes opponents on the turns. He wasn’t born that way. Neither was Natalie Coughlin. They both learned the value of it and then learned how to do it. It is a skill that is now part of who they are in the water.

What do you want to change in your game? How are you going to do it? Find the dots then connect them. Pretty darn simple…