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Motivational Speaker, Coach, and Trainer, Coach Jim Johnson

What leadership lessons did we learn from the NCAA Tourney?

Are you enjoying March Madness?

What a wild first weekend of the NCAA Tournament we were treated to.  The 2023 tourney has certainly lived up to the hype so far.  While watching the games in the first two rounds (three, including the play-in-games) though, I also learned a lot from a leaders perspective.  In the #CJJblog this week, I give you some of the leadership lessons I learned from the first weekend of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Enjoy.

  • Dream big.  Fairleigh Dickinson became just the 2nd 16-seed to win a game in the tourney.  Princeton advanced all the way to the Sweet Sixteen.  Dreams can be made here.
  • Tobin Anderson.  You likely have seen the video circulating of FDU coach, Tobin Anderson, motivating his team by saying “I think we can beat Purdue.”  This was an amazing look into the positive vibes he was giving his team just a couple days before they made history.
  • Gameplan.  FDU had a good one with how heavily they defended National Player of the Year candidate, Zach Edey, and Purdue failed to capitalize by hitting outside shots.
  • Adjustments.  Or lack thereof from Purdue.  They appeared to be unprepared and made no in-game adjustments as they were upset by the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson.  A good question to ask yourself as a coach when preparing for a game is “if you were the coach of the other team, how would you attack your team?”
  • Planning.  Get buy in from your team.  Get them to believe.  Discover your why as a team and play into that as much as you can.
  • Dan Hurley.  The Hurley family is certainly no stranger to the big stage. Father Bob was a famous High School coach, brother Bobby Hurley played at Duke from 1989-93 (and current Arizona State Head Coach), and other brother Dan is the current Head Coach at UConn.  Dan’s UConn team turned in poor first half performances in both games last weekend, but recovered and won handily each game.  With their win last night, they are now onto the Elite Eight and very much in the mix as a National Title contender.
  • Stories.  As a leader, utilize stories to tell your team both what to do and what not to do (good and bad).  This helps with perspective and motivation before big games.

Did You Know?  Coach Jim Johnson was a guest on the Outliers in Education podcast this week – Check out the episode HERE.

Life Tip #34:  6P Formula: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

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