The operating rules drastically changed, and the world is chaotic. No, I’m not talking about the business world you operate in (although it’s happening there too), I’m talking about my favorite sport, college basketball. Two major changes impacted the sport; athletes are now being paid to play (NIL) and may switch schools on an annual basis (transfer portal). The result is many teams have 50% to almost two thirds of their roster of players new to the team and school. If you are dealing with a 50% turnover rate in your business, it creates a unique challenge. This has thrown college coaches into your world (you’ve been doing this forever) of 1) recruiting, 2) developing and 3) retaining staff. The best coaches have always been good at recruiting and developing, but the rules shielded them from retaining players because it wasn’t easy for them to move. There are now mercenary players who will switch teams for more money, just as employees will move for a few thousand dollars more. They are loyal only to themselves and their ability to make money.

The best college coaches and leaders in the world of business will be the ones who can get talented players/employees to work together for the good of the team and retain them in the organization. If you can’t do both of those well, you will struggle.

I had a unique opportunity recently to observe a college basketball team at their practice. I watched coaches doing two things throughout the practice that I know great leaders do daily and are critical for getting people to work together and stay around.

Teach and encourage. Everything gets better when leaders are good at both.

Teach – Great leaders or coaches are great teachers. During the practice I observed coaches teaching in many ways. I observed them walking through drills at a slow pace, explaining what they were expected to do and why. Since these are 18–22-year-olds, they sometimes had their own version of how to do it, and the coaches would then explain why theirs wasn’t the best way and how their deviation impacted others. With each facet of practice, the pace was more rapid, yet the coaches continued to teach, affirming when something was done right and re-directing or explaining when something wasn’t done well. They also shared constantly how it impacted others on the team, fostering the importance of team success. Just as in business, experienced players were also teachers on the sidelines, explaining little nuances that could have a big impact.

Encourage – Great leaders are encouragers. At this practice, there was constant encouragement throughout the practice of both effort and execution. Nothing is perfect all the time, but if a player was doing the right thing, even though the result didn’t happen, they were encouraged. If they did the right thing and it worked, they were also encouraged. Does that mean it was like little league sports where kids are encouraged just to show up? Far from it. These players, just like your employees, have a job to do and they need to do it well. When a player did something wrong, the player knew about it clearly and directly from a coach. Trust me, there was no doubt when the conversation was over that they knew what to do. As they walked away, they were encouraged, “you can do this”. The encouragement was a show of belief in them.

Throughout my career, I had many leaders, but only a few stood out for me. They were the great ones. I learned from them because they were teachers. I was better because of them. They believed in me and encouraged me, even in my mistakes, which at times were more than I want to admit to you.

If you are an employee and your leader constantly teaches you, growing your skills, believes in you and encourages you, why would you want to leave to work anywhere else?

Remember what Christ taught, and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. Colossians 3:16 (TLB)