Bluepoint News

Leadership Coaching -- "You're Better Than This"

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As a young man, I loved to play hockey. I think there is something about the unrefined intensity of the sport that brought out my primal emotions and provided a temporary refuge from the modern world. Maybe I just liked being a warrior for a moment. During one particular hockey game, a coach for the other team said something to me that still rings in my ears. This was an especially rough game and I was deep into my primeval behavior (read: I was playing dirty). Late in the game as I was skating past the opposition bench, I saw the coach leaning forward to give me a verbal blast. Hockey coaches are renowned for their ability to deliver a searing, expletive-laced communique in a matter of seconds so I didn’t think too much of it as I approached him. But this man’s words were unexpected and haunt me to this day: “Hey you, number seventeen,” he shouted. “I’ve been watching you. You’re better than this!” I was pierced to the core. He may as well have kicked my skates out from under me. At some level I already know that my behavior and level of performance were beneath me, and he had confronted me with what I already knew to be true. To this day, whenever I find myself opting for the lower road, his words ring crystal clear in my head... “You’re better than this!”

This is the power of holding people accountable to be the best they can be. For more on how to have great expectations of those you work with, download our coaching e-book here.