The benefits of the road
An unspoken benefit of working in the NBA:
You get to see a lot of places.
Traveling is both a blessing and a curse. When you spend a lot of time on the road, you get into a rhythm. Mine was always to find a Starbucks for the morning, go to the gym, and then spend some time out in the city we were in.
The blessing: Spending time in the city allows you to see a totally different culture.
And seeing a different culture gives you a richer, deeper perspective on the people you work with and how you get the most out of them. You see them in new contexts, new places, interacting with new material.
Mostly, I was able to learn more about how to keep your team locked in during the monotony of a long trip. The lessons apply to any stretch or sprint where things get hard.
The important things were:
• The team needs to see the leader rest
• The leaders need to join their team in the trenches
• You need to leave people time to be alone instead of forcing them to work together as much as possible
Each person on your team will want to know it’s okay to take breaks.
Each person on your team will want to feel like they’re in it together with someone.
Each person will need time to disconnect and decompress to do their best work.
Miss any of these and performance will suffer.
For today, think about the next trip you’re on. How can you set up an activity where you learn more about yourself or your team?
PS.
The curse: you don’t see your family nearly enough.
Ultimately, that’s why I left.