5 Things You Need to Know About Your Job

Dear Coach O'Brien,

Teachers and coaches everywhere wish you the best.  As we have all taken new jobs, first jobs, difficult jobs, we came up with a few things to get you started as you finish your time with New England.

1.  People that do not know you are already evaluating based on what they've heard.  Where did you grow up?  Where did you play?  What did you do last?

These are all questions they are grinding down over coffee while you get ready for the Broncos. Penn State fans and your new colleagues think they know you.



2.  People will talk about you every time you leave the room. 

People will re-evaluate you every time they speak with you, see you on campus, or see you on T.V.  Be mindful.  Control your emotions.  Treat everyone the way you would want your grandparents to be treated by the mechanic.  Honesty, patience, and understanding are crucial.

Most people generally advise the same things about a new job.   But, teachers and coaches our here want you to know how important it is going to be for you to build early relationships.  We've all found that secretaries and grounds crews are the best people to befriend.  They are the magic mirrors that will tell you all you need to know while everyone else is scrambling and playing their own games behind smiles and hand shakes that may linger just a bit too long.

3.  Upper management and administration always have other options.

Your are replaceable; we are all replaceable.  The guy's over at ESPN all seem to be writing that you may not have even been the best candidate.  You got the job, so forget that nonsense.  Just be careful--I'm not sure you can aggressively coach up  Matt McGloin like Tom Brady.

4.  People depend on you.

Yes, people in Red Sox Nation and Patriot Nation depend on you...but really Belichik and Brady will be the faces of this post season.

Though at University Park, students at the bars, alumni, youth football teams across towns, moms, dads, parents of your student athletes...the list goes on forever.  Be a role model and be open to all of the people that are watching.  As the St. Andrew's School (RI) basketball coach Michael A. Hart always says, "Be a helper."

5.  Culture is uncanny.

You will need to give up some of Bill O'Brien and become part of Penn State before Penn State gives up some of itself to allow the Bill O'Brien era to begin.  Pick one or two things a year to work on making your own.  Building and changing culture is uncanny. 

Best of luck Coach,
Coaches and Teachers world wide

Seek Perfection or Go Home

Over the years I've taught and coached for a diverse range of schools and teams.  Two things that remain constant, though, are staff meeting agenda items about a desire to build a culture of success and a mix of effective leaders.


Coach Walsh introduces an idea in his blog that "someone who leads by example doesn't lead."  I don't necessarily agree with this statement that, admittedly, is out of context.  So to re-contextualize the statement, I believe the first step of leadership is modeling a behavior of growth.  Leading by example is the first step over the line the separates a leader from the rest of the team.  I would say a good teammate, in athletics or in the workforce, shows up on time, displays a positive attitude, and displays a willingness to exert energy towards the goals of the team.  If a person doesn't do these things or cannot do these things, then their time with that team has come to an end and they need to leave, or be asked to leave.

A leader, though, needs to lead by example because they have transcended those basic attributes of a good teammate and are now becoming agents of change.  A good leader seeks out innovations that can improve the team.  A good leader spends time every day reflecting on the performance of their team and tries something new to spark improvement.  A good leader is never satisfied--even with success.

     I am inspired every time I watch Coach Boone give this speech.  "We will be PERFECT in every aspect of the game."

A good teacher leader will look at test scores, for example, and acknowledge scores that meet No Child Left Behind benchmark goals are great, but will then look for ways to EXCEED those benchmarks. 

A good leader in athletics doesn't just prepare for the best opponent on the schedule, but seeks to move their team to perfect execution in all aspects of the game.

The overlooked second step of a strong leader is the development of a common, success-driven vocabulary for their team.  Some words I loath and feel are detrimental forces to the quest for perfection are meeting, tutoring, remediate, accommodations, modifications, extended time, practice, and role. 

Don't say meeting when an effective leader means collaboration.
Don't say tutoring or remediating when an effective leader means accelerating.
Don't say test-accommodations or test-modifications when an effective leader means test-scaffolding. 
Don't say extended time when an effective leader means flexible scheduling. 
Don't say practice when an effective leader, like Coach Boone, says, "let's go to work."

And coaches, please don't tell your team that everyone has a role when an effective leader means everyone is vital to the quest for perfection.

Walk Abroad and Recreate Yourselves

I wanted to name this blog after my favorite line from Caesar.  And then I became self conscious over who would or wouldn't know the reference and the context.  And then I became more self conscious because people might think of me as pretentious, as arrogant, or think of me how I used to think of my peers in literature classes making obscure references during their diatribes to show off to or try to relate with the professor.  This line of thinking hindered me from moving forward with the creation of this blogspot because I couldn't name the page Walk Abroad and Recreate Yourselves and I couldn't really move on with my life without getting in this line.  So here it is.  

 "He hath left them you, and to your heirs forever--common pleasures to walk abroad and recreate yourselves."

What I love about this line is Antony's relationship to the mob.  The mob is powerful and influential and drives the politicians' psyches.  First, we see the mob in Act I enjoying the holiday without any regard for the on-going political shuffle.  One day they drink in merriment for Pompey; the next for Caesar.  It doesn't matter to them who rules Rome as long as the mob's status quo remains. In Act III, the mob is so stereotypical and easily swayed by political rhetoric they love Brutus one minute.  Next they riot because Antony hinted there would be no legal consequence, and if they don't burn Rome, they lose their recreation and their freedom.  Then, they disappear for the rest of the play while the handful of politicians go to war to see who gets to call themselves emperor.  In the end, the outcome doesn't matter to the mob; all the mob knows is they will keep on being a mob and as long as they maintain the ability to recreate themselves, all is well.  Also, the cobbler in Act I, with his pun about being a "mender of bad soles," is so much more witty and with it compared to the dweebs Flavius and Marullus.  This seems to suggest the mob has a deeper understanding of their place in the world than these stuffy politicians and the mob understands the meaning of life.  Dare I say the mob in Caesar is like Randall "Pink" Floyd, Wooderson, Mitch, and the whole crew hanging out at the Emporium in Dazed and Confused ?  Teachers, police, coaches, parents and anyone else that struggles for power are all just peripheral shadows that seek the support of these Texas high school kids in order to have meaning in their adult lives.

 

 L-I-V-I-N.

 Even these cats figure out they need to stop preparing and planning for something their parents,   teachers, and authorities feel is important and get on with recreating themselves. 

  Anyway, back to Antony and his relationship to the mob.  Maybe Antony is like Wooderson--as Antony gets older, the players of the game (like Octavius) stay the same age and to keep himself relevant, Antony needs to recreate himself.  Or, Antony is envious of the mob's freedom, power, and balanced lives that allow them to take the day and hang out in the parks and recreate themselves--or he knows that is important to the mob and they have life  figured out.  Or, Antony needs to live vicariously through the mob and he needs them to burn Rome because he couldn't do it while maintaining his status quo in the political game.  There is something proverbial about this line that makes Antony a deep character.  Antony is the guy with whom the cobbler wants to drink beers because Antony gets the value of the arbors, orchards, and recreation.  Cassius feels threatened by Antony's prowess.  Brutus sees altruism in Antony.  Caesar trusted Antony with his life and now Octavius trusts Antony with his.  Antony has it.  Antony is one of them--he gets it and knows how to maintain status quo and keep L-I-V-I-N. 

My point is, I don't know what this blogspot is really going to be do as it matures.  I don't really know what I'm going to do with my life as I mature.  

I do know that I always want to be able to recreate myself.  I do know I need to find a better balance of work and recreation in my life.  I do know I would vote for Antony and if he told me to burn Rome, I would do it.  Like Antony says, "Mischief thou art afoot; take thou what course thou wilt."