The big picture
Are you a big picture person, or are you the "Devil is in the details?" I frequently find myself on the fence with this mentality, but I've concluded that in order to be successful, one should probably have a bit from category A, and some from category B.
A couple of years ago I went on vacation with a friend. We spent two lovely weeks in Virginia Beach soaking up the sun, wandering through Williamsburg and generally enjoying life on the east coast. But we also talked shop. I was coming off of what had been a successful, but very trying season, and was releasing 10 months of frustrations, fears, and thoughts.
When I'd finished, my friend looked at me and asked a very pointed question. I'm going to paraphrase it here but basically she told me that it sounded as though I was only looking at the negatives of the season - missed finishes, missing top end speed on certain boats, etc. - and if that was how I was going to look at a season, why continue to coach? If I was going to be this stressed, maybe it was time to switch to something else before it started taking a toll on my health.
Needless to say I was quietly insulted, but the more I thought about what she'd said, the more I saw what she was going for. One of my biggest flaws as a coach is that I tend to get hooked on details. I view details like puzzle pieces. Without the pieces, you can't get the big picture. I focus so much on what did or didn't happen, that I don't take the time to step back and see what the team accomplished. More often than not, what I'm fretting over still alters the final product, but there is still a completed season or picture.
So I've worked on changing my mentality. I've worked to stop seeing short comings as negatives and turn them instead into positives. I've worked to stop obsessing over the missing pieces, and instead, step back and look at the picture that was built from the pieces that we did have.
I still struggle with the concept, especially when things aren't going well. My last review mentioned this as something that I need to continue to work on. However, I am still looking at the positives. Set backs are positives because I know what caused them, and I know what I need to do or address to eliminate them.
I am still in the mindset that details matter, but I also understand that there is value in stepping back and looking at the big picture. It may not be a masterpiece, but a lot of hard work went into building it, and it's a shame to not appreciate what the team has created.
A couple of years ago I went on vacation with a friend. We spent two lovely weeks in Virginia Beach soaking up the sun, wandering through Williamsburg and generally enjoying life on the east coast. But we also talked shop. I was coming off of what had been a successful, but very trying season, and was releasing 10 months of frustrations, fears, and thoughts.
When I'd finished, my friend looked at me and asked a very pointed question. I'm going to paraphrase it here but basically she told me that it sounded as though I was only looking at the negatives of the season - missed finishes, missing top end speed on certain boats, etc. - and if that was how I was going to look at a season, why continue to coach? If I was going to be this stressed, maybe it was time to switch to something else before it started taking a toll on my health.
Needless to say I was quietly insulted, but the more I thought about what she'd said, the more I saw what she was going for. One of my biggest flaws as a coach is that I tend to get hooked on details. I view details like puzzle pieces. Without the pieces, you can't get the big picture. I focus so much on what did or didn't happen, that I don't take the time to step back and see what the team accomplished. More often than not, what I'm fretting over still alters the final product, but there is still a completed season or picture.
So I've worked on changing my mentality. I've worked to stop seeing short comings as negatives and turn them instead into positives. I've worked to stop obsessing over the missing pieces, and instead, step back and look at the picture that was built from the pieces that we did have.
I still struggle with the concept, especially when things aren't going well. My last review mentioned this as something that I need to continue to work on. However, I am still looking at the positives. Set backs are positives because I know what caused them, and I know what I need to do or address to eliminate them.
I am still in the mindset that details matter, but I also understand that there is value in stepping back and looking at the big picture. It may not be a masterpiece, but a lot of hard work went into building it, and it's a shame to not appreciate what the team has created.
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