“What is your greatest fear?”
I’ve been meaning to watch this film for ages. A year or two ago I had popped this DVD in my son’s stocking at Christmas, and then forgot he had it. Recently a few people have mentioned it, I mentally registered that I must get it, and when my boys yesterday were looking through their DVDs for something we could all watch together, this one jumped out.
OK, ok, I’m getting the message loud and clear … sit down and watch it!
My goodness, as a perfect demonstration of what Leading & Developing High Performance is all about, this is it. If you want to build not only high individual performance, but high team performance, this is how you do it.
Based on a true story, what Coach Ken Carter does is ‘walk the talk’. Even in the face of dissent from the school board, parents, and gaining attention from the national press, he stays true to his values, high expectations and the goals he has for the basketball team.
He is the model of what he wants the team to be. He is only there for a season but gets the team to achieve dramatic results across the board – in basketball, in their studies, in the way they treat others. Coach Carter treats the boys with respect, setting the boundaries right at the start and getting each to sign a contract, dealing with poor performance firmly and consistently, acting at all times with strength, dignity and compassion.
Coach Ken Carter sums everything up at the end like this: “I came to teach basketball players, and you became students. I came to teach boys, and you became men.”
It is “powerful beyond measure” for highlighting the ethos of Leading & Developing High Performance, and I have already played it again!
You need to watch it to see how Marianne Williamson’s famous quote is weaved in throughout.
If anyone else has watched it, what do you think?
Thanks to Ali Stewart for this blog.
