Coaches & Leadership
You made your case. You said your piece through the right channel. You were heard.
And the answer was no.
The decision is made. It’s not going to change. And now you have to figure out what to do with the frustration of being on the wrong side of a decision you disagree with.
Read this passage slowly.
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Hebrews 13:17 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
Submit to their authority. In a coaching context, this is not a call to passive compliance or the surrender of your perspective. It’s a call to recognize that the authority structure serves a purpose — that a team where everyone implements only the decisions they personally agree with is not a team, it’s a collection of individuals pursuing individual agendas.
The athlete who implements a decision they disagree with at 80% effort because they didn’t get the outcome they wanted is not being principled. They’re being passive-aggressive. And passive-aggressive implementation of coaching decisions is one of the most corrosive things an athlete can do to a team’s performance and culture.
Full implementation of a decision you disagree with is actually one of the highest expressions of team commitment. It says: I trust this team’s structure more than I trust my own preference in this moment. I will give my full effort to making this decision work even though I didn’t choose it. Because the team’s success matters more than my satisfaction with how the decision was made.
You made your case. The answer was no. Now give everything to making the decision that was made as successful as possible. That’s what serving the team looks like when you’re on the wrong side of a call.
Full implementation of a decision you disagree with is one of the highest expressions of team commitment.
Is there a current coaching decision you’re implementing at less than full effort because you disagree with it? What would full commitment to that decision look like?
Honest self-assessment. The half-effort implementation is usually visible to everyone but the athlete doing it.
You said your piece. The answer was no. Now give everything to making it work.
Most useful after a specific coaching decision has been made that some athletes visibly disagree with. It redirects the energy from resistance to full implementation.