Breaking The COACH Code Archives

By Craig Johns

When I am out riding, I love to challenge my mind to work out what the world will be like in the future. Here are my six trend predictions that are already in their early stages or I feel will become part of the way we consume, relax, challenge our bodies, belong, use our time and play sport.

1 – LONG CONTENT WILL COME BACK IN FASHION

The world is going through a phase of short versus long content. A lot of businesses changed their approach to meet the consumer wants. However this phase is already showing signs of change back to longer content. Generation Z, also known as Millennial’s, who have been synonymously linked to having short attention spans, are showing signs that with the right environment they are happy to absorb content for long periods of time. E-Sports is a great example of this, where spectators are happy to watch a live event for hours on end. People will tend to spend more time understanding, absorbing and enjoying content.

2 – WE WILL LEARN TO SWITCH-OFF

People are already beginning to move away from the frenetic nature of digital devices, especially mobile phones, where social media apps attract our attention multiple times per day. In the future we will see a decline in digital device use, outside of work and school as people start to naturally adopt more activities that allow the brain and body to recover more effectively. The rapidly stimulating nature of flicking through posts means the brain is constantly firing, preventing recovery and effective thought-processing. It’s kind of like rope-learning for an exam, where you briefly absorb a lot of information, but it doesn’t convert to long-term memory. There is also a major global epidemic brewing where by 2030 mental health issues will be somewhat out of control as our brains are constantly switched on and aren’t getting the recovery they need.

3 – THE RETURN OF THE ENDURANCE SPORT CHALLENGE

Isn’t it uncanny that most things in life have a tendency to repeat themselves? They have a cyclical nature, which quite often is generational. Fashion is a great example where it tends to repeat itself every 25 to 30 years. In sport we are seeing the end of a cyclical trend where people focused more on adventure (Cross-Fit, Mud runs, Spartan, Neon runs, etc..) type challenges versus endurance (marathons, triathlons, cycle races) type challenges. The adventure challenges (similar events with different names) were popular in the 1980’s and returned in the late 2000’s. They seem to be more of a one off type nature compared to the endurance challenges, which act more like traditional sports where people look for continual improvement over a period of time. Cross-fit maybe an exception with its cult-type following that it has generated.

4 – I WANT TO BELONG

As the world has become increasingly complicated and people feel like they must be constantly doing something, they have lost the real sense of community. How often do you go and introduce yourself to new neighbours or hang over the fence and have a yarn with them? There is a real sense that the act of volunteering is losing its appeal and that people are happy to pay for someone else to do it. In the future people will realise their sense of belonging is not being fulfilled and will want to have a greater part to play in their community and be more associated with things they enjoy and like being a part of.

5 – PEOPLE WILL REALISE THEY AREN’T TIME POOR

How often do we hear people say that they are too busy or don’t have enough time? The average number of hours worked per week hasn’t changed, and neither has the number of hours in a day. People are either adding more things to their day or are choosing activities that take longer to complete. Digital device’s have become an addiction for some people and that tends to absorb a lot of our time and attention. People will realise that it is about the choices they make and if the prediction, that people will want to switch off more holds true then we will see a lot more people going back to the simple things in life, such as have a few laughs over dinner with their friends and reading physical books again. They will understand that they have control over the choices they make.

6 – SPORTS WILL CHANGE THEIR RULES

As the world evolves, so will the sports we play, watch and consume. Soccer will realise, like field hockey has, that taking the off-side rule out of the game and introducing unlimited interchanges will create a far more exciting, faster and more technical game.

Cricket will begin to understand that the umpires on-field have to have greater authority to control behaviours such as sledging, ball tampering and other forms of cheating. At present there are no immediate consequences or ramifications for breaking the rules during the game. The “Spirit of the Game” will be enhanced through the umpires having the ability to give a yellow card and send a player off the field for 10 minutes or a red card for the rest of the game.

Rugby League will realise that they need to take a much firmer stance on tackles near the head, like rugby has, before someone is seriously hurt or even killed on the field.

Triathlon will implement a heats, semis and finals format of a short, fast and exciting format, at the Olympics. This will result in attracting exponentially more non-triathlon followers to watch the sport, rather than a one off race. A person loves to follow their nation and connect by knowing that someone, from their country, has made it to the next stage and has a chance of winning a medal.

WHAT DO YOU PREDICT WILL BE THE NEXT TREND?

Leave a comment and let us know what you are thinking.

Your role as a leader is also to be one step ahead of your team and ensure that you prevent a culture and environment that spirals out of control. Catastrophes and scandals can, most of the time, be prevented by developing a cultural environment that cultivates growth, harmony, team work, prosperity and enjoyment.

“Culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage that is completely within the control of the leader.”

A successful leader will have their finger on the pulse and gently tighten the leash when the team or a team member begins to stray. They have a unique ability to sense divergence and be able to pivot the team back towards convergence.

Quite often successful people, teams or organisations find their feet become too big for the shoes they fill. In sport – success breeds success – but it also breeds a sense of invincibility that if not managed well, can spiral out of control.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t gather people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

ANTOINE DE SAlNT-EXUPERY

A recent example of this is the Australian Cricket Team, where over a period of time had pushed the boundaries on what is and isn’t acceptable in the sport of cricket. They had become arrogant, over-confident and had developed belief that they were somewhat untouchable. Constant sledging, that became extremely personal, aggressive antagonistic behaviour and a focus on winning at all costs lead to the demise of the team.

A decision by David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft to tamper the cricket ball during a recent test against South Africa, led to all three receiving length playing bans, captaincy bans and major financial implications that had never been seen in the sport before. The results of their actions have become a priority in the public eye with fans and media first wanting blood and then a feeling of sympathy when the discipline announced was a devastating blow to the players involved.

“Are you willing to take responsibility for your team’s culture or do you treat it like the weather – something that happens to you!”

JARED SPOOL

What we have witnessed is not dissimilar to drugs in sport. Ball tampering can have a major performance enhancing effect on the result of a game. Ball tampering has been a part of cricket for a very long time, possibly since the beginning of the sport. When Steve Smith said that it was a big mistake and the first time Australia had ever tampered the ball, it was highly likely a big white lie, and therefore is it any different to the Lance Armstrong case in cycling? When cricket players tamper the ball, like taking drugs in sport, you are committing a form of fraud. Defrauding the spectators, players and fans of a legal result, and in many cases the fans money to attend and prizemoney that the other team could have won.

Fox Sports Cricket — Photo Credit: Fox Sports

James Sutherland, the CEO of Cricket Australia, dealt with the situation in a very swift and professional manner, which may have saved his job. As a result of the players being disciplined, Darren Lehman resigned as the Australian coach, accepting that he was responsible for the overall culture of the team, which had spiraled down a very slippery slope.

“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

Sutherland gets a second chance to prove his leadership credentials as he is in charge of ensuring the overall culture of Australian Cricket returns to a positive environment that aligns to the “spirit of the game”. He may have dodged a big fall from grace, as the quote says “the fish always rots from the head”. He now has to pull off a reactive approach to rewriting the culture of the Australian Cricket team for the better of the game and restore the pride of the Australian public and faith of the cricket community.

As a leader you need to be a student of human behaviour and team dynamics. You need to be constantly observing and understanding where your team culture is trending. The team culture is established by the behaviours you, as the leader, cultivate through leading by example, motivation, inspiration, reward, recognition and also setting clear boundaries. Values that reflect the team need to be agreed on, adhered to and aligned to every decision that is made. Anyone veering off track needs to be quickly brought back in to line or moved on to ensure that there are no further negative effects and the long-term culture is destined for success.

“High performing team members generalize their attitude to team performance. They see the big picture and how they fit into it. They feel responsible for their performance, for others performance and for team performance. They become leaders.”

DAVID KIRK

We, as leaders, are the moral and ethical police who control the destiny of our team, company or organisation. It shouldn’t be left to the fans, clients or a legal jurisdiction to bring it to our attention. Be a step ahead of the game to ensure that when the wind blows you can withstand the strain.

Remember that if you do not develop your culture, it will develop itself. Culture doesn’t happen by accident and if it does, you are taking an irresponsible risk.

Tag: Breaking The COACH Code

SIX TRENDS THAT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD