Cover story, continued ... WORK ETHIC
hardworking adult. Sports offer an arena in which your child can elect to pursue their own internal motivations and strive for greatness. The most successful youth athletes aren’t externally motivated. They are the players who love their sport and love to work at it. It’s never too early to start learning the art of distinguishing between internal and external motivations. TEAMWORK Youth sports are a fantastic was for children to experience teamwork. Where there is a team, there is an opportunity for your child to learn valuable lessons about leadership. Being a good teammate doesn’t mean being the best player. It means making others better by investing personally in them, pushing them to excel, or simply leading by example. Life is full of situations that require cooperation, and the sports field can breed great leaders. MULTISPORT ATHLETES Tom Brady, Alex Morgan, Jim Brown, Danny Ainge, and Jackie Robinson didn’t specialize in their sports until high school. Tom Brady
didn’t even play organized football until his freshman year of high school. Alex Morgan played recreational soccer until she was 14. The data becomes staggering when you look at the accomplishments of many elite athletes. It’s not when you start but how you develop. CAR RIDE HOME According to a study done by Positive Coaching Alliance, the largest single reason children quit playing sports is the car ride home. Not losing. Not relationships. Not bad coaching. It’s hearing negativity from Mom and Dad in the car. While it’s extremely important to play a role in your kids’ sports, the role has to be supportive. The success your child gains from sports isn’t the college scholarship — it’s the lessons that will make them a successful adult. If you were told that your child could learn to value commitment, develop a solid work ethic, and become a team player by consistently doing one thing, wouldn’t you immediately sign up? Let that be the goal of your child’s youth sports,
It’s no secret that to be great at something, you have to work hard at it. Sports show that success is directly proportional to the work you put in. No one walks onto a sports field already amazing at what they do. It takes time and dedication to develop the specific technical skills necessary for achieving excellence. The recent Winter Olympics highlighted the incredible training regimens and staggering amount of work athletes put into their craft, and it’s easy to see how that kind of dedication could be applied to various other pursuits. Just because your child participates in sports doesn’t mean your child will be a
CREATE A WIN-WIN In a win-win scenario, your conflict is resolved in a way that satisfies all involved parties. Ensure a win-win by taking these steps: rather than a college scholarship or winning at all costs. You’ll find that the benefits of youth sports abound. 3 Skills You Need to Resolve Your Next Conflict COMPROMISE IS KEY Most conflicts come from emotional wounds, and those wounds need to be healed. The only way to truly find a solution for both parties is to find mutual compromise. If you are coming from a place of understanding and working toward a win-win, then compromise is a natural stepping stone to conflict resolution. If you aren’t, compromise may just be a way to put a patch on the problem instead of actually solving it. Successful conflict resolution resides in these three ideals, and all of them require emotional intelligence. A certain degree of self-awareness and empathy is the foundation of finding solutions. When these traits are combined with understanding, an effort to find a win-win situation, and willingness to compromise, you’ll find your conflicts resolved in an effective, equitable manner that will maintain relationships for a lifetime. • • • Acknowledge the issue. Find common ground. Understand all sides. • Attack the issue, not the person. Develop a mutual plan of action. •
Conflict resolution is never easy work. One wrong move can trigger the fault lines in an already complicated relationship. On the other hand, nothing good comes of allowing an unresolved problem to fester. Finding common ground is a must, even when it’s difficult or painful. We’ve provided resolution practices for both internal and external affairs so that you can be ready to handle any conflicts that come your way. SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND “Good Leaders Ask Great Questions,” a book written by leadership guru John Maxwell, lays out the foundational concepts behind any effective conflict resolution session. Ask questions. If communication is a two-way street, then conflict resolution is a highway. Asking a great question starts the flow of communication. “Why?” is often the easiest and best question to start with. “Five Whys” by Sakichi Toyoda is a method that you can use to untangle any issue. According to this principle, you can get to the heart of the matter within five times of asking why. Understanding and articulating the core of your issue will help you create a win-win scenario.
2 • www.yolofskylaw.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs