LEADERSHIP LESSONS

What can a group of broadcast news managers learn from a college basketball coach? The participants at the 2006 NewsTrain workshop in Kansas City would tell you they learned plenty when Kansas head coach Bill Self stopped by for lunch. Just 40 years old, Self has been a head coach for 13 years and has led four Division I schools to post-season tournaments. His comments about recruiting and leadership were framed in basketball terms, but it wasn't hard to see how they might be applied in a newsroom.

Hire well

Self says one thing he learned in his early years as a coach was that it's a good idea to hire well-qualified assistants who may be better at some things than you are. "Have the confidence to hire to your weakness," he says. Self has seen six assistants move up to head coaching jobs in just seven years, but he believes that's a good thing. "Hire people you hope will be promoted," he advises. "It increases the pool of applicants" the next time you have an opening. And once you have a good staff, he says, give them the freedom to work. "Don't always be the one to finish the job."

Build a team

When recruiting, Self says he doesn't always go after the best player available. Instead, he brings in players he believes can help the team the most. "Recruit what you don't have," he says. The leader's job, he says, is to instill confidence in the team and let them go. "Be upfront with expectations and trust them. They'll play better." To succeed, you have to have confidence in yourself and your plan. "Players will sense if you don't believe in what you're telling them."

Be flexible

Leaders should be fair, Self says, but that doesn't mean treating everybody the same. "People aren't the same," he says. "They aren't all motivated by the same thing." Treat people differently, he advises, not just for their sake but to benefit you. Self doesn't believe in setting a lot of hard and fast rules, because that doesn't allow for exceptional circumstances. "When you draw a line in the sand, you're just creating problems for yourself."

Attitude matters

"My attitude dictates my team’s attitude," Self says. "Everything I do or say is reflected in how they perform." But Self says his most important job is to empower other leaders. "The best team has leaders that can lead themselves." Sometimes a talented player can also be a headache, Self says, but when the goal is to win you can put up with some headaches. Bad chemistry is a different matter. "Bad chemistry can tear your team up."

Reward the small stuff

Instead of focusing on the end result--a basket scored or a game won--Self says he emphasizes the preparation that leads to the end result. "It's the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the score that should be applauded," he says. He tends to reward people who do the right thing and rarely get any credit. Self's philosophy: Teach principles and over time they will prevail.

No negatives

Even if you try to deliver more praise than criticism some people will only hear the negative, Self says. "If you say, 'We can get a better shot,' the player hears, 'Don't shoot.'" To get around that, Self says he watches his words carefully so his players hear positive "self-talk." Instead of warning a player not to turn the ball over, he'll tell the kid to take care of the ball.

Have a plan

"You're only as good as you can be when it gets hairy," Self says. "That's when you are judged as a leader." Self says he enjoys crisis situations but he doesn't fly by the seat of his pants. "I have a plan of what we've practised and if I get flustered, I can pull it out." His assistant coaches also have specific things they watch for during games that can help keep the plan on track.

Substitute the words "breaking news" for "games," and "staff" for "team," and it's easy to see how Self's advice applies to newsrooms. The trick, of course, is sticking to it.