We can learn a lot from other coaches — how they operate, how they think, how they get their teams to accomplish what many thought was impossible. In particular, I found it very enlightening to follow Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints coach) in the papers and learn from articles written about him, his staff and his team.
What I’ve believed for a long time is something I saw in Coach Payton’s approach to his team. There’s no question his team bought into their system. And they clearly bought into their culture and their coaching staff’s decision-making. In my opinion, this was made possible by something above and beyond pure motivation. I believe that Coach Payton was obviously able to motivate his team, but more important, he was able to inspire them.
Inspiration is a level above motivation in that it brings in the heart and the very fiber of a person’s being. The Saints had a cause greater than themselves in that they felt compelled to do everything they could to bring pride to their city.
The decision to “ambush” (their call for the onside kick) shocked the team at first, but as they had time to think about it, they said — to a man –that this coach is either nuts or be believes in us so much that he feels we can execute this. Coach Payton basically said, “I believe in you guys so much that you can do what no one else would even think of doing. Now go out there and do it.”
As a leader, you will get the most out of your people if you can find ways to go beyond motivation to this next level — inspiration. But know that in order to inspire, they must believe in you and trust you. The foundation of belief and trust is in relationships.
