Theres a high chance you probably have all 3 of these in some way or another in your teams/coaching staff or other groups you work within. I heard a really great piece of info in a Podcast today by the incredible Rachel Hollis. She was talking about successful teams and their leaders;

‘Most of the time, the people you have on your teams, are 1 of 3 types;

    • A Players; They have the skills that they need to have. They know exactly what you need them to do. They want to do a good job.
    • B Players; They want so badly to do a good job. They know what it is that we want them to do. But, they don’t have the skills or all the training.
    • C Players; They have the skills. They know what you want them to do. But they have no desire to do a good job.

In an ideal world, you want the A players, and you want the B players who are training to be A players, but you don’t want to have C players.’

When I heard this, it really resonated with me, because it paints a super clear picture as to how to ensure that your teams (coaching staff, athletes or otherwise) have the best chance to be successful. The culture is so important in your teams; if your ‘players’ aren’t willing to do a great job, chances are there is cultural mismatch. It doesn’t mean they aren’t incredible people, but it just may mean they don’t quite match what you need at that time to make your team great. This sounds simple initially, but one of the most important things to remember is that if it looks like things aren’t happening, there could be a few reasons as to why. It’s important to look at these before you just discount someone as a ‘C player’ for your admin team, or coaching staff or whatever kind of team you’re leading. You need to make sure its not a lack of knowledge or ability in your leadership that has contributed to, or caused the problem. Sometimes our own lack of ability to set clear guidelines or expectations can make it look like people are not willing to do what it takes, or like they’re not meeting your expectations. So here’s a few things that can help you work our whether its you that needs to adjust a few things, or whether you have a ‘C player’ that isn’t quite matching your team.

    • Firstly, do they actually have the skills required for the job?
      • This sounds like a no brainer, but sometimes we can assume that someone does, without doing our due diligence, so ask the questions! Also get to know the ‘player’ or person in question… getting to know someone & how they work and communicate can really help solve any problems before they occur.
      Outline what values are important to you & your team, and make sure they’re understood & agreed to by everyone, and live them on a day to day basis.

        • Asking questions can be a great way to see how your people understand the values, and to see if they really do match with them too. Be clear about your expectations
    • Be clear about your expectations

        • This can take quite a few go’s to get right. Sometimes what seems super obvious and clear to us, may not be that way for others. So it may take a few conversations to ensure both sides understand what’s expected. Make sure your expectations are clear, easy to understand, and quantifiable? E.g. can they tell if they did the right or wrong thing right away? How can you set expectations out in a way thats simple & easy to understand, and is easy to see if they were done or not?
    • Do you keep people accountable and follow through on expectations and values?

        • If you let people get away with things you once said were important, or don’t deal with situations when they’re small, chances are you’ll have a much bigger problem on your hands. People either won’t believe you, or they will think they’re not really important. Your job is to teach your ‘players’, and to make sure you bring even small issues up (in a considerate & constructive way) to eliminate any problems while they’re still small. If you let small things slip by without a gentle nudge back in the right direction, thats when things can grow bigger.
    • Ask them if there’s anything that stopping them from being able to be effective?

        • Sometimes without knowing it, we could be stopping people from being effecting by either the way we speak, or by the amount of work we set for them if it’s not realistic, and so on. Asking the question can help ensure you’re not the one inhibiting someone from doing their best.

These are 5 things i’ve round to be really effective in determining whether you’ve got an A or B or C player on your hands. If you have gone through all of theses things, and you’ve really given it your all & provided all the tools they need to do a great job, then it might be the time to have a conversation about whether they’re really suited to the role they’re in, or the team they’re in.

Funnily enough, I’ve often found that in having that conversation, that person also has been having those same feelings. So you might just be doing both of you a favour & making you both happy. But have the conversation, and remember to look at yourself first to see if you’re being an effective leader, before exploring those other options!