The Peak Performance Expert

A good gauge of a team’s focused competence is the sounds emanating from our TV room.  If there are a lot of “aws” and “I can’t believe its!” it’s probably because our team (the Celtics) is missing shots that should not be missed.  

Ok, easy for us to say - we’re sitting there warm and cozy in our slippers, sipping wine as we watch the big guys sweat but - as a scholar and student of sports psychology and mental toughness, I  know a few things that give me permission to spout off now and then. 

Let’s just look at why someone misses a shot.  There are several possibilities including being bumped or pushed by another player, thus interfering with the player’s physical lay up.  But what about other reasons?  I would argue that every other reason has to do with focus. 

If a player is well focused he will only attempt a shot he knows he can make and everything will be properly aligned.  He won’t shoot out of desperation or because he’s overly eager or because he’s trying to prove something. Those thoughts, in a focused, mentally tough performer, will be either dismissed or absent. 

What I saw last night was some occasional sloppiness (albeit along with some superb playing, too) that contributed to the loss. There were many lost opportunities that were lost due to that distractibility factor. 

One of the tests of true mental toughness is the ability to manage distractions that interfere with focus.  A focused mind is a competent mind and a competent mind leads to competent playing. 

There are techniques to improve focus and I have addressed this in previous posts. 

We’ll see what my guys do tonight. 

As a Celtics fan, I’m relieved to see them sweep the Toronto Raptors after having lost their last 4 games.  As a peak performance psychologist, I am intrigued by the phenomenon of winning streaks and losing streaks.

What are the factors that contribute to a team (or a company or a person) winning time and time again?  And what are the factors that derail the winning streaks?

The answers (or at least some of them) are to be found in a book called Confidence by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.  (The subtitle is: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End.)

Kanter, a professor at the Harvard Business School, explores why organizations of all kinds, even when overflowing with talent, are not winners.  She also looks at winning sports teams and businesses to uncover the secrets of success.

Keeping the Celtics in mind, Kanter would say that winning is hard work. “Winners are bolstered by a large number of forces that keep them going strong.  But the ultimate responsibility for winning is carried by the individuals who must go out onto the field and play the game.  Confidence motivates performance but the people involved must still perform.  Confidence produces team work, but the team must still do the work.”

She goes on to say that “…success is a matter of showing up to do the work as a member of a team that can relax under pressure…because they are so well prepared.” (This comment confirms that the work I and other performance coaches do contributes to success since much of my work is in finding ways to help people attain a calm, focused confidence that can be sustained under pressure.)

So then why do winning streaks end?   Kanter reminds us that success is hard work; it is never easy or automatic and even some of the wins are close calls.  Plus the history of long-term winners, Kanter says, includes breaks in their winning streaks.  Kanter says that “A loss is a crossroads, not a cliff.”  This sounds remarkably similar to what Doc Rivers had been saying during the recent losing streak.

Kanter remarks that it is rarely external factors that disrupt winning streaks but more likely the players own failure to “…maintain the disciplines and support systems that helped them turn winning into a habit in the first place.”

Not only that, but winners, in becoming the team to beat, face opposing teams who are revved up in their determination to win. (Lakers, anyone?)

Yeah, I like this book.  I recommend it especially for anyone who might be leading a team or a company or who just enjoys a good read.

This video shows Ray Allen demonstrating how to work on a jump shot.  But, it’s much more than that!  Anyone who thinks Ray Allen is great because he’s gifted is only half right.  Sure - he’s talented but notice how he emphasizes the necessity of creating a routine and sticking to it day after day. 

This is true for success in sports and for success in life. Allen develops a drill that refines and builds a skill and he practices it several times a day, every day.  That’s how someone succeeds.