Greg McMullen

So I’m sitting on the bus on our way to Lawrence Central (and due to certain recent events the coaching staff has to stagger seating). I’m in the back of the bus with all of the “close” guy swimmers you can really sense the camaraderie between the team.

At the same time you can also feel the sense of disconnect between swimmers of different backgrounds. Both of our team captains are sitting in the back minding themselves while the younger and less experienced swimmers sit quietly on their own.

Hopefully by the end of the season we can have a connection between all of the swimmers especially between the guys and girls. At the girls only meet all of the girls were laughing and having a good time. Today we have limited interaction mainly because the two teams can inter mix and you can tell that the cliques all bond together instead of forming one team.

What’s the best way to promote team growth? Is it better to support individual team growth before allowing the teams to intermingle? As always comments and suggestions are helpful.

As a coach, I’m starting to find myself in some tough spots. Last week we had a few guys that were having a rough time even making it through pushing off of a wall without stopping immediately. This combined with the fact that we have a 6-lane pool with over 30 swimmers meant that we unfortunately had to make some cuts.

Now for a business example. We (at @UniqueHomeSol) recently setup a marketing group to head up our online, TV and print campaigns. After about a week I was approached and told that if I didn’t “provide direction to the group” I would be done. Fortunately I was able to warm up to the idea of pushing ideas out into the room and developed the capacity to accept praise and criticism.

It seems like everyday we find ourselves in situations were we have to make cuts and sacrifices for the greater good of our company and teams. My question to you is how long does it take? Does everyone get the same chance, or do certain people get special treatment because of a relationship that they have with the owner or coach?

Ultimately, when is it appropriate to tell someone that feel like ‘they’ are no longer an asset to your team? I’m thoroughly interested in your thoughts so please share them.

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Decided to go to the Northwest Park Annex and take some pictures. Let me know what you think!

Untraveled Path

This morning I decided to utilize some tools to figure out how I was doing from a Social Media perspective only to realize that I had (seemingly) lost 96 followers. Now I know that people on social media want to “read good shit”, which is why I was trying to “share good shit.” However, today just proved that I was failing at a few different aspects of what social media is.

Instead of actually sharing something that people see as worthwhile I was (again, seemingly) boring the hell out of people, wasn’t engaging, nor was I engaging in very many conversations.

Now I want you all that may read this know that I want to improve in social media and want to work with you, learn from you and help add better posts to the Twitter, Facebook and blogging world. So with that here is my call out for help.

Recently, over lunch, Greg asked if I would guest post about separating work and Life. As I considered what I would like to share, I realized how many different approaches were available on this subject. Do I talk of social media and how difficult it is to separate work from social media 24/7? How about strategies to balance your life? How to make work fun or eliminate stress? I could talk about balancing work, family, spiritual, and personal time. Should I explore employee and employer responsibilities?

I once took a position working fewer hours and making less income. I did this to put my life in balance. But there was a larger consideration. Although I believed in the ethics, mission, and vision of the organization, I was no longer passionate about my responsibilities within the organization. It was a disservice to the company and myself to stay. It was not my happy place. Should we expect work to make us happy? Can we make work a happy place?

During the industrial revolution when it was not uncommon to work sun up to sun down, 6-7 days a week, in poor, unsafe, and unhealthy working conditions, it was thought by many thinkers of the day that “free” time would make people happier. This is not always the case.

In our society it is a commonly held belief that money makes us happy. Yes, I know we give lip service to the ideal that money can’t bring happiness, but lets look at actions not words. Would you consider a significant cut in pay to be happy? Could you afford to?

So what does make us happy? Passion. Believing in what we are doing, in and out of work. Being part of a team. Having others we can talk to and count on. Knowing “this” (whatever this is) is important. How is this accomplished?

Make your passion your work….

What do you love? How can you be paid to do what you love? Who is paid to do what you love? Brad Stevens, the Butler basketball coach, left a lucrative position with Eli Lilly’s to be coordinator of basketball operations; I believe this was an unpaid position. You may have to start small, part time, on the side, or for less money.

…or be passionate about your work

• Do your best at whatever you do, earn that wonderful feeling of accomplishment
• Act with passion, spread positive energy
• Bring or support innovation, creativity, and originally to projects
• Refresh – take breaks, gear back up
• Learn something new – take a class, study on line or go to a seminar.
• Engage others – be an advocate
• Understand the vision, mission, and direction of the organization
• Speak your mind, politely, but with passion and truth.

This post is probably not what Greg had in mind. It really is not about how to separate work from life. It is how to be happier by making work a fulfilling, happy part of your life, not just a paycheck. Are you happy at work, why or why not?

First Image: graur codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net