The best tournament of my season was the one my head coach missed.
I played volleyball as a teenager. We had two coaches.
The head coach was technically brilliant. His teaching ability and volleyball IQ were off the charts. But when things went wrong, he went silent and steely. We felt it.
The assistant coach wasn't the technical expert. But he was on the sideline for every point. "Great hit." "Brush it off." "You good, bro?"
Then the head coach missed a tournament. With only the assistant, we played our best volleyball all year.
Years later, now managing direct and dotted-line reports, I understand what happened: the head coach built the skill. That weekend, the assistant unlocked it. We weren't better. We were braver. Someone believed in us, so we took bigger swings and played freely.
Good managers execute. Great managers believe, trust, and inspire.
Execution is the floor. Technical, clear, organized—that earns attention, not effort. People take bigger swings when they know you'll catch them. A team that only hears correction plays safe. Safe loses tournaments—and business outcomes.
Belief isn’t blind. Trust but verify (what up, Ronald Reagan lol). I trust first, then look for evidence. When someone consistently misses commitments, I reset scope and expectations without withdrawing respect or writing off their ceiling.
Here's my agreement as a manager:
unblock you, give you context and honest timelines, recognize good work, give direct feedback, check in when something seems off, and help grow your career.
deliver, collaborate with our team and partners, and communicate early when commitments are at risk.
Hold both halves and trust compounds. Scope grows. Outcomes follow.
For managers: When did you last tell someone they did a good job—in words, out loud, and in the way they prefer to receive it?
For ICs: find the person who believes in you. Notice who doesn't.
You owe your team belief. They owe you delivery. Neither is a favor.
Your turn: Which coach brings out your best: the one who fixes your swing, or the one who makes you swing? Tell me on LinkedIn (link below).
Behind the post
This one sits right next to Manager Tales #1 on purpose. That post argued that nice without backbone fails teams. This one is not "be nice." The assistant coach's edge was belief, and belief only lands from someone who's earned the right to say it. Execution is still the floor.
On the agreement: writing down my half first changed how I manage. It makes the deal explicit, and it gives my reports something to hold me to. When I miss my half, they can say so, and they do.
On recognition, the line I'd underline is "in the way they prefer to receive it." Some people light up with a public shout-out in the team channel. Others would much rather get a two-line private note, or a mention to their skip-level. Ask. Recognition that embarrasses someone doesn't build trust.
It's also the first post in my Sports = Corporate series: lessons from sports, applied to work.