Making the Substitution: A Sports Analogy for Managers of Workplace Teams

By Elaine Seat, Ph.D.

I can get on my soapbox when people imply that workplace teams are like sports teams. Until the day when program managers have tryouts and post outside their office door who made the team; choose who actually plays and who sits the bench; and can put non-performers on the bench, either due to having a bad day or not having the skills it takes – it's just not the same thing. AND, what workplace task has a clearly defined set of skills, rules of the game, and scheduled opponents as do sporting events? It's just not the same thing.


That said (and quite emphatically I might add), managers of persons who are working on teams can benefit from using an athletic coach model when assigning their employees to teams and enforcing performance.


Making a Substitution


Just like athletic performers, workplace performers can be in a slump, not have the skill set for a particular problem (opponent), or just not be good enough with the required skill set to get off the bench. In the work world, disciplinary action can result when team members don't meet schedules, do not provide quality work, or are not able to effectively work with other team members. It is the manager of these folks, just like the coach, who has to step up and provide discipline, change out team members, and get the right resource with the right attitude on the project.


A good way to think about this role is to consider an athletic coach. When players aren't performing or meeting team rules, the coach can pull them from the line-up or even remove them from the team. Coaches have the obligation to do whatever is necessary with their players in order to win.  Just like a sports team captain, team leaders and program/project managers don't have the authority to pull team members or get a replacement. That action takes the authority of a manager.


When managers avoid conflict, the focus often is on working out the issue with a poor performing team member instead of making a substitution. The focus is on the poor performer instead of all of the team members who are doing their part. Is it really OK for those who are doing their part to be forced to tolerate and get their work accomplished in spite of a non-performer? If it was a sporting event, the poor performer would be replaced if there was another person on the bench who could do a better job.


In the athletic model, non-performers get a substitution because the coach recognizes that everyone loses when one person doesn't pull his or her load. However, in the work world, many managers are reluctant to pull the non-performer to get someone who can do the job.


Practice for Improvement


There's another part of the athletic model that unfortunately doesn't get modeled in the work world. It has to do with practice for improvement.


In athletics, non-performers are coached during subsequent practice sessions to improve the problem area. Athletes in a slump are given time and practice to return them to solid performers. Often in the work world, once things escalate to the point of pulling someone from the team, the non-performer is sidelined permanently with the permanent stigma of not doing good work.


Here are a few tips to help you coach the squad to success:

• Choose the player with the right skills for the task/opponent
• Choose players who are excited to be in the game
• At game time, focus on helping the team reach its goals
• Substitute when necessary to win the event
• Fix a trouble spot during practice, not during the game
• Don't make the whole team suffer because of one weak player

Good coaches fix a player's skill and focus problems, but don't do it during the game; that happens in practice and in events where the outcome doesn't affect the team's season record. Great managers help their teams meet budget and schedule along with preparing them for the next challenge. Great managers take poor performers aside and handle them in a way that lets the team focus on success and being extraordinary.


Elaine Seat is lead faculty member for Leading the Three PROs: PROjects, PROgrams and PROfessionals. The first offering of this new program is November 1-3, 2011. Click here for more information or to register.


The course will help you identify ways to manage for success, understand change and establish expectations, develop relationships and reach agreements that work, motivate individuals to move in the same direction, identify key levers for leading and inspiring people, and empower teams and implement change.