Weekend Quack Fix 1-26-2019: UGGGOOOOOOOOOO!!

Quack friends, I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible Weekend Quack Fix host the last couple of weeks. I’ve been busy.

I’m seeing a personal trainer, I’m doing yoga, I’m walking with my big blond Goldilocks dog and trying to get back some semblance of stamina after cancer treatment. It’s slow and frustrating! But every day is a bit better so I’m trying to keep up with the usual activities, including the Weekend Quack Fix, even if it’s a quick one.

Ugochukwa Amadi is the MAN! So happy to see him get this recognition, he has been a pillar of stability and leadership for the Ducks during the last 3 years of turmoil.

Ugh, Men’s basketball.

YAY! Women’s basketball!!

Ugh. Softball (Canzano warning, but he’s half right)

About softball. I see plenty of people saying “Give Lombardi a chance”, but here’s the the thing - she’s been given a chance and she’s fumbling her first head coaching job badly. Softball coach is a paid position. It is a career. In my career, if I was hired by a company to take a very talented and high performing workforce to the next level and soon after starting, all of my most important Talent - including my best salespeople, software engineers and leaders - left the organization because they hated me and my leadership style, I would have FAILED. My Board of Directors would be losing their shit and I’d be out the door. Why is this professional position any different?

Good leadership means adjusting your style, and understanding how to get the very best out of your individual contributors and the overall team as a whole. It does NOT mean “My way or the highway”. Sure, a good leader can set a framework for appropriate and positive behavior, but a good leader also inspires others to see and work toward a common vision and goal. In this case, she had a no-brainer vision delivered to her on a silver platter on Day One of her new job: “Let’s go win an NCAA Championship! We can make this happen together!!”

Lombardi can begin to instill a culture and recruit all new players of the type she favors going forward while still making adjustments to her leadership style to keep the highest performing current team members motivated. In a couple of years, she’ll be surrounded by all of her own players. NINE players don’t leave the program because they are feeling pouty about their old coach. This is unequivically a FAIL on Lombardi’s part.

Thank you, I shall take my soapbox with me as I leave. Happy weekend all!