Fundamental job skills are important for everyone’s career success.
So, why do so many of us struggle to focus on the basics and execute them with excellence and consistency?
In my last post, 3 Reasons We All Struggle With Fundamental Career Skills, we looked at three common barriers using lessons from basketball. In this post, we will turn to some of the legends of the game for their wisdom to overcome three more challenges.
It’s not easy to continually improve our fundamental job skills. So, let’s learn from trusted experts who have trained and inspired leaders on and off the court to master the basics and succeed.
The struggle is real
Mastering the fundamentals for any job is not easy.
If anyone disagrees, they likely don’t have high standards for executing the basics. Or, maybe they don’t understand what their fundamental job skills are.
This actually proves the point that executing the basics of a job can be a struggle.
It’s hard to improve on a skill if you don’t know about it. It’s equally difficult to get better at something if you’re not willing to admit it’s important.
Fundamental job skills can sometimes be hard to spot even when they’re right in front of us.
Struggle 1 – We don’t recognize them
It’s easy for me to make things harder than they need to be. Maybe you’re the same way.
Many of us invest precious time searching for secrets to success. Only later do we realize that success comes through doing things that aren’t secret at all.
We tend to ignore what most of us have been taught all our lives.
Success comes through executing the fundamentals with excellence consistently over time.
I can’t write a blog post about basketball and fundamentals without including the wisdom of John Wooden.
Wooden won ten national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. He has influenced generation after generation of basketball and business leaders through his teaching.
Wooden’s Pyramid of Success captures what he considered the fundamental skills for his basketball players to be successful.
Take a moment to read through some of the building blocks of Wooden’s pyramid. Sincerity. Friendship. Patience. Poise.
Would you typically think of these as the skills required to win basketball championships?
John Wooden did.
Would you consider these to be fundamental job skills any person seeking career success should master?
John Wooden did.
Wooden didn’t just train basketball players. He also taught leaders in businesses and organizations of all types.
He continually highlighted the components of the Pyramid of Success as critical to success in every career. And, more importantly, in every aspect of life.
So, don’t be distracted looking for secrets to success. Identify the fundamentals that will lead you to success in your career and life. Then, do them with excellence.
Get good, very good, at these fundamental job skills. The basics.
But there’s a problem with the basics.
Basics can be boring.
Struggle 2 – We get bored with the basics
Why do we get bored with our fundamentals job skills? The basics?
Because, they can be boring.
They aren’t flashy. Or fun.
Fundamental job skills are repetitive. We do them over and over, day after day.
We do them all the time in our job. So why would we want to spend more time practicing them?
Enough already of the boring basics. Who cares about the monotonous fundamentals job skills?
Basketball basics can be boring
Like a grade school basketball player on the playground, we don’t want to do dribbling or passing drills. We want to practice the fun stuff.
Like throwing up shots from half court. Because someday we just might have the opportunity to heave the game winner as the clock expires. And, we all know that chance only comes a few times in any basketball player’s career. So, we need to be ready to be the hero.
More likely, though, an opportunity like that never comes.
But, what does come in every game?
The chance to dribble the ball or make a pass or get a rebound.
The opportunities to do the boring things are abundant for every player on the court. Multiple times in every game, players can apply their skills in the boring basics.
Career basics can be boring too
The same is true for us in our jobs.
How many times each day do you communicate with someone? How often do you plan and organize activities, either your own or a team’s? I suspect you do these things about as many times as basketball players dribble the ball.
So, we need to be committed to not getting bored with the basics.
We need to recognize the value of practicing our fundamental job skills, whatever those may be, and improving each day.
Would you be motivated to know the value one of the best basketball players to have ever played the game placed on the basics?
This video provides a behind-the-scenes view into Kobe Bryant’s mindset and attitude toward practicing his fundamental job skills.
The greatest don’t get bored with the basics
It’s a fact that practicing fundamental job skills can be mundane. Basics can truly be boring.
But, we must have the self-discipline to do difficult things, like practicing the basics, to continually improve.
And, that brings us to the third reason we struggle with fundamental job skills.
Struggle 3 – Self-discipline is hard
Self-discipline is, in itself, a fundamental job skill. And, it’s a basic skill that doesn’t come naturally.
Self-discipline is hard.
Julie Fournier, author of the book, The Art of Embracing Adversity: A guide to living a meaningful life in the midst of losses, setbacks, and uncertainty writes about self-discipline in her blog.
In the post, Choosing Discipline, Fournier writes this.
Every day you are faced with a series of choices: you can either choose to be disciplined or choose the easy way. If you want to win, discipline is always the right answer.
Julie Fournier
Citing examples from legendary University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach, Pat Summitt, Fournier outlines the incredible commitment champion-level athletes must have to be successful. To win.
She describes how players on winning teams, choose discipline over laziness. They practice self-discipline and, as result, become more disciplined.
Like any skill, we can improve in our ability to execute self-discipline.
A double bonus
Think about that for a moment.
Self-discipline is a fundamental job skill. We get better at it through practice. And, we can practice self-discipline by practicing our other fundamental career skills. It’s a double bonus (pun intended for you basketball fans).
Here’s an example.
Communicating well is a fundamental job skill.
To get better at this basic skill we must discipline ourselves to practice communicating more effectively. By doing this, we not only become better communicators. We also become more disciplined.
And, this allows us to perform at a higher lever in every other area of our work.
Is practicing a fundamental skill always enjoyable? No.
In fact, self-discipline is rarely fun. But, the rewards are immense.
So, I encourage you to apply the lessons of basketball from the wisdom of these two women.
Commit to disciplining yourself to master your fundamental job skills and you will reap the benefits.
Two fundamental truths
When it comes to fundamentals on the basketball court or in a career, these are two statements I believe are always true.
Here’s my reasoning.
You can never be too good at fundamental job skills
This is a phrase you will never hear, “You’re too good at the fundamentals.”
Have you ever heard anyone say that?
Of course not.
Think about the last basketball game you watched.
True in basketball
I like basketball. I played it decades ago and watch quite a few games.
Here are some things I’ve never heard any coach or commentator say.
“Steph would get a lot more playing time if he didn’t handle the ball so well. He needs to increase his turnovers for us.”
“Julie had a pretty good night tonight, but she needs to back off on defense. She’s hustling way too much.”
“Keegan’s season is impressive so far, but he needs to miss a few more shots.”
Statements like these are ridiculous.
If you know anything about basketball, you know every coach wants players who are exceptional in the fundamentals.
Good coaches teach young boys and girls the basics of the game. Young men and women are recruited when they do the little things well. Professional basketball players make serious money when they are foundationally excellent.
At all levels of basketball the fundamentals are critical to success.
A basketball player can never be too good at the basic skills required to play the game well.
The same is true in your career.
True in business
Your career most likely doesn’t include announcers broadcasting to the world their commentary on your performance. (Mine doesn’t and I am so thankful for that by the way.) But, you likely get feedback from your manager and your peers.
Has anyone ever told you this?
“Raymond, you communicated much too clearly and concisely on that customer call.”
“Your team is motivated, enthused, and delivering amazing results. You’ve clearly spent too much time working on your leadership skills, Jenell.”
“You make my job easier with every email I receive from you, Julio. That really frustrates me.”
Of course, no one has ever told you, or me, anything like this.
Just like in basketball, the fundamentals are critical to success in every job.
A team member in any organization can never be too good at the basic skills required to do their job well.
But, is that statement really true?
Does it apply to every team member? Even those who have established their position and reputation in the company?
Let’s return to the common theme in this post.
What is true in basketball is true in business.
You will never outgrow the need to execute the fundamentals well
Basketball teams, businesses, and all organizations come in many different sizes and have team members at various levels.
It is important that every team member at every level execute the fundamentals with excellence.
But somehow we fail to remember this as we progress.
This could actually be a fourth reason everyone struggles with fundamental job skills.
We think we outgrow our need to execute the fundamentals well.
And, that just isn’t true. It isn’t true in basketball or in our careers.
Basketball basics are important at all levels
Basketball players vary in age and skill level. The game is played by little kids and full grown adults with people of all ages in between enjoying the sport.
Basketball players on YMCA courts, high school gyms, college arenas, and professional stadiums all need to be masters of the fundamentals of their game if they want to be successful.
But, in my experience, many basketball players think they’ve moved beyond the need to practice the fundamentals.
This attitude is represented by a phrase that I expect every youth basketball coach has heard.
Come on, Coach. Do we have to do this drill again? When can we scrimmage?
Every youth basketball player everywhere
In other words, the players believe they have mastered the fundamentals and they are ready to just play.
The great players, however, understand they will never reach a level that allows them to quit working on the fundamentals.
If you skipped over the Kobe Bryant video above, scroll up and watch it.
The man who was, at the time considered by many to be the best basketball player in the world described his need to get even better at the basics of the game.
Kobe did not think he could coast and only focus on the flashy skills. Sure, he was flashy and his highlight videos document his ability to wow his fans. But, he did these things while still executing the fundamentals with excellence.
He knew that even Kobe Bryant had to be exceptional in the basics.
Fundamental job skills are important at all levels
In your career you may be at the early stages, a kid holding a basketball on the hardwood for the first time. Or you may be the Kobe Bryant of your organization. At the pinnacle of your career with everyone watching with amazement as you perform your duties.
Either way, your success depends on how well you execute your fundamental job skills.
A poorly communicated message from the CEO can have devastating effects on a corporation. An unplanned, unorganized meeting led by an Executive Director can waste hours of a team’s precious time. A sloppy email can have a similar effect.
The same is true for work done by a team member who just joined the organization right out of high school, trade school, or college. Of course, the level of impact typically increases with the amount of authority and influence associated with a person’s position.
But, the work every member of an organization does has an impact. And that impact can be positive or negative.
This is why it is critical that every person at every level understands the importance of executing their fundamental job skills with excellence.
An employee will never reach a level that allows them to dismiss the responsibility of executing the basics captured in John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.
More wisdom from John Wooden
If you’ve read this far, you realize I am a John Wooden fan. I appreciate his wisdom and approach to life.
I don’t make my living coaching basketball, but his teachings help me personally in my career and in my life in general. And, I believe they will help you too. Regardless of your calling in life.
This quote from Coach Wooden, summarizes this post and my previous post, “3 Reasons We All Struggle With Fundamental Career Skills“, very well.
“I believe in the basics: attention to, and perfection of, tiny details that might be commonly overlooked. They may seem trivial, perhaps even laughable to those who don’t understand, but they aren’t. They are fundamental to your progress in basketball, business, and life. They are the difference between champions and near champions.
John Wooden, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
Let’s be different
It is my hope that through my blog, you will be encouraged and equipped to recognize and perform the fundamentals with excellence.
I don’t want you to be one of those who, as John Wooden stated, “don’t understand” the importance of the basics.
My goal is to help you realize the basics are not “trivial” and certainly not “laughable”.
Fundamental job skills are critical to your success in your career. Execution of the fundamental job skills is of utmost importance to be a successful leader who leads with kindness and confidence.
Not every leader will do what I hope you (and I) will do. Many will ignore the basics.
Let’s be different. Better.
May we together apply the wisdom of these basketball legends in everything we do as we serve our teams throughout our careers.
Let’s lead with kindness and confidence.
Greg
Discussion Questions
- What lessons from sports do you find helpful in your career?
- Which coaches or athletes do you admire and learn from?
I’ve written about basketball, but all sports hold business and life lessons. I’m curious to learn which sports have influenced your approach to leadership. Please share your input and answers to the discussion questions in the comments section.
Greg…as I read through your “ridiculous” examples, l had to laugh. You nailed it. But a thought came to me…whether sports, business or leadership, when thighs don’t go the way you plan, the best course of action is to get back to basics, to what we’re called in my playing time, your bread and butter. That’s how to get back on the successful path.
Great advice, Marlon.
It’s amazing how quickly we can get distracted from doing the fundamentals. Sadly, it’s only when things do start going poorly that we take time to do return to what we know we need to be doing.
As I said in the post, the basics can be boring and it’s easy to drift away from them.