3 things we learned from Coach Keith Madison on the Stay The Course Leadership Podcast
Episode 6: Coach Keith Madison - Unrecognizable Opportunities Part 1
Coach Keith Madison is a hall of fame baseball coach, having been inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association hall of fame as well as the University of Kentucky Athletics hall of fame after 25 years leading the baseball program at the University of Kentucky. In this part 1 conversation on the Stay The Course Leadership Podcast Coach Madison shares some incredible leadership wisdom. Here are three things we learned from Coach Madison in this part 1 conversation!
1.) The power of imagery and the ability to visualize success.
Coach Madison shared a story of his playing days as an athlete in rural Kentucky. A hard-throwing left handed pitcher, he often had trouble locating his pitches (as many young athletes do). His coach at the time shared with him a strategy for developing this component of his game. Coach Madison was instructed to go home and before falling asleep at night, he was to visualize throwing a perfect strike to hitters. It worked. Coach was able to change the way he competed, throwing more strikes which allowed him to succeed and advance in his playing career. Wherever you are in your leadership journey, the power of visualization is not just for athletes or novices. There is a powerful ingredient to leadership success and it is the power of belief. Leaders must tap into the mind-body connection to enhance their belief and confidence.
2.) The greatest gift you can give as a leader is to believe in your people
Coach Madison shared an incredible story about a coach transferring belief to his athletes. For coaches and leaders out there, the most powerful thing you can transfer to your people is belief. Do your people know that you believe in them, see potential in them and want the best for them or do they see you as a authoritarian who withholds compliments.
“There’s not a greater gift for an athlete than for someone to believe in them.” - Coach Keith Madison
3.) Opportunities are always unrecognizable in the moment
Coach Madison shares a story from the summer after his senior year of high school. Wanting to play in college, he asked his legion coach to reach out to some schools. The coaches from Murray State planned to come see him pitch at a big tournament on the second day of the event. On the first day of the event, his coaches asked him to begin to warm up and enter the game. This was an issue because his big event was supposed to be on day two in front of the coaches from Murray State. He went into the game on day one and was throwing really hard. Despite being upset, disappointed and frustrated with the situation, he was committed to his team. Coach pitched exceptionally well that night, and after the game was greeted by two professional baseball scouts who were in attendance. A few weeks later he signed to play professional baseball because of his outing in the presence of the professional scouts.
We don’t really know what is going on around us. We think we have a path and a direction, but our vantage points are so limited. We can’t see everything clearly. We don’t have the ability to recognize the big moments in our lives while they are happening. It’s only in hindsight that we can recognize how things are being ordered, and how our journey is being shaped. All we can do is compete in each moment and trust that our steps will be ordered!