⏳ Read Time: 3.5 min, 800 words

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And not only is it out, but in its first week, our book hit #1 on Top New Releases in the Sports Category! We’ve heard from many coaches who have read it, love it, and are beginning to take their staff through it.

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We need to take a second to honor the career of one of the best to ever do it, the one and only Joe Castiglione. Joe’s final day of his illustrious career was Saturday. Some of you may know that Joe was one of the first ADs to believe in the work we do and partnered with us for a number of years. While we were there to serve Joe, his executive staff, the entire Oklahoma athletic department and many of their sports teams, he made us better as well. From hiring, building culture, living values, casting vision, moving conferences, and navigating college athletics during the most chaotic period in history, we got an inside look - and a leadership masterclass - at a true legend in the sports industry. It had a significant impact on us and the work we do. It’s safe to say we wouldn’t be here without Joe’s belief in and support of us. Cheers to an elite career and a legacy that is worth following. 🫡

One of the hardest parts of coaching is this:

Growth and results don’t move at the same speed.

You can:

…and still lose on Friday.

This is hard for coaches to grapple with.

The scoreboard is immediate results. And coaches have been trained to base their program and team’s growth based on the scoreboard.

But evidence of growth is delayed.

And when results lag behind progress, it’s easy to assume something is wrong. But leadership improvement often shows up in subtle ways long before it shows up in wins.

If you know what to look for, you won’t abandon the process too early.

Organizational psychologist Teresa Amabile’s research on the Progress Principle shows that small, meaningful improvements, even minor ones, are the strongest drivers of motivation and long-term performance.

In sport psychology, research on deliberate practice (Anders Ericsson) and skill acquisition consistently shows that performance gains often trail behind behavioral improvements. The habits change first. The outcomes follow.

In other words:

The work compounds quietly before it becomes visible.

Which means if you only measure growth by the scoreboard, you’ll miss most of it.

1. You react more intentionally.

You still feel frustration. You still care deeply. But you pause more.

There’s a beat between stimulus and response that didn’t used to be there.

That is a specific example in self-leadership. But often, those are the signs of growth. They’re subtle, hard to measure, and often go unnoticed by other people.

And often, they can go unnoticed by the leaders themselves unless they intentionally reflect.

2. Your standards are clearer.

There are two clear ways we’ve observed this in a coach’s leadership.

First, they’re explaining less and repeating themselves less. Expectations are simpler and more consistent. Clarity is a precursor to buy-in.

Second, their opponents are saying their culture in the post-game interview. This means there’s a clear identity in how they want to play, and whether it’s leading to wins yet, it’s showing up enough on the court/field for opponents to recognize it.

3. Your assistants know what matters.

They can predict your priorities and execute on stuff before you ask.
They can communicate in your language.
They aren’t guessing how you’ll respond.

Alignment at the staff level almost always precedes alignment on the field.

4. Conflict feels cleaner.

Difficult conversations still happen. It’s part of leadership. But they’re more direct, they’re clear, and they’re solutions-oriented.

Coaches aren’t complaining about this or that. They move faster from recognizing an issue to solving it.

Healthy tension is a sign of a maturing culture.

5. You don’t lose perspective with losses.

This is not a sign that you care less. Because you understand more. You’re able to put things in perspective and take a long-term view of where you’re growing.

You don’t spiral as long. You don’t overcorrect as dramatically.

You return to the process faster.

The speed of emotional recovery is a powerful indicator of growth.

If you’re waiting for a championship to confirm your leadership growth, you’re going to live on a roller coaster.

But if you learn to recognize these smaller indicators, you’ll stay steady long enough for the results to catch up.

The best coaches we know don’t just measure performance.

They measure composure. They measure clarity. They measure alignment. First in themselves, then in their staff, then in their team.

Because they understand something simple:

Scoreboards are loud.
Growth is quiet.

If last week made you reflect, this week is meant to steady you.

Leadership improvement rarely announces itself. It accumulates.

If you see even one of these signs in yourself, keep going.

The results might be delayed.
But that doesn’t mean you’re not doing good work.

Keep going.

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