Lessons from the Terrell Owens Saga

Pro Football's Prima Donna has hijacked our attention. What can we learn?

Anyone passively exposed to sports news has heard the saga of Terrell Owens (a.k.a. "T.O."), the physically skilled Philadelphia Eagles receiver whose selfish behavior got him kicked off one of last year's Super Bowl teams. What can we learn?

We find the Eagles' approach to human capital is similar to their non-sports counterparts. They hire for skills and knowledge, then fire and promote on the basis of attitudes and habits.

I am grateful to "T.O." (I'm sure he'd call me "T.L.") for providing another opportunity to share and explore the concepts of the KASH Box and the execution gap. Perhaps you can discover some opportunities for improvement in this insightful graphic.

Your Execution Box

Knowing Side

Most organizations spend their time and money for recruiting and developing the left half of the Execution Box.

S

Skills

A

Attitudes

Doing Side

Most shortfalls, failures and terminations result from deficiencies in the right half of the Execution Box.

K

Knowledge

H

Habits

In sports, superior talent can be overcome by the elements on the right side of the cash box. Sports handicappers call them intangibles. Are they any less meaningful in your endeavors? Consider the typical shortfalls:

remakes/re-dos
Late deliveries
lost customers and opportunities

delayed execution
slow innovation
terminations of poor performers

Can these be attributed more to lack of knowledge or lack of execution? Are knowledge and skills of your workforce critical elements to success? Of course! But, how can you address those intangibles that can provide the difference between winning and losing? What are we doing to address the real cause of the typical shortfalls that hinder profitability?

There some remedies:

Pre-Employment Assessments that are proven to predict attitudes and behaviors as they apply to the requirements of a specific position.
Ongoing Leadership Development: Inside-out processes for developing skills, purpose and personal / professional goal alignment.

A Lost Cause?

In the case of "T.O.", his behavioral assessments have been publicized to the extent that his employability and earning power will never be the same. And while positive changes in attitudes and habitual behaviors are possible for most, what's a football coach to do with a selfish millionaire who has no value for team achievement that doesn't include "T.O." in the spotlight? Like any smart coach, Andy Reid punted. Perhaps T.O. will find another team willing to gamble that skills will overcome behaviors. Savvy handicappers don't discount intangibles as frequently as employers.

For those of you managing people who are not overpaid millionaires and who are capable of discovering the connection between personal and organizational achievement, there are some proven opportunities to both predict and elevate performance.

Have you been ignoring the right side of your Execution Box?

If so, how wide is your execution gap? How is it affecting your bottom line?

As always, you are encouraged to email your questions, comments or feedback

Tom Lemanski of Vista Development serves as an executive coach and performance facilitator for the strategic development of SMARTer executives, managers and sales professionals.

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