MFC Mission Statement???

[Fanatique Demon 2,645]

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite.

In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking.

Here's how I do it in my global consultancy....

I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning.

After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge.

Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus.

Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

 

[Demonsone 2,037]

Ask & shall receive .... 

Emailed the club & I applaud them as they responded.

[ding 5,126]

3 hours ago, Fanatique Demon said:

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite.

In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking.

Here's how I do it in my global consultancy....

I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning.

After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge.

Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus.

Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

 

This is precisely the kind of word salad i was talking about.

Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by.

No, this is what MANAGEMENT tells you they will live by... most employees wont ever learn the Mission statement, nor will they care.... Some will have a quick read, especially when bosses force them to... After all i assume its a significant financial investment to come up with these words, and the boss will want his people to know what they are.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours

No sane, rational individual lives by a mission statement generated by their boss and his committee. they will live by their own personal values. If you meant to say that the business will "work" to these values you might have been closer to the mark. The "WE" is only the group who came up with the words, and their middle management. The line workers wont give a rats what you say they should stand for. Values are feelings, and as such they cant be imposed on someone against their will.

Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

And here is the nub. People, when threatened with punishment will practically always say whatever the boss wants to hear in order to keep it. This threat is usually handed out most eagerly by the same [censored]-kissing middle managers who are trying to climb the ladder over whatever metaphorical corpse they need to walk on. You can change a behaviour with threats, but you cant change what a person thinks. 

What percentage of existing staff can recite their employers mission statement? If it was more than single digits in a large company, i would be staggered. 

Now i get that you will defend your own profession. I would expect nothing less, and im sure you earn a nice quid from it. I just dont agree that an individual wants or needs to be told what their "Mission" is. They mostly just want to put food on the table and get the kids through school.

Mostly, they are paragraphs hung up on the wall near the entrance, which people will only read when they are waiting for something else.

I dont mean this a personal attack, as you may be the nicest person in the world, but i have strong views of my own on what the ultimate value of a forced "Mission" has. I also dont believe any organization needs one to be a success.

Regards.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by ding

[binman 42,941]

12 hours ago, Fanatique Demon said:

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite.

In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking.

Here's how I do it in my global consultancy....

I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning.

After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge.

Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus.

Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

 

Terrific, fascinating post. One of the reasons I like dl is the diversity of poring topics and perspectives.

Your use of language is instructive. Obviously you are are external to the orgs you support, but your language is inclusive and internal e.g. we, our etc.

I love the idea of using creativity as a tool to help develop mission and direction. I  work in the community sector and i feel our sector is often more risk averse and therefore  less likely than the corporate sector  to utilise left field ideas. The profit motive helps no doubt as as you say top orgs do what works

[sue 9,105]

12 hours ago, Fanatique Demon said:

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite.

In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking.

Here's how I do it in my global consultancy....

I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning.

After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge.

Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus.

Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

 

Put me down as a skeptic.  Please explain why there is any difference in the mission statements of say, all insurance companies. Or indeed all footy teams.  Surely they should all be pretty identical within each industry.  And if so, what is their worth?

[monoccular 17,428]

I agree with those who are saying a mission statement is just corporate waffle.  An organisation has to have one these days but does it seriously change anything?

Were I asked to make a mission statement for MFC it would be bloody short - winning matches and winning premierships.   

[monoccular 17,428]

22 hours ago, Fanatique Demon said:

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite.

In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking.

Here's how I do it in my global consultancy....

I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning.

After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge.

Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus.

Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

 

FD

Thanks for that and I do respect your commitment and what you try to and seem to achieve, but there does seem to be a lot of "corporate jargon" (for want of a better term) there.

How would this translate to a footy club where players (are they key stakeholders, or are we, the longstanding and long suffering supporters?) most of whom are pretty transient in the scheme of things and who may spend only one or just a few years at the club are required to buy in to the brand positioning and cultures, and live by the values?

Are the players part of the working party?   The coaching team?  The recruiters? The bootstudder and the doorman?

 

[Fanatique Demon 2,645]

Thank you for the above comments. I have worked in places where no one knew anything about Missions, Positioning, Values and Behaviours, even though they existed. Those were awful places to work and whatever success they enjoyed could have been far greater if they'd pulled together to a set of principles. Maybe the skeptics here worked in similar places, in which case I both empathise and sympathise. But is that to say this stuff is all nonsense? No, it means it wasn't properly practised.

I've also worked in places that were hotbeds of creativity, exciting and successful, where we all knew the direction and what was expected of us. In these places it WAS properly practised.

I don't have time to go into details on all of your comments, but I don't recall having said that this be should generated by bosses or that people won't even know what it's about. I mentioned a working party. That's because you cannot include everyone in the process. I haven't done this for a football club, but I'd expect the working party would be drawn from directors, coaches and the players(e.g., the player leadership group). Maybe there'd be a spot for someone to represent members, although I don't think that's necessary. If the working party with the help of an expert outside facilitator spent some days together thinking about this, don't you think they'd come to the right conclusions? Or do you think we are more likely to know than them? Or that they have destructive motives?

Now, what organisation can perform to an elite level if there are key members with their own agendas? You need to set the agenda and live by it -- club wide. Just as we expect every team member to play to the coach's game plan. (Ok, you might not like our club's current game plan, but that's not the point. Imagine a team playing without a game plan at all or with individual players playing to their own game plan.)

Is it simply about winning matches and winning premierships? Yes.

And no.

It's about figuring out HOW to win matches and win premierships. And that requires certain behaviours.

I'm not saying that if you get this right, premierships automatically follow. But I do believe that without it, or with a bad set of principles, or if everyone doesn't buy into them, success is impossible.

Didn't this thread start with something about Hawthorn? Like them or not, they're doing virtually everything                                                                                                  better than we are.

 

[Queanbeyan Demon 6,843]

Just get all involved to watch a jordon peterson video. Done.

[Queanbeyan Demon 6,843]

On 8/27/2019 at 8:32 PM, Fanatique Demon said:

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite.

In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking.

Here's how I do it in my global consultancy....

I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning.

After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge.

Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus.

Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them.

From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance.  A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone.

I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

 

Woo hoo . . . buzzword bingo!

[Fanatique Demon 2,645]

18 minutes ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

Woo hoo . . . buzzword bingo!

You're as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. Cheers.

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

Fanatique, what you're saying rings true. And only possible because of buy-in from all parties who then live out the agreed behaviours. Harvard Business Review contains many articles over the years about genuine positive cultural change because of buy-in from staff.

But most "mission statements" are a hollow mockery of the behaviour you are describing. I have worked at places, and been to many more, where the "mission statement" is literally a buzzword bingo brass plaque on the wall that is a curio paid no attention to by anyone, including the "bosses", and not executed in mind or deed. Because the "bosses" thought a "mission statement" would be cool thing to do (more or less to keep up with the Joneses) and paid it little more thought than to engage consultants to dream up some fancy wording. For those businesses, a poster on the wall of dogs playing poker would be an equally meaningful statement of corporate values, and would cost less.

I would suggest this -- hollow mission statements -- is a common experience in Oz, and hence the widespread scepticism of mission statements, which I share. (Good corporate values are lived and do not require a plaque on a wall or buzzword bingo.)

[Smokey 4,389]

Right, so a bunch of generic buzzwords on paper will solve all our problems?

Yawn. 

[Engorged Onion 10,215]

47 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Right, so a bunch of generic buzzwords on paper will solve all our problems?

Yawn. 

Come on @Smokey, the camembert munching, calvodos drinkng, pmu lurking francophile, explained pretty clearly beyond corporate speak why this stuff works... I could give you my take on exactly the same stuff as to why it works, using different language from 2 of my professions (one being a railway labourer) throughout my life, if that helped convince you.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Engorged Onion

[Smokey 4,389]

35 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

Come on @Smokey, the camembert munching, calvodos drinkng, pmu lurking francophile, explained pretty clearly beyond corporate speak why this stuff works... I could give you my take on exactly the same stuff as to why it works, using different language from 2 of my professions (one being a railway labourer) throughout my life, if that helped convince you.

Well in my profession as an engineer, low-level design documentation on how we will achieve success appeals to me more. Not that this type of document would ever be made public, but you get my point. 

[Fanatique Demon 2,645]

I'm glad we're all having a say. 

For those interested, a thorough read of my post will reveal that I haven't promoted the idea of a jargon-based Mission statement. I have shared with you what I believe is a robust process to map a set of Values and Behaviours. Your bad experiences in the past aren't a reason to kill the idea. Rather, they're a reason to execute the idea properly.

So skeptics, am I to assume one or more of the following:

You hate Mission statements, but you're ok with Positioning, Values and Behaviours? (Actually, I'm in this camp.)

You'd rather not have a set of Values and Behaviours? That people should do whatever they want?

You don't think it's possible to get buy-in from everyone? That it's impossible to get alignment, even to well a thought-through and well explained set of principles where people get to discuss and debate before they're adopted? Really? Then we don't need the dissenters.

You don't think people are capable of following the Behaviours? That a code of conduct is beyond the people at our club. So we can't kick, spread, score... and now we can't behave properly either? Wrong people, not wrong idea.

You don't think management could be strong enough to enforce the Values and Behaviours? That they'd be weak and let them slide. If it's this, it's not a problem with the Principles, it's a problem with the management.

We can all find reasons not to do things. The better path is to do things properly.

 

 

 

[Sir Why You Little 37,035]

We need a Complete “buy in” of 

“Close enough is not good enough”

2018 was a good year, but when it got serious we were annihilated. 

No champagne ? or pats on the back were deserved 

[Deefensive Language 124]

On 8/30/2019 at 12:38 AM, Fanatique Demon said:

I'm glad we're all having a say. 

For those interested, a thorough read of my post will reveal that I haven't promoted the idea of a jargon-based Mission statement. I have shared with you what I believe is a robust process to map a set of Values and Behaviours. Your bad experiences in the past aren't a reason to kill the idea. Rather, they're a reason to execute the idea properly.

So skeptics, am I to assume one or more of the following:

You hate Mission statements, but you're ok with Positioning, Values and Behaviours? (Actually, I'm in this camp.)

You'd rather not have a set of Values and Behaviours? That people should do whatever they want?

You don't think it's possible to get buy-in from everyone? That it's impossible to get alignment, even to well a thought-through and well explained set of principles where people get to discuss and debate before they're adopted? Really? Then we don't need the dissenters.

You don't think people are capable of following the Behaviours? That a code of conduct is beyond the people at our club. So we can't kick, spread, score... and now we can't behave properly either? Wrong people, not wrong idea.

You don't think management could be strong enough to enforce the Values and Behaviours? That they'd be weak and let them slide. If it's this, it's not a problem with the Principles, it's a problem with the management.

We can all find reasons not to do things. The better path is to do things properly.

 

 

 

Fanatique, thank you for your well thought out comments and insights from a fresh perspective.

As a teacher, I see tremendous value in building a shared belief system and values-based structure to help drive performance/achievement. As you have mentioned, some organisations do this well and some do it terribly. In schools, this can be even more stark. 

The right support structures and underlying values are necessary to maintain unity. They are a reminder of expectations and highlight a way forward.

In schools that have not undertaken such a process, you end up with teachers and support staff that progress from stress to apathy. And as a result, students progress from anxiety to carelessness to insolence. Young people need boundaries to not only feel safe but also to develop in the appropriate ways. Without it you have chaos. Not only does nothing get done, but people check out. This is fractured further by narrow-sighted parents who can further complicate things with their own individualised values (eg. I will teach my child to fight fire with fire against bullies). This can fester and be incredibly hard to turn around. Even though you may want the academic results (ie. premierships), you're never going to get there without a significant reset.

Is this happening at MFC? It sure looks like Goodwin is stressed, and people like Pert appear to be apathetic (with his perceived lack of initiative in response to our year). Players like Gus look anxious and wracked with indecisiveness on field. Carelessness was apparent against Sydney on Friday night and Oliver's on-field antics were a display of insolence. Gawn, ever the optimist, is giving it another crack (check his most recent Tweet) but looks just about ready to check-out if things don't improve. Shaun Smith revealed to us all how angry he was at the management of his son. Luckily for Joel, Mission is now gone, because I don't think he could have functioned under him after what dad said.

People seem to forget that a club needs to guide, train, inspire and motivate a group of emotionally under-developed BOYS to work together and grow into men. You need to communicate with teenagers and early 20s people in a certain way, so that they become wise and self-aware 30 year-olds who can support you in that process.

Look at Fagan (ex-teacher) and his weekly one-on-ones with Brisbane's boys. Look at Clarkson and the way he turned just about ALL of his 2008 boys into solid, articulate, insightful and emotionally intelligent leaders.

Many organisations (including schools) are run by shaky leadership that either a) fail to understand the importance of genuine cultural growth, or b) are power-hungry egotists themselves.

When the cynics to your post say that these mission statements are pointless corporate wankery, the reason is either a) or b) above. And in this case you end up with a whole host of people underneath that care only about getting bread on the table. It breeds more cynical/individualist behaviour and the cycle continues!

Clearly a football club is different to a for-profit corporation. We're not aiming to profit at all costs - the stakeholders (members) want on-field success.

I want my football club to recognise the importance of real shared values. If there are players (or players' parents/partners), coaches, trainers who believe it to be wanky, then their cynical influence will have a toxic effect and they need to be removed. If top-leadership initiate the process Fanatique described simply because "it's the thing to do" and care only about the plaque, then they will be a major cause of the decline.

You can't lament the poor leadership of Jones and Viney and in the same breath say that there is no place for strong values at a club. Neither can you stand up on a soapbox and say, "just win premierships", expecting every individual to figure it out for themselves.

Given the criticism of the OP, no wonder MFC has been internally broken since 1964. This old-boys club, ultra-conservative cynicism and ignorance of modern inclusive practice needs to end.

But sadly, as I'm sure you're aware Fanatique, the prevalence of negative/non-critical opinions (which they are entitled to) can partly explain the hindrance of real growth.

 

 

[ding 5,126]

Some real self-congratulatory back-slapping going on in this thread.

Mission statements are being sold as a statement of fact in that they cant be at fault. 

If your company goes well, it means everyone followed the Mission Statement. Naturally, after a huge investment in Words, those involved will want to justify the investment.

If it didnt, then its obviously because your people are incompetent and havent followed the plan...... Because we cant have the whole investment in Words look like a waste of money can we ? Its more likely because your Mission Statement was not the magic beans it was sold as. Besides, a Mission statement isnt the same a written set of expected behaviours. It was almost immediately conflated to make one mean/include the other. The are supposed to be a short statement of the purpose of the business (In fact most are a lie because we all know the purpose of any business is to make money first and foremost, and not a huge percentage of these statements even mention the word "Profit" because they want to seem more altruistic than their competitors.......... so they get more customers and make more profit.

*Not-for-profits excluded obviously.

Name me the percentage of staff who KNOW their organizations Mission Statement. If you dont know it, then your good or bad work cant possibly be attributed to it. But ofc, if your work is good, then these involved will no doubt claim credit. Show me facts.. something that can be actually proven that a Mission Statement makes a workplace better. Proof, not feelings.

I maintain its unnecessary corporate nonsense.

[sue 9,105]

Thanks to those pro-mission statement posters who have posted why they think they are useful.  But I don't think you have answered or even addressed my very simple questions in post #30, viz:

Quote

Please explain why there is any difference in the mission statements of say, all insurance companies. Or indeed all footy teams.  Surely they should all be pretty identical within each industry.  And if so, what is their worth?

Let me make a start.  Perhaps a new small insurance company might want to emphasise different values etc than an established big one.    However I'd see this as tinkering around the edges of what every insurance company might see as its mission.  But OK, I'll concede it might be useful to emphasise the points where that company departs from the 'standard' mission of insurance companies. 

But when it comes to football I just don't see why they'd be any difference between clubs regardless of ladder position/development phase.  There might be different plans for addressing the next few years, but why would the club "mission statement" be any different from any other club in any truly meaningful way?

[Sir Why You Little 37,035]

2 hours ago, Deefensive Language said:

Fanatique, thank you for your well thought out comments and insights from a fresh perspective.

As a teacher, I see tremendous value in building a shared belief system and values-based structure to help drive performance/achievement. As you have mentioned, some organisations do this well and some do it terribly. In schools, this can be even more stark. 

The right support structures and underlying values are necessary to maintain unity. They are a reminder of expectations and highlight a way forward.

In schools that have not undertaken such a process, you end up with teachers and support staff that progress from stress to apathy. And as a result, students progress from anxiety to carelessness to insolence. Young people need boundaries to not only feel safe but also to develop in the appropriate ways. Without it you have chaos. Not only does nothing get done, but people check out. This is fractured further by narrow-sighted parents who can further complicate things with their own individualised values (eg. I will teach my child to fight fire with fire against bullies). This can fester and be incredibly hard to turn around. Even though you may want the academic results (ie. premierships), you're never going to get there without a significant reset.

Is this happening at MFC? It sure looks like Goodwin is stressed, and people like Pert appear to be apathetic (with his perceived lack of initiative in response to our year). Players like Gus look anxious and wracked with indecisiveness on field. Carelessness was apparent against Sydney on Friday night and Oliver's on-field antics were a display of insolence. Gawn, ever the optimist, is giving it another crack (check his most recent Tweet) but looks just about ready to check-out if things don't improve. Shaun Smith revealed to us all how angry he was at the management of his son. Luckily for Joel, Mission is now gone, because I don't think he could have functioned under him after what dad said.

People seem to forget that a club needs to guide, train, inspire and motivate a group of emotionally under-developed BOYS to work together and grow into men. You need to communicate with teenagers and early 20s people in a certain way, so that they become wise and self-aware 30 year-olds who can support you in that process.

Look at Fagan (ex-teacher) and his weekly one-on-ones with Brisbane's boys. Look at Clarkson and the way he turned just about ALL of his 2008 boys into solid, articulate, insightful and emotionally intelligent leaders.

Many organisations (including schools) are run by shaky leadership that either a) fail to understand the importance of genuine cultural growth, or b) are power-hungry egotists themselves.

When the cynics to your post say that these mission statements are pointless corporate wankery, the reason is either a) or b) above. And in this case you end up with a whole host of people underneath that care only about getting bread on the table. It breeds more cynical/individualist behaviour and the cycle continues!

Clearly a football club is different to a for-profit corporation. We're not aiming to profit at all costs - the stakeholders (members) want on-field success.

I want my football club to recognise the importance of real shared values. If there are players (or players' parents/partners), coaches, trainers who believe it to be wanky, then their cynical influence will have a toxic effect and they need to be removed. If top-leadership initiate the process Fanatique described simply because "it's the thing to do" and care only about the plaque, then they will be a major cause of the decline.

You can't lament the poor leadership of Jones and Viney and in the same breath say that there is no place for strong values at a club. Neither can you stand up on a soapbox and say, "just win premierships", expecting every individual to figure it out for themselves.

Given the criticism of the OP, no wonder MFC has been internally broken since 1964. This old-boys club, ultra-conservative cynicism and ignorance of modern inclusive practice needs to end.

But sadly, as I'm sure you're aware Fanatique, the prevalence of negative/non-critical opinions (which they are entitled to) can partly explain the hindrance of real growth.

 

 

 

Mr Language as a School Teacher, what are your feelings towards Players going to the AFLPA behind Goodwin’s back concerning the 2017 Camp?

if Students go to a higher authority, without your knowledge, to question some  of your teaching methods how does that effect your teaching dynamic?

Edited August 31, 2019 by Sir Why You Little

[Deefensive Language 124]

2 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

 

Mr Language as a School Teacher, what are your feelings towards Players going to the AFLPA behind Goodwin’s back concerning the 2017 Camp?

if Students go to a higher authority, without your knowledge, to question some  of your teaching methods how does that effect your teaching dynamic?

Glad you asked.

I see this happen all the time. Kids will approach complaining about XYZ thing that makes them uncomfortable. I will ask, "have you told *name of teacher directly responsible*?"

"No, because he/she doesn't listen/doesn't care."

Other times I witness this lack of awareness or care factor in a colleague. They will misinterpret a complaint or misdemeanour and view it through their own often flawed lens. The kid looks at them with masked disdain - there is little wonder why so many people enter adulthood with that same chip on their shoulder: "teachers are jerks/losers....they didn't understand me etc."

Some brave fools speak up when they believe something to be unjust, unfair or heavy-handed. But these green dissenters have not the psycho-social development required to allow the target of their protests to save face. An authority figure (especially one with an ego or poor social skills themselves) will never allow themselves to be publicly out-argued by an underling. So this just intensifies the feeling of injustice.

It gets dire when you know something is unjust and no-one says anything. Either they are losing hope or they're getting smart enough to keep their lack of respect to themselves.

A coach or teacher (same thing) needs to listen and listen well. Listen openly without judgement. Be open to hearing views that conflict with their own. And they need to act on whatever they hear in a level-headed and strategic way.

The doubled-edged sword is that gaining a reputation for listening leads to more people seeking your counsel. But doing so will earn you respect and an army of followers. This is on an emotional level, not a logical one - which you need to build a dynastic football team. See how Hardwick loves his players and is loved by them?

Back to the original question...you're screwed as a teacher if the students/players do what they did. Sadly, many never realise or understand that this is how they are perceived. Many others may learn this but refuse accept it as a dealbreaker. Would you expect your significant other to respect you if you knew they already went behind your back? And instead of properly addressing the elephant in the room, you just went about your business like an ignorant buffoon?

Goodwin found himself on the losing side of one of these human resource management dilemmas. We don't know for certain, but much of it stems from young people not finding him (and Jones for that matter) to be approachable. Perhaps Roos was a father figure, and Goodwin was the more "down to business" operator who didn't have time for anyone. Even impressions can change behaviour. Here's what we knew at the time:

- The players who "dobbed" didn't want to appear soft (Goodwin did not appropriately communicate/understand what soft/hard actually means for young footballers).

- The AFLPA suggested to MFC after 2017 that it was over the top (A wise manager/listener would address this with non-judgemental questioning and listening)

- Goodwin viewed it as a lost opportunity for the group to grow together (he was publicly challenged and refused to change his opinion. So much for positioning himself as someone who can be confided in.) 

There's also the matter of Goodwin and co not knowing the types of young personalities in their midst. Who had teenage anxiety? Who had impostor syndrome? Who had clinical perfectionism? Who drove themselves to vomit before a game to deal with the stress? 

Coaches/recruiters MUST recruit first and foremost based on temperament, initiative and openness to ideas (with raw skills secondary). Then an individualised plan developed to help manage them (which includes LISTENING). Dusty Martin was carefully nurtured in this way at the beginning of his career.

You can't change the world in this way, but you can definitely shape a small community of 20-30 (size of a classroom/football team) to be united and work together. Outside influences (like health, personality deficiencies, loved ones) can make this harder. In a classroom this can be a losing battle, be in a football team, you can hire/fire however you like.

And to tie this into the topic of this thread, a mission statement helps you build strategic people management plans like this into the fabric of a club. Without it, a place seesaws around randomly from year to year, coach to coach.

Edited August 31, 2019 by Deefensive Language

[Fanatique Demon 2,645]

I don't want to copy recent posts to make my comment, but I would like to thank Deefensive Language for his/her Insights. And SWYL for probing further.

It's great to know there are members here who want to discuss things at an intellectual level and not just try to dismiss important issues with a simple put-down. Unfortunately the thinkers seem to be outnumbered by the cynics.

 I have been in Shanghai this week, working with a Social Media agency to help them develop better communication strategies for their clients. The participants were in their late twenties... wonderful young people, eager to learn as much as possible. I recognised my responsibility was to guide/influence 

5 hours ago, Deefensive Language said:

Glad you asked.

I see this happen all the time. Kids will approach complaining about XYZ thing that makes them uncomfortable. I will ask, "have you told *name of teacher directly responsible*?"

"No, because he/she doesn't listen/doesn't care."

Other times I witness this lack of awareness or care factor in a colleague. They will misinterpret a complaint or misdemeanour and view it through their own often flawed lens. The kid looks at them with masked disdain - there is little wonder why so many people enter adulthood with that same chip on their shoulder: "teachers are jerks/losers....they didn't understand me etc."

Some brave fools speak up when they believe something to be unjust, unfair or heavy-handed. But these green dissenters have not the psycho-social development required to allow the target of their protests to save face. An authority figure (especially one with an ego or poor social skills themselves) will never allow themselves to be publicly out-argued by an underling. So this just intensifies the feeling of injustice.

It gets dire when you know something is unjust and no-one says anything. Either they are losing hope or they're getting smart enough to keep their lack of respect to themselves.

A coach or teacher (same thing) needs to listen and listen well. Listen openly without judgement. Be open to hearing views that conflict with their own. And they need to act on whatever they hear in a level-headed and strategic way.

The doubled-edged sword is that gaining a reputation for listening leads to more people seeking your counsel. But doing so will earn you respect and an army of followers. This is on an emotional level, not a logical one - which you need to build a dynastic football team. See how Hardwick loves his players and is loved by them?

Back to the original question...you're screwed as a teacher if the students/players do what they did. Sadly, many never realise or understand that this is how they are perceived. Many others may learn this but refuse accept it as a dealbreaker. Would you expect your significant other to respect you if you knew they already went behind your back? And instead of properly addressing the elephant in the room, you just went about your business like an ignorant buffoon?

Goodwin found himself on the losing side of one of these human resource management dilemmas. We don't know for certain, but much of it stems from young people not finding him (and Jones for that matter) to be approachable. Perhaps Roos was a father figure, and Goodwin was the more "down to business" operator who didn't have time for anyone. Even impressions can change behaviour. Here's what we knew at the time:

- The players who "dobbed" didn't want to appear soft (Goodwin did not appropriately communicate/understand what soft/hard actually means for young footballers).

- The AFLPA suggested to MFC after 2017 that it was over the top (A wise manager/listener would address this with non-judgemental questioning and listening)

- Goodwin viewed it as a lost opportunity for the group to grow together (he was publicly challenged and refused to change his opinion. So much for positioning himself as someone who can be confided in.) 

There's also the matter of Goodwin and co not knowing the types of young personalities in their midst. Who had teenage anxiety? Who had impostor syndrome? Who had clinical perfectionism? Who drove themselves to vomit before a game to deal with the stress? 

Coaches/recruiters MUST recruit first and foremost based on temperament, initiative and openness to ideas (with raw skills secondary). Then an individualised plan developed to help manage them (which includes LISTENING). Dusty Martin was carefully nurtured in this way at the beginning of his career.

You can't change the world in this way, but you can definitely shape a small community of 20-30 (size of a classroom/football team) to be united and work together. Outside influences (like health, personality deficiencies, loved ones) can make this harder. In a classroom this can be a losing battle, be in a football team, you can hire/fire however you like.

And to tie this into the topic of this thread, a mission statement helps you build strategic people management plans like this into the fabric of a club. Without it, a place seesaws around randomly from year to year, coach to coach.

them to develop business communication strategies that are both ethical and effective. But compared with the responsibility and influence teachers have on our most precious resource, it's nothing. Thanks Deefensive!

[Fanatique Demon 2,645]

Sorry about the cut and paste error. Put it down to my fat fingers on a small keyboard. I hope you got the gist.

[ding 5,126]

17 minutes ago, Fanatique Demon said:

It's great to know there are members here who want to discuss things at an intellectual level and not just try to dismiss important issues with a simple put-down. Unfortunately the thinkers seem to be outnumbered by the cynics.

Wow, label those who agree as intellectual, and dismiss the cynics as non-thinkers.

Very typical of people who i have met before who promote this sort of thing. Its patently dishonest, and nothing more than an easy out. 

I have been happy to discuss at an "intellectual level", but very few of my questions have been answered. Thats ok, i dont need positive reinforcement to own my ideas.

Carry on.