CMDM Coaches Corner: Three Business Lessons from Coaching Youth Sports

Configuration ManagementCMDM Coaches Corner

Nov 10

This month’s CMDM Coaches Corner is from Dave Allen, CMstat’s new Aerospace & Defense Industry Ambassador who serves customers as a Configuration Management and Data Management (CMDM) Coach as well as a certified CMPIC training instructor.

Last month we introduced the CMDM Coaches Corner. But before I dive into specific Configuration Management and Data Management topics I wanted to define how I see the role of a coach based upon my experience in CMDM (35 years at Raytheon) and in sports (over 20 years coaching football, currently at the high school level).

I was tempted to try to tie CMDM business coaching and youth sports coaching together because I am so passionate about both. However, I realize some readers may have little interest in sports, so I will shy away from this in future topics. Yet, please indulge me for the moment as I share the three most important lessons I have learned that apply to all coaching roles, whether in business or sports.

Players Perform Their Best When They Are Confident

The first is: “Players Perform Their Best When They Are Confident.” When a player is confused about their abilities or lacks confidence in their skill level they will hesitate and play slowly. This will hurt not only themselves but also their teammates.

Likewise, when a CMDM practitioner is not confident and doubts themselves, they will not be able to as strongly represent the function in organizations that may not value it as much as they should. This will negatively diminish the individual’s role on the CMDM team, including the programs they support.

An unconfident leader who struggles to raise CMDM’s status in the organization will typically over rely on Program Management or Engineering Management. They may appear to be attempting to lead CMDM instead of being the CMDM leader. Not ideal as there is a very real difference.

To combat this, I hope to point CMDM professionals to resources and examples that will help them be more competent, confident, and comfortable in their ability to represent the value of CMDM and their role across the organization.

What is Important is Now (W.I.N.)

The second coaching lesson that applies to CMDM: “What is Important is Now.” I hope to hear about the issues my readers and followers are struggling with, not to fixate on all that is wrong, but to start with what needs to be urgently improved like stat, right now. Only then can the lower-level issues and contributing factors be addressed.

To coach a single individual, or an entire team, the coach must take honest stock of the current as-is situation. What are the present strengths and weaknesses of the individual and team, now, not what you remember from the past or what you hope them to be in the future. Where do they presently need help or improvement?

Once this is determined the focus can be on the to-be improvement in execution - the game plan.

Players Don't Care How Much You Know Until They Know How Much You Care

The final point I want to share focuses on trust: “Players Don't Care How Much You Know Until They Know How Much You Care.” This is a common maxim in the coaching world for good reason. How can you possibly coach a team or individual if they don’t trust you? In short, you can’t. As a coach you need to establish trust from the beginning. Once trust is established you have to work hard to maintain it. If its lost, you will likely not get it back.

I feel fortunate to have worked most of my career in physical offices where it was far easier to develop relationships with colleagues and trust with managers all across an enterprise. This is definitely a challenge of working digitally from home, especially for new employees and recent college graduates. And even more so for global-spanning businesses or projects with team members from a variety of cultures where trust is developed differently.

Goalpost of the CMDM Coaches Corner

My goal is to establish trust with readers of this column who, like me, sincerely want to elevate the importance of CMDM and the individuals who support these disciplines and related processes. That will be the primary mission for the CMDM Coaches Corner.

Admittedly one concern, also related to trust, is that readers may be reluctant to put their individual or company challenges out there for the world to see in response to a survey or post. To overcome this, I offer up that you send your questions, issues, and comments to me personally at dallen@cmstat.com or by direct message after connecting with me on LinkedIn. I will answer these privately and when appropriate ask if I can genericize them so that readers can benefit from discussing the question or issue in a way that will have no traceability to an individual or company.

“How to Elevate CMDM in the Organization” is the next topic we will take on in CMDM Coaches Corner. Look for this coming soon.

Until then, please do comment or email me with your own questions, experiences, and topics you would like to see tackled or that you feel are under-covered by our profession.