"You Have To Want To"

It's a funny thing about training and learning. We often assume that, when people don't perform, either individually or as a group, it's because they lack the skills, or the ability, or the talent. We then jump straight into all sorts of training programmes or skills assessments or coaching plans to rectify the situation.

But, of course, we could be barking up the wrong tree.

Brian Cavanaugh tells the following story about two American football teams:

There once was an important football game between two teams. One team was much larger than the other. The larger team was dominating the game and beating the smaller team. The coach for the smaller team saw that his team was not able to contain or block the larger team. So his only hope was to call the plays that went to Calhoun, the fastest back on the pitch who could easily outrun the larger players once he broke free.

The coach talked with his quarterback about giving the ball to Calhoun and letting him run with it. The first play the coach was excited, but Calhoun did not get the ball. The second play was again signalled for Calhoun, but once again Colhoun did not get the ball. Now the game was in the final seconds with the smaller team's only hope being for Calhoun to break free and score the winning touchdown. The third play and again Calhoun did not get the ball. The coach was very upset so he sent in the play again for the fourth and final play. The ball was snapped and the quarterback was sacked, ending the game. The coach was furious as he confronted the quarterback: "I told you four times to give the ball to Calhoun and now we've lost the game."

The quarterback stood tall and told the coach, "Four times I called the play to give the ball to Calhoun. The problem was that Calhoun did not want the ball."

The fact is, that many people don't perform not because they can't but because they don't want to. Like Calhoun, they have all the right attributes, even the best attributes, but they just don't want to use them.

Trevor Bentley is a trainer and facilitator who often puts a sign up in his training seminars. It says:

"If you can talk, you can sing,
If you can walk, you can dance.
Anyone can juggle and ride a unicycle, including you.
But you have to want to."

Perhaps, sometimes, it isn't a training programme you need; but a motivation one.