Whether you are a national governing body reviewing your performance at the Olympic games or a high school coach just ending your season and preparing for next year, I’d like to offer a few considerations that may help you begin an effective performance review/debrief. First of all, if you did well don’t be fooled by success and be complacent. Use the success as a springboard. If your last year was great or a disappointment – the approach should be the same. You need to ask hard incisive questions that get to the why. These questions should lead to specific actions. Often the tendency is to start with the answers and fit the questions to those answers. That is a sure road to mediocrity.
Too often the focus is on what and who, but this is the time to channel your inner Simon Sinek and dig deep for the whys. Catalog what you did well and why. What will change? Are you changing just to change or are there specific reasons? Once you have completed this process, take action. Great teams and organizations have a sense of urgency. Get ‘er done now!