Basketball is a minority sport in Scotland so I am delighted when I meet new people who are becoming involved in our club – usually because their son or daughter have taken up the game.  Otherwise a common comment I hear is that you don’t need to watch the whole of a basketball game -you only need to tune in for the last minute or so. Saturday’s game was indeed one of those “nip and tuck” games where ther was not much between the teams and the 6 point difference ( we lost unfortunately) decided the outcome.

Our students on the communication day of their management in practice programme last week were talking about effective methods of getting the information they need  and I realised there are parallels with basketball. Bear with me while I explore these…

1 Tuning in for the last minute Sometimes all you  need to know  to allow you to get on with your job is the outcome of a discussion about an issue .

2 Getting the score at the end of each quarter My friend’s husband could not be at the game so she texted at the end of each quarter so that he could keep track. Sometimes all you need at work is a short. regular update

3 Sitting throught the whole game. This relies on a genuine hook to hold your interest and/or need to have information to allow you to influence as things develop.

4 Sitting near the bench so that you can hear the coach’s instructions  (I suspect this is more Scottish League than NBA. Though I have watched some close ups of NBA coaches on TV and I got the gist of what they were saying!) Some people feel they want to be in on all communications with the leader!

5 Being in the changing rooms for the pre match, half time and post match team talks. I am sure  many of us wished that we could have been included at this level in workplace issues. For others the best input they can give is at these stages and they really don’t need to be involved in a day to day basis.

Can you think of any more?