Give, Grow, Love and Win

Ran across this quote today:

“Give, grow, love and win.”

Comes from girls’ basketball coach Chad Hibdon from Murfreesboro, TN, who was selected by USA Today as high school coach of the year.

Coaches work to establish a culture. They want their team to operate in a certain way. If they can find a short phrase to describe the culture for the players, it goes a long way toward helping that culture become a reality.

Hibdon’s phrase could serve almost any team well.

“Give” puts a premium on selflessness. It creates alertness for others. It places a focus on the team. If you are concentrating on “giving” you aren’t worried about “getting.” To give is to promote generosity of spirit and action that causes teams to thrive.

“Grow” places a premium on improving. You grow by intention at practice. You grow by striving to learn more. You grow by acquiring and refining your skill. You grow by having a curious mind. You grow by extending yourself to new limits. You grow by learning from mistakes and setbacks.

“Love” is an action verb that deepens relationships in strong cultures. In the Bible, it says love is patient, kind, humble, persistent, enduring, thick skinned, faithful, hopeful. It says love never fails. A team that loves, endures.

“Win” places value on competitive nature. It acknowledges the truth that there are winners and those that don’t win. It highlights the idea that there are standards to strive to attain. It underscores that in life’s activities, there is a goal or a target and striving to win is better than not striving at all.

“Give, grow, love and win.” I think it’s a pretty good way to roll.