The 7 Keys to Becoming a Top "Non-Developer"

Read on my website / Read time: 3 minutes

To understand what a Developer is, it’s helpful to comprehend what they are NOT.

One way to explore this is through inverted thinking. Inverted thinking allows us to flip something on its head and gain valuable insights. I want to develop Developers, but by revealing the keys of what constitutes its opposite, the Non-Developer, we can better understand what development looks like in its worst form.?

Using inverted thinking to dissect what development requires provides an invaluable lens to understand the lines we can never cross as a Developer.?

And the added awareness to make it right with your team when you inevitably slip up.

With that framing, let’s dissect the 7 keys to becoming a top Non-Developer.

Make it about yourself.

Step 1: Instead of serving your people through humility, make the entire organization a mechanism for appeasing you and your ego.?

The best Non-Developers make the organization function in a way that helps them signal their significance.?

So whenever you need help deciding a next course of action, ask yourself, “What decision can I make to ensure I benefit the most?”.

Have the vision be to win at all costs.

Step 2: Don’t play the long-game of development. Rather, make the result of a match, that you aren’t completely in control of, the ultimate metric for grading your team.?

The best Non-Developers want to signal their significance, and the best way to do that is to win games.?

Don’t fall for the trap of unlocking the nuance of the match through reflection–make it black and white by prioritizing winning over everything.

Be emotionally unstable when adversity hits.

Step 3: Forget modeling composure–model dopamine-inducing tactics that shift blame onto other people or circumstance, so that you can go from angry to entitled.?

The best Non-Developers implicitly teach the opposite of resilience, so your players can learn to use these same coping strategies later in life both on and off the field.?

Don’t ever try to see the bigger picture or act with discernment–it’s better to put your emotional ineptitude on center stage.

Be unwilling to learn.

Step 4: Only expose yourself to environments and people that protect your philosophical beliefs.

There is nothing worse than a Developer who exposes themselves to different inputs in order to acquire new knowledge and make it their own for the sake of their players.?

Remember, the only knowledge you’ll ever need is that “better players win games”. Believe me, this knowledge can be used in myriad of ways to serve your best interest.

Be a hypocrite.

Step 5: Set expectations and demand values of your players that you consistently fall short of.

The best time to do this is Day 1 of preseason–set finite goals around winning that you are unable to help players with and slap a culture vision on your locker room wall that you are unwilling to model yourself.?

Remember, don’t fret about your role in teaching them how to meet your standards–they’ll figure it out on their own.

Dehumanize your players.

Step 6: Once you have done the hard work of defining a player’s potential, go straight to damaging their self-worth and self-esteem.?

Remember, players are either good players who can help you win, or worthless players that will make you lose.?

The best Non-Developers treat people at best like contractors hired to do a job, but don’t be afraid to make it known that your players aren’t “good enough”.

Never take full responsibility.

Step 7: Take the plaudits when times are good, but shift all responsibility when times are tough.?

The best Non-Developers realize the wins are because of their coaching (or recruiting), but the losses are because the players weren’t good enough (Note: It doesn’t always have to be your players–it can be the weather, the refs, the field conditions, etc.).?

You will sometimes weirdly feel the urge to accept responsibility and lift your team emotionally, but remember, you became a coach for the glory and not its inevitable pain points.

Conclusion

I’ll admit that I took some comedic liberties to describe the 7 keys, but in reality, it’s the truth.

You can’t go to a random soccer complex in this country and not find numerous Non-Developers living out a handful of the keys above. But if we were being vulnerable and open enough to self-reflect on our own coaching practices, would we find any of the keys listed above? Our first step as a soccer culture is acknowledging we have a problem.?

The second step is defining what that problem looks like (see 7 keys above).?

The third step is putting that added awareness into action.

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