via Coach Dawn Writes:
Do you ever go to a restaurant and after a few bites of your meal, wonder whether you should have gotten the steak instead of the fish? This, according to Barry Schwartz’ TEDtalk, is called The Paradox of Choice.

The definition of paradox is “an opinion that conflicts with common belief”. The common belief is that more choices will make us happier. It turns out that is untrue. The more choices we have, the more likely we are to experience regret, be paralyzed by the act of choosing, and to be unhappy with our choice. Check it Schwartz’ talk for the nitty gritty information (it’s about nineteen minutes long), but here are the high points:

Summary of talk

• More choices produce paralysis…people have much more difficulty choosing as options grow.
• People experience more regret with more available choices.
• Because we have so many options, we have high expectations…and we’re often let down.

How can we apply this information to our teams?

• We should speak much more specifically to our players. For example, instead of telling our captains we want them to be “great leaders”, we should define what leadership means to us. Without the narrowing definition, our captains may think that you want them to lead by example, or be a vocal leader, or yell and scream at the team. As you talk to your leaders about what being a great captain should look like, what you’re really doing is limiting their options...