ONE OF Chris Fagan's favourite phrases is "constant improvement" – it's not just something the Brisbane coach preaches to his players, but something he practices himself.
In fact, Fagan says accepting player feedback on his own leadership style was pivotal to the club's dramatic rise up the ladder in 2019 that ultimately saw it play finals for the first time in a decade.
"I want the players to get better, so I need to know how I can get better," Fagan told AFL.com.au.
"Halfway through last year they told me I gave them too many stats in meetings. 'Just give us some vision, boss, and tell us what you want us to do and we'll do it because we know you've done the work, you don't have to prove it.'
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"So, I did that, and we went on a nine-game winning streak.
"I've just got to keep listening to these players."
Entering his fourth year in charge, Fagan has been an integral part of Brisbane's complete rejuvenation as a club.
Speaking at the Lions' pre-season camp in Hobart, he says nothing will change in 2020 despite greater expectation about his team.
"We're just trying to improve all the time," he said.
"I know people get bored with me saying that, but if you're thinking about improving, you're thinking about the process and it's served us so well the last three years, so I can't see any point in changing that.
"The truth is we have to improve if we want to stay where we were at last year, and that's just to stay there.
"There's nothing magical or mysterious about it. The trap you can fall for is you think it is.
It's hard to argue. The process took the Lions to the second week of September in 2019 where they lost a thrilling semi-final to Greater Western Sydney.
If hunger is any guideline to success, Brisbane has a good start, with almost half its list completing off-season running sessions together in Brisbane's eastside suburb of Coorparoo.
Fagan said he'd processed the finals losses to Richmond and the Giants and his team would learn from them.
He said their ball movement became too predictable late in the season and they would have to use more of the ground in 2020.
"We weren't far off the mark," he said.
"Finals come down to moments. For us, some of those key moments ... particularly in the GWS final where we allowed them to score goals they shouldn't have got through lapses in concentration.
"That's just learning.
"A few wise people said to me our team would have to go through these experiences to learn and I was hoping we could bypass that, but it seems like that was the case.
"From disappointment comes great learning.
"I think our players got belief they could compete against the best and that's a giant step for us, because as a footy club we were probably a million miles away from that 12 months ago and now we have a little bit of evidence that we can be OK."
