I’ve learned a lot of what I know today from the great coaches who I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with over the course of my career. Here’s what they’ve taught me:
REALLY good coaches have a CONTINUOUS LEARNING, GROWTH mindset. They are always looking for ways to get better, to sharpen and improve the tools in their coaching toolbox.
They are surprisingly egoless and when their athletes and teams succeed, they “celebrate,” giving the credit for the victories completely to the athletes. When their athletes and teams fail, these coaches look for the learning in the failures and then are quick to take full responsibility for the loss or setback!
Great coaches are far more interested in what works for their athletes, than in always being right! They do NOT understand the rigid, team busting, coach’s attitude of “it’s MY way or the highway!
When a great coach makes a mistake, they say “excuse me!” to whoever they’ve “bumped” into. In this way, they are open to appropriate feedback and actually make use of the feedback when it’s accurate.
Great coaches teach the pursuit of excellence and hard work. In doing so, they reward honest effort and do so in a fair and open way!
Great coaches don’t have favorites or double standards for different athletes on the team. They’ll bench the team star in a heartbeat if that player violates team rules.
And finally, great coaches create a learning and performance environment that is emotionally safe for their players. They are respectful, trustworthy and honest with their players, building them up and empowering them…..
AND this is why these coaches consistently produce WINNERS!
