Anatomy of a coach

 Apr 03, 2014

Depending on your point of view, I had the good fortune or misfortune of going to a boys’ boarding school, where sport was a big deal. Lucky for me, I was okay at it and in my final year, I had two top coaches in my chosen sports.

As I have taught managers how to coach now for about the last 10 years and have been a coach myself for even longer, I have thought about the differences between these two. One, on paper, looked better. The other, in actuality, was better. On paper, my rowing coach Mr. S didn’t look as good as my rugby coach, Mr. R. Mr. S used to own a pub but had a mid-life crisis and confided to his wife that he wanted to teach boys to row. Why? Because he had been to a school like mine, done well at the sport himself, and wanted to pass on what he had loved about it. So, Mr. S went to TAFE and got a teacher’s certificate, and in virtually every form had the lowest class for maths. Mr. R, on the other hand, had a double major degree in teaching, was the ex-captain of the school I attended and had played as a Wallaby in the Australian Rugby side. When it came to results Mr. S got them and Mr. R didn’t. So what was the difference? Mr. R was a teacher. He taught skills. He also taught concepts. Three of those concepts have stayed with me and are very useful now in business. He chopped and changed us around too much, and he did not get the best out of the team and me personally. Perhaps, on reflection, he did not take as keen an interest as Mr. S. Mr. S taught a bit, but he was more intent on bringing out the best in you, and he had a way of challenging you to perform better, week on week. He took an interest in you and had us individually, and as a crew, believing in our capacity to win. He also made sure we did not get cocky and remained composed. Mr. S, over the next five years, went on to win five “Heads of the River” (i.e. the big title race of the year) – a record that has never since been broken. I liked them both, but at our 30 year reunion, he was the guy most people said was the teacher that impressed them most, even the ones in the low maths class! In our Effective Coaching for Managers training course, I ask people to reflect on the best coaches that they have had in their life, either at work or in other areas. Recently, a participant reflected, “It seems that all the coaches that have been chosen [in this particular class] were all when we were early in our careers. Maybe we have more to learn at that time.” I entertained that it was possible but countered that I had often had participants citing their current boss as most influential. In any event, I asked, “Did anyone here also have managers that they believed weren’t as good [as the one they had chosen] or were even detrimental in their behaviour?” Even the questioner agreed that was the case for him. A truly good coach believes in you and helps you live up to your full potential. If you have had a really good coach yourself, maybe you have tacitly learned the steps but if not, simply knowing your technical stuff does not mean you will get the best out of others.

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About the Author:

Tim Higgs  
Tim has been involved in the corporate training industry for over 15 years; seven of these have been as the Portfolio Manager and Senior Facilitator at New Horizons. Tim holds a Graduate Diploma (Psych/Couns), a masters’ degree in Cultural Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in Business, giving him a unique theoretical backdrop for understanding human performance in the workplace. This complements his actual experience of working within the corporate sector in sales and management positions and owning and running a small business. Having worked with individuals and groups in both clinical and business settings, Tim has a fantastic insight into human behaviour, motivation and the issue of human change. Read full bio
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