HOWE Q. WALLACE BLOG

COACHING BEYOND ATHLETICS

I’ve been listening to the following coaching podcasts:

  • Against the Rules, with Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball and The Blind Side.
  • Focus 3, with Tim Kight and football great Urban Meyer.
  • Flying Coach, where NBA Coach Steve Kerr and NFL Coach Pete Carroll team up over a broad range of topics.

If you’ve worked with me awhile, you know I geek out on coaches, especially those who have been successful.  These days, coaches introduce more science, data analytics, and psychology into the game than ever before.

Lewis’s Against the Rules is a series focused on the growing expansion of coaching beyond athletics into all aspects of life.  He observed that coaching is used more and more by folks who already have advantages to turn those advantages into profit.  In other words, the rich get coached and the less advantaged don’t.  And, the gap between the haves and the have nots grows as a result.

That got me thinking: Who is your coach?  Further, who do you coach?  Should you be ramping up on either end?

What’s your strategy for getting coached?  Do you have someone you can look to for guidance?  Did that person happen into your life on purpose (meaning you sought them out) or were you fortunate enough to have circumstances land you the coach?

I’m 65 years old.  I have spiritual coaches, business coaches, life coaches.  I stay focused on learning new things through reading, lectures and podcasts.  A week rarely goes by that I don’t get some new vantage point because I am continually seeking them.

I also learn by and through coaching.  I like to help those with less experience than me.  I share through my personal experiences – both good and bad.

I believe we need to raise the level and frequency of this type of coaching approach in our company.  The great coaches try to get their teams to be more effective every day.  They are relentless learners and implementers.  Watch a well-coached group over a series of years and you will see a different team doing different things wearing the same team colors.

Coaching is something that should be on your radar.  It’s proven that those who endeavor to be coached will get better.  What’s your strategy?  How can we help?