A Tale of Two Coaches…. Which one are you? There’s more to coaching than sharing your expertise. The way you communicate that expertise is as important as the knowledge itself.
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I also occasionally played golf with another friend. I’ll call him Frank (not his real name). He was a good deal older than I, but a great golfer-even better than Victor. But the two were complete opposites when it came to coaching.
I still remember the last time I played with him. On hole number three, I sliced a drive into the deep rough. Certain it was unplayable, I dropped my club to the ground, and sighed.
“Well, that was a helluva shot,” Frank grumbled. “You didn’t finish your swing. You just kinda … kinda gave up on it.” He then frowned and snorted.
With that, he stepped up to the tee box and pinned his tee and ball to the ground in one seamless motion. Then, without so much as a practice swing, he blasted his ball straight down the middle of the fairway.
It was picture-perfect. Just like on TV. Speaking to no one in particular, he announced, “That’s how it’s done!”
He stood tall.
I felt small.
Unfortunately, this scenario was typical. Frank was always quick to point out my faults. If I happened to hit the ball well, he would say something like, “Well, you got lucky on that one, didn’t ya, kid?”
Not surprisingly, I always played my worst golf when I played with Frank. He chipped away at my confidence, and my performance unraveled as the game progressed. He made me want to quit.
In reflecting on these two different coaching styles, I realized I have a choice in how I lead.
I can either focus on what my teammates are doing right and thus increase their confidence, or I can focus on what they are doing wrong and thus increase their self-doubt. Both styles have an impact on their performance. And both have an impact on my effectiveness as a leader
(Take 3 minutes and read the full blog…it’s wonderful.)http://michaelhyatt.com/tale-of-two-coaches.html#more-20811
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