What Exactly Is the Role of a Coach?
Even top performers need guidance.
“Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The coach used to be the guy on the side of the pitch, pacing the sidelines with his whistle and clipboard in hand while barking orders at his team.
These days, though, we have coaches for everything; sports, life, death, fitness, finance, accountability, relationships, career and anything else you could imagine, what’s more, they come in all shapes and sizes.
But what exactly is the role of a coach?
During an episode of the Michael Lewis Podcast, ‘Against the Rules’, Coach Fitz (Billy Fitzgerald) described coaching as “finding ways to awaken the student to new and different possibilities”.
I love that.
It immediately points to the individualistic nature required of teaching. No one is a clean slate. We all have different skillsets and capabilities which have formed through previous experience.
Often, we’re set in our ways, and this is the problem.
Tony Robbins (a Life Coach) once said:
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten”.
Even Top Performers Need Guidance
The role of the coach, teacher or mentor is to expose the student to a different approach, to help view a challenge from a different angle and ask another question in the hope that it will inspire them to find a different answer.
We often think that coaching is for beginners. If you want to learn to swim, you get a swim coach and lessons. When you’re ‘good enough’, you stop.
If you’re swimming for leisure, this is normal; if you’re competing in the Olympics, at an elite level, you’re likely to have a whole team of coaches supporting and advising you.
The reason is that the higher the standard, the less noticeable the possibilities become. To continue to improve requires a very particular question, and this often requires the input of a specialist. It’s a high-class support system.
What Does This Mean for You?
When we’re in a rut, or you feel like you’ve plateaued, the solution doesn’t usually lie too far away. It’s usually being blocked from sight by something; usually, it’s being blocked by us.
A different perspective can help us see around the corners. If we’re open to the possibilities, a coach or mentor can be transformative.
Ideally, you will seek the help of someone in the same or similar field. If not, read. Read self-help books, or even better read biographies.
Learn from the challenges that those before us faced.
Final Thoughts
We’re often stubborn in our ways but to get to the next level, we can’t be afraid or too proud to seek assistance from those with the experience to steer us to success.
Invite a different perspective. Allow someone or something, to shatter the cycle.
If we wouldn’t expect an elite performer to go it alone, we shouldn’t expect ourselves to either.
Thanks for reading,
— Dave
Inspiration
I recently discovered a new Podcast called ‘Against the Rules’ by Michael Lewis who is the man who wrote the books ‘Moneyball’ and ‘The Big Short’ which became two of my favourite films. ‘Don’t be Good — Be Great’ which is Episode 2 of Season 2 is the inspiration behind this post.
In the pod, Michael discusses the role that the baseball coach, Coach Fitz — Billy Fitzgerald — had on his life. It’s a great show, and one I highly recommend if you haven’t already heard it.
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