One of the most exciting — and frightening — career transitions comes when you face the prospect of a Head Coaches role for the first time. Whether you’re still in the interview stage or are in the wake of a successful promotion to leadership, there are a few must-know principles that will place you on a successful path. Here are five that you will need to have in place before you start.
Establish a leadership philosophy.
Leadership and management are both about getting people to follow you. I USED TO BELIEVE THAT TOO. Real leadership is about producing other leaders. A great leader is someone committed to bringing others along. That’s why my first recommendation is think very hard about your leadership philosophy. Do you feel excited and empowered because you now have the positional authority to tell other people what to do — or are you more excited by the prospect of helping others reach that same place?
Focus on the day to day of management and leadership.
The long-term goal of great coaching is to build a great team around you. To create the next generation of gymnasts who can surpass the successes of your current team. No question, the best leaders are also the best mentors. But the day job of coaching is balancing management and leadership. You have a limited amount of time, money and coaching staff available to you. Are you budgeting dollars in areas that create the best long-term value? Are you scrutinizing your time in terms of its effects and returns? One of the best exercises I’ve learned is to keep track of how much time I spend on a project or duty. Does it make sense that I am doing it? Should I have someone else do it? Should I spend less time doing it?
Be clear about your communication and your top priorities.
No doubt, your communication skills have gotten you far, but now they matter more than ever. During meetings, be as clear as possible about your priorities by asking yourself: Is this meeting intended to inform, get input, or get approval? (By stating that right up front, you’ll help others understand the context.) As often as possible during meetings with your coaching staff or even with parents take advantage of the opportunity to clarify your overarching purpose and which of your top priorities are required to fulfill that purpose. Be consistent about your purpose and your priorities. Regarding the latter, one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with gave me some advice I’ve never forgotten: Never have more than five top priorities. If you need to ADD something to your list- remember you need to REMOVE something else.
Set common values and common standards.
Much can be solved if people agree on and practice a set of common values and standards. To my mind, the most important values, are truth, compassion, and wholeness. With a strong foundation in truth, especially self-awareness, head coaches and clubs are more likely to develop the capacity for compassion. Compassionate leadership is about holding back judgment with a mindset that is open, empathic, and generous. (It’s a myth that compassion and competition are at odds with one another.) Finally, wholeness. To me, this means redefining success as more than merely winning, expanding it to include the satisfaction coaches feel from knowing their team members performed to the best of their ability.
Remember that it’s okay to be scared and vulnerable.
So much of coaching, management, and leadership involves walking that balance beam between vulnerability and conviction. None of us can ever be completely confident that we’re 100% on the right track, yet from the time we arrive at work in the morning, we’re called upon to inspire confidence in others. “Risk taking” is a handy MBA term and euphemism for a condition of self-imposed vulnerability. In the gym everything is a risk. When we were gymnasts we had to take a risk if we were going to accomplish any new skill. Why would it be any different now that we coach? By recognizing that vulnerability is a component of our job and that it creates the potential for positive change, we come that much closer to losing our fear of it. For new head coaches, the challenge and opportunity comes from the humble (and humane) recognition that no one is invincible. It comes from giving team members the confidence that decisions are being made in a balanced, thoughtful way. Finally, it comes from showing that, in the end, the most strategic approach is the one with the strongest foundation and potential for success. Coaching is no different from anything else in life — you can only control what you can control, and if you can’t accept that leadership can be lonely and self-doubting much of the time, well, you may not be ready to be a head coach.
