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The Highest Level: Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches
Actionable insights on coaching, leadership, culture, and teams July 28, 2023 Howdy Y’all, This week’s Highest Level includes:
Let's go! EB Successful Leaders Are Great CoachesWith the younger generation rejecting the established and commanding leadership models of the past, a new model of leadership is emerging in today's business environments that mirrors the style of a sports coach. Enter the coaching model of leadership to effectively organize, motivate, and lead today's new generation of employees and teams. This Harvard Business Review article highlights five areas for becoming a great coach that any leader can adopt to effectively lead their teams: Care, Organize, Align, Challenge, and Help. Care: Build understanding and trust through personal connection
Organize: Get people in their sweet spot by knowing each individual
Align: Unite people around a common vision by using clear, concise language.
Challenge: Summon people’s best by challenging them, especially top performers.
Help: Solve problems and celebrate success by personally engaging with employees.
To effectively organize, motivate, and lead today's new generation of employees and teams, the new model of leadership is being a good coach. Article Link: Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches - Harvard Business Review The Defining Moment in Coach K's Development as a CoachLegendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski sat down with Warriors GM Bob Myers to discuss his journey and the impact Bob Knight had on his career and the development of his leadership style. The defining moment in his coaching came at a dinner with Coach Knight, Henry Iba, and Pete Newell. When Knight got up from the table, Iba and Newell leaned over to give Coach K, then in his 4th year as head coach at Duke, advice that gave him the courage to be his authentic self as a leader and served as the defining moment in his coaching career. Coach K on the defining moment in his coaching “‘You’re going to be a really good coach, and one piece of advice is don’t try and be us. Don’t try and mimic any of the three of us. But if there are things that you like from the three of us, and some things that you might not like, do it your way.’
It was really a moment for me. I said to myself, I’m going to start following my instincts more. It was a defining moment for me, and that’s what I try to tell the guys that work for me all the time. ‘You can’t be me, and you shouldn’t want to be me. But you can be you.’…A lot of people don’t do that”
A cool story about these coaching legends that being a great leader or coach doesn't come from copying others. It comes from knowing ourselves. A great reminder on how authenticity is the key to effective leadership, even for those who learned under the coaching greats. Check out the full interview with Coach K. The Value of Observation with Sir Alex FergusonDelegating more responsibility to his coaching staff and trusting them to carry out the vision allowed Sir Alex Ferguson to become more observant at practice and keep the pulse on the ever-evolving dynamics of a professional soccer team in the world's most competitive league. Soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson on understanding the value of observing “I came to see observation as a critical part of my management skills. The ability to see things is key - or more specifically, the ability to see things you don’t expect to see.” By prioritizing observation in our leadership strategies, it makes us more present in the moment and allows coaches and leaders to understand where people’s strengths intersect and create awareness of potential toxicity among teammates, both of which are key parts to motivating and organizing any team. Thanks for reading and see you next time at the highest level. Dominate Today, Evan Find me on Twitter or my website. Thank you for subscribing to The Highest Level. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up for the newsletter here. |
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