20 Career Edition

ISSUE TWENTY/JUN 2019

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ICF GLOBAL BOARD UPDATE, TOP 4 WAYS PROSPECTS CHOOSE COACHES BUSYNESS OBSESSIONS, COACHING 5 GENERATIONS, RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP

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FROM THE EDITOR Back in 2015 I had fallen in love with coaching.

I had completed my training through to Master Coach and the world was my client, ready to learn and be all it could be.

Speaking to people though, I was confronted with the perception that there was a new coach under every rock, and most were not worth lifting the rock to find.

When faced with this kind of problem, I find there are three options, you can walk away, grin and bear it or roll up you sleeves and do something about it.

This is how the magazine was born. I decided to do something for the industry and reputation of coaching. In order to have the most impact, I decided to include all coaches, regardless of focus. This may have been naïve, but I figured that Sports Coaches, Business Coaches and Life Coaches could all offer something to each other.

Let’s showcase the best coaching has to offer, help coaches be better at improving human performance in all areas and make the world a more connected and constructive place.

With my dreams set, I ploughed head-long into the first hurdle, the ICF (International Coach Federation) Board. I rang the ICF and was told that they would not support the magazine as they wanted to keep a distance from Sports Coaching.

Undaunted, I found a magazine mentor, the amazing Keeley O’Conner, Founder and publisher of Haven Magazine. She helped me put together the first edition and launch Coaching Life.

Having decided to include Sports Coachs, my research showed that the most organised sport for coaching in Australia was the AFL. So my first call… ever… was to Laurie Woodman, Head of Coaching for the AFL. With my most official voice, I announced that I was Editor of Coaching Life and would like to include an article from an AFL Coach. He immediately connected me with David Parkin OAM and we were underway.

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Now that I had an AFL Legend on board, I reached out to Tennis Australia. Again, as the Editor of a nonexistent magazine, I told them I had David Parkin for the next edition (first) and didn’t want Tennis to miss out.

They connected me with the incredible Dr Mitch Hewitt, Coach Education coordinator for Tennis Australia. Now we were on a roll. Using the same tactic, I connected with Lisa Alexander, Head Coach for the Diamonds (Australian Netball Team), Simon Cusack, Australian Swimming Royalty and many more.

I shed a happy tear in November 2015, when the first edition arrived at my door with another 10,000 copies being shipped to newsagents around the country.

I got married in January the following year, and so the second edition was released in February 2016. Each month from there we created a 72 page magazine (around 30,000 words) with Australia-wide distribution but sales were slow and it is impossible to remarket to someone who buys your magazine in a newsagents.

David Speechley, head of the ASCTA (Australian Swimming Coaching and Teachers Association) promised me an introduction to an Olympic Coach. I had not even thought of going to that level but true to his word, not only did I get to interview Jacco Verhaere, Head Coach for Swimming Australia, Michael Bohl, and David Lush, I also got to spend over 2 hours with the unbelievable Bill Sweetenham AM. I followed the Olympic Edition with the Paralympic Edition but with a less-than-amazing Olympic performance the Paralympic coverage was low and so were my spirits. I had produced 9 magazines in 11 months with only around 120 subscribers. Even with every Olympic Coach we have. The promise of Sport subscriptions never materialised and I was exhausted.

For reference, each edition is the size of a small novel.

I was ready to pack it in. I had put my money where my mouth was, I met amazing people and produced a product that I was very proud of but the return was not there. It had cost me the better part of $100,000 to get the first 9 editions out and the well was running dry.

For the next few months, I focused on building my own coaching practice. Then in November 2016, I got a call from Ryan Magdziarz asking where the next edition was. He encouraged me to keep going. Cut it down in size, reduced the frequency to quarterly but keep going. “It is too important a project to fail”. You can see him on the first cover I produced myself. Thanks Ryan.

I was back up and running but with a much more realistic workload. Rather than use external resources or our own staff, I became a magazine staff of one.

Each article is now produced in Word, then converted to PDF before being compiled into the final version for the printer and online.

I have met some truly amazing people from Usain Bolt’s Coach to the Pope’s Coach. I have received emails and letters of thanks from fans and built a readership of over 5,000 around the world. We still only produce a few hundred printed copies and have next to no advertising.

I now have agreements with PSA (Professional Speakers Australia) and the ICF Australiasia. It turns out that boards change and for this edition, I managed to interview the current chair of ICF Global. (See his article included) and shared my vision for raising the ICF membership by offering a course specifically designed to enhance Sports Coaching. Only time will tell if this is a viable option but my thought was “If ICF wants to the peak body for coaches, it should be the peak body for ALL coaches.”

The magazine remains focused on supporting the industry, raising the bar for coaches and sharing knowledge, tips and tricks for being better at the amazing career of coaching.

We never accept self-serving articles. Each piece must add value to a coach. It must offer something that raises a coach practice, business or reputation so that we grow as a community.

I am a life coach, a business coach, an executive coach and am proud to stand next to anyone who calls themselves a coach. We are a community who can change the world and I am honoured to play my small part in this undertaking.

Until we meet again, Happy Coaching.

Stewart Fleming Editor & Coach

Interview with Jean-Francois Cousin, Speaker, Author, Master Certified Coach (ICF) and Chair of the Global Board 2019, International Coach Federation.

I caught up with Jean-Francois in his current hometown of Bangkok, Thailand.

How did you get started in Coaching?

Around 13 years ago I started coaching and based myself in Bangkok where I had been working for 6 years as a country manager for Lafarge.

I embraced coaching for two reasons. The first was that over my career in management, the moments I had enjoyed the most always involved helping my people grow.

Seeing them find new areas of growth and blossom was very rewarding.

The second reason was that I had climbed several steps in the company’s hierarchy and to go higher would involve ‘politics’ and having my days filled with conference calls, far from people and the field.

So, I felt it was time to move on and focus on that which made my heart sing.

Was Coaching always your intention?

Up until 2006, I did not know much about coaching. When I started reflecting on what to do next, being an engineer-, I researched all aspects of personal development practices and found that the effectiveness of coaching was already proven, and I found it attractive for many different reasons.

So, I started my coach education and completed it in 12 months.

I had the chance to practice with Bangkok-based managers during my training.

Has training delivery changed over time?

What I can see and am delighted about is a greater and greater partnership between the ICF and coach training organisations. We are together enhancing the standards of coach education, improving the quality of pedagogy and raising the engagement of students. All healthy and necessary actions to keep our profession relevant.

If I were asked for one recommendation for coach-training providers, I’d just say, create as much time as possible for practice, for ‘learning by doing’. The more students practice, the higher the quality of their presence. And they are freed earlier from the ‘performance-anxiety’ of new coaches.

What do you want to achieve in your role as Global Chair?

My role as the chair of the Global Board is for 1 year. Before being elected in that responsibility, I had served as a director on the Global Board for 2 years.

My 8 fellow directors and I have plenty of goals for this year and the next ones! We partner very closely with the ICF staff. Here are a few of the projects we are working on together: Updating and rolling out the strategic plan for the future of coaching and of the ICF going forward. We now have over 30,000 members and we are working to support them, grow this number and boldly lead the profession in service of its members.

We are launching 4 new organisations which will bring our ICF family up to 6 sisterorganisations, all about creating more value for our fellowmembers: The International Coach Federation (ICF), a memberfocused unit, exists to lead the global advancement of the coaching profession. This will, for the most part, not change.

The ICF Foundation was established in 2004 and continues to connect and equip professional coaches and organizations to accelerate and amplify impact on social progress through coaching.

1. The first new organisation will be the Thought Leadership Institute which will bring together thought leaders, scientists and academics to think about the future of coaching. We will also welcome leaders of various professions with the intention of having a great influence for coaching to best serve the future of our world.

2. The second new organisation will be Coaching in Organisations – in support of the wellbeing and progress of organisations and in support of our members in their coaching journey within organisations.

3. The third new organisation will be focused on credentialing. It will continue to enhance the standards of service and heighten the credibility and value of coaching.

4. The fourth new organisation will support training schools and programs. It will support members in their training journey.

Those new sister-organizations will create a lot more opportunities for volunteer-leaders to support the profession. Just a few of the new roles will be taken by current ICF board members, to ensure the necessary continuity in strategy, but the vast majority of the new roles will be open to new people so they can help shape the future of coaching and bring new ideas and opportunities to the profession.

Each of the 6 sister-organizations will have their own boards and some advisory councils. We are very excited by the opportunity for more of our fellow members to play an active role in the future of coaching!

What have you read recently?

I just read ‘Trillion Dollar Coach’.

This book examines the management lessons from legendary coach and business executive Bill Campbell, whose coaching and mentoring of some of our most successful modern entrepreneurs have helped create well over a trillion dollars in market value.

We are currently working with a branding agency, forming the boards, completing all the necessary admin work, and we hope that by January 2020, each of these organisations will be ready to go. It has taken 3 years to get to this point, and it is important to make sure everything is done right so we don’t have much coursecorrection to do later on.

Every member from every country is most welcome to participate we are so keen and proud to continue our journey of diversity and inclusion.

In January 2020, the next global chair will support those sisterorganisations to take shape, in partnership with ICF Global Board and staff. Please check coachfederation.org for updates and new opportunities!

How does a coach become involved?

The opportunities to become a member of the Global Board are advertised in the monthly members update and the monthly ICF leaders update. There are application links in those publications.

We wish that all our fellow members contribute to the maximum so that we can write the story all together. ICF is for our members and is our members.

There is a growing aspiration in our community of coaches to really serve, and to help make the world a better and more sustainable place. The values that we, coaches, uphold are so very healthy for the world. We can see how leaders in organisations become coaches and I believe it is time for coaches to step up their own leadership around the world.

Jean-François Cousin became a global executive coach in 2006, in the wake of a management career around the world with a Fortune500 company. By June ’18, he had clocked 10,000 coaching-hours, served over 800 executives and dozens of executive teams, travelling to 35 countries / 5 continents to work with them.

Jean-Francois serves on the Global Board of the International Coaching Federation and was elected its Chair for 2019.

He authored the book Game Changers at the Circus—How Leaders Can Unleash Greatness in Their Organizations, co-authored several other books and regularly writes columns for the media.

For more information visit www.greatness.coach

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DID YOU KNOW… Coaching is the second fastest growing industry in the world behind IT, growing at 18% per year.

With over $1 Billion being spent each year in the US, Australia is rapidly following the trend with over 250,000 coaches already.

If you want to reach this growing market, download the media kit from the website or contact the office for more information.

WWW.COACHINGLIFE.COM.AU/ADVERTISING As well as national coverage via newsagents and subscribers, we also have strategic contacts for distribution with the following organisations.

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By Mary Britton PCC Career coaching sits within the executive and organisational coaching space, as an effective tool for individuals; leaders and organisations who want to develop careers, build teams or manage inevitable change. Let’s look at some popular FAQs?

It could be finding the right career, or the right job to move along your chosen career path; exploring ‘what next?’ when something changes; moving beyond frustrations – to build skillset, grow competencies or find the right training / experience for leadership / promotion; learning about yourself, your values / passions / aspirations in pursuit of best options / next steps or ‘ultimate career’. It can help discover or restore balance across professional/personal lives. Career coaching can deliver confidence, insight, encouragement and inspiration.

For leaders and organisations the case for career coaching is simply that it enables your people to be the best.

It is solution-oriented, so coach and client work in partnership to work towards a vision, strategy or plan of actions to deliver the client’s objectives.

Coaching is anchored in a hightrust, high-rapport relationship where ‘safety to express anything’ and ‘challenge to think or feel differently’ are in play.

And it considers what’s in the way – including feelings/emotions and beliefs/values + exploring habits that might be slowing career aspirations.

Smart change initiatives include coaching as a tool because it’s proven to enhance the effectiveness of change initiatives, and because it appears so frequently on the ‘menu’ of highly successful organisations and teams.

Explore the joint report Human Capital Institute and ICF here – https://coachfederation.org/resear ch/building-a-coaching-culture It’s important to know that it is a process! If the client is simply seeking a ‘better cv’ it’s unlikely a professional coach is the right option!

Some coaches will offer referrals to professionals who advise on technical templates.

The process begins with partnering the client in assessing their career ideas and options with curiosity, compassion, and honesty – working to uncover authentic passions, aptitudes and preferences. And to understand the systems which they work within or wish to succeed in.

Uncovering their thinking, their vision and then stepping into effective action happens across a series of meetings/conversations.

Each person brings their unique needs, experiences and aspirations to the coaching table. Career coaching might be offered across 3 to 12 sessions, for a few weeks or for several months.

Professional coaching will include a contract which makes clear the role of coach and of the client AND clarifies any sponsorship or other organisational accountabilities. In best case scenarios the coachee/client will have choice around which coach to work with. ++ Some coaches also offer assessment tools which support individuals and organisations in better understanding their own aptitudes, preferences and competencies.

Individuals ready for a change born of frustration or ambition or curiosity.

People dealing with life changes – such as relocation, family changes; or world changes, shrinking economies, growing economies, technological or political changes; or organisations with talent development programmes; emerging leaders; or organisations, departments or leaders managing change, including expansion or restructuring which includes changing job parameters or redundancies.

In all the cases above! Plus posteducation for career-planning. And for exploring meaning, identity, purpose and balance.

Case A: In the Beginning / a woman wants to be promoted in the organisation but her boss is considering ‘managing her out’. The coaching partnership enquired into her vision – and populated her understanding of what it would take to succeed – from her perspective and from the perspectives of her colleagues/leaders/customers.

She built a sound, evidence-based understanding of what was working well and what needed to change so she would be seen as effective. She recognised that she had work to do in making a lasting, positive impression on her leader. As her understanding of the impacts of her choices grew; and her knowledge of the ‘cultural’ requirements of the leader were established - her confidence in her competencies and skills also grew. After three months of coaching/ she is up for promotion, and has a ‘personal brand’ of commitment, flexibility and innovation.

Case B: In the beginning / a senior executive with a high-status role in professional-practice is looking at a CE offer from private industry which will move him and his family geographically; creating a very different future.

The coaching partnership explores: his values, his vision, the pros and cons of the two scenarios; his fear in each scenario and his hopes/aspirations for himself/his family.

He also looked at his skillset; considered his ‘comfort-zone’ and how he might choose to change in response to new demands.

He considered his age / status / career / life-stage and explored his original youthful thoughts and ambitions - + things which satisfied/dissatisfied him in the present role.

After three coaching sessions he chose the CE role, with a strong sense of what he is doing it for, and of what his vision for success is both at work and at home.

It’s personal – each of us needs a coach who we’re happy to work with; with whom we can build trust and rapport; who we can give permission to be challenging at times, curious at times, and who has empathy for us as well as awareness which supports them in finding just the right question, or offering just the right amount of silence for reflection, as we need.

A checklist for choosing any professional includes: ✓ Well trained + credentialled as a professional ✓ With satisfied clients who can provide testimonials ✓ Recommended by someone you trust and/or endorsed by an organisation you trust ✓ Someone you get along with – who delivers a sense of respectful partnership in every transaction

Belonging to a trusted organisation such as International Coach Federation lets customers and clients know that you uphold high ethical and professional practice standards.

ICF delivers on the training, credentialing and trusted source elements – leaving you to make your own case with testimonials and your authentic branding around your career coaching offer.

Mary Britton Mary trains professional coaches and leaders to excellence all over the world. She holds a PCC credential with ICF; is a professional mentor and a member of EMCC, and a professional coach supervisor and member of ACS. Mary finds her balance through music and community roles - currently Trustee of TLC – a project restoring kiwi habitat in New Zealand - and Te Puna O Te Ao Marama – building te reo Māori capability in Northland. She is Head of the Coaching Excellence Pillar for ICF Australasia.

Mary is currently following up co-design of a medical and health coach training programme in the UK with research into how to make the most difference in health provision in New Zealand and Australia. mary.britton@coachingpacific.com

Before you spend any more time, money or energy chasing new prospects it might be a good idea to first get CLEAR about the most likely way people will find you.

According to HUBSPOT’s research these are the top 4 ways a prospective customer goes about selecting a coach or professional service provider.

Cue the drum roll‌

No surprise there.

Most business owners will tell you referrals are their number one source of business.

That’s awesome, because obviously it means you’re doing a great job. The only problem is that growing a business with organic referrals can be painfully slow.

The key is to ignite your referral efforts, this means you need to stop waiting for them to slowly roll in and start driving them in by establishing a referral system.

Okay, if referrals from a trust friend or source is the number one way to choose a service provider what’s number two?

Surprise, surprise, more referrals…

Outside of your clients your next best source of business are the clients of other quality service providers.

I know that I’m constantly asked by my clients for referrals to other service professionals I would recommend.

This is one of the reasons you need to build a strong network of service professionals, people you have real faith in. The fact is when you recommend another service provider to one of your clients you place your reputation on the line.

You don’t want to HOPE they will do a good job and look after your client; you want to KNOW they will.

A good rule of thumb is if you don’t know the quality of the work supplied by a service provider be careful. Referring to someone who let’s your client down can be a costly mistake.

Build a great network of service providers around you and ONLY refer if you’re certain they do good work.

Referrals are commonly the number one source of business because people like to buy from people they trust.

Referrals leverage the trust of a friend, or the positive experience a customer to reassure the prospect they are making a good buying decision.

That’s two down and two to go.

Having Brand Awareness is the third most likely way someone will decided to work with you.

To narrow your offerings and own a niche where you are the first name people think of in your field.

If you can build brand awareness it means your work and reputation precede you. You have earnt Top of Mind Awareness, in the mind of the prospect.

But I think of the top four strategies HUBSPOT identified, the fourth way a person is likely to choose a professional service provide is my favourite.

This is the goal of any serious brand.

Now the answer may surprise you.

The key to brand building as a coach is to focus on becoming famous for one thing.

I’ll give you a clue, it’s NOT via social media, or your website! No? According to the study…

That’s right SPEAKING is an awesome way to attract clients.

The fact is speaking is one of the most powerful marketing tools you will ever possess.

If you have the confidence to speak in front of a group of people then you have the potential to market your business like few others do.

Why is speaking so effective?

Here’s a short list.

• You get to speak one to MANY making it time efficient.

• You get to provide massive value upfront.

• You get to demonstrate your expertise and share your knowledge.

• You get to build rapid trust.

• You get a massive competitive advantage.

These are just a few of the reasons why speaking is such an effective tool for coaches to use to build their business.

And the best place to learn how to develop and leverage speaking is to join Professional Speakers Australia.

Professional Speakers Australia is the peak body for anyone who speaks professionally in this country.

It’s a great source of support and education, which I would highly recommend you check out professionalspeakers.org.au

Paul McCarthy CSP is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and founder of the Marketers Club (marketersclub.com.au).

Over the past 15 years he has assisted thousands of service professionals to market their talent, earn what they’re worth and make more of a difference in the world.

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"Walking the Walk"

Why Successful Coaches Practice What They Preach

by Grant Cooper, CARW

In order to demand the level of fees that today’s successful coaches command, and to build and maintain a coaching practice that will exceed your expectations, credibility is the #1 currency that you must possess… and it should be cultivated at every opportunity. My 25 years as a successful Career Coach have shown me why you, as a coach, must “walk the walk” and mirror every aspect of your coaching philosophy in your own practice, actions, and life, if you are to thrive in the long run.

It is estimated that there are more than 50,000 personal development coaches worldwide, and there is every reason that we will be seeing that number increase exponentially in the future. In our rapidly changing world, a world in which yesterday’s tried and true-life strategies are no guarantee of tomorrow’s success, those who can avail themselves of effective coaching services are now opting to seek out and contract for paid expertise and coaching help.

The list of personal development coaching specialties is long and growing: Executive Coaches, Life Coaches, Career Coaches, Business Coaches, Relationship Coaches, Financial Coaches, Wealth Coaches, Health Coaches, Leadership Coaches, Academic Coaches, Spiritual Coaches, and more. Here are the best practices I have distilled from a quarter century of coaching that are the most likely to ensure your development of a profitable and rewarding coaching business.

Don’t Be Cheap When you are asking your wellheeled clients to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for your coaching services, displaying an upscale, polished aura on your part is essential. Whether it is in the furnishing of your office or virtual coaching studio, the sharpness of your wardrobe and accessories, your grooming, the look of your website or headshot, your attaché case, your laptop, or the vehicle you

drive, you must project the sterling quality and image that will attract and retain the best clientele.

Invest in Yourself In my specialty, career coaching, we routinely advise our professional clients to research and pay for continuing education, training sessions, seminars, and industry certifications, and also to attend conferences in their respective industries.

Your clients will most fully embrace your advice if you do the same. Post your degrees, certifications, and awards prominently, and highlight your ongoing professional development in your blogs, newsletters, press releases, and client discussions.

Take Care of Your Health Nearly any coach will remind clients that their health is paramount. Yet there are still coaches who do not watch their weight, put off medical examinations, do not engage in daily exercise, or fail to maintain a healthy work/life balance. I am old enough to recall, many decades ago, when doctors were called out as hypocrites for advising patients to stop smoking, then “light up” a cigarette after their sessions. Your health and vibrancy is an essential component of your coaching practice, and should be prioritized.

Watch Your Attitude I coach my clients to maintain an upbeat, positive approach to their career exploration, to see the upside, and to never badmouth a former employer. Instead, I ask that my clients express gratitude for all they have learned from former employers and show appreciation for the opportunity to have served.

Likewise, coaches who bemoan difficult clients or constantly complain about various aspects of their practice will find it difficult to grow professionally or personally.

Develop a Plan Just as we encourage our clients to develop a personal growth, business, or career plan, then update and execute it as they progress in their lives or careers, we coaches need to do the same. In the areas of time management, scheduling, and planning, coaches have precisely the same motivation to hone and refine their organizational skills. Creating a written practice management plan and sticking to it is critical.

Get a Coach Yes, even coaches need coaches!

When pitching a prospective client on the ROI and value of my coaching services, I often refer to our local sports hero, National Football League Quarterback Drew Brees.

Drew led the New Orleans Saints to win our first-ever Super Bowl (yes, I attended in Miami with my son). I explain that even though Drew has free access to the entire team coaching staff, he still pays for his own private coaches, year after year, in order to ensure continued elite performance.

Get Out There Whether it is networking, volunteering with nonprofits, engaging in service, or meeting with potential mentors, coaches advise their clients to increase their “face time” in the community, meet and greet colleagues, invite and attend events, and circulate widely to ensure the greatest possible impact and increase their exposure to opportunities.

The best jobs and business deals have often derived from chance encounters and unexpected sources encountered by attending events.

Document Yourself My coaching clients will consistently hear me advise them to keep a faithful documentation of their careers and lives. I instruct them to order a thick 3-ring binder, fill it with clear plastic sheet holders, and insert anything and everything that documents their careers and activities. Items for inclusion can include certificates, testimonials, evaluations, publicity, articles they have written, copies of their work product, and more. Every coach should have a similar “brag book” for clients to review in their office.

Stay Ahead of the Curve Globally, Information Technology is the fastest growing career.

According to a recent study, the second fastest growing career is coaching. But the rising wave of coaching can become a tsunami that could destroy your practice. The greatest existential threat to the coaching industry is the challenge of untrained and inept coaches.

Do everything within your power to separate yourself from the pretenders by walking the walk and practicing what you preach… then you will succeed!

New Orleans native Grant Cooper, CARW, founded Strategic Resumes® & Career Coaching in 1994. Grant empowers his executive and professional clients to reach their highest career goals, and specializes in Reinventing Resumes, Upgrading LinkedIn Profiles, and Coaching for Success.

Grant won the Career Directors International President's Award (Orlando, 2015), presented at the National Association of Resume Writers Conference (Seattle, 2018), and has served as an international resume awards judge for seven consecutive years (2013-2019).

Grant has appeared as featured guest on broadcast TV & radio and has coached top clients in the U.S. Air Force, Kinko's, the Louisiana Department of Labor, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, universities, banks, VIP celebrities, medical centers, and major U.S. corporations.

Grant can be reached via email: grant@resupro.com or his website: www.strategicresumes.com

Take Your Mark, Set…

.

Coach!

If you’re already an experienced coach, how would you go about starting your coaching career all over again?

Knowing what you know now – how would you start again – and build a sustainably successful coaching career?

Or maybe you’re just starting out on your coaching career and you’re not sure what path to take.

What’s the best way to build the foundations, skills, knowledge and capabilities you’ll need to be a successful coach?

Do it the way everyone else does it??? No! The usual way to start a coaching career is to enrol in a coaching course. There are some excellent coach training program options available including

By Wayne Goldsmith

those offered by National Sporting Organisations, Universities and increasingly coaches can study online through a wide range of on-line coach training and development services.

However, just as passing a learner driver’s licence test does not make you an outstanding driver, sitting in a class room for two days staring a seemingly endless flow of blue power slides with yellow text and passing an open book exam is only the first step of your coach education journey.

And if your ambition is to be an outstanding coach – then following the same learning path of every other coach is not the road to success you may believe it to be.

Dare to be different!

So, how would you start – or start again – if you had the chance?

When you start out coaching, it would be fair to say that the most obvious aspect of sport to focus on is physiology.

Those first few months learning sets, reps, cycle times, intensity levels, load management, skills, drills and other variables seem to pre-occupy every waking coaching moment. Coaches love to talk training sets and to swap drills.

There is a limitless supply of practice routines and program ideas on the internet. However, as you progress, you start to understand that although the physiology of training and competition (i.e. WHAT the athletes do) is important – even more important is the psychology of practice and performance (i.e HOW the athletes do what they do).

Before you step on deck or onto the park or into the arena for the first time as a coach, go for a long walk. Or find a quiet place near the beach or on a hill and ask yourself – “why do I want to coach”.

Then – when the little voice inside your head says “because I love sport” or “to give something back to the sport” – immediately disregard it.

Reject your first one, two and even three answers and dig a bit deeper. Understanding why you coach is the first big step into developing a clear coaching philosophy and to creating a set of personal coaching standards, values and principles that will guide you throughout your coaching career.

And following on from “why do I coach?” – is taking time to really understand who you are. What makes you happy? How do you react to pressure and difficulty? What excites you? How are you at managing difficult conversations and conflicts?

The moments that will define your coaching are not those with a stopwatch in your hand: they’ll be the times when you need to make challenging decisions, inspire athletes during difficult times and stand tall when your values and principles are challenged.

Before you can hope for anyone else to understand you, connect with you and “get” what you’re about, you first need to understand yourself.

Modern life is largely driven – right or wrongly – by our engagement with technology – and it’s had – and will continue to have - a significant impact on coaching. For example, one of the greatest ever coaching tools is the Smartphone because it puts high quality video technology with immediate playback features into the hands of coaches everywhere.

For a few dollars you can buy simple to use video analysis APPS – purpose designed for sport coaches, technology that only a few years ago cost thousands of dollars to purchase and three years at University to learn how to use. You can video

Take a look at the sport drop-out rate in the mid teen years and you’ll note that competitive sport has a big problem retaining participants. All the major sporting nations have spent considerable time and money trying to figure out why – but the bottom line is – if the “relationship” or situation you’re in in not meeting your needs and you can’t change it – you’ll leave it.

Human beings in their mid-teens are motivated by many things but perhaps their peer group relationships are of most importance to them.

If your coaching program is based on hard work, discipline, commitment and sacrifice – you’ll attract a certain type of athlete with a specific set of goals.

athletes, discuss the video with them immediately during training and email it to them so they’ve got it at home to watch and learn from before they attend their next training session.

You can create online learning networks with your players and share ideas, technique videos and training program updates. You can send parents updates on training, upcoming meets and information about nutrition, sleep management and quality sports-parenting.

Master the use of the available technology – the future of coaching is right here – right now and it’s in your pocket.

However, if you want to retain them in your program, even the athletes with the highest of Olympic ambitions will not be around long enough to realise their potential unless they’re enjoying their training and have strong friendships in the team.

There’s nothing wrong with hard work.

Commitment is at the heart of all great human endeavours.

But unless the environment is a balance between excellence and enjoyment, even the most talented athletes will seek alternative programs or even non sport alternatives.

Volume of training, i.e. how much training your athletes do is important to know. However, understanding their overall “load” physical and mental – is critical.

Read, listen, watch and learn from the abundance of information available about load management and develop a simple system which helps you and your athletes to understand clearly how hard they are working physically and mentally.

No matter how long you’re in coaching you can always learn, improve and get better at what you do. No coach knows it all, but the great ones are committed to learning and improving every day.

This learning lifestyle underpins long term success in every walk of life and is an essential aspect of developing a sustainably successful sport coaching career.

Think about the sport you coach. What is it to you?

Is it a technique-based sport which demands an uncompromising focus on skills and biomechanics?

Before you start coaching – have a clear vision of what the “end-point” is and a detailed understanding about what it is you’re actually trying to do.

Is it a physiology driven sport which necessitates a relentless commitment to hard work and endurance training?

It will make the journey so much simpler, direct and easier.

More is not better – unless doing more will make you better. There is no doubt success at any level of any sport demands a degree of hard work.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” model to develop athletes and the “more-is-better” philosophy is not going to work with every athlete.

However, many traditional models of athlete development have relied on almost exclusively on increasing training volume with age, i.e. as the athlete gets older, they do longer and more training sessions.

Become a master of designing training programs to meet the specific needs of each individual in the team and make the athlete the focus of everything you do.

Ostensibly your coaching “status” and accreditation level is dependent on the standard of athletes in your team. It’s a common mistake to believe that if you’re coaching national level athletes, you’re considered to be – by your peers and the “market” a better coach than someone who is coaching club and local level athletes. As a result, the temptation is to blindly chase those athletes who are physically gifted and “naturally” talented so that you can coach better athletes and achieve higher levels of coaching success.

It is a poor indicator of ultimate success. The record of athletes who are brilliant at 8, 9, 10 and 11 years of age is appalling in terms of their achievement of higher-level success in their mid to late teens.

Yet coaches (and parents) will become obsessed with these talented youngsters and do anything to attract and retain them in their programs. Forget it!

Stay true to your values, beliefs and standards: do not worship physical talent – particularly in preteenage athletes and focus on helping them to become wonderful people first and foremost.

Parents can be powerful allies in your coaching program.

They have an important role to play – particularly with young athletes in the areas of character development, teaching values and virtues, timemanagement, nutrition, sleep and study skills.

Conversely parents can be negative, destructive and divisive and make coaching difficult. Think about sporting parents differently.

One of the best swimming coaches and leaders in Australia Don Talbot was a collector – coins, stamps, models and other collectables.

Bill Sweetenham – another great Australian swimming coaching legend is passionate about history, art and culture.

Copying kills. The easy access to knowledge and information on the Internet and the abundance of Smart-Phone technology means anyone, can get anything, anywhere, anytime and usually for free.

Coaching is no longer defined by how much you know: it is defined by how creative and innovative you are and by your capacity to create new ideas,

Communicate with them often, openly, honestly and in person. Educate them how to be outstanding sporting parents.

Be very clear with them about your expectations of their behaviours and attitudes when they are around your program, at games, at training and other program activities.

And – if they are consistently negative and destructive to your program, be prepared to remove them from your environment – irrespective of their child’s talent.

Many great coaches have a second passion – other than sport- which fuels their imagination, fires their creativity and gives them a mental break from the pressures of preparing and leading world class athletes. What’s yours?

new directions, new training concepts and new approaches to helping athletes realise their peak potential.

Study creative thinking. Read about how the great innovators thought and practiced.

Gain an advantage in your coaching by thinking things and doing things first.

Good coaches coach – great coaches lead.

Leadership is more than being a good public speaker. It’s about having a clear vision for the future of your program.

Leading your team and your sport and guiding, directing and planning for sustainable success while inspiring others to see that vision as clearly as you do.

Believe it or not, the sporting world is relatively small and there’s a bond between coaches everywhere. Coaches all over the world are dealing with the same issues: finding facilities, dealing with Committees and parents, finding ways to inspire athletes, balancing their lives….these are universal coaching issues.

By developing relationships with coaches in other nations and in other sports, not only do you learn more about your industry and “art” form but you find like-minded individuals with whom you can share ideas, problems, challenges and victories.

One of the best ways to learn, grow and improve as a coach is to regularly spend time with a mentor – someone who will be direct, honest and critical of your coaching.

If you’re looking for someone to drink coffee with and talk about the latest football scores then this is a great strategy.

The big mistake many coaches make when they seek a mentor is to find someone they like personally, i.e. someone they get along well with socially.

PHOTO CREDIT PETER BICK

If however, you’re passionate about coaching and want to improve then find someone you respect, someone who understands coaching (but not necessarily coaching your sport specifically) and most importantly someone who will give it you straight when and where needed.

PHOTO CREDIT PETER BICK

It’s relatively simple to learn how to write workouts and training sessions. You can do them yourself, ask a senior coach to swap some ideas with you or even – if you have to – you can buy them online.

However, the real “art” of coaching is understanding the unique technique and skills of your sport.

Coaches are notoriously bad at taking care of themselves.

How many times for example have you insisted on athletes having their own water bottle at training so they can rehydrate during and after workouts, but then never stop for a drink break yourself?

Spend time learning, mastering and understanding the coaching of all the basic techniques and important skills of your sport.

This aspect of coaching – the “art” of sport - will drive much of the success you will experience in your coaching career.

You tell athletes to snack on healthy protein and quality carbohydrates immediately after training, then stop off for a burger and fries for your own dinner because you’re too tired and fatigued to get home and cook a healthy nutritious dinner.

1. Not many people have the capacity to “start-again”.

Most coaches commence their coaching career by completing a coaching course then just start coaching – repeating the same programs, the same sets, the same practice routines and the same sessions over and over.

The great coaches see coaching as a learning journey – where every day is an opportunity to learn, improve, innovate and create new and better ways of doing things.

2. It’s never too late and you’re never too old!

No matter how long you’ve been coaching – no matter how many candles are on your birthday cake – you can change the way you coach and you can adopt a learning mindset where continuous improvement becomes inevitable.

Web: www.wgcoaching.com LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-goldsmith-coaching/ Podcast Channel: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/sports-thoughts/id1451687616 TWITTER https://twitter.com/waynegoldcoach FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/waynegoldcoaching INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/wgcoaching/ You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/wgcoaching Wayne Goldsmith has been an influential figure in coach education for the past 25 years. He’s worked with professional, college and Olympic level athletes, coaches and teams in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Europe, Asia and throughout the Pacific.

www.newsportfuture.com

There is never a right moment to stop being busy.

There is always another house to buy, another meeting to attend, a business trip to plan, kids’ schools to choose, decision to be made, goods to buy and money to be earned.

Therefore, it indeed seems to be no finish line in this race unless consciously minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, we make a deliberate effort to break the viciousness of the circle.

Busyness is an addiction which robes one’s life and those next to them. Like any other addiction thrives on the assumption that we just can’t stop doing it. It comes with a high price tag for the “victim” him/herself as well as for their prey.

Busyness – either perceived as a necessity or a conscious choice – does not ask for permission to enter – and walks over those who are just innocent bystanders.

Although the list of “good” excuses is endless and sounds legit, it does not prevent “the busyness” from sneaking in and taking away every tad of intimacy impacting most valuable relationship dynamics. So before you know it, you eat dinners with strangers you have never met, go to bed with people whose names you don’t even know and travel with crowds who are not even your followers.

You never seem to be alone although you seem to be very lonely…

Busy used to be “sexy.”

It implied being successful and influential. It meant the fulfillment of worthiness and neediness and masking existence full of doubt and not being good enough.

It used to bring validation through having a series of never-ending to-do lists.

It served as a distraction from observing the life pass by in front of our eyes and by avoiding admitting we were playing the role of a mere spectator.

“Busyness” – a highly addictive drug, is causing overdose effects like delusions and detachment from reality, along with a denial of all that brings us discomfort.

Sadly, the very things we take the “busy” pill for, happen to have the most of value in life.

Thankfully, there is a shift occurring in collective awareness, and: Busyness is not a virtue anymore as it is contributing to alarmingly high rates of mental burnout, overwork and sleep deprivation.

Being busy is no longer a measurement of success.

Meaningless existence defined by the frame of scheduled meetings, calls, and other activities, repetition of self-imposed obligations driven by our ambitions and anxieties makes us avoid reality for what it truly is.

Yet what becomes visible in the silence and busy-less life, is the very thing worth looking at: •

The lack of self-confidence in our abilities.

Being busy does not equal productivity. It essentially shields us from taking significant yet very uncomfortable actions.

•

Endless need for external gratification.

Being busy is not the same as being effective.

• The fear of realization that most of what we do does not matter and does not bring satisfaction.

Being busy actually restricts professional performance and limits mental capacity jeopardizing decision-making processes and letting our impulses loose.

Being busy seldom helps us feel fulfilled – contrary to conventional wisdom.

Although intermittent busyness is usual and expected as we move through the various stages of our lives, our compulsion to keep and stay busy is a manifestation of retribution against emptiness, and it seems the pain of admitting it is higher than the cost of living a frantic life.

• Incapability to sufficiently “manage” life by redirecting our attention from intrinsic values to a third-party endorsement of importance and worthiness.

• Our ‘needy greedy’ identity which drives to us to live beyond our means and to prioritize incorrectly.

• Being uncomfortable with ourselves and the reality of our lives.

How many meaningful conversations have you skipped because you were checking your email for the twentieth time that day?

When was the last time took a deep breath to stop the spin of constant activity?

How many precious moments have you missed because you feared what might come up during the silence?

How many dinners did you attend being totally not present?

If you answered those questions honestly, it might be a good time to push the pause button and ask yourself what are you running away from?

Being busy-less is a practice, and it is not about giving up, quitting, neglecting or not working at all. “Busy-less” is about finding meaning outside of your job and facing the “dragons you are trying to kill.” It’s about freeing yourself up from the oppression and start making mindful choices to attain other tentacles of life like family, friends, and self-development.

Busy – less is about redefining success – from having – to becoming and creating the life you are proud of by discovering what else is genuinely important to you and is worth having while honoring your highest values.

Believe in yourself.

Check in with yourself often.

Take a detox day. Disconnect. Everything seems to be working better if you unplug it just for a moment.

The same applies to you.

Listen to the silence – it has a lot to say.

• •

Don’t kill your dragons - train them.

Become comfortable with being uncomfortable by working through it.

• Exchange stimulation for satisfaction.

• Don’t waste your time on comparing yourself with others. Sometimes you are ahead sometimes you are behind. The race is long but at the end it is truly only with yourself.

Busyness does not define you – it reveals you. ~ Kasia Jamroz

Disclaimer: This article makes inquiry into busyness for the sake of it and its obvious implications. It does not diminish the merits of hard working and being productive or effective.

Kasia Jamroz, CPCC, ACC, is a Conscious Leadership and Life Coach, Personal / Organizational Transformation Advocate, Trainer, and Neuro Change Solutions Facilitator trained by Dr. Joe Dispenza.

Founder of Conscious Leading Solutions L.L.C, and 50 Deeds of Love Non - Profit Organization, Kasia believes in irresistible power of choice, self - awareness and living life congruent with our highest values.

Kasia assists people in reaching their maximum potential and creating sustainable results by breaking the limits of the habit, self - reflection, commitment and consistency.

Kasia has facilitated an array of successful personal and leadership workshops, and trainings. She is a contributor to Thrive Global and Forbes. According to Kasia “it is never too late to have a life you always wanted by changing your mind.”

www.KasiaJamroz.com www.instagram.com/kasiajamrozcoach www.linkedin.com/in/kjamroz

How Career Coaching is Evolving to Serve 5 Generations

By Marie Zimenoff For the first time in history, the workforce is experiencing five generations together in the workplace. As individuals work longer in their careers and fresh graduates launch their careers, career coaches are shifting their practices to meet the changing needs of these generations.

Generations Defined The Center for Generational Kinetics (link to genhq.com/faq-info-aboutgenerations/) puts forth the following definition of generations: 1) the Silent Generation born prior to 1945; 2) Baby Boomers born in 1945–1960; 3) Generation X born in 1961–1980; 4) Generation Y (Millennials) born in 1981–1995; 5) Generation Z born after 1995.

Each of these generations has experienced distinct world events during their formative years, leading them to form different aspirations, attitudes toward technology, communication preferences, and, most important for career practitioners, use of technology and attitudes toward career.

Coaching Consumption Career coaches are experiencing changes in how these generations engage and work with a coach throughout the engagement.

While Baby Boomers tend to find coaches through more traditional methods – word of mouth, online and paper directories, and referrals from those they trust – Generations X and Y are using technology to find a coach.

Millennials use social media to crowdsource recommendations from social connections and research online before reaching out to a potential coach.

Coaches trying to attract the younger audiences are moving online, using video, Facebook (where Generation X and some older Millennials are daily), and Instagram or Snapchat (where Millennials and Generation Z are daily).

Once a coaching engagement has begun, the generations also have different expectations about how coaching is delivered. Baby Boomers tend to prefer face-to-face coaching or virtual coaching that allows a similar feel, like Skype or other video calls. Younger generations are expecting virtual coaching, and the youngest generations seek ondemand coaching via text or platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat, and live videos.

Coaches are shifting to meet these needs, with many offering texting as part of their coaching engagements, more video coaching, and ondemand courses to provide services at a lower cost for Millennials who are struggling to pay off college debt while underemployed.

Career Challenges In addition to generational forces shifting the needs of clients and coaching approaches, each generation is also experiencing the developmental career challenges faced by every generation – launching a career, managing advancement, and winding down a career. The current career landscape is altering how these developmental changes appear.

The Silent Generation and Baby Boomers – who developmentally would expect to be winding down their careers – are persisting due to extended quality of life with medical technology advances and financial requirements caused by the last recession. Ageism is a concern for this audience.

Career coaches are working with Silent Generation and Baby Boomer clients to manage their mindsets around age and ageism while taking practical steps in their resume, interview, and daily interactions on the job to improve interactions with other generations.

Career coaches are guiding this audience to negotiate more flexibility in their work or find the meaning they seek after decades of what has felt like serving corporate interests that lacked a larger purpose.

Career coaches find these clients need coaching to let go of the traditional definition of work while embracing the gig economy and shifting into consulting or contract work that values experience but may not offer the security of a full-time job.

Generation X is experiencing stagnation of their careers caused by older generations remaining in the workplace and a lack of growth in corporations since the recession.

Coaches are helping them explore different paths to advancement – often requiring shifting companies within their industry. Generation X is less likely to be loyal to an employer and remains hesitant to launch a portfolio career as their definition of career success is still based on advancement within a full-time position.

Millennials, 25 to 38 years old in 2019, comprise the largest group in the workforce. They are still largely underemployed and, similar to Generation X, seeking alternative paths for advancement.

This age group, especially the older Millennials, is seeking coaching and expecting coaching to be available in their workplace – from their manager and beyond.

Career coaches are shifting their mindsets to realize the wide range of needs for this audience.

Generations and Coaching in the Workplace

The younger group is underemployed and disillusioned, being told by society in their younger years that if they earned a degree, they would find meaningful, gainful employment.

Coaches are seeing increased demand for coaching across the generations and coaching of teams to navigate generational conversations and career paths that are no longer linear. Career coaches are developing programs within corporations to help individuals manage their careers with less reliance on advancement within the organization.

Coaches are working with them to reset expectations, understand the skills they need to advance, and set out a path for advancement that does not include climbing a career ladder – a workplace structure that has disappeared in many organizations.

Millennials and Generation Z are expecting coaches to employ technology in their practices, including and going beyond video coaching and texting.

Coaches are exploring how they can use gamification, apps, chatbots, and other artificial intelligence to streamline the process and meet the on-demand expectations of this younger audience.

These programs have become increasingly important in a tight labor market as employers embrace coaching as an opportunity to improve retention and increase effectiveness of those they are recruiting to return to the workforce after periods of retirement or caring for family.

Conclusion All generations are expecting coaches to be on-demand and accessible. As coaching becomes more mainstream, more people are seeking coaches and understanding the value of having guidance throughout the developmental and generational challenges they face in managing their careers.

Career coaches are increasingly challenged to stay up to date with technology and continually improve coaching skills to help clients navigate ever-changing demands.

Marie Zimenoff

Large organizations are increasingly employing artificial intelligence to deliver career coaching for employees. Career coaches are learning how to articulate their value working in parallel with AI to meet employee career needs.

CEO of Career Thought Leaders Consortium the Resume Writing Academy, Marie Zimenoff trains coaches around the globe in career, leadership, and personal branding topics.

She has delivered hundreds of career and leadership development programs, designed curriculum, and provided staff training in workforce, corrections, university, community college, and business environments.

She is a frequent presenter at international conferences in the coaching, careers, and training industries, including ICF and ATD.

Responsible Leadership and how to give permission to treat employees in a way that promotes natural human behaviour

As leaders we are responsible for making sustainable business decisions that meet the expectations of the shareholders, customers, the environment and our employees.

The performance of our business is constantly measured. Daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly targets are set, and we align our resources and assets to achieve the expectations set by the shareholders, which generally consist of revenue and profit.

So, it is not surprising that we find it challenging to find the time to focus on one of our key responsibilities, our employees.

All too often we start to talk about the “softer� aspects of our businesses and commit to taking how we treat our people more seriously as human beings. We hold one to one and group forums and receive great feedback, then overnight the performance of the business becomes the number one priority and our good intentions are diverted to more pressing matters. Sound familiar?

The people within our organisations are a key factor as to how well our business performs.

All leaders know this, but we forget that they are human with the same fundamental needs that span all cultures and historical periods.

We all have the same inner needs to be autonomous or selfreliant and be connected to one another. As leaders we are responsible to ensure these needs are satisfied for the individual, the group and the environment that we operate.

To understand what satisfies our people, and ultimately drives their human behaviour, we must firstly give ourselves the permission to take time and find common ground with our people.

This requires an interest in others and a measured amount of disclosure or openness from us.

Human behaviour is a result of attempts to satisfy certain needs and it is the leader’s role to influence that behaviour for the benefit of the business.

To influence behaviour, we must first understand it before we begin to motivate it, ensuring that the behaviour is an output that satisfies their own needs.

By promoting openness and disclosure we find common ground with our people, but we are also giving our people permission to act as we do.

Once we find common ground and understand our individual needs we gain greater in sight as to what motivates us and our teams.

The World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2018 indicates that as the fourth industrial revolution unfolds companies must seek to harness new and emerging technology to improve productivity and efficiency.

To do this business leaders must plan ahead with work force strategies to be ready for the challenge ahead.

Existing work tasks between 2018 and 2022 show a shift in the average number of task hours performed by humans.

In 2018 the number of task hours average 71% and by 2022 this is expected to be 58% human task hours with the remaining machine task hours being 42%.

Although this may present a change in jobs that require dexterity or manual labour, humans will continue to compliment the changes if they are granted permission to act in a natural human way.

Humans add value when freed of the need to perform routine or repetitive tasks and make use of their human talents.

Human skills such as creativity, initiative, critical thinking and originality will be more relevant as the job market evolves and as our employees become more detached from task-oriented functions they will find other roles that will continue to add value. Leaders will need to display their skills in influencing and emotional intelligence.

There is also a shift in mindset among the new generation that will impact our businesses whereby leaders will be required to support individuals with a greater need to be more autonomous with freedom to be more creative.

As leaders we need to understand and give ourselves the permission to take the necessary and often brave steps to promote natural human behaviour.

5 Steps to promote natural human behaviour

1

Understand your own needs and what satisfies you The first realisation that leaders must have is that our leadership style derives from our own life story and they must work towards understanding and developing themselves.

2

Be genuine - To be a truly authentic human we must treat others as humans.

Being authentic in our approach to leadership will help support the alignment of goals.

3

Allow creativity - Promote creativity by not being specific about how a report should look or how a plan should be laid out; sometimes a quick doodle on a white board is ok, if you allow it to be.

4

Be visible - Openly display acts of kindness by helping someone with a task and encourage others to do the same.

When people realise its ok to stop their own task to help a fellow human being it will become infectious with a ripple of togetherness through the organisation.

5

Don’t talk about work – Not indefinitely! Talk to your teams without mentioning anything to do with the product that you make or the latest business issue – I challenge you do try this for 30 minutes every day, I can admit it is not easy.

As business leaders and experts in our field we all have the experience and knowledge to provide the shareholders with what is expected.

By providing our people with the most natural of experiences of being listened too, with permission to express themselves genuinely with no fear of repercussion’s or consequence’s, we provide a catalyst that unravels an infinite world of greater understanding and connection.

Rather than just engaging with our people to achieve what we need, empower them to satisfy their human needs by giving them permission to treat each other in a way that promotes natural human behaviour.

Guy Ratcliffe Executive Coach, Business Coach & Mentor Managing Director of Ratcliffe Business Solutions Ltd With a burning passion for coaching and people, Guy chose to follow his passion and completed the Diploma in Executive Coaching with the Academy of Executive Coaching in London and soon established ReCreate Coaching & Mentoring.

Combining his industrial experience with his passion for coaching and people, Guy challenges the industry in which he once thrived until a major personal life event gave him a wakeup call and the opportunity to Re-Create who he is today.

SPORT

DAVID PARKIN

WHAT I KNOW AT 73 AFTER 73 YEARS OF WALKING PLANET EARTH, DAVID PARKIN KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT STUFF. BUT DON’T LET HIS AGE DETER YOU FROM READING FURTHER. YES, WE’VE ALL BEEN BAILED UP BY OUR PARENTS AND/OR GRANDPARENTS WHO GENERALLY HAVE AN OPINION TO SHARE ON FASHION, PARENTING AND POLITICS AND WHO LIKE TO START CONVERSATIONS WITH “BACK IN MY DAY…” OR “WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WHIPPERSNAPPER…”. CUE THE EYE ROLL.

12 // COACHINGLIFE

LIFElL

D

avid, however, has well and truly earned the entitlement to impart his inspired wisdom on Australia’s younger generations. A legend on the AFL field since 1961, his sporting achievements include 220 senior games throughout the 1960s and 70s, and captaining Hawthorn Football Club to their 1971 premiership win. David went on to coach Hawthorn and the Carlton Football Clubs to four premierships and was named Carlton’s Coach of the Century. Being in an elite group of just six coaches to have coached more than 500 AFL/VFL games and labelled “super-coach of the 1970s and 80s”, David earned his place in the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1977, long-time sports journalist and author Jim Main named David in his list of the 100 Greatest VFL/ AFL Players and when asked to revisit and tweak that list 30 years later, David still made the cut.

By Belinda Glindemann

Aside from all the football-related credits, David holds a Bachelor of Education and a parallel career in primary, secondary and tertiary education. He developed Deakin University’s Sports Coaching Degree and, as an Adjunct Professor, still lectures at the university. In 2013, David was presented with a Medal of the Order of Australia. He is a prostate cancer survivor, a modern-day television and radio commentator and has authored more than a dozen books. David has written and presented extensively on the topics of children in sport, men’s health, coaching, leadership/ management, motivation and teams.

Among all the articles you’ll read about David, the common thread that makes this man’s approach to sport and coaching so significant is innovation. It’s clear that he looked at his teammates, his players and his life thus far through creative, original and inspired eyes. www.coachinglife.com.au

SPORT On the eve of his 73rd birthday, it was only appropriate that in this, the launch edition of Coaching Life magazine, we cornered the man behind the premierships and the myriad of coaching credentials for his take on sports coaching and modern life.

“Well, yes, there are 12 key things I know at 73 that I wished I’d known at 30!” David laughs. “The first thing would be just to be yourself.”

1. BE YOURSELF AND KNOW YOURSELF John Kilpatrick, David’s fitness advisor at Hawthorn, visited him during his first year of senior coaching at Subiaco, WA. On John’s departure, his succinct advice to David was to “stop trying to be (fellow AFL coach) John Kennedy and start being David Parkin.” The words resonated with David.

“Quickly I got better and so did the team,” he says.

“Whilst we are often the sum total of the people and coaches who have influenced us significantly, we should not ape others. It’s imperative to remain true to the values and behaviours that are integral to our character and personality.”

“Know your own strengths and weaknesses and surround yourself with others who you cannot only work with, but who will also bring experience and skills sets you don’t have. It’s important to know who you really are. Selfawareness is essential.”

commitments, became a key factor in my coaching life,” David recalls. “I met every player and coach, every six months, one-on-one, away from the club.”

3. IF IT AIN’T BROKE – SMASH IT! David admits that this may sound like a “stupid philosophy”, especially if you and your team are having success, but too often the attitude is focused on just repeating what has been done well previously. He says what people forget is that there is always a better way of “doing tomorrow what we have done effectively today.”

“If you just repeat tomorrow what you did successfully today, someone will add something different and better, which means all you can do is come a good second. Challenge your staff and players to provide those new and better inputs.”

4. LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ARE BOTH LEARNED “We all know you don’t get to choose your parents, but while good genetics does have significance, it’s not fundamental to developing strong leadership or emotional intelligence.”

David says both these personal attributes are a direct result of a person’s experiential pathway.

“It is, though, critical to provide those who aspire and exhibit the potential

“Know your own strengths and weaknesses and surround yourself with others who you cannot only work with, but who will also bring experience and skills sets you don’t have”. to lead, the opportunities to take responsibility and become accountable for their own and others’ performance.

Along with effective leadership, emotional intelligence usually takes decades of life’s learnings to become a powerful individual attribute.”

5. GREAT LEADERSHIP While there are many, many factors that underpin effective leadership along with a multitude of publications about the topic, David says three critical components are evident to him.

“Firstly, without a real passion for the outcome or what I term ‘professional will’, your leadership can’t be really effective. People must see, hear and feel your genuine emotional commitment to achieving the task. Without that you are nothing!”

“Secondly, the best leaders really care

2. UNDERSTAND THE MOTIVES AND DRIVES OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS David says there are the three basic questions that you must continue to ask yourself and ask of your players: Why am I/you here? Where am I/are you going? And how will I/you get there?

“This is the best platform for building empathetic relationships and working to achieve mutually agreed outcomes.”

“These conversations, with both support staff and my players, in relation to both their on- and off-field www.coachinglife.com.au

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SPORT about their people in an holistic sense - that is, an interest in and concern for them well beyond the role or position they are employed to do. Football, like most institutions, is a people business and that element must be your key focus.”

“And thirdly, having a flexible approach or style to the role is another crucial element. Leadership is situational specific. Your ability to understand the circumstances, the person or people you are dealing with, and acting appropriately, is extremely important.

To say this is my personality, experience and leadership style, and apply it to all people in all places at all times, is fundamentally flawed.”

6. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK David says an essential element of good leadership or coaching is in developing team-oriented attitudes. This attitude needs to be evident in your own behaviours as the leader and continually reinforced and affirmed in others. He says the critical attitudes centre on two

basic inputs: team members need both a ‘with’ and ‘for’ orientation.

“A ‘with’ person does what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it – all the time,” David explains.

“From this, they build a predictability about their performance and in the finish – trust. Trust is the foundation block of all teamwork. Without it, effective and consistently high-performing teams can’t exist.”

“A ‘for’ person not only is accountable and responsible for their own performance but constantly makes sacrifices for their teammates’ benefits. It’s vital that both these team orientations are reinforced for individuals, as often as circumstances allow.”

7. LEARN TO ENGAGE David says that most coaches are very good at telling, however, effective communication starts with real engagement. He suggests leaders become expert in asking good questions and get better at listening and really

VFL COACHING GREATS

hearing the answers to those questions.

The final crucial element in all of this listening is actually acting upon the replies you receive from your questions.

8. BECOME AN EXPERT TEACHER As David explains, all coaches are, in reality, teachers. But it’s not just a matter of instructing one’s students, it’s a twoway process where the learner is the key focus.

“As Al Clarkson (former AFL player and current coach of Hawthorn) would recommend, know what ‘fun’ really is for the learner. This assists you in setting up an appropriate learning environment for all those involved. These well-structured environments can then satisfy the basic reasons for the participants being there, however they define ‘fun’.

“Understand the theories of how people learn and the difference between teaching techniques and game sense.

If possible, take courses in teaching pedagogy. The competencies learnt are very transferable across numerous vocational pursuits.”

TOM HAFEY – 10 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships

JOCK McHALE – 17 Grand Finals, 8 Premierships

FRANK HUGHES – 11 Grand Finals, 5 Premierships

James (Jock) McHale coached Collingwood for 38 seasons across an astonishing 714 games for eight premierships (including the standing record of 4 in a row) and 27 finals series.

With 467 wins and 10 draws, he won 65% of his games and for the last 66 years, premiership coaches have been awarded the Jock McHale Medal in his honour.

After coaching Richmond for 5 years, winning the flag in 1932, Frank (Checker) Hughes had two stints as coach of Melbourne, from 1933 to 1941, for flags in 1939-40-41, and from 1945 to 1948, eliciting a fourth flag in his final season in charge. His overall success rate of 65.1% shows his ability as a VFL coach to match the greats.

Tom coached Richmond through the late 1960s and early 1970s, making the club the most feared of the era. Always keeping himself fit, he channelled his own belief in hard work and physical fitness into his teams. He won four flags as coach of Richmond and then lifted Collingwood from the bottom to a Grand Final in 1977.

He took the Magpies to Grand Finals in four of his five completed seasons — for four losses and a draw. He then coached at Geelong and Sydney before retiring.

Had an incredible 70% winning record at Richmond, and 64% overall.

JACK WORRALL 5 Premierships

ALLAN JEANS – 9 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships

NORM SMITH – 7 Grand Finals, 6 Premierships Norm Smith played in 5 grand finals, winning 4 and was awarded best and fairest in two of them. He then went on to win an incredible 6 premierships with Melbourne. A stickler for team discipline, many sought to emulate his methods and create a similar atmosphere for their own clubs. Today the Norm Smith Medal is awarded to the best player in the Grand Final.

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As the first officially appointed coach in 1902, Jack Worrall is the grandfather of VFL/AFL Coaching. He coached the Blues to three successive premierships (190608) before moving to Essendon where he won two more flags. Prior to Jack’s appointment, teams prepared in their own way as official payments were officially outlawed but still paid anyway.

Allan managed to lift the bottom dwelling St Kilda to the giddy heights of success and remains the only man to have coached the Saints to a premiership, in 1966. His players at both St Kilda and Hawthorn revered his style. In 1981 he went Princes Park and coached the Hawks to three flags, firstly in 1983, then again in 1986. He was on the sidelines in 1988 due to a brain haemorrhage but returned in 1989 to win again.

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9. MANAGE WELL According to David, another very important set of competencies required to be an effective coach are the skills of management. He suggests leaders or coaches be ultra organised - planning and preparing stringently.

He also suggests reviewing, evaluating, measuring and validating wherever possible while also providing immediate and accurate performance feedback constantly.

10. COMMITTED LEARNER If you’re serious about continuous improvement, David is an advocate of scheduling education programs at 12-24 month intervals.

“The AFLCA in Australia underpins a standard contract with ongoing personal and professional development for all senior and assistant coaches,” he explains. “This includes short and longer-term courses in-person, online, overseas and across other sports experiences. AFL, being an indigenous game, meant my learning often came

from other sports like hockey, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and rugby for example, and from coaches like Ric Charlesworth, Brian Goorjian, Wayne Bennett and Tom Landry among others.”

he wished he’d known at 30, there are

11. REGULAR PERFORMANCE REVIEW

your employment obligation is balanced

“Firstly, work/recreation. Make sure with an involvement that allows you to

“The most significant changes and improvement during my 28-year coaching career came on the end of a very stringent review. It was in 1994, 22 years into my career. Using an independent agency, with the players central to the feedback process, we provided the coaching staff with a clear picture of their/my effectiveness in servicing the needs of the players. The 1995 Carlton Premiership was a direct result of the review and the changes implemented.”

same time, I read about people, their

12. STAY BALANCED

have multiple pursuits that are very

And finally, in David’s list of 12 key things

three consecutive flags before just missing out on a fourth successive flag.

Tom Hafey’s most famous coaching graduate, Sheedy’s football brain and his ability to think outside the football square saw him spend 27 seasons as coach of Essendon. He then became the inaugural coach of Greater Western Sydney which hurt his winning percentage. He won four premierships for the Bombers over three decades. He demanded his players be more versatile, opened the recruiting lines to indigenous Australians and adapted to change quickly.

DAVID PARKIN – 5 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships

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game.

recreate in whatever form you love.

KEVIN SHEEDY 7 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships

One of the game’s greatest players became one of the game’s greatest coaches.

Matthews’ four flags as coach were even more remarkable because of the degree of difficulty. The first came with Collingwood in 1990, after a 32-year drought. Then he helped the Brisbane Lions take the flag to Queensland for the first time, but more than that, he engineered a dynasty of

lists as crucial to keeping ahead of the

David also suggests a yearly performance review is essential for keeping goals on track.

AFL COACHING GREATS

LEIGH MATTHEWS – 5 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships

four ‘balances’ required in life that he

David Parkin coached the Hawks to the 1978 flag before gaining back-to-back premierships at Carlton in 1981-82.

Then, like Sheedy, he was able to win a flag in a third decade, when in a second stint with the Blues, he helped them win the 1995 flag. He took three different clubs to finals series and had a 59% winning record.

MICK MALTHOUSE – 7 Grand Finals, 3 Premierships Mick Malthouse coached to only three premiership flags (1992, ‘94 and 2010) but took all four of his clubs (Footscray, West Coast, Collingwood and Carlton) to finals series. In his 29 completed seasons, he has played in 20 finals series. At 718 games coached, he passed Jock McHale’s record in 2015.

“Secondly, mental/physical. I work out in various ways almost every day. At the experiences and impacts, almost every day too.

“Then there’s self/others. Whilst most of my endeavours fulfil selfish needs and desires, I try every day to do something for others who may need my support and encouragement.

“And lastly, stress/stress-free. I deliberately choose to pursue challenges that place me under reasonable stress levels. But at the same time, I meaningful and stress-free.”

RON BARASSI – 8 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships Ron Barassi coached Carlton to 3 Grand Finals, winning 2 flags before moving to North Melbourne where he won another 2 Premiership flags from 5 Grand Final appearances. Drawing from his own experience under Norm Smith, Barassi forced his Carlton squad to become more disciplined, committed to the club, and their career. He coached a tough brand of football and expected his players to show a selfless, team-oriented style.

ALASTAIR CLARKSON – 5 Grand Finals, 4 Premierships In 2007, Hawthorn made the semi-finals under the guidance of coach, Alastair Clarkson. A fiery coach, Clarkson demands as much from himself as he does from his players. After the decisive victory on October 3rd this year, he has the record for the most Hawthorn premierships of any coach. Contracted until the end of 2016, Clarkson faces the challenge of a new season and another record to beat.

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AN EXECUTIVE COACH IS NOT A FANCY BUS THAT DRIVES EXECUTIVES AROUND… SO WHAT IS IT?

COACHING THE BOSS (AND THE BOSS’S BOSS)

By John Raymond

WHEN YOU WERE A KID YOU PROBABLY HAD A COACH, WHETHER IT WAS A SOCCER COACH, A TENNIS COACH OR A FOOTY COACH. HOPEFULLY, THAT COACH WAS ENCOURAGING, CHALLENGING AND HELPED YOU PERFORM BETTER AT WHATEVER SPORT YOU WERE PLAYING. OR MAYBE YOU HAD A MATHS COACH OR AN ENGLISH COACH, WHO HELPED YOU TO GET BETTER RESULTS AT SCHOOL AND IN YOUR EXAMS.

S

ports coaching has been around for a long time and is what most people think of when you say “coach” – the sports coach is highly visible, whether it’s someone pacing the pool beside an Olympic swimmer, or sitting with his head in his hands when his team makes an “own goal”.

WHAT ABOUT EXECUTIVE COACHING? This is a much-misunderstood term and it only really emerged and evolved in the 1990s – just about 20 years ago now. The term “executive coach” can

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also be described as an “organisational coach” and is someone who helps people at all levels in organisations to improve their performance, by helping them eliminate whatever it is that interferes with high performance at work. Executive Coaching is often said to have been influenced by the work of Timothy Gallwey, an author who wrote a series of books in which he set forth a new methodology for coaching and for the development of personal and professional excellence in a variety of fields. He called this “The Inner Game” and wrote The Inner

Game of Tennis and The Inner Game of Golf before going on to write The Inner Game of Work to help people be better performers at work. Many see Gallwey as the founding thinker in the field of modern Executive Coaching.

SO, HOW DOES A COACHING CONVERSATION WORK? A coaching conversation should never be anything like the friendly chat you might have with a mate over coffee.

That kind of conversation usually has no specific outcomes, no actions and creates no real change; it’s usually not www.coachinglife.com.au

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A good coach does not suggest strategy or dwell on “the story” (what happened next?) and does not (well, hardly ever) give advice. challenging in any way. At IECL we like to say that “a good coaching conversation will get you thinking differently and acting on that new thinking.”

The GROW model is commonly used to structure a coaching conversation and is a good foundational model, especially for the beginner coach.

There have been many claims about GROW’s authorship and while no one person can be clearly identified as the originator, Graham Alexander, Alan Fine, and Sir John Whitmore all made significant contributions. Max Landsberg also describes GROW in his very readable book about coaching in organisations; The Tao of Coaching.

A good coach does not suggest strategy or dwell on “the story” (what happened next?) and does not (well, hardly ever) give advice. A really good coach builds rapport to provide a safe space for open discussion, ensures they have trust and then challenges their client through insightful questioning. They may also - through asking the right questions - hold up a “mirror” for their client to observe and reflect on their own behaviour and actions, and how these relate to the “interferences” in their lives.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE LIFE COACHING! ISN’T IT THE SAME THING? Executive or organisational coaching differs from life coaching in that the www.coachinglife.com.au

organisational coach usually has two clients; the organisational sponsor of the coaching (who is often authorising the payment of the coach’s bills) and the person being coached. This creates a triangular relationship which can mean a quite different coaching environment to life coaching (where usually the client is also paying the bill).

Often the two “clients” in the executive coaching triangle have differing agendas and may even have a different understanding about why the coaching is happening. A good organisational coach will ensure they have a robust discussion about the confidentiality and ethical issues around this three way relationship before they start the coaching engagement. They will also ask both parties to sign a “coaching agreement” that outlines the terms of the ongoing engagement. With this in place, everyone can relax, knowing that most of what is discussed in the coaching room is confidential and what is shared with the company is only whether the coaching goals have been met.

AH, SO IT’S BUSINESS COACHING IS IT? Well, no, not really. Business coaches tend to have previous experience in the client’s industry (or something closely related) and they regularly use their subject matter expertise in their discussions with clients. For example, they may use the coaching session to

review the business plan, talk about how things are going with various personnel, look at a potential changes of strategy etc. A business coach also gives advice to their client, based on their business experience. They often tell the client what to do. In many ways, a business coach is similar to a management consultant. A good executive coach will never tell you what to do, but they may well ask you the most important question you need to answer, or the question that nobody else has dared to ask…

HOW DO YOU BECOME AN ORGANISATIONAL COACH? Good organisational coaches often have a background working at mid to senior management (or higher) levels in organisations. While this is not entirely necessary, it is common, and it helps if the coach understands the culture and politics of organisations in order to coach successfully. However, we COACHINGLIFE

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have seen many great coaches come from industries as varied as education, psychology, television and the health sector. What is important is the ability to be present and listen fully, a curiosity about people and the capacity to think on your feet and follow the coaching conversation wherever your client takes it (they set the agenda, not you). Having a genuine interest in organisations, and how they operate also helps; if you dislike the corporate world, it’s probably best to stay away from organisational coaching.

WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF EXECUTIVE COACHING?

At IECL we train our organisational coaches in all the complexities of coaching within an organisation. The methodology learned can also be used to coach anyone, about anything, but a certain level of understanding of organisational context is necessary for an executive coach. For this reason, we ensure that our coach trainees understand that an executive must be coached holistically. They need to understand that their client exists,

While executive coaching has been popular in Australia since the late 1990’s, it is in more recent years that it has become a fairly common and positively regarded intervention (or even reward) for executives with a wide variety of performance related conundrums. As an industry we are increasingly seeing highly informed purchasers of coaching - some who are trained as coaches themselves - and most demand that the coaches they

and must survive and hopefully thrive, within a complex landscape which includes their own personal goals, values and beliefs, and also includes the organisation’s culture, systems, processes, and politics. There’s no point in coaching an executive to “follow their heart” if the company culture doesn’t reward that kind of behaviour. (Unless they want to leave the company, and that’s another story). hire be certified or accredited by an International Coach Federation (ICF) approved educator.

Some of this change in attitudes can be attributed to the 2011 Standards Australia publication: Coaching in Organizations. This handbook was written by a group of coaching training organisations (including IECL), as well as providers of coaching, and client company representatives. It is a world first, in terms of an entire industry agreeing on the parameters and putting them in writing, and sets

A 2008 WORLDWIDE STUDY FOUND THAT...

43% OF CEO’S AND 71% OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES

REPORT WORKING WITH A COACH

63% OF CONTACTED ORGANIZATIONS PLAN TO INCREASE THEIR USE OF COACHING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS 92% OF LEADERS BEING COACHED SAY THEY PLAN TO USE A COACH AGAIN

AN EARLIER STUDY REPORTED AN AVERAGE ROI OF OVER 520% FOR MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP COACHING INITIATIVES. THAT’S $100,000 FOR EVERY $20,000 SPENT ON COACHING. 40 // COACHINGLIFE

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out the expectations you should have of a coach and what all organisations should understand before purchasing coaching.

At around the same time the International Coach Federation (ICF) started to raise the bar in terms of what they expect from coaches wanting to become members, and/or gain ICF credentials. This increase in basic standards has contributed towards an increased professionalisation of the industry. However, we believe that it’s unlikely that coaching will become an official profession (with all that entails) any time in the next five or so years.

SO, HOW DO ALL THESE TYPES OF COACHING FIT TOGETHER? In the organisational coaching area there is increasing understanding of what a coach should and can provide.

Most purchasers of coaching are now clear about when they need an executive coach, as opposed to a mentor, a business coach, or a life

coach. Sports coaching is often far more directive (“you need to kick the ball like this”) and in many ways, can be closer to mentoring (especially if the coach is an expert or former champion in that sport). However, Gallwey would say that anyone can get better performance out of a sportsperson; it’s all about the “inner game”!

How do I get more information?

See the reading list below, and if you want to learn more about executive coaching, come to a free introductory session at IECL in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne or Perth. Or take a look at our website: www.iecl.com Reading List • The Tao of Coaching, Max Landsberg (1996) • The Inner Game of Work, Timothy Gallwey (2001) • Coaching for Performance, John Whitmore (2002) • Coaching in Organizations, Standards Australia (2011)

JOHN RAYMOND, Head of Coaching, IECL John is a Senior Executive Coach and Facilitator, and a Principal at IECL, Sydney www.iecl.com

TRAIN WITH THE INSTITUTE OF EXECUTIVE COACHING AND LEADERSHIP We are Australasia’s premier organisational coaching and coach training company. In business since 1999, we have trained over 4,500 professionals via our Accredited Coach Training Program (ICF ACTP).

We also offer: • • •

One-on-One Coaching (in all locations, and virtual coaching).

Organisational Coach Training in-house for organisations wanting to build a coaching cohort.

Leadership Development (coaching skills for leaders, high performance teaming, conversation skills training, and many other bespoke solutions).

We are headquartered in Sydney and offer coaching and coach training throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

For more information: www.iecl.com +612 8270 0600 coach@iecl.com www.coachinglife.com.au

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