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| Psychology |
The Coach As Leader: A Matter of Moving From Strength
by: Doug Williamson
| | The following is an extract from an article that first appeared in the Soccer Journal of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The content is part of the presentation given to coaches who attend the NSCAA residential academies. NCSCAA Staff Coach, Doug Williamson, is the developer of the presentation.
I'd like to review the foundations of leadership; these are basic elements on which to build success in leadership:
1. Belief in Talent: Genius is often one or two talents maximized!
The most important ingredient in the success of any human endeavor, including leadership, is talent.
Following are the Talents of Outstanding Leaders:
Great leaders provide clear, consistent direction:
- They create a vision and strategic direction.
- They see the big picture.
- They conceptualize the process, the issues and allow for contingencies.
- They focus their associates on clear, consistent goals.
- They are goal-oriented and have the ability to make corrections.
Outstanding leaders drive results:
- They are highly motivated, intense and achievement-oriented.
- They are ego-driven, with the thought "I can do this."
- They are competitive, want to win.
- They persist in the face of obstacles, sell their ideas, and drive performance.
- They are courageous and when convinced they are right will battle.
- They have the courage to lead.
- They are activators.
- Have no problem with having others achieve things.
The best leaders maximize their human resources:
- They relate to associates to build teamwork and support.
- They connect at a deep, personal level.
- They are also multi-relators, they can meet a lot of people and connect with all.
- They also have individualized perception, that is they treat everyone as an individual person.
- They develop people to meet future challenges.
- They get joy in watching someone improve themselves and move on.
- They create a climate conducive to partnership and growth.
- They have the ability to get people to work together as a team.
Effective leaders are performance-oriented:
- They are responsible.
- They are ethical.
- They help individuals grow as people.
- They are arrangers.
- They have the ability to coordinate matters.
- They are strategic thinkers and have strategies ready when plans are blocked.
Effective leaders manage systems:
- They are objective, astute in understanding the financials.
- They can create lean, effective organizations, which maximize individual impact.
- They are administratively effective, well-organized and disciplined in their approach to work.
But...outstanding leaders are not all alike...each leads from his/her individual set of talents and strengths.
2. Study Success, Study the Best: Outstanding leaders multiply their efforts through talented people.
- Not a focus on "the norm"
- Partner with talent!!
- "People don't learn from trial and error; they learn from trial and success" (Jack Detchon).
- As coaches, we are first imitators, then innovators.
3. Focus on Excellence: There is no excellence without recognition!
In the NSCAA State Diploma course we recommend that coaches working with young players "recognize every measurable bit of improvement" to facilitate the learning process;
Key: praise recognition when deserved; can never be excessive.
4. Move from Strength: People develop best in areas of strength and change least in areas of non-talent.
- In coaching, this means develop players' strengths and help them manage around their weaknesses.
- We are happiest when we get to do the things we are good at
- and we also learn most rapidly in these areas; develop your strengths as a leader!
5. Measurement Improves Performance: People get better at what we can measure; we can't manage what we can't measure.
- Find ways to measure your performance as a leader and measure the growth and development of our players; we can measure improvement!
- Players' evaluations are helpful; so are other types of evaluations.
We are not talking simply about wins and losses but such things as improvement of team, players who continue to play the game, players who graduate, etc. Also successful first touches, air balls won, the percentage of correct tactical choices and other measurable aspects of player performance.
6. Build Team Synergy: Build partnerships to share your strengths and to support your efforts.
- Again, partner with talent.
- Look for complementary talents on your coaching staff and among the team members;
- Also build team strategy with players. Sometimes you play a certain formation with your team because of the fact that your talent pool functions best within that framework. A three front will work one year but not another.
- The answer: team synergy.
Doug Williamson is a much-respected member of the NSCAA Academy staff and a full-time minister of the First United Methodist Church in Omaha, NE.
Information about how to join the NSCAA and the many services it provides can be found at www.nscaa.com
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