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Have you ever been a coach to a neighborhood team?
I know how it feels the
first time I've coached a team of seven-year-old soccer kids and how much
they can really test my patience, not to mention sanity as they run around
kicking the ball like ants to a huge, white crumb.
It feels strange at
first, having to be stared at by a bunch of kids who they will know that
I'm not the one in the field.
Sounds wrong in a sense, right?
But what is
the dead about coaching?
Coaching is all about being a, well, 'coach' in the corporate world of
handlers, front-liners and even a couple of benchwarmers biding their time
to be given a chance to perform.
I know how that feels when I go back to
my regular day job.
Some players are just MVP material, and some of them
are just to support the MVP's so why bother sticking around?
It sounds
ironic when they say 'there is no I in team', but even the underachievers
can be sore losers as well.
These are steps that can be done within the day, and no matter what, it
takes determination to be a coach.
1. There is a WHOLE lot of talk these days about Corporate Team Building.
There are many, many options: vacation packages, rope courses, on-going
office games, ice-breakers, etc.
Management can also purchase videos,
books, and seminar packages to assist them in building up their
organization into a team worthy of belonging.
A little later I will give
you some ideas of where you can go for information on these team-building
tools.
2. The truth about motivation is waiting to be grasped!
It is ripe and
ready for you to put into action today.
Don't settle for mind-numbing
gibberish.
Get practical in 3 small ways to begin looking forward to your
alarm clock sounding off each morning before you huddle with the team.
3. Experience is the best thing despite of what course you graduated in.
There is something about being a people person who knows how to stir the
energetic side of one individual, and more so when you mix it up with an
entire team.
4. To question a person by his or her performance is sometimes required,
but never question their knowledge or their intelligence.
Sadly, I have
seen a few mistakes from past coaches who never seem to understand what a
player has to go through to get the job right.
It will lead to further
aggravation and maybe even hostility.
If you want the job done right, then
go do it yourself.
You'll see how it is to be at the receiving end and it
will help your set a much better course for improvement.
5. Sending a player to the bench is probably the worse experience a coach
has to go through, especially if your player is the top performer.
In
dealing with this kind of person, see to it that he spills his guts
voluntarily.
Egotism in a performer tends to make them lose their focus on
even the smallest mistakes, then you can catch him or her red handed.
Be
firm, but understanding about it.
6. Don't allow your position to blind you from what you are supposed to
do.
Even coaches are human enough to think that they are far more
superior, but only by rank.
Even if you have been in their shoes when you
were their age, it's better to dole out a piece of wisdom in order for
them to realize that this will be for their own benefit.
7. Lastly, you should learn to trust yourself and your team.
Decisions and
performance are primarily your goals, and there are many of them to see if
they could perform the task much more efficiently.
So before you think
about sending one member to the bench, have a good chat with him or her
and see if they have any problems.
If it's too personal, then just
encourage them to do their best and it also helps to give them a good,
encouraging slap on the back.
I guess there's all there is to it.
Being a corporate drone myself, I know
how important it is for a company to be successful, and we're all part of
that success.
Coaches are there not to make your work a little difficult
just because you have either an attitude problem or not much a performer,
but they're the guides who will help you perform as hard as you can
possibly can.
You'll do them proud one of these days, as well as you.
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