Reader,
This week, I was fortunate to be part of an excellent workshop on leadership.
The topic is so deep that inevitably, there were multiple threads that emerged from the discussion in the room, and the challenges the presenter put to the group. However, the key theme was around leading yourself, and out of that, knowing yourself and your personal values.
In order to be an effective leader, you have to be able to be able to lead yourself, and be the best version of yourself. Most coaches tend to be people who thrive on serving and supporting others. This is a great attribute but to be an effective leader, we need to make time for ourselves. This can help with clarity.
Knowing who you are, what your values are, and getting clear on your own coaching or leadership style takes time, hard work, feedback and reflection.
So why are our values so important in effective coaching?
Three Things to Consider
- Pressure: Whether you’re standing in front of a group of players or parents for the first time, or in the changing rooms with a senior international team, pressure is a constant in coaching. The “pressure” at U7 level may be as simple as putting a good session or speaking well in front of the group. At a high performance level it may be a must win game on the world stage. When pressure comes on, our values can be tested and staying true to who we are and what we believe in those moments is important in being authentic and impactful in your coaching.
- Establishing Values: Have you set your own values? There are a myriad of ways to go about establishing your own values, but actually taking the time to sit down and consider what you stand for is important. More so, it can be great to share these values with your team if you’re helping them in understanding their own, or establishing values that underpin a team culture.
- Adaptability: In my mind, effective leadership requires us to be adaptable. Whether it’s for a fixture, dealing with a variety of individuals in our care (and their differences), supporting performance in the right way at the right time, and being able to think on your feet, top coaches need to be able to adapt under pressure or pivot quickly. From session design to tactics, we need to think on our feet.
One thing to try this week
If you haven’t already, sit down and map out your personal values.
Give yourself some space to think about who you are and what you stand for.
In order to test these, you may ask players or coaching colleagues to provide some feedback on what type of leader you are, what areas are your strengths, and what your development areas may be.
This can be eye-opening, and often we all have blind spots (both positive and negative) in our leadership that can be revealed by others.
One Critical Resource on the Topic
Check out this Masterclass Discussion with Dr. John Alder from the PDP Archives, which tackles leadership and values.
