THE GANG’S ON BOARD!
Why did you become a coach? Why do you coach now? Why did you pick up a tennis racket in the first place? (Ok mine had to do with a girl but that is a whole other story!)
We talk a lot here about the WHY for kids but one of the keys in evolving your program is the WHY for coaches! Change involves risk and depending on where we are in life risk can be exciting or scary! Understanding what motivates your coaches will help make changes and transitions more palatable.
So this is social media and lets cut straight to the point. I use a combo of three factors in discussing coach motivation.
Money, Respect and Efficiency
Now I don’t believe coach has exclusively one motivational driver but equally circumstances and our individual differences mean we are not all motivated in the same way. Our motivation is influenced by all three but there is usually a dominant driver.
So here is the whistle stop
Money (M) – Don’t look at this as a bad thing. We all need money to live. It is easy for money to be less of a factor when we are already comfortable, and money will play more of a role when we have pressure to earn based on our responsibilities (Home, family etc). Sure if this is too high a factor then maybe you have a problem but let’s be honest most of us don’t coach for free!
Respect (R) – This doesn’t mean winning awards it means wanting to do a good job and for coaches that means seeing other succeed. Respect can also be self-respect and be respect from the smile of a child. Most programs assume that this is the major driver for its staff and although we all want to do a good and will be fairly high in this factor the others also play a part.
Efficiency (E) – Like money don’t assume this is a bad thing. We are all busy as coaches, it’s a manic and demanding job and as such sometimes when you ask me to do more or make changes, I may be less than enthusiastic. Can you save me time, make my job easier, organise my schedule so I get more time with family etc.
So, when you want to make a transition you have to have your team on board. The value of the change you want to make is only valuable if it hits the motivating factor that is highest in the mind of that coach! It might also be a good place to start the conversation with them too. Don’t judge, instead try to understand that what drives us all is personal.
Your M coach will not see the value of making changes to a program unless it hits their driver, your E coach may think the added paperwork or sticker books take too much time. Some more senior R coaches believe in their system and would struggle to explain to customers that the way that they have been teaching is now going to change to something “better” (figuratively).
At evolution we try to make sure that every element of our program, every development hits these three boxes. Any resource must help you and your team make more money, do a better job and do all that with the higher level of efficiency. When you are on a mission you need to make sure your team are on board!
Join the Conversation at the It’s My Game Conference May 20th – 23rd 2021. Register now at www.itsmygame.net.
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