03. Myth 4: Debunking Common Coaching Myths – III
Read MoreContinuing our exploration of the common myths about coaching, let us look at myth…
4. A Coach Needs to be Perfect
Let us begin with a short story…
One day a mother visited a wise sage, seeking advice on how she can help her son break his sugar addiction of over two years.
The sage contemplated for a while and replied with a serene smile – “I have no advice for you right now. Please return after two weeks… and don’t forget to get your son.”
Empty handed and disappointed, she left.
Two weeks later the mother visited the sage once again. This time with her son.
The sage gently pulled the son aside and told him – “Son, it would be best if you quit eating sugar or atleast limit your sugar intake…”
He went to mention a few drawbacks of consuming sugar and also mentioned a few research results supporting his claims.
The son returned to his mother, fully convinced that excess sugar intake is indeed bad for him.
Within a mere 15 minutes the sage had accomplished what the mother couldn’t in the last two years – he had convinced her son to quit, or atleast reduce his sugar intake.
Amazed at the result, the mother asked the sage – “Oh great one, why did you ask me to return after two weeks? You hardly took 15 minutes to convince my son!”
With a serene smile, the sage replied – “Two weeks ago I was addicted to sugar myself. I wanted to make sure I could give up sugar before advising someone else to do it.”
If you’re not perfect, you can’t help someone else.
This is an assumption people normally make when they think about teaching, training and coaching.
But is it true? Not really…
Let us validate this claim with a football example, where there are more than a few cases of star players who weren’t the best coaches. Conversely, there are also cases of great coaches who were not the best players.
Take for example, the Charlton brothers – Bobby and Jack Charlton. Bobby was considered to be a far better player, but failed at lower league coaching, whereas Jack – arguably a weaker player – turned out to be a tremendous manager-coach.
Not only football, athletics in general is speckled with great coaches who were not star players themselves.
Meaning one need not be perfect to be a good coach. You just need to be exemplary within your domain. And of course, from time to time – just like everyone else – you’re also bound to make mistakes, and that’s ok. Just make sure you’re open to feedback from your seniors as well as your subordinates, and work on yourself based on their feedback. This approach can help you improve in more ways than one – as an employee, as a manager and also as a coach.
The Bottom Line: Coaches need not be perfect, and sometimes, even coaches can do with some coaching!
[/showhide]