5 things great coaches and leaders do

5 things great coaches and leaders do1. They don’t hear but listen:It’s a known forte of any great coach or a leader that they listen very well, and try to come up with better answers and solutions to people’s and athlete’s problems just because they listen better and as a result understand better.

2. Better AdaptersGreat coaches are just like chameleons. They adapt to any environment any situation seamlessly. They make great timely decisions and find better solutions to problems. They are also masters at adapting to different personalities in their athletes and teams.

3. Leading By ExampleThey do it and prove it before they ask anyone else to do it for them, and hold themselves accountable at all costs. For example if they want everybody to arrive at 9:00am to the tennis court they’ll make sure that they are there before everybody else. A good leader always raises the levels of everybody around them.

4. They care moreHave you heard the saying "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." That is exactly my point here. Everybody wants to be loved and cared for. So make your athletes and teams feel special and cared for, and that alone can make you a better person and a coach if you want to be

6. They keep it simple:Don’t try and complicate things. When you talk, keep it brief and to the point. Your athletes or clients don’t need to know about the anatomy of a shoulder if you’re explaining an exercise. When it’s kept simple, it’s understood better. When it’s understood better, productivity and results will be higher.

In the sports world, coaches often make their teams watch footage of past games. They study what plays worked -- and which could work better with some tweaking. They figure out vulnerabilities. This post-game analysis is key to improving. It's expected as part of practice. As a coach who has spent nearly two decades studying and learning about leadership, I know that my thinking has evolved immensely on this subject. For those of you who are looking for a few new ideas, or better yet, you are a new coach trying to accelerate the learning curve, for the next three weeks in my videos I will share with you three things that I see great leaders doing all the time that you can do as well. Unfortunately, most coaches ignore these three simple items that make all the difference.