People Skills Please... - Mental Toughness

What's the secret winning ingredient missing from many coaches? People skills. Many coaches are hired for their knowledge of the game, but what good does it do if no one will follow you? If you can't connect to your players, know your players, and motivate your players, it doesn't matter what you know.

My current two poster children for this -- Brad (Chilly) Childress and Charlie Weis. Childress may think that Farve is calling the wrong audibles from the line, but he motivates his teammates and wins games. Why call out your QB for one loss when you're vying for a bye-week spot in the playoffs? The timing alone of Childress' comments causes me to question whether he really knows how to motivate a team, or is he just an Xs and Os guy.

Weis had the same rap sheet -- a guy who was brilliant at New England but couldn't connect with his players. The result was losing season after losing season. Whether its football or business, the biggest thing you can do as a manager, coach, or director is let your people know you care about them. If they feel cared for, they'll go to the ends of the earth for you.

I hate to quote pop culture, but I'll do it anyway. This dynamic was well demonstrated in the movie "The Blind Side." In it, the coach can't get Michael Oher to block. It take Sandra Bulluck's character to walk on the field in her high heals to make him relate to his blocking responsibilities in a meaningful way but describing his QB and RB as family and his job as protector and guardian.

ADs...before you hire the next football genius as your coach, make sure they can also act as friend, parent, and care-giver.

Page navigation

My Blog » People Skills Please...

Comments

Leave a Comment