Beyond Players: Unraveling the Need for Coaching in Coaching Staff
We’ve taken a big leap over the last decade in understanding the psychology of performance and sport when it comes to athlete development. The number of trained professionals in sport psychology and mental performance coaching is growing as clubs, teams, individual athletes and sport institutions are increasingly utilising the expertise of human performance professionals. Priotitizing the mental aspects of high performance and supporting athletes in mental skill development is becoming the norm in professional sports.
But what about the coaches?
Too often the emphasis is only on enhancing athlete performance - we forget to coach the coaches. The perspective for success is much too narrow, if we solely look at athlete and team performance. In order to reach full potential we need to consider not only the role, impact and leadership of the coach, but also the necessity for developing the coach’s performance and competence.
We have already seen advancements in the acknowledgement of the coach’s influence as a psychological leader for the team. We have excellent scientific research on team development and we’ve gained clarity on how leadership style affects players. Mental performance coaches are becoming a crucial member of team staff with various approaches to supporting coaches and players in creating an environment that serves the team’s performance. In the High Performance Unit at the Olympic Committee of Finland, coach and leadership development are now a key focus area (Hamalainen, 2016).
We also recognize that while managing a diverse group of individuals into high performance requires multidimensional coaching competence, the coach’s ability to create psychological safety and meet athletes’ psychosocial needs is often limited, requiring further training and professional development. Coach Development Programs are designed to foster athlete-coach relationships, and have been proven to be effective (Evans, 2015). Although there’s still a lot of work to do, coaches are increasingly educated and supported in effective leadership for successful team performance.
But, have we really considered how it all emanates from the coach’s personal ability to lead themselves first?
Creating high-performance starts with the coach’s self-management
Self-leadership is imperative to truly have control over influence and impact as a coach. It incorporates two vital skills:
1) self-awareness - the ability to identify and reflect on internal state and mental processes, have awareness of what drives behaviour and how it impacts others (Carden, 2021), as well as
2) self-regulation, which refers to managing one’s emotions, confidence, mental game - being able to choose behaviour and reactions (Bryant, 2012). These two interconnected skills are the foundation for truly sustainable coaching (Sislbee, 2010).
By identifying emotional states and being aware of blind spots, coaches are better equipped to make effective coaching choices that serve the players and the game. Excellent management truly does come from cultivating an understanding of oneself first (Drucker, 1999) - a principle embraced by top coaches committed to personal and professional development, who aspire to evolve into athlete-based leaders with emotional and psychosocial competence transcending the conventional role of a sports coach. Self-awareness provides the backbone for confidence (Carden, 2022), and by refining their self-regulation skills as well as developing their coaching competence, coaches are able to truly step into empowering leadership, enabling them to guide athletes into consistent high level performance.
We can’t afford to over-look the necessity for emotional intelligence
Let’s bring it back to the players. How does the coach’s emotional competence help players be at their best?
For millenials and Generation Z, athlete needs have changed. More than ever, players need a coach who communicates a lot and does so openly and with transparency. One of the cornerstones of today’s athlete-based coaching now needs to be emotion regulation - young athletes crave enjoyment, a sense of being heard, valued, and understood. To maximize player performance, coaches must possess the skills to identify and meet athletes' emotional needs, paving the way for players to reach their optimal mental state.
If you’re still confused as to why it’s so important to consider athlete emotions, here’s why:
Because they’re at the heart of every challenge and every success you face as a coach.
Think about it: when you’re dealing with players that are underachieving during games, not meeting exceptions, who struggle to stick to the plan, who are making poor choices, not producing and not being the leaders they should be - the reason is rarely lack of desire to succeed. Trust me, the players want to feel important. They want to step up and they wish they were able to do better.
Almost always it boils down to the mental state and the complexities of being a biopsychosocial human. Emotions and needs are essentially what drive us - and when harnessed properly, they help us succeed. But when emotions control us, we fall short of our capabilities. We are only able to perform at full potential when our psychological needs are met and we have the ability to manage the internal state.
And the same goes for the coach - when you fall short of your capabilities as a leader, the same principles of performance state regulation and coaching competence come into play.
Therefore, one of the most valuable skills a coach can have is the ability to lead themselves first into a performance state that serves their coaching, and understand what it takes to meet athlete needs and lead the players into their optimal performance state too - in order for both to maintain presence and focus during the game, handle the pressure and setbacks, deal with competition and find a way to be creative and execute as required, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Developing coaching competence for high-performance
Exceptional leaders distinguish themselves through mastering self-leadership first (Goleman, 2013), and as Bill Gates puts it (2013), everyone needs a coach - that’s how we improve. It’s not enough to know how you should coach. It’s not enough to know about the importance of creating autonomy, cohesion, psychological safety and a mastery climate. Coach needs to have the awareness for critical self-reflection to really identify whether or not they’re actually coaching the way they think they are.
Coaching for coaches provides a professional space and opportunity for coaches’ growth and development on two dimensions:
a) Self-leadership: improving coach performance through creating self-awareness and enhancing self-regulation skills, the ability to self-manage the emotional state and confidence.
b) Coaching competence: developing leadership skills, mastering influence and impact, enhancing emotional intelligence, improving the athlete-relationships and learning to efficiently deal with the challenges and pressures that come with the job.
Together these two dimensions enable high level human performance from the coach, as well as the ability to coach the players into high level human performance more effectively.
And yes, the emphasis is on the word human, it’s not just about being a coach or an athlete. For sustainable success in a demanding profession, it’s necessary to understand the complex human behind both - and it’s also key for long-term well-being.
Resilient leadership in professional sport requires emotional competence
As the pressures and performance demands on top level coaches increase, the skills of self-management rise to an even greater value. Being able to lead yourself first is the lifeblood of being successful at your job, as self-leadership is the path to effectively leading others (Browning, 2018). Young athletes need emotionally skilled coaches above anything else, who can meet their needs and help them regulate mental state to what high performance requires. Emotional intelligence is now more important than ever: a self-aware, competent coach has the ability to meet athlete needs, be present, adapt and show empathy, and coach through empowering questions that serve the athlete’s development and performance.
Long-term success is powered by the ability to regulate performance state. Improving these skills not only with athletes, but also with coaches creates the best opportunities for consistent performance and success in the competitive environment of elite sports.
Author
Mirjam Wallin is a professional Certified Mental Performance Coach on mission to empower professional athletes and coaches to harness their full potential and succeed at the top of their game.
She specializes in 1-on-1 coaching and uses her expertize of human performance & development, emotional well-being and effective coaching to help high-performers execute consistently at their highest level.
Sources
Browning, M. (2018). Self-Leadership: Why It Matters. International Journal of Business and Social Science.
Bryant, A. (2012) Self-Leadership: How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out.
Carden, J., Jones, R. J., & Passmore, J. (2021). Defining Self-Awareness in the Context of Adult Development: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Management Education.
Carden, J., Passmore, J., & Jones, R. J. (2022). Exploring the role of self-awareness in coach development: A grounded theory study. International Journal of Training and Development.
Drucker, P. (1999). Managing oneself. Harvard Business Review.
Evans, M. B. & McGuckin, M. & Gainforth, H. & Bruner, M. & Côté, J.(2015). Coach development programmes to improve interpersonal coach behaviours: A systematic review using the re-aim framework. British journal of sports medicine.
Gates, B. (2013) Tedx Talk.
Goleman, D. (2013). Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Harvard Business Review Press.
Hamalainen, K., & Blomqvist, M. (2016). A New Era in Sport Organizations and Coach Development in Finland. International Sport Coaching Journal.
Silsbee, D. (2010). The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Facilitating Leads Development.
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