Coach

Pick a sport. Any sport.

Pick a team. Any team.

Pick a coach. Any coach.

Now, watch them closely.

What do you see?

I will tell you what I do not see. I do not see a person standing on the sidelines with a latex glove that reaches up to their armpits and a barrel of lubricant right next to them poised to ram their hand up the ass of every player on the team. They do not seek to control every action of every person in play for every minute of the game. And they do not suppress autonomy and individual decision-making in the heat of the contest.

What I do see is a person standing on the sidelines guiding, not directing, individual and collective performance. I see a person working to develop great players. You see, a great coach builds great teams. They find the right mix of breadth and depth in the individual skill set, and they create lineups that balance these skills. They put the right people in the right position in order to win the game. They visualize victory and enlist their teams in that vision. They set direction and make the plan to get them to the goal. They ensure each individual understands the mission. Then, they unleash the players and coach. They coach.

In leadership, the words “coach” and “coaching” have become cliché…poorly-used clichés. In most business circumstances, what is meant is “feedback,” manager, and director. It is more akin to coaching in the Pee Wee Football sense than the NFL sense. The former is precisely the type of coaching that is not needed in today’s world for a business to be successful. We should not seek to control the individual but guide them instead. We should not seek to create every process but allow the individuals who do the work to organically evolve their method of operation. We cannot expect the implementation of high-tech tools to cure our organizational ills. We cannot expect bureaucracy and red tape to help us control the flow and pace of work. And we cannot expect to cultivate a courageous workforce in an environment that lacks trust…on both sides.

So, if you aren’t wearing pads or armor or $500 sneakers, get the heck out off the court.