On Saturday, September 16th, the top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs trailed the South Carolina Gamecocks 14-3 at halftime. It is during these times of uncertainty when leadership is most needed. What head coach Kirby Smart would say to his team during the break would be critical.
The following is what took place:
During the game’s second half, the Bulldogs would outscore the Gamecocks 21-0 and would win 24-14.
Coach Smart is an elite coach. The following are just some of his accomplishments:
- 2-Time National Championship head coach
- 4-Time National Championship assistant coach while at Alabama
- 84-15 record
- multiple Coach of the Year awards
A Great Coach Gets Coached
Coach Smart is at the top of his profession. But even he knows how a great coach can still make him even better. In this CoachTube post on X (formerly Twitter), Coach Smart told the team, “I was about to tear y’all up, but right before I walked in, a sports psychologist walked up to me and said, ‘Don’t get on them, y’all got this. Just go play-by-play, y’all are not going to get all 14 points back in one play.’ ”
The team’s sports psychologist coached Coach Smart up. He redirected his emotions, thinking, energy, and messaging which then helped guide his team to victory.
7 Reasons Why Even The Best Leaders Need A Coach
This experience teaches us seven reasons why even the best leaders need a coach:
Everyone Gets Better With A Coach
No matter how talented you may be, everyone gets better with a coach.
If you don’t think you need a coach, please know Tiger Woods had a swing coach. Tom Brady had a throwing coach. Bill Gates had a business coach which you can about in Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell.
Those men are three of the best, if not the best, to ever do what they did and they still had a coach. How much more so do you need a coach as a leader?
Get The Right Coach
There is an organization in my area where the CEO employed the services of a coach. Unfortunately, it was the wrong type of coach. Strategies were questioned, quality staff left in droves, financial expectations went unmet, customers were lost, and trust in the organization’s leader plummeted.
John Maxwell’s Law of the Inner Circle teaches that your success is determined by those closest to you. Therefore, make sure you have the right coach. For a great resource to help you in this area, click 10 Signs Of A Great Coach.
You Will Either Be Coached By Information Or Situation
What would have happened if Coach Smart would have ignored the sports psychologist’s advice? What would have happened if he “tore into them”? Would they still have won the game. Perhaps.
But what if they would have lost? Coach Smart’s decision-making would have been questioned because he rejected the counsel of a trusted advisor.
You learn from the information given to you by others who have your best interest in mind or by disappointing situations. You decide. People who ignore wise counsel are often left to learn from only their disappointing experiences.
A Coach Reminds You To Trust Your Training
Coach Smarts first words were, “This is what we trained for. This is what we worked for. This is who we are.”
A good coach always takes you back to the fundamentals you have learned. Those are what makes you successful.
A Coach Helps You See The Big Picture
The job description of a head coach is winning. It is not just being proficient on one side of the ball. Those are coordinators. A coach helps you see the big picture and what is involved to win the game as an entire team.
Coach Smart noted there would be six possessions in the second half. The Bulldogs score four times and the defense would limit South Carolina to won score. Coach Smart saw the entire game which helps keeps momentary ups-and-downs in proper context.
A Coach Helps You Stay In The Moment
Giannis Antetokounmpo once said, “When you focus on the past, that’s your ego. When you focus on the future, it’s my pride. Focus on the moment, in the present. That’s humility.” For a detailed breakdown of this quote and its implications for leaders, check out pages 80-82 of my book 2021: The Year In Leadership: The Stories of Faith, Athletics, Business, and Life Which Inspired Us All. Kindle editions are available for only $7.99.
Coach Smart centered the target by saying, “We need to win one moment at a time. What’s the first moment? Kickoff return. What’s the next moment? The first play on offense. Not the drive, the first play.”
Giannis would like Coach Smart.
A Coach Helps You Avoid Outcome Bias
Successful leaders know success is not determined in a moment, but the accumulation of numerous well-played individual moments combined over time.
Coach Smart concluded, “We’re going to win one moment at a time because we’re not outcome related. We’re not worried about the outcome of that play. We’re worried about winning the moment.”
It is about the process.
Conclusion
No matter how talented you are as a leader, a quality coach will help you with quality information, remind you to trust your training, help you see the big picture, stay in the moment, avoid outcome bias, and ultimately get better.
Allow Me To Coach You From Afar
If you don’t have a coach, please allow me to coach you from afar. Click here for a list of my books. Also, check out my two coaching courses Masterclass – Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices of Apex Leaders for $77 and 2-Minute Leader Coaching Course for $37.
These will help you get better.
My latest eBook is available for download. The Top 65 Leadership Quotes Of 2022 Part 1 is a resource every leader should have. Great quotes bring clarity and put into words who we intuitively feel as leaders. They give us wisdom and insights which advance the mission and vision of our organizations. This eBook includes thoughts and insights from leaders like Warren Buffett, Nick Saban, James Clear, Dawn Staley, Jurgen Klopp, Jerry Seinfeld, and even Ted Lasso. This resource will take you about 10 minutes to read but a lifetime to apply. You will want to stop and ponder the implications of each quote. Click HERE or on the image provided for immediate download!