Someone asked me the other day about my leadership style what kind of a leader I am. I replied without hesitation “I’m a coach.” After the conversation I realized that maybe my definition of coaching wasn’t the same as my questioners. Did she think that I was the Zen master Phil Jackson managing the egos of Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant or in her mind was I a coach like Bobby Knight who threw invectives at his players and chairs across the court?
In addition to cheap airline seats and expensive handbags coach is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as A) someone who was responsible for managing or leading a team or B) an expert who teaches a skill.
The question comes up why would we lead a team or teach a skill. In the case of leading a team, whether that’s a football team trying to win a Super Bowl, a sales team trying to make their numbers, or surgical team trying to have save a life the reason is the same: to accomplish a goal or to do something together collectively that we cannot do individually
In the case of teaching a skill the reason to do it is to make the person you are teaching it to better.
In both of these cases the reason to coach is to make an impact.
So my definition of coaching is this a coach is “responsible for making an impact through the transference of skill.”
A coach is responsible. When you become a coach whether you’re coaching a sports team or managing a group you’re responsible not just for the performance of the group but for the impact that you are making on the group. All coaches will make an impact. That impact may be major or minor it, could be positive or negative, but there is no arguing that all coaches will make an impact either on the individuals they are coaching.
In my definition of coaching I say transfer of skills rather than the Oxford English dictionary definition of teaching of skills – a good coach recognizes when they do not have the skills inherent to teach and will find experts who can come in and teach those skills. A good coach facilitates the transference of skills. For example, I teach hitting to youth baseball players. I have expertise in the teaching of hitting so when I coach hitting I am actually the teacher. I also coach youth football and don’t know a lot about the play of linebackers so I cannot teach that but I can facilitate the transfer of knowledge by finding an expert on playing linebacker who can come in and teach those skills.
So there we have my definition of coaching – a coach is “responsible for making an impact to the transference of skill.”
