While watching the Olympic games this year I was particularly interested in observing the interaction coaches were having with their players.

One night I got hooked into watching a Table Tennis match that was a nail biter, and they were playing to get into the quarter-finals. After an intense game, they were all tied up for the deciding set and that’s when I noticed something strange. Between sets, they are allowed to have a quick chat with their coach to talk strategy, go over the game plan, and reset their thinking. For one player, there was no discussion, nor strategy talk….he didn’t have a coach!

At an elite level, I was shocked at what I was seeing. I also couldn’t help but imagine what was going through this player’s mind. He was facing elimination from the Olympic games, a tournament of the highest calibre, yet he had no coach. Instead, he was sitting head in his hands, rubbing the sweat off his face with a towel.

When the cameras focussed on the other player, there was a lively discussion between the player and coach. There was lots of nodding, passionate instruction, a bit of a shoulder massage and what looked to be plenty of reinforcement that winning was entirely possible.

Of course, the player that had a coach won but that isn’t the point. When I did a bit of research, it turned out that the player without a coach had managed to beat one of the tournament favourites the round before. He also did this without a coach.

In May last year, I wrote an article about the value of coaching. While there is strong evidence to support an increase in performance across almost any domain, I reckon the best part of having a coach is the process of sharing those moments of success and hardship. It’s about having support in those critical moments where your thoughts and actions aren’t aligned. It’s in those moments where all of the prep, all the techniques, all the training become relevant…and the coach is right there with you.

It’s commonplace to have a coach at the elite level, but every now and then, somebody goes it alone and still achieves success. Whether you have a coach or not won’t guarantee success or failure but one thing is for certain, your experience will be a whole lot richer if you do have a coach in your corner, helping lead you when it inevitably gets hard.

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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

I’m fascinated with people, always have been and always will be. From a very early age, I keenly observed people, I was curious about what motivated them, what made them successful and why they made certain choices. This curiosity led me to study Psychology. After graduating with my Master of Organisational Psychology, I worked for Gallup, a global leader in engagement and strengths-based development. I became a strengths-based coach, engagement expert and worked with senior leaders all over the world.

If you’re curious about how I can help you personally or with the leadership of your team/organisation get in touch via my email: joe@joehart.com.au | website: joehart.com.au | Phone: +61425 224 825