Coaching Talent

The end of the 2019/2020 College Football season is quickly coming to a close. In one of the last games, I heard a play-by-play commentator make this statement. "Good coaching is taking advantage of the talents of your team."

I believe the commenter's concept/thought was correct; however, the phrase' taking advantage could be misinterpreted.

No matter how great the coach or leader, they shouldn't take advantage of anyone. Change the phrase from "taking advantage of" to "harnessing and maximizing," and we get a clear picture of what a leader/coach should do.

Building a great team means finding great talent and giving each person permission to work within the natural space of their unique gifts. I have friends who call this "harnessing genius."

There are no two people exactly alike. Each person is gifted with unique skills, talents, and personality that drives their actions. The discovery of this uniqueness can happen during onboarding, but also while working with them as a coach would.

During a football game telecast, you might also hear:' they were recruited as a quarterback, but moved to wide-receiver.' The coaches did that. Yes, you may have brought a person on for one position but recognized their 'genius' would benefit the team more in another.

In Brian Souza's book "The Weekly Coaching Conversation," he makes this statement: "Great coaches consistently get the most out of their people because they consistently put the most into their people."

Putting the most into people means spending time with them, recognizing their 'genius', and helping them work in that uniqueness.