It's not one of the 7 C's because it's in a class all by itself. It's the C that brings all the other C's together and transforms principles and ideas into action and ultimately a winning team. It all comes down to the Big C: coaching.
Today there's a lot of talk about leadership in sports, business, health care, and education; however, the concept of coaching is often ignored. It shouldn't be. It's an essential part of a leader's role. Now more than ever, leaders must coach the teams they lead to help them grow and become better leaders. True leaders don't create followers. They create more leaders. And this is accomplished through great coaching. Whether it's the executive leadership team of a Fortune 500 company, a sports team, an emergency room team, military team, or a school team you must coach the people you lead to develop, mentor, encourage, and guide them. This not only improves them, it improves you and your relationships, connections, and organization.
By coaching up and coaching down you create your culture. By coaching with optimism and positivity you become contagious. By coaching your team and mentoring them individually you earn their trust and connect with them. By being consistent, their trust in you is strengthened. By helping them get better through adversity and challenges you show you are committed to their growth and progress. By caring about them, you give everything you have to help your team become all they are meant to be.
We want to encourage you so that regardless of your position or role within your organization, you coach others to be their best. If you are the principal of a school, make the time to coach your teachers. Research shows that principals who coach their teachers to be better instructors create greater student performance. If you are a leader of a company, invest time to coach your leadership team and encourage them to coach the people who report to them. We've seen CEOs coach their leadership teams to be better leaders, which led to improved relationships, engagement, and performance throughout the organization. If you are a manager, coach the people you manage. Ask them to identify their vision and goals, and then ask how you can help them achieve them. Help them become the best versions of themselves and they will help the company grow. If you are in business, ask your frontline customer service employees to coach your customers. When you coach and guide your customers, they will become your customers for life.
A lot of coaches in the sports world read business and leadership books. But we believe that business, education, and non-profit leaders can learn a lot about coaching from the sports world. Billy Graham said one coach will impact more people in a year than most people do in a lifetime. If you doubt this, do an informal survey and ask people who made a difference in their lives. Teachers and coaches are up there with family members. Yet, we don't often hear people say, “My manager changed my life” or “My CEO changed my life” or “My hospital administrator changed my life.” It doesn't have to be this way. If you decide to invest in others and coach them the way great coaches do in sports, you can have an incredible impact. Great coaches succeed not because they are great, but because they bring out the greatness in others. You can utilize the 7 C's to become a Big C and start coaching today.