“Conscious Coaches keep their dedication to their families and their own health as they traverse the various roads of their professional career.”
Chapter 5 Takeaways
- KPIs of Conscious Coaches
- Balance Life & Family
- 3 Cs + 1 to Build Relationships
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are those fancy business metrics that likely existed in your Accounting 101 textbooks from college. For coaches, the author – Brett Bartholomew – identified these 3 competencies to build a legacy:
Managing Egos
“When we are able to better manage our ego, we are better able to manage every situation around us and find better solutions to a given problem.”
Competitive industry surrounded by athletes and coaches looking to come out on top – in a game, job title, or otherwise. Egos are inherent to the coaching environment and our ability to balance IQ with EQ can create separation from sustainable careers to flashes in the pan. To be frank, with the volatility of reactions following results or rapidness of disseminating information, facts or exaggeration; today provides a great litmus test for a coach’s ability to handle a variety of situations beyond the court.
Mentorship
“I quickly learned that these “situational mentors” will teach you just about everything you want to know if you can just shut up, pay attention and continue to get your hands dirty.”
The essence of the book, and really the essence of how or why we got into coaching. Somewhere along the way, an ignition was started driving us to get better, work harder, and take pride in productivity. That drive came from mentorship. And the quote above identifies how mentorship comes in many shapes – books, staff, teammates, or even social media. This website was initiated to provide a platform for coaches at all levels across the country to continue to work on their craft out of inspiration from a website that no longer exists. “College Chalktalk / National Coaches Diary Series” by Chris DiSano had articles written by dream-chasing college coaches about a day in the life. As a fresh out of college D3 assistant I thought it was inspiring to read all the journeys some of these other coaches have traveled. So with the disadvantages of today’s climate comes the advantages of unlimited boundaries of mentorship.
Provide for Our Family
The commitment to coaching can come with a toll. Beyond balancing life with family comes the implicit costs that can create financial obstacles for many coaches. At any level, there is a role where HR would have a hard time justifying hours worked to income earned. High school coaches with small staffs trying to create year-round programs tapping into the family budget to create a locker-room. Small-college assistants living off of meal-plans and stipends for years to chase that big break. Even high-major assistants traveling coast-to-coast to recruit, or having to figure out the next school for their kids to enroll because it is their 3rd job in 5 years.
This isn’t a plea for sympathy, we signed up for it. The message is catered more towards the group-think that can come with the grind. Sometimes the hustle isn’t healthy, and consider where our priorities align with our values. But, each person based on their circumstances and if their actions match their expectations goals certainly are attainable just be leary of the sacrifices that must be made to get there.
The 3 C’s + 1
- Closeness
- Complimentary
- Commitment
- Co-Orientation
“But the important thing is that we flex our relational muscles to show our athletes that we have their best-interest at heart and that we are striving toward co-orientation.”
A relatively self-explanatory framework guiding relationship development between coaches and athletes.
Brief Summary
Each book I look for one thing that I could possibly take away that would be applicable to coaching. With #ConsciousCoaching the overarching concept that resonated the most was valuing authenticity. I have an appreciation for books that read with a palpable feeling of raw detail from experience. From personal tribulations to triumphs, the author talked about his passion for helping athletes develop is rooted from genuine investment into their personal trajectory. Additionally, I felt there was context behind concept supported by examples or anecdotes that were relatable. Going through the different archetypes of athletes gave me pause for players within our locker-room and how I have dealt with them in the past from similar behavior.
For any coaches that are looking for additional resources to potentially apply, there are courses available and a free The Conscious Coaches Field Guide providing 8 different individual or team activities. Thank you for following along with another edition of our #BookClub and I would highly encourage you to follow the author, Brett Bartholomew for more!
Coach's Climb 