When Jake was in the womb we would speak to my sister Lisa’s belly, “now pitching for the Atlanta Braves, Jake Lovvorn.” It’s not surprising he’s a hot-shot left handed pitcher, power hitter and rocking first base man. He’s played ball since he was old enough to hold the bat.
Fast forward seventeen years… he attends Tucker High School, and the past seasons were not so good for the baseball team. They finished darn close to last in the 2012-13 season.
Everything changed this year when Coach Byams joined the team. He lives the words, if you want different results, you have to do things different—my kind of guy!
He trained them differently and talked to them differently. A new level of respect was present.
The team had new goals and was held accountable to being their best selves.
Guess what happened?
They started winning games.
It was exciting. As a fan, we went from a handful of people in the stands, to people bringing their own chairs and staying for the whole game.
It was empowering to watch these boys show up differently. The only new thing…the coach.
I was giddy. I have always known the power of a great coach.
Here are the three things that great coaches do to help people be their best.
- They tap into their strengths, what they’re naturally good at doing. Think about it, when you put your time and attention performing tasks you’re good at, you naturally excel. If you are a coach, then it’s best for you to spend time coaching, not building your website. On the same not, if you are a website designer, you need not coach yourself to create your yearly strategic plan. If my clients are unclear about their strengths, there are a couple of wonderful assessments that I use. Once they are clear, they weave them into their days and enjoy confidence and accomplishment.
- They create measurable targets for their clients to reach. We have so much on our plates, thinking we need to complete everything yesterday can be overwhelming. When you break tasks into small steps that lead to measurable results, you’ll move towards your goal with increased ease. Whether you want to increase the speed of your fastball (Jakes goal) or you want to improve the speed it takes to convert a prospect to a client, there’s a simple formula you can use .
Clarity (where you are going) +incremental steps (break it down) +practice (create new habits) =
Successful Results (reaching your target!)
- A wonderful benefit that coaches, strategists and mentors provide is accountability. It’s human nature, when you tell someone else, besides yourself that you’ll accomplish something, the odds increase dramatically that you reach your goal. The success of programs like Weight Watchers comes from the weekly weigh-in, a powerful form of accountability. It helped me to lose forty pounds many years ago and keep it off!
What goals do you want to reach this year?
What impact would they make in your life?
Ponder what may be different if you had someone who had your back, clarified your goals, helped you create a plan and kept you accountable.
What would you be celebrating at this time next year? A 10% increase in your revenue? A healthier body or mind? Spending more time with family than at work?
You get to choose what your “homerun” is and I hope it is something that makes you feel like you are part of a winning team.
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