The coach as a 'performance architect' - a conversation with Mark Bennett OBE
Jun 18, 2024
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Mark Bennett OBE discusses challenges in coaching, establishing performance behaviors, dealing with self-deluded athletes, and tools for group self-reliance. The conversation explores building a professional culture, diverging needs vs. wants in coaching, fostering a confident team, accountability, defining player roles, and holistic athlete development.
Establishing clear performance behaviors within a team is vital for minimizing disruptions and recognizing individual values.
Distinguishing between leisure-oriented and performance-driven players is essential for promoting individual growth and team success.
Guiding individuals towards recognizing their goals and fostering team harmony is crucial for transitioning from leisure-oriented to performance-driven mindsets.
Deep dives
Clear Expectations Enhance Team Dynamics
Ensuring clarity on individual goals within the team, distinguishing between performance-driven and leisure-oriented players is crucial. Clarity fosters respect and understanding among team members, minimizing disruptions and ensuring each player's value is recognized. Coaches play a vital role in seeking clarity and promoting alignment with the team's overall objectives.
Driving Individual Commitment Towards Excellence
Identifying the distinction between performance-driven and leisure-oriented athletes is essential for fostering a culture of excellence. Challenging players to align their behaviors with their defined goals allows for individual growth and team success. Recognizing the need for clear communication and accountability in shaping player commitment is fundamental.
Challenges in Player Identification and Alignment
Addressing the prevalence of leisure-oriented individuals within teams poses a common challenge, with a significant portion mistakenly perceiving themselves as performance-driven. This misalignment often leads to tension and disrupts team dynamics. Coaches play a critical role in guiding individuals towards a clearer understanding of their goals and fostering a harmonious team environment.
Coaching Strategies for Sustainable Performance Growth
Creating an environment where individuals can transition from leisure-oriented mindsets to performance-driven behaviors requires strategic coaching methodologies. Empowering athletes to recognize and commit to their goals, while building a culture of mutual understanding and respect, is key to sustainable performance enhancement. Coaches must navigate the balance between individual aspirations and collective team objectives for long-term success.
Relationship between Wellness and Performance
The podcast discusses how wellness and performance are closely intertwined, emphasizing that driving performance does not mean neglecting wellness. By focusing on understanding needs, framing intentions, and providing realism, individuals can enhance both leisure and performance aspects. The alignment of wellness and performance behaviors leads to improved on-pitch performance and gradual improvements in wellness behaviors. The importance of not letting performance drop, adjusting expectations, and investing in daily wellness to maximize overall performance is highlighted.
Building a Supportive Environment and Enhancing Performance
The podcast delves into creating a caring environment where individuals are self-aware and hold themselves and others accountable to established goals. By implementing the 'rule of three' concept, which involves self-awareness, peer feedback, and coach oversight, a supportive culture is fostered. The emphasis on interpersonal connections, active caring, and continuous feedback helps in enhancing performance. The importance of ongoing reviews, clarity of intentions, and collective commitment to improving both software (mental aspects) and hardware (technical/tactical skills) results in maximizing performance and maintaining a growth-oriented mindset.
Mark Bennett makes a welcome return to the podcast. This time to help me out with some challenges that I have experienced during my last season of coaching.
How to establish an agreed set of performance behaviours with a group that is equally spilt between wanting to be recreational and wanting to be driven by performance goals. We also explore how you deal with people who are self deluded and think that they want to be performance driven but then behave like recreational athletes.
Mark shares a few new tools that he uses when supporting a group to be self reliant and self organising inclusing the 3As
I got a lot out of the discussion...I hope you do to...
BTW - Mark has launched a new online training space with loads of courses, videos and resources check it out at https://www.needcentred.com/
