Our Great Coach on this episode is Rodney Eade.

Rodney is a four time premiership player in the Australian Football League.

After retiring he started his coaching apprenticeship, and within 5 years was elevated into his first head coach role at the Sydney Swans, taking over from the legendary Ron Barassi in 1996

In his first year he took the time to the Grand Final, only for them to lose to the Kangaroos; as a result he was awarded as the AFL Coach of the year in. He went on to take the team into the finals for 4 of the next 5 years.

In 2005 he was appointed Head Coach of the Western Bulldogs, and in 2006 the team played finals for the first time in 6 years.

In 2011 he was appointed Football and Coaching Strategist by the Collingwood Football Club, replacing the iconic coach Mick Malthouse.

And in 2014 was appointed Gold Coast Suns coach.

He has coached 377 AFL games, and owns the record of the longest serving coach without a premiership.

Rodney Eade has played for some of the most iconic coaches that the game of Australian Football has ever produced. He has also coached players who have gone on to lead their own teams to Premierships.

As a leader, he strives to find the balance between challenge and care, in order to, in his words, get the best our of the individual. He is self-reflective and mindful of some of the things he could have done better as a coach. But he is also firm in his belief, that change comes through hard work and an open and curious mind where the individual takes ownership of their own learning and problem solving.

Rodney is a great example of perseverance, and some of the key parts of this interview that connected with me were:

• The importance of innovation and change to team performance, and how the leader needs to create the mindset within the group for this to happen.
• How culture is displayed through the teams habits, which are in turn formed by the values that the team sets themselves. And where culture is self-regulating it is much more effective as it works against negativity.
• And how Great coaches have a consistency of message; are honest, have integrity and are not afraid to make hard decisions.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

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