Jeremy Gunn, former professional soccer player and now Head Coach, discusses the importance of challenging athletes for mental growth. The role of coaches in shaping individuals towards desired outcomes is emphasized. The podcast also explores the transformation of Cal State's soccer program and the significance of creating a competitive training environment. Professor Eric Knight highlights the necessary skills for future leaders and the concept of mental fitness. The chapter on assessing individuals' impact on culture introduces a four box matrix to evaluate behavior and performance.
Challenging athletes helps them become mentally fitter, but coaches must establish agreed-upon boundaries within the team.
Leaders must create an environment that shapes individuals toward desired outcomes.
Establishing agreed-upon lines within a group ensures consistency, growth, and commitment to the team's vision.
Deep dives
Creating a Leadership Coaching Program
The podcast episode discusses the importance of elevated leadership and the benefits of executive coaching. The speaker describes how executive coaches with experiences CEOs help individuals align their values, vision, and behavior to excel in their leadership style. The speaker highlights the belief that there is no algorithm for leadership, emphasizing the need to create an environment that fosters growth and aligns with the desired leadership outcomes. The episode concludes with contact details for further information on leadership coaching.
Lessons from Successful Coaches
The episode features an interview with Jeremy Gunn, a former professional soccer player and successful coach. Jeremy Gunn shares insights from working with renowned coaches, such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Jurgen Klopp. He highlights the importance of drive, focus, and continually seeking knowledge in becoming a great coach. Jeremy emphasizes the role of environment in shaping individuals and creating a competitive training environment. He also discusses the need to recruit individuals who align with the team's identity and value system to maximize performance and success.
Balancing Challenge and Support in Coaching
Jeremy Gunn discusses the challenge of finding the right balance between pushing individuals to excel and not going too far as a coach. He highlights the importance of creating an environment that fosters mental fitness and resilience, challenging individuals to grow and become mentally fitter. Jeremy emphasizes the need for a growth mindset and the role of trust and agreed-upon lines within the team. He also addresses the concept of culture champions and culture killers and the impact of individual behaviors on team dynamics and performance.
Importance of Establishing Agreed-upon Lines
The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating agreed-upon lines within a group to maintain standards and expectations. They argue that personal opinions and subjective perspectives cannot determine where the line should be. By establishing agreed-upon lines, coaches and leaders can ensure consistency and a shared understanding of boundaries. This allows for growth, change, and the identification of individuals who are willing to commit to the team's vision.
Balancing Pressure and Motivation as a Coach
The speaker reflects on the role of a coach in managing pressure and motivation within a team. They highlight the need to understand individual personalities and adjust motivational approaches accordingly. The coach compares themselves to a pressure valve, responsible for increasing or decreasing excitement and energy levels. They believe in the importance of leveraging different motivations and providing course corrections when necessary. Balancing the intensity of coaching while avoiding blowing the valve requires acting skills and a deep understanding of each individual's needs.
Jeremy Gunn is a former professional soccer player and now Head Coach.
He grew up in England before moving to American for University. There he attended Cal State and was part of their 1992 Championship team and an All American.
He then became an Assistant and Cal State, before becoming a Head Coach at Fort Lewis College. He led that team to 6 Rocky Mountain Championships and the 2006 NCAA division 2 championship. He then moved to the Charlotte 49ers before becoming the Stanford Head Coach in 2011. He has since led the Cardinals to 3 NCAA Championships, as well as 5 straight Pac 12 conference titles.
Some of the key points are:
How, when coaches hold back on challenging people for fear of over stepping a line they are in fact not helping the athlete become mentally fitter.
How the line to which you can challenge people changes with each individual, and so when you're a coach, or you're a leader, the big thing is to create agreed upon lines within the group you have, and then maintain standard to those lines
How he believes that people are a product of their environment. And he sees the role of the coach to create an environment that shapes people towards the outcome that you want.
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