On this episode 9 Great Coaches talk about Listening and how they use it build trust and connect with their teams.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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is John WoodenCoach Wooden was an American basketball coach who led the UCLA Bruins to 10 NCAA Championships, including a record 7 titles in a row.Over a 29 year coaching career, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games, and he was voted coach of the year on 7 occasions. As a player he was names a collegiate All American on 3 occassions and was the first person to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach.He is one of the most revered coaches in history, and is by far the coach mentioned most by the Great Coaches we have interviewed. John Wooden wrote 13 books on coaching and leadership; but it is his opus from 2005, the Pyramid of Success through which he has become internationally recognized. In that book he lays out his key principles to leadership and success in life.Unfortunately Coach Wooden passed away in 2010 at the age of 99. However he left so much rich material behind that we are going to recreate a posthumous interview with him.Much of the footage of him is copyrighted and so not able to be reproduced without a lot of cost and bureaucracy , so I have ordered his words around key coaching and leadership themes hired an actor to read those words. And that is what you will be listening to today.I used multiple books to find the words you will hear:Coach Wooden's Pyramid of SuccessWooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the CourtWooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning OrganizationThe Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and LeadershipIf 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is on the topic of Self Doubt and how the Great Coaches help their athletes and themselves overcome it.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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is James Wade.James is a retired American basketball player and now Coach.He played for 13 years as a professional in France, Spain, Czech Republic and Belgium. After retiring he stepped into coaching eventually working as an Assistant in Russia and in the WNBA with Minnesota and San Antonio.He became head coach of the Chicago Sky in the WNBA in 2018, and went on to lead them to their first championship in 2021. He was also voted the 2019 WNBA coach of the year.James is a coach with a strong sense of purpose; from humble beginnings his sense of curiosity has taken him all over the world and ignited his drive to learn, evolve and in his words, “be a role model for the black or minority kid that feels different.”He is authentic in the way he communicates and connects with people, and this allows him to find the right balance between applying the necessary pressure to help people perform; while also being mindful of their overall wellbeing.James and I spoke before Christmas 2021, he was back in France where he lives, and the time and space away from the season in the USA gave him time to reflect, and added to the depth of the discussion.Some of this parts of our chat that stayed with me afterwards wereHis twin focus on the values of accountability and communication, and he uses this to understand each player as a human.The role that sacrifice has played in his life, and how he uses it priorities collective over individual happiness.And the need to identify things that are important to winning, building standards around those things, and not settling when they are not met, but at the same time not fighting for every little detail.This was a terrific conversation; fueled by a little Christmas spirit, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.And just before we go to the interview, If you're a first time listener, you can check out our library of interviews with other great coaches at our website; the greatcoachespodcast.com 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is on the topic of Trust and how the Great Coaches view it as the currency that makes the team work.  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 thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Helene Wilson.Helene is a New Zealand Netball coach.She started coaching in her teens and progressed to coaching the New Zealand Secondary Schools team to wins over Australia and leading the Northern Zone under 23s to a national title.She went on to work High Performance Sport NZ and was involved in the Rugby 7’s and Hockey teams. And then in 2017 she was appointed coach of the Northern Mystics and in 2021 the team goes on to win the National Premiership.In 2022 she was then appointed to a role at High Performance Sport NZ to help grow female coaches and leaders across all sports.Helene has terrific energy, and some hard fought wisdom that she shares on this episode.Just a few of the many highlights areThe importance of mentors to help you reflect and process the information you are receivingAnd, that if you don't have a process for self-reflecting, then you're not going to grow your awareness around what you're doing as a coachHow a coach doesn't need to be able to do what they're coaching, but they need to understand all the different parts and the dynamics of putting a performance togetherAnd that Great Coaches are not afraid to admit if they've made mistakes, as they're not afraid to speak the truthHelene is an inspiring leader, making a difference in peoples lives and I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is on the topic of Care and how the Great Coaches use it in their approach to Leadership, and it features audio quotes from 13 Great Coaches.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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Damien Hardwick.Damien is an Australian rules football coach and former player.As a player, he played 207 games for Essendon and Port Adelaide, winning premierships with each club in 2000 and 2004 respectively.He was appointed to his first head coach role in 2010 with Richmond; and led them to premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020. He is now the longest tenured coach in the clubs 136 year history.In 2017 he voted Coach of the Year by his peers. And is also a member of a small and elite group of people who have both played in and coached an AFL premiership.Damien’s journey as a coach has been documented in books and in documentary’s, and in this interview he takes us through the key inflection points that led to him changing his philosophy, and then ultimately leading his team to 3 premierships.It’s a terrific story, there are so many highlights and here are just a few that stayed with afterwards:His descriptions of the effort that went into building the championship environment that eventually led to 3 premierships.How it was a leadership course on Authenticity at Harvard that led him to change his style, and ultimately unlock improved performance in the team.And the use of the triple H framework: hero, hardship and highlight to encourage his team to become more open and vulnerable with each other; and how this deeper level of connection translated into improved performance.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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todays episode is on the topic of Self Reflection, and it features audio quotes from 10 Great Coaches.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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.comOur Great Coach on this episode is Hugh McCutcheon.Hugh played Volleyball for New Zealand national Junior and Senior teams before transitioning into coaching. He started as an Assistant at Brigham Young University and was part of the team when it won the the NCAA championships in 1999 and 2001.He became a head coach for the first time in 2001, leading the Austrian Hotvolleys, In his first season there, the team won the Inter-Liga, the Austrian Cup and the Austrian League championships.In 2005 he was appointed as Head Coach of the USA mens team and the team went on to win gold medals at the America's Cup in Brazil, the NORCECA Continental Championship in Canada and then ultimately the Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.In 2008 he was appointed coach of the USA womens team, and led them to three World Grand Prix golds and a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics.And in 2011, he was named head coach of the University of Minnesota's volleyball team.Hugh is a coach with a strong sense of purpose; and the kind of deep-seated wisdom that comes through living and succeeding in multiple countries and cultures. He is articulate and passionate about the importance of coaching in a way that is tailored to the individual.As a father, he is also aware that the role of sport can play in young peoples lives as it allows them to, in his words, learn life lessons without incurring the same kind of colletral damage you get if you screw up in life.Some of the key highlights from our discussion were:The false narrative that anything less than perfection is worth celebrating.The mission statement he wrote with the USA Mens team that guided them on the path to the 2008 Olympic Gold medal.And His views on the 3 types of trust needed within high-performing teams, the first being the athletes ability to trust themselves, the 2nd being their ability to trust their teammates and the third focused on the trust between athlete and 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.