The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

Our Great Coach on this episode is Steve Glasson.Steve represented Australia in Lawn Bowls over 300 times, and won the Australian championships 19 times. In 2004 he became the first Australian to be world number one in men's singles.He then transitioned into coaching and from 2011 until 2021 he was the coach of the Australian Lawn Bowls team where he oversees the Mens, Womens, Youth and Physically impaired teams. His achievements as coach are lengthy, when I asked him to list them he simply said numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asia Pacific Games, World Cup and other International Events.In 2012 Steve was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.Steve is a calm, pragmatic coach who understands the values of trust and hard work when it comes to unlocking improved performance in individuals and teams. He is also selfless and tireless in the way that the very best coaches are, and believes in the enduring importance of athletes aspiring to be wonderful ambassadors for their own last name.As a former world champion himself, Steve approaches his coaching through the lens of the athlete, and in fact considers it a privilege to be in a position where he is able to have the type of deep conversation with an athlete that allows you to understand more about their motivations, dreams and insecurities.Other key highlights in this discussion for me were:How lawn Bowls is often perceived as a sport for older people but as Steve points out early in this interview, the average age of the Australian Bowls team is less than the average age of the Australian cricket team.The importance of focusing on the process and not the end outcomes if you want to win championships. And making sure that the process if flexible enough to allow you to learn from your failuresAnd how confidence can be re-built by taking the athlete back to their strengths and what they are able to execute best.This was a wonderful conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as Jim and I 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.

On this episode we feature advice from 8 Great Coaches on developing Mental Skills.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 Gareth Baber.Gareth is a Welsh, former rugby player, and now a rugby coach.As a player he represented Oxford University and Pontypriff in their European Shield victory in 2001.He transitioned into coaching in 2008, becoming an Assistant for the Wales Under 20 side, before eventually becoming the Head Coach of Cardiff Blues.In 2013 he became head of Hong Kong men's rugby sevens and also directed the senior men's, women's and youth programs.In 2016 he became the coach of the Fiji Men 7’s, ultimately leading them to 11 tournament victories, including the 2019 World championship and the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2nd Olympic medal in the nation’s history.Gareth is a coach who takes great pride and satisfaction in seeing people release their potential. And to achieve this, he focuses on challenging his players and staff to think differently about themselves and the process they are involved in.His is also organized, thoughtful and empowering, and sees himself as being more than just a rugby coach, but rather someone who is also responsible for building the culture that surrounds people both on and off the field.Some of the other key highlights of the interview were Gareth’s thoughts onThe importance of mental skills coaches in helping you maintain consistency and focus your attention. And how as a leader he used this to ensure the team embraced accountability.The importance of being able to have self-leadership and put yourself in a position where you are able to fulfil your potential.And how it is the people who are chasing a better version of themselves, who normally go on to place themselves in the best position possible to realise their potential.This was a great conversation, my first with a Welsh coach.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.

We explore leadership through the lens of high-performance sport by interviewing Great Coaches. On this episode we feature advice from 11 Great Coaches on building Resilience.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 swimming coach Michael Bohl.Michael Bohl has been a swimming coach for 33 years and counting.He has been the coach of Australian swimmers who have been on the podium at every summer Olympics between the 2008 to 2021.Some of his most notable athletes include 5 time Olympic Gold medalist Emma McKeon and 3 time Olympic Gold medalist Stephanie Rice.In 2000 he received the Australian Sports Medal and in 2010 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to swimming .Michael is the type of leader that puts you at ease as soon as he says hello. He has an infectious energy that draws people to him; and he couples this with a style that emphasizes personal accountability and the importance of character when it comes to elite performance.He is also able to zoom in and focus on the small things, and then step back and and engage with each athlete on a vision for their future. He is just a terrific bloke, and in this wonderful interview some of the highlights for me were:His view that failure is the fertilizer of success.How swimming coaching is a combination of art and science.And The analogy he uses about a stage coach and the horses that drive it to illustrate what is required in preparation for a major event.I hope you enjoy this interview 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.

On this episode 3 Great Coaches talk about Adversity and how they see it as an opportunity to grow.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 Slavomir Lener.Slavomir is presently the director of the Czech National Ice Hockey Team, and the Union Coach who leads the development of all coaches in the Czech Republic.However he is most known as the co- head coach of the teams that won gold at the 1996 World Cup and 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, this win being one of the greatest sporting successes in the history of the country.He has also coached in the National Hockey League in America, with the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers, in the Swedish Elite League with Lulea and Linkoping and in Germany with Dusseldorf.Slavomír is a master coach whose insight transcends ice hockey and is applicable in any endeavor where groups of people are trying to come together to produce a better outcome than they can alone.He is self reflective, driven and passionate about using the sport of ice hockey to make a difference in the lives of youth. He has also been involved in coaching long enough to see how the craft has evolved, and how it needs to remain fresh and spontaneous if it is to remain relevant.He is a legend in his own country and so it was a great privilege to interview him, and some of the key points that stayed with me afterwards wereThe role that learning and development plays in his growth as a coach and the story he shares about heart surgeons to illustrate this.How the first task when you are traying to improve a team culture is to set up the guard rails that will shape the atmosphere in the dressing room, and that these rules must be positive and not necessarily strict.And The story he shares about winning the gold medal in 1998 and how the team did not go to the Olympics with the expectation of winning but, rather just playing good hockey and proving to people that they were the best team on the planet.This was a great conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as I 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.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Baseball Coach Jon Deeble.Jon represented Australia as a Baseball pitcher at the 1988 Olympics. He transitioned into coaching in 1994 in America as a minor league manager and hitting coach with the Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox.In 2000 he became the Head Coach of the Australian team eventually leading them to the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. Then in 2011 he led the team to 5th place at the World Baseball classic, the country’s highest ever placing.He became the first Australian to coach in the Majors when he became Boston's first-base coach in 2005. And from 2002 to 2016 he was the Head Scout for the Boston Red Sox in the Pacific Rim. In 2016 he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers' in the same role.Jon was born with a mitt in his hand, thanks to both parents representing Australia at baseball. The sport has taken him all over the world, and allowed him to cross paths with some of the biggest names in baseball.He is passionate about developing young talent; and global enough in his perspective, to know that you have to treat people as individuals if you want to help them succeed.He is honest about his shortcomings as a coach and at the same time proud of his teams achievements, and the role that culture and leadership played in delivering them.The other key parts of the interview were:His use of player psychological profiling to allow him to find the best way to communicate with individuals.How he encourages his teams to focus on the execution of their particular role in service of the greater goal of perfect execution for the team.Hs views on self-doubt, and how has a coach he knows there can be a problem when he expects more from someone than they expect from themselves.And how the great coaches are honest, are excellent communicators and not afraid to make hard decisions.This was a wonderful conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as Jim and I 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.

On this episode we discuss the advice the Great Coaches have on dealing with Tough Times, and how it is applicable in the sporting and business world.Join our Patreon community and help us build one of the worlds great leadership libraries at www.patreon.com/GreatCoachesIf you would like to send us any feedback or join us for the next discussion, 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 Sean Dyche.Sean is a former player who most recently managed Premier League club Burnley.Sean made his professional debut in 1990 and played for 6 different clubs until he retired in 2007. He transitioned immediately into coaching eventually becoming the Burnley head coach, or as they say in soccer, their manager in 2012.During his time there Sean guided the club to two promotions to the Premier League in three seasons, and the 2016 Championship League title. As well as their first European qualification in 51 years.In early 2022 Sean left Burnley and at the time was the longest serving manager in the Premier League.Sean is the type of resourceful leader who can find a way to organize and motivate his tribe nomatter what the challenge. He does this by marrying tried and tested values like work ethic and respect, with a communication style that is disarmingly honest and cuts right to the heart of the matter.In this terrific interview some of the key highlights were:His view that leadership is about knowing what to do, when you don’t know what to do.The fascinating difference he describes between winning as a manager versus as a player.And How he used what he referred to as positive realities to help motivate his team to compete with bigger and more resourced competitors, and how this mindset led Pep Guadiola to describe playing Burnley like having to go to the dentist.We were very lucky to get this interview with Sean, and I hope you enjoy it as much as Jim and I 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.