Andy Shay: The Compound Effect

Welcome to this Friday’s issue of The Great Coaches: Leadership and Life newsletter. 

The Paris Olympics have officially come to an end, and now we have a little while to wait before the Paralympics begin. In the meantime, football (or soccer) fans have the Premier League to keep them occupied, and tennis fans are no doubt following the Cincinnati Open.

With so much going on in the world of sports, it’s easy to miss or overlook some of the fantastic coaching and performances taking place internationally. If there’s anything you’ve come across that you think would inspire or interest our Great Coaches newsletter readers, then make sure to let me know - I’d love to hear about it!

Eating Your Vegetables With Andy Shay

The Great Coach in this week’s podcast episode is Lacrosse coach Andy Shay.

A graduate of Le Moyne College, Andy led his team to a league title as an All-Empire League selection player in his senior year. He then went on to start his coaching career at the University of Massachusetts, where he worked as an assistant for four years under Greg Canella and helped the team to take three New England titles.

As of 2003, Andy has been the Head Coach of the Yale men’s lacrosse team - known as the Bulldogs - and has led his team to the 2018 NCAA Championship, five Ivy Tournament titles and three regular-season Ivy League championships. Under Andy’s leadership, Yale also regained the #1 national ranking for the first time since 1883.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Andy had been selected as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s Sixes national team, who he will lead to the inaugural World Lacrosse Sixes Championships in 2026.

Andy is someone who incorporates a lot of analogies and philosophies into his leadership and coaching techniques, and it was really fascinating to hear about some of the things that he has implemented with the Bulldogs during his time at Yale such as the team’s trademark, ONE, which stands for “Only Need Everyone”. This trademark, which guides collective efforts made by the team, has really had a lasting impact on Andy’s athletes and has stuck with many of them as they have gone out into the world and taken up leadership positions of their own - a fantastic testament to the team culture Andy has managed to build and maintain.

Another great insight that stood out to me during the interview was that of the compound effect which shapes both Andy’s coaching and parenting. The philosophy that he applies to these areas of his life is strongly linked to the habits that he has created and followed - make sure to give the episode a listen to hear about this philosophy in more detail.

Finally, I enjoyed listening to Andy talk about “eating your vegetable” in training, but I’ll let you find out more about that for yourself using the links below.

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

If you’re a parent, you probably spend a lot of time repeating yourself. Put your shoes on. Put your shoes on. Put your shoes on. At some point after the fifth or sixth repetition the task will finally get done, but you’ll find yourself frustrated and wishing that your instructions had been heard (and followed) the first time.

When we talk about repeating ourselves, most of us tend to associate it with frustration and inefficiency, just like the parenting example above. However, in the right situations, repetition can actually be a useful and important tool that can be used to create harmony and reinforce team culture.

In this clip from our interview with American football coach Brian Bohannon, he speaks about why he frequently repeats himself in order to ensure that his players - both new and old - have heard the important lessons “enough or the right way”.

If you enjoyed this clip, then you should take a trip over to our website where you’ll find a wealth of insights taken from interviews with over 200 of the sporting world’s greatest coaches.

In Case You Missed It…

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S. Dweck is the psychologist behind the viral “growth mindset”, which you’ve no doubt heard being spoken about by leaders, coaches, and influencers alike.

While people with a “fixed” mindset tend to view their own abilities as limited and have firm, black-and-white ideas of what they can and can’t achieve, people with the “growth” mindset believe that all abilities can be developed and that the only thing stopping them from success is how much effort they put into achieving it.

As you might expect, this idea has really taken off, and this book provides a great insight into how all of us - whether we are parents, teachers, athletes, leaders or otherwise - can use it to encourage success for both ourselves and those around us.

Elevate Your Leadership

We believe there is no algorithm for leadership, but there are ways to elevate your leadership style.

With decades of combined leadership experience across multiple countries and companies, there are very few challenges that the Elevated Leadership coaching team haven’t experienced first-hand.

They can help coach you towards the leader you aspire to be.

Get in touch at [email protected] to find out more.

Challenge Yourself with the Macquarie MBA

This newsletter is brought to you by Macquarie University Business School’s MBA program. Designed to empower, challenge and transform, the Macquarie MBA gives you the business skills and knowledge you need to succeed in an evolving global economy.

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Find out more: https://www.mq.edu.au/macquarie-business-school/