Don't Cut When You Can Untie

Welcome to The Great Coaches: Leadership and Life newsletter. 

The Paris Olympics have officially begun, and some of the world’s greatest athletes (and coaches) are in France to demonstrate what years of dedication, passion and determination can achieve - will you be watching? 

Here at The Great Coaches, we’ve been working on some exciting new content to share with you, including this week’s special podcast featuring a posthumous interview with legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt. 

We’ve also given our newsletter a bit of a facelift - we’d love to hear what you think! 

Pat Summitt: The Coach Who Inspires Coaches

Pat Summitt may have passed away in 2016, but her legacy and influence on the world of coaching continues. 

Having won a silver medal as a player at the 1976 Olympics, Pat transitioned into a legendary coaching career that saw her lead the USA team to gold at the 1984 Olympics and become the coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012. 

Pat’s career saw her amass 1098 wins and lead her team to 8 NCAA championships, and her contribution to the sport was recognised multiple times: she was inducted to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, was named the Naismith Basketball coach of the century in 2000 and in 2012, and was awarded the Presidential medal of Freedom in 2012. 

At the age of 59, Pat made the decision to retire from coaching after 38 years with Tennessee. Around the same time, she had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease, and eventually passed away at the age of 64. 

Pat’s name comes up a lot during our interviews with basketball coaches, and I was curious to learn more about the woman (and career) that seems to have resonated so much with our guests. 

The result was this week’s podcast - a posthumous interview based on her own words, taken from three books which she wrote (check out the show notes for more details). 

I really did find this episode fascinating to put together. Pat’s coaching style was, by her own admission, very challenging, but with the added context of her background and the times in which she was coaching, I came to understand why her style was the way it was. 

I hope you’ll take the time to listen to the episode and let me know what you thought. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. 

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

Cohesion Over Culture With Ben Darwin

When I was a Managing Director, we would take yearly culture measurements. These measurements involved detailed surveys, looking for performance gaps, and would culminate in the creation of ‘engagement plans’ designed to help us fill in the gaps and reach industry benchmarks. 

Earlier this year, Professor Eric and I interviewed Ben Darwin for the podcast. Ben is a former Wallaby, a Head Coach, and the founder of an analytics company, and what he said about culture really challenged my the way I viewed it as an important indicator of performance. 

Ben has spent time studying military leaders and the portability of talent in the banking sector as well as some of the world’s best sporting teams, and his research has led him to believe that the level understanding that exists between the parts of a team are a bigger indicator of success than culture or individual skill. 

To summarise, it’s a matter of cohesion over culture. 

You can watch Ben discuss his beliefs in the clip below - I’d be fascinated to know whether or not you disagree (and why!). 

In Case You Missed It…

More Than A Symbol

The thought of seeing the world-famous Eiffel Tower in person has no doubt inspired and excited a number of athletes in the run up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, but for Dean Boxall and his athletes, the tower has played a slightly more significant role. 

This article from ABC gives a fascinating insight into some Paris-themed techniques that Boxall has used to both inspire and motivate his swimmers to achieve success. 

If you’ve come up with a creative or out-of-the-box way of motivating your team, then I would love to hear about it (or even share it here in the newsletter). 

Are You Ready To Elevate Your Leadership?

Here at The Great Coaches, we believe that there is no algorithm for leadership, but there are ways to elevate your leadership style and unlock your true potential. 

If you’re ready to work on your own leadership, then the team at Elevated Leadership can help. 

The Elevated Leadership team’s coaching is rooted in their decades of combined experience as CEOs, parents, and partners. 

If you’d like to learn more, get in touch today:
[email protected]