On Athlete - Coach Relationships

Delving into the medium that helps coaches uncover talent.

Author

Paul Barnett
October 31, 2024

Welcome back to the Great Coaches: Leadership & Life newsletter.

While our newsletter usually focuses on our latest Great Coach interview, this week we’re doing something a little bit different.

As our podcast has grown, we’ve spoken to more than 200 fantastic Great Coaches who have shared wisdom and insight on countless important leadership topics. In order to help our listeners and audience really connect with those insights, we decided to put together some special episodes dedicated entirely to the ideas and topics that most resonated with us.

This week we’re sharing one of those special episodes.

A Discussion On Athlete - Coach Relationships

If you’re the sort of person who likes to take notes while listening to our interviews with Great Coaches, then you’ll no doubt have numerous quotes and points about relationships scattered across your notebook (or notes app). Each coach has their own unique insight and perspective on the topic, but we believe that when all of these different quotes and soundbites are collated together they can create a fantastic opportunity to understand the topic on a much deeper level.

So, this week, that’s exactly what we’re doing. For Friday’s podcast episode On Athlete-Coach Relationships I was joined by two fantastic guests, Professor Sophia Jowett and Dr David Turner, to discuss the impact that relationships (or a lack of them) can have on performance, culture, and the success of a leader or coach’s career.

One of the things that most resonated with me from the discussion was viewing the topic through the lens of work, looking at how relationships can play such a huge part in both cohesion and achievement. While our podcast typically focuses on leadership in the world of sports, so many of the things that the Great Coaches share are equally as applicable to the corporate world within which many of us take on leadership roles and positions.

Whether you’re interested in building stronger relationships with your own team or you’d just like to learn more about how relationships influence measurable performance, I think you’ll find that a lot of the things said and discussed during this special episode will resonate with you.

Listen to the episode now: Apple | Spotify 

This Week’s Guests

Image: Loughborough University

Professor Sophia Jowett

Professor Sophia Jowett is an Associate Fellow and Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society, whose work focuses on interpersonal relationships in sport with an emphasis on coaching relationships.

Sophia is also a teacher at Loughborough University, where she leads a module on the psychology behind the relationships between coaches and athletes.

Image: Anglia Ruskin University

Dr David Turner

Dr David Turner is a senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK. His areas of expertise include sports coaching, coach education, and the lessons that can be learned from legendary coaches.

David is a frequent guest at the Great Coaches podcast, and always has some fantastic perspectives to share.

Having influence over your athletes or team members is a vital part of coaching and leadership. It doesn’t matter how great your plans may be or what expertise you may have to share — if the people around you are not listening to what you say or following your direction, then you’re never going to see successful outcomes or improved performance.

In this clip from our interview with basketball coach Andrej Lemanis, he shares why he believes that the building of trust and the establishment of connection are necessary steps towards having the ability to influence.

The Great Coaches Membership

If you like our special episodes and want to delve deeper into our archive of insights, then you’d benefit from a Great Coaches annual membership.

For just the price of a (decent) cup of coffee, our members enjoy access to:

  • Over 1,200 insights taken from our interviews with more than 200 Great Coaches.

  • 30+ special episodes offering a deeper look at the topics and issues that you face as a coach or leader.

  • 30+ insight bundles, put together to help you access the tips and advice that you need on the topics you most care about.

  • All of our existing and upcoming content.

A Great Coaches annual membership is just $4.50 USD.

Find out more about our membership and join the team now using the button below.

Playing Under ‘Pep’

We often ask our guests what legacy they would like to leave on the world, and how they would like to be known and remembered. As a leader, it’s probably a question that you’ve asked yourself at some point or another; we often wonder how others would speak about us or describe us.

This clip from the BBC caught my eye recently, featuring clips of football (soccer) players from Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona talking about their time working and playing under the ‘notoriously demanding’ Pep Guardiola.

The video is just a small clip from a longer BBC programme on Pep Guardiola’s remarkable career and the ways in which he is said to have ‘revolutionised’ his sport.

A very interesting watch, examining the legacy of a leader through the words of those who experienced it first-hand.

Elevate Your Leadership

Elevated Leadership’s team of coaches have lived and led teams across the world, allowing them to see leadership from numerous and diverse perspectives.

We understand the challenge of having to step forward in times of uncertainty and the pressure that arises from having to manage time, people, and expectations.

Get in touch today at [email protected] if you would like to know more about our executive coaching services.

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