Rob Tarr: Prioritising Long-Term Success

Welcome to the Great Coaches: Leadership & Life newsletter!

Whether you’re about to step into your first leadership role or you’ve already got decades of experience under your belt, we hope that you’ll find something that resonates with you in this week’s newsletter.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts about our content — drop us an email, or catch us on our social media (and make sure to give us a ‘follow’ when you do!).

Building Global Families With Rob Tarr

Today we released our latest podcast episode, featuring an interview with Wheelchair Rugby coach Rob Tarr.

As an athlete, Rob represented Great Britain in 3 Paralympic Games, 3 World Games and 3 European Championships. In 2005 he retired as a player, and started to focus on mentoring and coaching other athletes in the sport.

Rob was part of the British coaching team that won gold during the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, and he was the head coach for both the team that won gold at the inaugural Low Point World Championships in 2022 and the gold winning team at the Women’s Cup in 2023.

These days, Rob acts as an assistant for the British Men’s Wheelchair Rugby Team. He also works in Coach Development for the World Wheelchair Rugby in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central America.

Rob shared a number of fantastic points during our interview, particularly in regards to building strong team cultures. One idea that stands out is Rob’s practice of including athletes’ families in the team’s culture, recognising the role they play in nurturing the athletes and helping them to perform.

This concept of family also extends to the wider community, as Rob emphasises the “global family” of Wheelchair Rugby built upon a culture of helping others and building the strength needed for everyday life.

Finally, I’d like to highlight the great ‘Red Head’ and ‘Blue Head’ idea that Rob shares for helping people maintain emotional control and improve their decision making under pressure — make sure to give the podcast a listen to find out how it works.

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

Little Comments, Big Impact

Before hockey’s Shane McLeod was a Great Coach, he was a player who had first-hand experience of how comments and critique from a coach could negatively impact his self-esteem and confidence.

In this clip from our interview, Shane speaks on how even small, off-hand comments can have a big impact on the teams and athletes that you lead. He also shares how he seeks to give feedback and observations in a way that encourages his players to want to be better.

If you enjoyed this clip, then make sure to head over to our website. For an annual cost of just $4.50 USD, Great Coaches members can access more than 1,200 clips, 30 special lessons, and more great content designed to help them become better, more effective leaders.

In Case You Missed It…

Under Pressure

I’ve got another film recommendation for you this week.

Currently available on Netflix, “Under Pressure” is a fantastic documentary that follows the U.S. Women’s soccer team as they prepare for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The film provides a true behind-the-scenes glimpse at the pressure, challenges and emotions experienced by the team as they overcome injuries, criticism and self-doubt in the pursuit of what could be their third World Cup title in a row.

A brilliant documentary capturing the reality of elite competition and the experiences of women in sports.

There Is No Algorithm

There’s no algorithm for leadership, which is why we’ve interviewed more than 200 of the world’s Great Coaches to find ideas that can help us all to become better leaders.

We bring video and audio insights from our podcast guests into the room with our presentations, tailored to meet the specific needs and challenges faced by you and your team.

If you’d like to learn more about our presentations, get in touch.

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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I have started working with the team at Macquarie on some projects and can attest to the quality of the people and material. To find out more, search for Macquarie University Business School’s MBA.

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