The Great Coaches Newsletter

Mickey Arthur: Corrosive Comfort Zones

Our podcast guest this week is South African-Australian cricket coach, Mickey Arthur.  

Mickey has coached 4 of the 12 Test cricket-playing nations in the world: South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. His career has seen him lead the South African team to be number one in all cricket formats (and to scoring a record 438 in a One-Day International against Australia), as well as coaching Pakistan to number one in the T20 and Test format, as well as a Champions trophy.

He was also the first non-Australian to coach the Australian Test team, as well as being the head coach for Jamaica in the Caribbean Premier League, the Karachi Kings in Pakistan, and the Rangpur Riders in Bangladesh.

Currently, Mickey is the head coach of the Derbyshire County Cricket Club and the Rangpur Riders.

Listening back to the recording before we published this week’s episode, there were a number of key highlights that stood out to me:

• The role that standards play in defining the culture of the team, and how Mickey introduces these standards (or ‘non-negotiables’, as he calls them) when he starts working with a team.

• The three key pillars of Mickey’s philosophy (non-negotiables, brand, and role) and how he defines the interconnections between them in the team environment.

• His view that the best coaches are silent; using concise feedback to help challenge and propel athletes forward rather than over-talking.

• The corrosive nature of the comfort zone, and how he uses challenge to help athletes escape this space.

Mickey’s words made me reflect on a number of elements of my own leadership: should I be using non-negotiables as a leader? Am I guilty of over-talking? Should I be challenging more within my own team?

Listeners will, I think, be left wondering about their own techniques and approaches to leadership — I’d love to hear if anything he says particularly resonates with you, and how you act upon it in your own team environment.

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

The key questions raised from this week’s interview:

• How can you incorporate non-negotiables in my own leadership style?

• Do you use concise feedback that helps to challenge and guide your team, or do you over-talk?

• How can you help your team members to leave their comfort zones?

Find all of our past interviews with some of sport’s most successful coaches and leaders on our website.

Try Listening

In each episode of our newsletter, we look at a different lesson that you can take and use within your own leadership.

This week, our guest Mickey Arthur speaks about the danger of ‘over-talking’, and why he believes the best coaches are the ones who prioritise listening over speaking.

This is something that several of our past guests have spoken about, including Sean Quirk, who joined us for his own interview a few years ago. As he shares in this great clip, most leaders focus on the talking side of communication, but actively listening plays a vital and often understated role.

How do you communicate with your team? Are you actively listening, or are you just listening out for opportunities to give your own opinions and responses? Do you fully digest and comprehend what the people around you are saying, and do they feel listened to?

This week, pay attention to the way you listen. Try to listen not with the aim of participating and responding, but instead focus on really grasping and absorbing the perspectives and ideas of the people you talk to.

We combine videos of the Great Coaches that we have interviewed with our experience as corporate and sporting leaders in order to bring insight, energy, and ideas to your teams.

Supporting Young Athletes

For those of you in a position of leadership over children (whether that be coaching a children’s sports team, working with teenagers, or even as a parent), it can be difficult to know how best to encourage and support them to face the pressures of life and sport.

We always aim to create well-rounded, adaptable young people who can take on challenges and make the most of their talents, but knowing how to help them reach their potential can be a particular sticking point.

This great book addresses a number of the challenges children and young athletes face as they grow up, sharing actionable ideas and insights into how best to support them at each stage. A great blend of the authors’ child development and leadership experience, it offers a lot of value to any parent, coach or leader seeking to help develop stronger, more durable young people.

Elevated Leadership

If you’re looking to improve your own leadership skills, get in touch with us at elevatedleadership.com.au 

Our team of executive coaches — including The Great Coaches host, Paul Barnett — bring a wealth of experience as international CEOs who have faced the challenge of stepping forward in uncertain moments.