The Great Coaches: The Magic of Sports

A Classroom For Life

This week we’ve released an episode on ‘The Magic of Sports’, inspired by the title of a terrific new book written by our guest, the 92 year old Dr George Selleck.

George was drafted by the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors in 1956, only to reject the offer and go on to have a long and distinguished career as both a psychologist and coach instead.

He is a member of multiple Halls of Fame — including Stanford Athletic — and has founded 3 not-for-profits focused on sports and education. His latest book is the 5th that he has written and published.

Listeners will also hear another voice during this discussion, that of George’s friend Alan Gregerman. Alan is the best-selling author of a book called “The Wisdom of Ignorance”, and specialises on the subject of innovation.

Both men bring a lifetime of wisdom and insight to our conversation, with both Jonathan and I leaving the interview with smiles on our faces and a bounce in our step. Listening back, some of the key highlights for me were:

• George’s view that sport is more than competition — it’s a powerful space for human development, personal growth, learning, belonging, and joy.

• How great coaching and leadership involve creating environments where athletes can grow as human beings, not just performers.

• George’s legacy of calling for sport to be recognised as a “classroom for life” — strengthening individuals, communities, and society.

This was a brilliant and incredibly positive interview to record, and as always we’d love to hear what you think.

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

Some key questions raised from today’s episode:

• Where in my life am I treating sport, work, or leadership as only a competition, rather than an opportunity for growth, belonging, learning, and joy?

• What kind of environment do I create for the people around me, and does it help them to grow as human beings, rather than just performing better?

• When I face setbacks or big decisions, how deliberately do I pause, reflect, and listen to my head, body, and gut before choosing my next step?

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

Staying Ahead Of The Competition

In this section of our newsletter, we like to bring attention to the topics and areas of leadership and coaching that can pose the biggest challenges and problems, and to share a small lesson or interview clip that can help you to assess your own approach to them.

This week, we’re taking a look at some of the insights that more than 200 elite Great Coaches guests have shared about staying ahead of the competition and adopting winning methodologies.

No two leaders are the same, and what works for one may not work for another. With that said, frequent listeners will know that there are often patterns in the responses and insights that our podcast guests share with us, and than some ideas and methodologies return again and again across different episodes and perspectives.

In the video below, Great Coaches host Paul Barnett looks at some examples of such methodologies, focusing on how leaders continue to learn and develop throughout their careers in order to stay ahead of the competition.

You can find the video here on our Youtube channel, alongside many other lessons, interviews, and insights designed to be shared and used by leaders and teams.

Join Our Best-Practice Groups

This newsletter goes out to over 20,000 coaches and sport, business, and community leaders worldwide.

We offer best-practice groups where you can meet and share ideas, facilitated and structured and occurring at the same time each month.

If you would like to know more, contact [email protected]

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.

Does Tough Love Work?

Many of you will have been watching England play against Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup yesterday, and while the game has come and gone, this article that was released a few days before it presents an interesting insight into the mindset of England’s coach Thomas Tuchel.

Despite them getting into the final four, Tuchel hadn’t been impressed with the Three Lions’ performance. This article, published by FIFA, explores his work behind the scenes attempting to prepare his players and team for success and the ‘tough love’ approach he has taken to not only his World Cup squad, but also during his time with Chelsea FC.

It’s an interesting article that presents the question — does tough love really work?

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.

The program bridges the gap between theory and real-world application, bringing together world-leading professors, executives and industry partners to teach you how business can be used for good.

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/

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.