Sometimes the coach is wrong

I have heard the expression, “Will it make the boat go faster”, quite a few times so I looked into it tonight. Here’s where it comes from.

You might wonder why I would concern myself with boats when I don’t even have a boat. Stay with me after you read this quote and I will explain.

“Ben Hunt-Davies Olympic Gold medalist in Sydney 2000 as part of Men’s Rowing 8, shared his journey to the podium at a recent Entrepreneur’s Circle National Event.
Here is my learning and summary of the talk:-
9 years of rowing with no medals culminated in a bar in Cologne after yet another defeat. The team decided something hand to change if they were ever going to get an Olympic medal.
They needed to change the culture of how they worked with each other and focus on one goal that all behaviours would be accountable to. “Will it make the boat go faster”, every decision action would only be taken if it made the boat go faster.”

(quoted from the Nuggets of Learning blog)

As a strength & fitness coach, it is my main priority to help my athletes make continual progress over the course of time; for months, years, & life.

I made some judgement calls tonight that worked against what I was working to accomplish. Needless to say, I was ticked off (at myself).

When something goes wrong or performance is substandard, I take ownership of the problem. Navy SEALs, Jocko Willink & Leif Babin co authored the book. “Extreme Ownership”and I have learned much from it.

What went wrong tonight, because I failed in my coaching and leadership.

It will not happen again.

I will make sure of it, because I own it.