High-Performance Training for Sports: Chapter 9 - Understanding & Influencing Interpersonal Dynamics in the Training Environment
Communication is a skill worth learning to accomplish your objectives through shared commitment as opposed to blind compliance and must be thorough & thoughtful. Perception isn’t just a central theme of skilled communication & influence; it's the binding that holds the entire process together.
Coaching relies on developing trust and being able to influence all those around you, be they athletes (the performers), coaches (the supporting cast), your performance peers (the production crew), or other critical parties. To be able to influence effectively and with integrity, it’s vital to understand yourself and your values, as well as your competencies in wielding the tools of influence. Only through a dedication to improving these skills do we truly attain coaching mastery. Coaching is part improv, part game theory and part persuasion. This word choice may throw some off, or even be considered distasteful by others, but the truth is that misunderstanding the social and chaotic nature of coaching can significantly impede the creation of true long-term change within the training environment. Any intervention has little chance of success if the people involved aren’t on the same page from a communication standpoint.