How Does Sports Coaching Differ from Corporate Coaching?

Athletes Versus Employees

Most athletes are young, open to improvement, eager to learn and anxious to receive what a coach can provide. For the athlete, there is a defined season and something tangible to compete for. Feedback is automatic, immediate, and specific; and athletes can easily change coaches and/or teams. Employees, on the other hand, aren't as emotionally committed. When have you seen an adult cry or rant and rage when a goal was not achieved? For employees, feedback and performance are hard to quantify. Work goes on; there is no end and often only vague scorecards. Lastly, employees do not demand corporate coaching or search critically for performance improvement. Without belaboring the point or making value judgments, suffice it to say that the two have different values and motivations. However, these differences do not change what constitutes effective coaching behaviors.

The application of CMOE's Eight Step Coaching model may differ, but the concepts will not. All coaches for example, need to create a supportive, trusting relationship (Step One). Further, all coaches need to create the internal motivation or initiate a desire to pursue a more effective course of action (Step Two).

Sports Coaching Versus Corporate Coaching

In sports, the coach can rarely outperform those coached, yet in business the coach will probably be an accomplished player. One of the most successful coaches in the National Basketball Association never played professional basketball. Is it possible to conceive of a successful sales manager who never was a salesperson? In sports, coaching is a full-time job supported in many cases with assistant coaches; in business the coach has many diverse responsibilities. In gymnastics the coach's span of control is usually on-on-one. The number of "suits" on the bench, during a college basketball game, often equals or outnumbers the "uniforms" or actual players. Athletes can practice before the game and take time-outs; in business the clock is always running. Most athletic coaches see themselves as, first and foremost, teachers. Even though the word "coach" has become a popular addition to most managers' job descriptions, we doubt that many would also include teacher. So while the playing field and conditions are different, we believe that there are some unique lessons to be learned from sports coaching and applied to corporate coaching.

If you would like more information on Corporate Coaching or to learn what 100,000 managers have learned around the world, contact CMOE at (801) 569-3444 or visit their website.

---

Ten Benefits of Having a Relationship Coach

As a Master Certified Relationship Coach, I work with singles... Read More

How to Effectively Balance Your Work and Family Life

What Is Your Definition of Success?If you want to create... Read More

The Tolerance Effect

While working with a client several months ago, we went... Read More

Working With Choices

Despite our skills, experience or expertise we can still make... Read More

The Rewards and Risks Of Personal Freedom

We all need to decide whether to "play it safe"... Read More

Attitude is Contagious - Would Anybody Want Yours?

Are you using the Life Potential you have been given?... Read More

Trust In The Moment, and Trust In Yourself

Do you often get yourself upset and feeling less than... Read More

The Amazing Secret To Ridding Yourself Of Self Consciousness

One of the biggest challenges to developing superior communication skills... Read More

Who Do You Talk To?

Many of you reading this will be running businesses, or... Read More

Do You Want to Make More Money as A Life Coach

There's a lot of coaches out there not making any... Read More

A Perrverse Confidante

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 15,... Read More

Discover The Coach Within You

One of the three basic roles of leadership is the... Read More

A Fresh Look at the Choices We Make

We are frequently held back from making future plans or... Read More

We Are Exactly Where We Choose to Be

The idea for this month's newsletter came from an unlikely... Read More

Floating In Mindfulness: Dealing With Disappointment

Feeling disappointed? It's time to float.The time-honored approach to disappointment... Read More

6 Practices for Achieving Excellent Self-Care

Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) often feel like they... Read More

New Definition of Retirement

A new definition of retirement is evolving. It's one that's... Read More

How to be Your Authentic Self

Most of us play many different roles in the course... Read More

Bringing Forgiveness Down To Earth

What does it mean to forgive?One of the first things... Read More

How to Solve Disputes with the Helicopter Talk Technique

Do you ever find that when a friend asks for... Read More

Guilt: Is it Getting in the Way of Your Self-Care?

When Do We Usually Feel Guilty? When:We're not feeling ok... Read More

The Mid-Life Challenge: Make a Plan to Re-ignite Vocational Passion

Nobody will stop you in the hallway at work to... Read More

Smelling the Roses: Better Living Through Savoring

"Stop and smell the roses," people often say. Then they... Read More

Strategic Checklists

I've been through a couple of checklists in the past... Read More

The Benefits of Coaching

When I was first introduced to the profession of personal... Read More

Successful Change Starts With A Shift In Perspective

Like so many in corporate America today, Susan needed more... Read More

Choosing an Apprentice

Along the path from where you are now to millions... Read More

What Are Your Priorities?

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want... Read More

How to Get a Grip on Your Money

Most people have no idea where their money goes. They... Read More

How To Gain Control Of Your Life

"The latter part of a wise man's life," said Jonathan... Read More

Mailey?s Introspections [Monday, December 6th 2005]

As I work with clients as their introspective Inner Peace/Relationship... Read More

Take a Chance, Win a Prize

I think that we're all probably familiar with the fairground... Read More

Business Coaching - Ten Ways of Dealing with Mistakes You Made

You can either choose to dwell on what happened and... Read More