AchieveGlobal's blog

A Coach ’s Epiphany: “Open Your Eyes and Bend Your Knee!”

By Craig Perrin

A conversation this week recalled an epiphany from my early career, when I coached tennis.

As an academic at the time, I found it difficult at first to build physical skills in week-end hackers, hot-shot juniors, and pre-teens with their parents eyeing me from the bleachers. One break-through came when I learned to keep groups moving for an hour. A more serious problem was individual instruction. I shouted – “Open your eyes as you strike the ball!” or “Bend your knee!” – and then I puzzled why students couldn’t integrate my superb advice in one smooth stroke. I wondered, numbly, “Why is everyone so bloody frustrated?" Finally, I thought, “How did my best coaches coach?” One thing they did was point out progress, no matter how slight. So I tried something different in my next lesson. Instead of correcting a jittery beginner, I called her attention to anything at all that she did right. To my youthful astonishment, she promptly started ripping cross-court forehands! I continued to refine this method: “I loved the way you punched through that volley!” “That was beautiful when you took short steps to the ball!” Eventually, I found myself praising every student for any hint of doing something right. I might say, “Your wrist looks firmer now!” – even if only barely. And it all worked. Students gained more confidence, rallied more consistently, made more difficult shots, and laughed more often. Soon I had more students and raked in more money. That career morphed into something else, but to this day problems of my own making often follow when I forget that early epiphany. What approach works for you when you coach, or receive coaching? What epiphany can you share?

Rethinking Twitter

By Jack McDaniel When I Googled the words “Twitter” and “Iran” the other day, I received over 89 million hits. Within the News results I found stories that ran the gamut, from wild trumpet blasts of Twitter’s new-found influence, to cautious yet optimistic appraisals of Twitter’s impact, to attempted clarifications of just what Twitter means in connection with the Iranian elections. Put me in the camp that doesn’t know what this means, but is convinced it means something big. When television first came on the scene, producers and directors gave their on-air talent instructions that seem ridiculous to us now. Don’t move suddenly, as this may disorientate the viewer. Speak slowly and in a relative monotone so as not to startle the listener. Keep your eyes focused on the copy, don’t make eye contact with the camera, as this is an invasion of the viewer’s space. The “Thou shall not” list made for some boring programming. But the novelty was in the new medium. Wow, electronic images from miles away, beamed directly to your 1946 RCA 621TS with a whopping 7-inch magnetically deflected CRT! Yeah, baby! So let’s jump back in the time machine and return to Twitter. Just as we probably won’t know the true impact of this 140-character micro-blog social networking tool on the elections until the dust settles, we also won’t see its true value as a learning mechanism until someone breaks the “Thou shall not” rules in the learning arena. At least that’s what I think. As always, I’d love to hear what YOU think. Just don’t move suddenly, as I’m naturally disoriented as it is.

Prisoners, Vacationers, or Learners?

By Andrew Calvert In this economy, efficiency and ROI are critical – even in training. So you may want to ask, “When they go to training, are our associates prisoners, vacationers, or learners?” You know what I mean. Some associates go because they need a minimum number of classroom days, or they’re part of an implementation they neither understand nor care about; They are prisoners. Another group are – Woo Hoo! – out of the office, ready to kick back, chat, eat, drink, be merry, and relax for a few days. Ahhhhh vacation! And some are there to learn. They know why they’re there, what they need to learn, how to apply it, and how they’ll be measured and supported on the job. How do you make learners of prisoners and vacationers? Define Goals and Expectations. Ensure that managers with staff in training know its purpose and benefits, as well as their role after training. Ensure that managers discuss the goals of training with their direct reports, linking training outcomes to organizational goals. Clarify and Discuss. Managers also need to clarify behavioral expectations during training: on time, attentive, no texting or email, etc. Debrief and Evaluate. After training, managers need to meet with staff to debrief the session: what they liked, what could be better, and how they will use the skills on the job. Follow up. Managers must give recognition to staff who do the right things and give regular feedback for further development. Repeat as necessary. Do these things and associates will learn, ROI will increase, and those who rely on you for your services will notice the difference!