Good to Great...5 Ways to Becoming a Great Coach

Thanks to Dan Tudor and this post on his blog at dantudor.com for providing this post.

5 Things That Separate GREAT Coaches from Good Coaches
by Mandy Green, Selling for Coaches

If you are like most coaches out there, you didn’t win the National Championship in your sport...you didn’t get every recruit that you wanted...and, you may have fallen short of a few of your team goals.
Just like everybody else, at the start of the New Year you probably set new personal goals, new team goals, and new recruiting goals.
The potential problem? A new year and new goals, but the same old behaviors.
My question to you is this:
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY IN 2009 TO MAKE SURE YOUR VISION AND GOALS AS A COLLEGE COACH BECOME A REALITY?
Let me put it another way: What are you going to do to make sure you are separating yourself from the coaching pack who are merely "good" so that you can become "great"?

As you already know, you are responsible for setting the vision for your
program; responsible for putting into place a process and plan whereby the
vision can be achieved; responsible for motivating and inspiring others in
pursuit of greater goals than they themselves might have believed possible; and,
you are responsible for providing both momentum and urgency for achieving your
programs goals.

Dreaming for an outcome can be helpful as you set your initial vision, but there is a big difference between wishing for something and actually doing what it takes to make it happen. Detailed planning is an important process no matter what your goal-- taking a dream vacation, losing weight, or building your program.
The majority of coaches have no written plan to accomplish their goals so they have a tendency to get into a rut and keep doing the same things over and over. And if those things we are doing are not moving us any closer to our goals, something needs to change.
One thing that separates successful coaches from less successful coaches is their plan for making their vision and goals a reality.
Successful coaches we work with at Selling for Coaches are fully aware of the fact that success is not just a matter of desire, but rather the by-product of preparation and hard work. The more you plan your work and then work your plan, the more likely it is that you will be successful.
To a point, it can be relatively easy to have a plan. The difficulty lies in the details involved in developing a sound plan. Here are some proven ideas to get you started on writing your plan of action for 2009. These are the same principles we teach at our On-Campus Workshops and Recruiting Conferences, and they work:
1. Write down the goal you want to accomplish or the thing you want to change about your program, team, recruiting plan, or your personal life.

2. Brainstorm. Write down everything and anything you can think of that pertains to accomplishing each goal. Don’t hold back and do not leave anything out, you can always cut down on your list later. As you brainstorm, one idea will lead to another...things you have not considered before will come to mind, and you will start to form an idea of the steps it will take to realize your goal. Some things to ask yourself about for each goal are:
what does the end result look like?
what is your timetable?
what skills do you need, and if you don't have them can you find someone to help you?
what resources will realistically be available to you within your athletic department?
what concrete action steps will you need to take?
who will help hold you accountable for your progress (or lack of it)?
how will you determine what you want to be different about your current situation compared to where you want to be?
what are you willing to change?
what could go wrong?

3. Get Organized. Now is the time to organize the thoughts and ideas that you came up with while brainstorming. Without organization, answering all of those questions above is meaningless.
A. Prioritize each goal.B. Break each goal into detailed, specific, manageable action steps. Short term accomplishments are critical for motivation.C. Create your timetables for each goal.D. Document who is going to hold you accountable for each goal.

4. Set aside time each day to accomplish your goals. Decide on one or two things that you can do each day that moves you toward your longer term goal. A written daily to-do list can be a big help to keep you on track.

5. Be assertive and take action! Opportunities don’t just drop in your lap. The action that you take doesn't have to be perfect. It's better to take at least some kind of action and get momentum going than to sit idle and wait.
You're much more likely to advance your college coaching career by planning and working toward a goal than you are if you never chart a course for success. Accomplishing goals can be complicated and a lot of work. When you prepare a specific and detailed plan for how you plan to take action with your personal, team, and recruiting goals, the work of making it happen becomes more clear and doable.
Creating an action plan will help you to reduce stress, stay focused and motivated. Chances are your plan will need to be adjusted and will not go as perfect as planned. Be flexible, be persistent, and keep working towards your goals no matter what happens.
If you're a SFC Premium Members, you are going to be getting more detailed information on how to create and implement your personal, team, and recruiting plan later on in the week. We'll give you some more practical ideas on how to put it to use so you can see the maximum benefits as soon as possible.