3 Lessons Executives Should Learn from High School and College Coaches
Throughout your career, you've likely encountered numerous sports metaphors – and for good reason. The parallels between leading a team on the field and in the office are striking, much like the similarities between scaling a challenging peak and achieving business success. Just as you carefully plan your strategy and recruit team members for a difficult climb, coaches prepare their teams for the big game.
But, unfortunately, most high school & college sports teams are run better than our businesses. In particular, I’ve found that these sports coaches offer tons of wisdom that can be directly applied to the challenges that executives face. Their methods for building, training, and motivating teams can provide valuable insights for business leaders looking to elevate their companies.
Let's explore three key areas where you can take a page from the coaching playbook to help your team tackle what’s ahead.
Recruiting: Building a Strong Team
One common mistake I often see leaders make is waiting until they have an opening on their team to start looking for talent. Then, once that opening occurs, they might conduct a couple of quick interviews before making an offer to the "best" candidate. It's like trying to field a team with players you've just met, and a good term for this is “just in time hiring”.
Contrast this with how sports coaches recruit:
They scout year-round, visiting numerous schools to find the right talent.
They have extensive tryouts to assess skills and cultural fit.
They look for players who are coachable and have the right attitude, not just technical skills.
The lesson? Approach recruiting with the same diligence and foresight as building a championship team. It's not just about filling a position; it's about finding the right team members who can perform under pressure and support each other.
Action step: Develop a year-round talent scouting strategy. ABR = always be recruiting, and that slogan should be a company wide theme. Create detailed position profiles and implement a more rigorous selection process that assesses cultural fit and coachability alongside technical skills.
Training & Development: Preparing for the Game
In many businesses, onboarding and training are often rushed. We might spend a few hours on training and then expect new hires to perform at their peak. It's like putting a rookie player in the championship game with minimal preparation.
Sports coaches, on the other hand, take a more comprehensive approach:
They publish practice schedules for the entire season in advance.
They practice regularly, often multiple times before each game.
They obsess over execution, running drills until they become second nature.
They have detailed playbooks that players are expected to learn and follow.
After each game they grade the players performance.
The takeaway? We need to invest more time and effort in training and development. It's the equivalent of rigorous practice and technique drills before stepping foot on the field. And I truly believe that the best companies are, at their core, “training & development of our people” companies.
Action step: Create a comprehensive training program that includes regular practice sessions, role-playing exercises, and a detailed "playbook" of best practices and procedures.
Scoreboard & Numbers: Tracking Execution
Many executives struggle with data. They might have a scorecard but fail to act on it promptly. They debate the data or complain that it's hard to obtain. It's like trying to coach a game without knowing the score or player stats.
Sports coaches, however, are masters of leveraging data:
They have real-time scoreboards that clearly show how the team is performing.
Every player and coach knows their numbers intimately.
They use data to make quick, decisive adjustments during games.
The lesson? We need to simplify our scorecards and make data more accessible and actionable. It's about having clear metrics that tell us exactly how we're performing and where we need to improve. And remember - , in business, we don’t need more data, we need more useful information.
Action step: Develop a simple, real-time scoreboard that clearly shows key performance indicators. Ensure every team member understands these metrics and how their work contributes to them.
Bonus Insight: The Coaching Mindset
Beyond these specific areas, there's an overarching lesson we can learn from sports coaches: the coaching mindset itself. Great coaches:
Expect to win and instill that belief in their teams.
Are proactive rather than reactive, making changes as soon as they see the need.
Focus on building systems and teams, not just individual stars.
Constantly evaluate and upgrade their team's capabilities.
As business leaders, adopting this coaching mindset can transform how we approach our roles. We're not just managers; we're coaches, guiding our teams to victory.
The Championship Awaits
By learning from the playbook of successful sports coaches, we can build stronger teams, develop more effective training programs, and create clearer performance metrics. Remember, in both sports and business, there are no bad teams, only unprepared ones. As leaders, it's our job to ensure our teams are equipped to handle challenges and are set up to win.
Want to dive deeper? I have a workshop that explores these lessons in greater detail and guides you through implementing them for your teams, just reach out to me for more info.