How Coaching In Sports Compares to Leadership In Business And The Military

Coaching athletic teams is not unlike leading in other realms, such as the military and business teams. Success in sports may mean winning a game or helping a player achieve their personal goals, while success in the military can be an effective strike, and success in business can result in large profit margins. Each realm has its own unique challenges. Coaches manage the process and develop the most effective strategy for improving team performance and advancing growth opportunities for all players. Teams like the All Blacks in rugby and the New England Patriots in football sustain their success through not only great players, but also great coaching.

To learn more, check out the infographic below created by the Ohio University’s Online Master of Athletic Administration program.

The Fundamentals of Sports Coaching

Coaches prepare athletes for more than just competitions. They work to develop technical and interpersonal skills that are applicable beyond the sports world. Coaches aim to inspire ethical behavior, instill good physical conditioning practices, and strengthen team members’ strength and skills, while trying to keep athletes free from injury. They also aim to promote the growth and development of team members, teach and communicate team goals and policies, and strengthen team members’ strengths and skills. Additionally, they may oversee athletic programs, which can include evaluating programs regularly and managing resources successfully.

Sports coaches can meet these goals through various leadership styles. Authoritarian coaches use strict discipline, rigid rules, and cool attitudes toward team members. Humanistic coaches deploy open communication, encouragement, and sensitivity to team members’ feelings. Laissez-Faire coaches take a hands-off approach to inspire self-reliance and independence. Finally, the participative coaching style sees coaches utilize team involvement strategies in decision making and to establish common goal-setting.

What Can Sports Coaches Learn from Leaders in the Military and Business?

Leadership Lessons from the Military

Military leaders are trained tacticians for a very good reason – lives are on the line based on their decisions. These leaders set clear goals and objectives, gather intelligence about competitors or situations and plan actions based on that intel, visibly demonstrate a commitment to goals, and get out onto the battlefield with their teams on a regular basis. Coaches can use military strategies to conduct comprehensive research into opposing teams’ records and player strengths, develop game plans based on reviewing opposing teams’ games, and run frequent drills that change up the usual plays.

Leadership Lessons from Business

Business leaders are responsible for inspiring and motivating their staffs to achieve organizational goals. They provide encouragement, feedback, and mentorship to team members, hold team members accountable for mistakes while admitting their own mistakes, show compassion when it’s called for, and find reasons to appreciate team members’ contributions. Coaches can use business tactics to conduct weekly team meetings to discuss performance, celebrate team members’ accomplishments, and rotating team members to all players can participate and learn new skills.

Trust: One of the Most Important Leadership Lessons

Trust is the grease in the wheels of successful teams. Squads with effective, transparent communication and a deep understanding of each other can anticipate what their teammates will do and how they can best contribute.

How Sports Coaching is Unique

Sports teams share some basic features with business and military environments. For example, they have established organizational systems, clearly defined goals, and a hierarchical structure. But sports coaching also presents unique challenges.

For instance, while life or death situations aren’t common like in the military, competitions can be high-pressure events, and coaches need to prepare their athletes for this stress. Secondly, they may have to deal with pressure from the families of athletes, who often become extremely invested in the team’s performance. Additionally, parents of athletes frequently want more playing time for their kids and may express issues with various team decisions. Coaches must also motivate athletes with rewards and punish athletes for violating an organization’s rules and regulations. Financial and budgetary demands can create varying constraints on sports programs, too. Finally, coaches aim to impart leadership, communication, time management, discipline, and social skills that can transcend sports into academics, work life and personal relationships.

Conclusion

Sports coaches need to wear many hats – moral support, strategist, facilitator, mediator, expert motivator and skilled manager. They can learn lessons from leaders in other fields. Coaches devoted to their teams and with good practices can help their athletes succeed on and off the playing field.

Learn more about earning your online Master of Athletic Administration from Ohio University.