The Four Most Overlooked Attributes of Successful Coaches

I was reading Daniel Pink and I learned about Garret Kramer. After oberving little league sports for years, I really wish there were more coaches like Kramer. As I thought about his four attributes, I began to think that all of this applies to educators. Please take a look at these attributes and I will be purchasing Kramer's new book and hopefully have some more information to share with you.

Here are the "The Four Most Overlooked Attributes of Successful Coaches:"

1. They look to the state of mind of the athlete or individual in question, not his or her behavior.
Poor performances, or behaviors, are the result of an individual’s low mind-set, not his or her circumstances. Rather than holding players accountable to their actions (judging behavior), the best leaders hold them—and themselves—accountable to recognizing the thoughts and feelings that accompany high states of mind, and only acting from this mental state. This type of coach distrusts his own thoughts from low moods and encourages his players to do the same.

2. They understand that the spoken word is far less important than the state of mind from which the word is spoken.
Here’s a simple reminder. Words are merely an echo of a feeling. A coach might say to a player, “I was really proud of your effort tonight.” But if there is no genuine feeling behind the words, they might actually have a negative impact. Successful coaches take notice of their own level of functioning moment to moment. They know that positive words only originate from positive states of mind.

3. They keep goal setting in perspective.
Successful coaches know that the more athletes focus on the “prize,” the more they thwart their own awareness, shrink their perceptual field, and limit the imaginative possibilities. These coaches understand that achieving goals does not elevate self-worth or happiness. Instead, they relish the journey—the relationships and experiences—as the path toward creating exactly what they want becomes clear.

4. When in doubt—they turn to love.
Great coaches set guidelines and expectations based on one overriding principle: love for their players. They know, above all else, that love will always provide the answers to helping others—and to success.

Garret Kramer is the founder and managing partner of Inner Sports, LLC. He has provided consulting and/or crisis management services to hundreds of athletes and coaches; from well known professionals, Olympians, and teams, to high school and collegiate players across a multitude of sports. A former collegiate ice hockey player, Kramer is credited with bringing the principles of Mind, Consciousness, and Thought to the athletic community at large. Kramer often lectures on topics related to the states of mind that lead to success on and off the playing field. He has been featured on WFAN in New York, ESPN Radio, WOR, FOX, CTV, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, The Newark Star Ledger, The Toronto Star, The Philadelphia Daily News, and other nationally syndicated sports programs and magazines. Kramer is the author of the book Stillpower: The Inner Source of Athletic Excellence; forward written by NHL and U.S. Olympic star Zach Parise