Why all should coaches have a coaching philosophy – The importance of knowing thyself to know others

Why do I think that all coaches should have a coaching philosophy? To answer this question, I want to share the story of how I came about forming my own philosophy, my experiences of how I found the process, and how I have continued to develop it throughout my career:

I first started putting together my coaching philosophy about 3 years ago when I started my first full-time job in strength and conditioning. I was encouraged by my mentor to start developing a coaching philosophy, something that was a working document that I could refer to as a coach to be clear on what I wanted to be perceived as, and what I valued important in my role. I knew that this would be helpful for me as I developed as this could be a useful reference point for me to always come back to if I had any questions or update as I grew. It also reminds me what I regard as important in life and how it is displayed throughout my day-to-day coaching. Before then, I did not really understand what the term “coaching philosophy” meant, nor did I have one set in stone! I was fortunate that my mentor at the time and the other practitioners that I worked with encouraged me to form my own coaching philosophy through reflecting on my own experiences, picking up themes that I believed in or felt that resonated strongly with me and try and connect the dots in a more formalised way. This was also done in conjunction with a personality profile assessment (DISC profile). Again, this was a novel concept for myself as I had never done one before, but I felt that it would aid in this process of reflection and “self-discovery” of my own coaching philosophy. The personality profile allowed me to understand what my preferences were when interacting with people, the way I behave in a normal state, at work, and under pressure. I gained a new understanding of my personal values and beliefs and began to incorporate what I had just learnt into my coaching practice, subsequently beginning the journey of developing my own coaching philosophy.

Coaching philosophies are formed by values and beliefs which I believe are vital in forming a coach’s philosophy (2). When you know what your values and beliefs are, it gives you direction and purpose in your role. More often than not, a coaching philosophy is shaped by a coach’s personality, their own experiences, and the environments that they have worked in. Forming a coaching philosophy has numerous benefits for a coach:

1. It allows them to shape their coaching behaviours to inform their practice

2. It gives them a point of reference when they are coaching and faced with difficult situations

3. It creates a platform or starting point for continued reflection on their coaching journey

Ultimately, having a coaching philosophy allows a coach to have greater clarity on their coaching practice and behaviours. It is important to note that a coaching philosophy should come from your OWN personal values and beliefs and should be different to the values and beliefs of theoretical, professional knowledge in the coaching world. However, I would say that they complement each other, as your personal philosophy will naturally be embedded in your professional behaviours as a practitioner.

Figure 1. A diagram summarising what a coaching philosophy is consisted of (1,3)

This diagram (Figure 1) summarises the differences between values and beliefs in your coaching philosophy. It is important to be able to clearly articulate and explain your values and beliefs, if it is confusing to you personally or you are not fully convinced by it, chances are that others will see through that pretty quickly. To make it easier for myself, I have differentiated between my values and beliefs with values being things that are important to me as a coach that motivate me to be better; beliefs are what I regard as part my role as a coach, with the question “What does good coaching look like to you?” an easy way for me to ascertain my beliefs

For example, one of my values is facilitating an independent learning environment. I believe that every session that I have with the athletes that I coach is an opportunity for them to take part in learning and working towards becoming more independent. I try to adopt a guided learning along with exploratory discovery approach by setting up constraints in an environment where they are encouraged to problem solve and think about the session aims and outcomes while supported by coaching guidance from myself when appropriate, instead of just depending on myself to give them all the answers. I understand that novice athletes will naturally need more support initially, facilitated through guided learning provided by my coaching. In these situations, I would use a more authoritarian coaching style to allow more direct learning to take place. Once the athletes have processed that information, I try to balance that out with exploratory discovery where the athletes are challenged to figure out solutions to problems presented in sessions. These may be challenges directly related to the sessions for example, learning to perform an exercise competently or could be indirectly related to the session for example, learning how to be prepared to train with intent in sessions across a week or month.

An example of a belief of mine is related to putting good coaching skills into practice. I care about making a positive impact on the athletes that I coach, treating them as people first and athletes second through fostering an environment that enhances psycho-behavioural traits in a supportive learning capacity. In my experience, I have seen how important good coaching is in developing an effective coach-athlete relationship. This has allowed me to have conversations around goal setting with the athlete to increase their intrinsic motivation, creating a training environment in which they enjoy being in, and getting to know their life outside of the sporting domain. I try to consciously reflect after each session on how I facilitated good coaching behaviours and how the athletes perceived it. A simple question that I have started asking myself is “How would the last athlete you coached describe you?” and reflect on whether or not these values came across to them. This helps me remain accountable and grounded in my coaching process, always striving to become better.

These are just parts of my coaching philosophy that I have developed in my time as a coach. I am aware that my coaching philosophy is heavily influenced by my experiences coaching youth athletes, however it will continue to develop and change as I am exposed to more experiences. I believe this subsequently adds more layers to my overall philosophy as it is important to allow it to evolve and continue to be enriched as one develops themselves and grows more confident in their delivery regardless of the environment that they are placed in.

Now that I know thyself, how does this help me get to know others

It’s often talked about how important it is to understand why you do things. Simon Sinek highlights this in his book Start With Why (4), demonstrating that in any person or organisation working in something, understanding WHY you do something makes your work more powerful and meaningful. As you resonate your values and beliefs out, you amplify them to others, allowing them to benefit from your purpose. This becomes much stronger than people just knowing WHAT you do. When they understand you as a person, what you stand for and what you value and believe in, that can naturally form a more effective working collaboration. This enhances the relationships between colleagues working in a team, transforming it from being a merely professional relationship to something much more meaningful. Again, I have been fortunate enough to have worked in 2 organisations now where my colleagues around me understand my personality profile, my coaching philosophy, which allowed me to perform at my best as a coach. Another benefit of sharing this with others is also to keep yourself accountable to your values and beliefs, for example, if I were to prioritise chasing results and outcomes instead of long-term athlete development, this would be contradictory to my coaching philosophy. I would most likely be challenged by my peers and asked to explain why I was deviating from my values and beliefs that I had stressed were important to me. I believe that this is a healthy way to check and challenge yourself and prompt continuous reflection.

Hopefully, having read this blog you have had a better understanding of what a coaching philosophy is and how it looks like in practice through some of my examples. I certainly am not a finished product as a coach in any way and I look forward to continuing to shape my practice from learning and reflecting from my experiences.

References

1. Cushion, C., & Partington, M. (2016). A critical analysis of the conceptualisation of ‘coaching philosophy’. Sport, education and society, 21(6), 851-867.

2. Hardman, A. R., & Jones, C. R. (2013). Ethics for coaches. In R. L. Jones, M. Hughes, & K. Kingston (Eds.), An introduction for sports coaching: Connecting theory to practice (pp. 113– 130). London: Routledge

3. Partington, M., & Campbell, J. (2019). A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING COACHING PHILOSOPHY. Sports Coaching: A Theoretical and Practical Guide.

4. Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin