They’ll tell you everything you need to know to effectively reach them.
“To reach someone, you have to resonate with them.
To resonate with them, you have to understand them.
To understand them, you have to listen to them.
No, not hear them, listen to them.
From there, it’s the leaders job to adjust his/her communication strategy accordingly.”
-Ray Zingler on X
The deeper I get into coaching, the less I care about sets and reps and the more I care about people.
And more specifically, communication with people.
It’s because I believe the best coaches don’t necessarily know the most about sports or training, I believe the best coaches are the best communicators.
They are the best with people.
What is it that we want with our relationships with athletes, or hell, people in general?
We want to reach them so that we can help them gain access to their full potential.
The coach is a tool. A vessel, right?
But how do we reach them?
By just showing up and doing our job?
Of course not.
Anybody can show up and meet the demands of a job description.
In order to reach someone, you must resonate with them. You must assess their energy, where they’re at and where they want to go. Feel them out, if you will, so you can relate to them.
But to resonate with them, you must understand them.
This is where it starts to get complex.
Well, not really.
This is where coaches make it complex.
This is where coaches forget they are the secondary component to the coach/athlete relationship.
In order to understand them, you must listen to them.
LISTEN to them.
Not hear them, but listen to them.
And most coaches miss this part because they are so focused on ensuring their athletes are listening to THEM.
And therefore the “my way or the highway” coaches (who are many) often fail.
It’s because they are so busy trying to get people to “buy-in” to their system. Their way. Their style.
It’s a ME ME ME approach, and most don’t have the self-awareness to recognize it.
While having a philosophy, discipline, and structure is critical as a coach, it’s important to note that those you’re seeking buy-in from are dynamic.
They aren’t all like you.
They have different motivations, learning styles, coaching preferences.
Some want to be pushed HARD, others need more vocal love.
And to learn these things about people you have to LISTEN to them.
Listen to them first, learn them.
Then watch how well they’ll listen to you once you start speaking their language.
