Liquid Thinking
“It’s the opposite of limited, static
thinking. It’s the ability to see things
from different perspectives and
translate the insights gained into
actions and behaviours.”
“Some of the guys there were doing
these mundane jobs day to day, but
were also doing incredible things.
One had built his own house to get his
kids into the best school in the area;
another had become a rally driving
champion; one had built his own
canal boat.
“I wanted to put their stories alongside
Sir Richard’s story and show that the
same kind of thinking applies.”
We’ve all seen a coach or athlete stick
doggedly to his trusted methods or
tactics when they’re evidently not
working. You need to be able to
reassess the situation and think quickly,
something that’s often impossible with
a fixed mindset.
One of the things he works on with
coaches and players is how to prepare
for what he calls those “oh sh*t!”
moments. “How are you going to
manage those moments of crisis? If
you haven’t planned for it, you become
erratic. You need to prepare before you
find yourself stuck in that moment.”
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Maximising a team’s potential is also
about adapting your practices to
different personalities. “I’ve recently
been working with a player who
responds quite badly to setbacks
so he gets three free mistakes for every
half of the game. If he’s frightened of
making mistakes it stops him doing
the good stuff he’s capable of. It’s a
numbers game. The more mistakes
you make, the more success you’re
likely to have.”
Often players need a target that’s not
directly related to the outcome of the
game, he adds. “You might give one of
your less talented players the role of
being the chief encourager of the team,
and say, ‘I want to hear 10 examples of
encouragement from you over the
course of the game.’”
There’s no complicated magic formula
when it comes to sports coaching, he
says. “Mostly, it’s common sense, but
that doesn’t mean it’s common
practice. I try to demystify some of
these thinking processes.”
COACHING EDGE
magazine. Originally written by Caroline Roberts.
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