Basketball season is going strong. With the NBA's superstars trying to lead their respective teams to this season’s championship. Although these athletes are, unquestionably, the leaders of their respective teams, they cannot accomplish their goals alone. These superstars need the team around them and, perhaps more importantly, they need their coaches.
Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan never won a title without Phil Jackson. Tim Duncan never won a championship without Greg Popovich. These were some of the best athletes in the world, men who have mastered their craft. Despite this, they still need coaches. Why is this?
If elite athletes at the highest level cannot accomplish their goals without a coach, what does that say for the progress of anyone, at any level of an organization? Everyone needs solid, objective advice about how to make progress in the direction they need to go. The best coaches—the Phil Jacksons and Greg Popviches of the world (who have been coached themselves by other coaches along the way)—have been able to accurately evaluate the talents of their team, in order to put the whole organization in the best position to succeed. The coaches provide the game plan and the direction for their teams and organizations to achieve great things.
For most humans with any kind of ego, it’s a difficult task to objectively evaluate anything they do, whether it is playing basketball, playing the violin, or developing a marketing strategy. Some musicians will seek out a coach to help them overcome a plateau when they feel like they are in a rut and have difficulty progressing technically or creatively. Performing musicians also will often seek out a coach to help them prepare for a special competition or performance. In these cases, a coach can focus on very specific issues; anything from the proper technique for a very difficult passage to stage presence and staying in close rhythm with the rest of the band.
Shouldn’t this apply to the business world as well? Shouldn’t every company have someone who can help objectively evaluate talent and put together a game plan to direct the organization to achieve great things? If you feel your business’ growth is leveling off or experiencing a downturn, be a smart leader and recognize the need to keep a fresh and objective viewpoint before business begins to turn south. If the foundations of great talent and exceptional direction allow for success in athletics (competition) and music (creativity), shouldn’t the same principles lead to success in the business world? As a leader, are you spending enough time making sure you and your organization are going in the right direction and making progress going after that ultimate goal?
Create your own championship or masterpiece by doing your best to evaluate talent and shrewdly and decisively navigate your path to achieve that end goal—whether that goal is an annual sales mark, a new product development, or any other benchmark you set for your company.
Perhaps it is just human nature to think a coach isn’t necessary for you or your organization. After all, speaking as an entrepreneur myself, if we have come this far without one, we may be confident enough in our abilities that we think coaches are not necessary. However, what we are really doing is handcuffing our organization’s potential for growth and development with our own limitations and biases. The smartest individuals, however, that every high-performance individual, regardless of skill or industry, receive regular and consistent coaching to help them reach their highest possible performance level. It is unclear why any leader thinks they can achieve their ultimate goals on their own when the best performers in every industry, also in pursuit of excellence, have coaches that help them continually maximize their talent and ultimately their bottom line performance.