By Shawn McQueen, Mentor for Two-Brain Group Coaching Course
This is the fifth post in our ongoing series covering the differences between good and bad coaches. If you want to catch up on the other parts of this story, do so here:
Bad coach loved pushing himself in workouts, loved lifting heavy. He wasn’t afraid to go into the “pain cave.” He thought this was the best way for everyone. Lift heavy, go fast and go hard. His values were becoming glaringly clear. He began to do competitor programming and stopped doing group classes. Having visions of being competitive, when he wasn’t coaching, he was training. Sometimes he’d train right up to before he was set to coach. When he worked out on his own it was usually to hip-hop or rap music which oftentimes had language or lyrics not appropriate for a general class setting.
But the bad coach didn’t care.
He brought everyone in the class to his level. Members would come in and bad coach would brag about what he did that day for fitness, like it was a badge of honor.
Then there was good coach, who was different. Good coach was extremely fit yet as humble as they come. He bragged about and celebrated the members’ victories, no matter how big or small. He not only had immense people skills but a high level of emotional intelligence. He could read the room as a whole and each individual as well. He knew how to get through to you. What tone to use, what questions to ask, how to best balance coaching to correct versus coaching to connect. He could create rapport with anyone.
He had incredible knowledge of movements and fitness yet could always speak it and bring it down to a digestible level of understanding to all. He noticed in others what 99% of other people would miss: a new haircut, new workout clothes, nails painted, new cologne, new car, you name it, he recognized it and shared it with an optimism that was contagious!
Members loved good coach.
They felt his genuine care each and everyday. They would comment on his delivery/style, his communication skills and his ability to easily meet everyone where they were at yet make each person feel like the only person in the room.Good coach loved coaching these people. And I have no doubt he is a key factor in why our length of engagement (LEG – a measure of retention) is above 30 months, or 2-1/2 years.
Good coach was always holding himself to, and raising, his own standards.
An extremely impressive skill set that made what happened next very easy.
Stay tuned next week for Part 6.