Every Leader Needs a Coach
Once again Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won the MVP for the National Football League. It’s the third time he’s been given this high honor. Only Peyton Manning has won more with a total of five.
In a Sports Illustrated profile, writer Peter King revealed the secret behind Rodger’s success as the most efficient passer in league history. One statement says it all: “I desperately want to be coached.”
It could be argued that no one needs to be coached less than Aaron Rodgers, yet no one wants to be coached more! That’s a recipe for success in any endeavor.
In a 2013 TED talk, Bill Gates affirmed this. “Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast, or a bridge player. We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”
“Everyone needs a coach. That's how we improve.” – Bill Gates
Gates highlights the one characteristic that is common to all high-performing individuals, from athletes to executives: they all have a coach.
Yet surprisingly, nearly two-thirds of business executives outside the leading edge of innovators of the world don’t. The majority are embarrassed to even consider, let alone ask for, coaching. (Is it any wonder that these leaders are outside the leading edge?)
In my observation, the percentage of pastors who have sought out coaching is even less than in the business world.
Has anyone ever advised you to get a coach? What was your immediate response? Did you bristle at the idea that you needed a coach? Did you wonder where you must be failing for someone to recommend a coach?
We immediately assume something must be wrong if we need a coach. That isn’t true. The people that seek coaching aren’t the ones with something wrong with them. On the contrary, there’s something very right about them – and it’s enabling them to leap ahead.
The people that seek coaching aren’t the ones with something wrong with them. On the contrary, there’s something very right about them – and it’s enabling them to leap ahead.
Why Find a Coach
Coaches can certainly provide guidance and insight as it relates to growing in a skill. Just as a batting coach can assess a player’s swing…just as a throwing coach can assess a quarterback’s mechanics…so a coach can provide tips on issues such as preaching or long-range planning or budget setting.
Often, one of the best services a coach can offer is to be a sounding board who looks at something with another set of eyes. As such they can provide perspective, the one thing you can’t give yourself
A coach can remind you of goals you have set. Remind you to focus on the most important tasks. Remind you that it is ok to say no to opportunities that distract you from your goals.
How a Coach Helped Me
I can look back at eras in my life when coaching was powerfully impactful for me. I was coached at length on how to transition a church to a disciple-making culture. I sought coaching when it came to the challenge of pastoral succession. I even received coaching on the topic of “how to coach” – something I’m grateful for in light of my current ministry to pastors.
I know full well that a big reason why “everyday pastors” don’t seek out coaching is the cost. Professional coaching can be expensive. However, there are affordable resources out there and they are worth the investment.
Bill Gates was right. The reality is everyone does need a coach.
If you do not have a coach, now is the time to find one. Remember, you are not admitting that you are a bad leader by hiring a coach. You are admitting that you are humble enough to realize you can be better. You realize you have weaknesses that if improved will help your team do even greater things.
While you might not win any MVP awards, you may well discover that getting a coach might turn out to be the best leadership decision of your career!
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