When individuals ascend to the top of the coaching tree or high performance structure they are faced with a host of new challenges that are beyond and often quite different to anything they have encountered in their professional career previously. At the time of being appointed into head coach, performance director, athletic director or general manager positions it is very rare that the individual is fully equipped for the range and scope of the challenges they will face. Beyond the question of how might we better prepare individuals for such pivotal roles, a more pressing question is what specific provision is available for those who find themselves in these positions.
In the recent release Prepared we described four pillars of high performance. Specifically, these are stewardship over the environment, leadership and managing both support staff and athletes, coaching and preparing the performer, and finally managing self. Of these pillars arguably only one or at most two will have been part of the individual’s professional education and experience to date. In many instances the rest is left to chance to a large extent - essentially it is assumed that the individual concerned will figure it out once they step into the role.
Certainly it is rare at present for newly appointed head coaches, high performance directors and the like to receive dedicated support to fill these gaps. All in all this seems a glaring omission given how pivotal these roles are and the outsized influence they have over the culture and direction of the organisation as well as how things operate on a day to day basis.
CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP ROLES IN ELITE SPORT…
The high performance director role is a relatively new innovation, albeit most national sports organisations or governing bodies now have a performance director or equivalent position. Moreover, whilst the label may vary (Director of Sport Science and Medicine, VP of Athletic Performance and Sports Medicine, etc.) a role of this type is increasingly becoming the norm in professional sport organisations as they continue to shift towards a high performance system model.
The jury is still out on what particular professional or education background offers the requisite blend of knowledge, skills and experiences to fulfill the various duties of a performance director. As it stands, individuals appointed to these positions typically ascend from the coaching ranks or one of the sports science and medicine disciplines.
The general manager role is somewhat unique to North America. It is quite typical for this role to be filled by a former athlete or somebody with a coaching background in the sport who also brings professional experience in business.
Indeed even the head coach role is a very different proposition to other coaching positions given the leadership and other duties that it entails - hence many assistant coaches struggle to make this transition.
THE PETER PRINCIPLE…
Much like other professions, as coaches and practitioners climb the ladder more time is spent in miscellaneous areas (notably management and admin) that are largely unrelated to what originally made them successful in the first place. Whilst certain individuals may have some affinity for management and admin, in many instances the move away from being athlete-facing and having to assume growing responsibility for other facets is not entirely welcome. In modern sport, the shift in roles and responsibilities is greatly accentuated given the added challenges of coordinating an ever-growing army of performance, medical and other athlete support staff.
We should therefore be mindful of the Peter Principle when it comes to who is elevated into leadership and management roles. What this describes is that professional competence does not necessarily translate into propensity for management and leadership.
Paradoxically the best performers often do not make the best managers or leaders. Just as a great athlete will not necessarily make a great coach, excelling as an practitioner does not automatically guarantee success in roles that involve leading or managing others. In the example cited previously, it cannot be assumed that a highly capable member of the coaching team will have the requisite skills and attributes to be a head coach. Likewise an exceptional practitioner might prove to be entirely ill-suited for a leadership or management role.
PATH-DEPENDENCE…
Fitness for leadership and senior management roles aside, we should recognise that formative experiences and the degree of familiarity with different environments and athlete support disciplines will naturally carry over when an individual takes on a senior leadership position. As with most things, this has positives and negatives.
Naturally there is some path dependence in terms of the expertise and perspectives the individual brings into the new role and how they choose to approach things. For instance, those with a coaching background will generally favour a coach-centric approach; somebody with a background in the sports institute system often seeks to import or recreate that system; the sports scientist will tend to emphasis the role and importance of sport science support, and so on.
More broadly, a background in the sport is advantageous when it comes to having an appreciation of the culture and understanding the intricacies and nuances of the sport. An established reputation in the sport can also confer greater standing among the athletes (at least in the short term). Conversely, an exclusive background in the sport can be restrictive as the perspective and mental models of the individual will be socialised to some extent by the conventions in that sport. Knowledge of how things are done and what has been done in the past is not altogether and always helpful.
Similarly, previous tenure in terms of years of experience as a coach or practitioner is an advantage in some regards but can be an obstacle in other ways. It is striking the extent to which contemporary sport and the high performance model in general differs to what came before.
COORDINATION CHALLENGES…
Aside from taking on more varied responsibilities, taking on a senior leadership role in elite sport typically also means assuming control of a bigger staff and a larger number of stakeholders to satisfy. Moreover, with the evolving arms race and universal adoption of the high performance system model in elite and professional sport, the size and array of staff and stakeholders becomes ever more expansive.
The increasing size of the coaching and performance staff has been compounded by the growing specialisation in athlete support roles and the mass adoption and continuing advances in technology and the use of data. Most recently, some professional sports franchises have taken the step of bringing research and development in house, creating yet another department to add to the existing medical, performance, sport science, performance analysis and technical coaching staff.
This ever-growing support cast comprising multiple departments across a multitude of disciplines presents its own problems. Managing the many lines of communication and various moving parts represents a significant coordination challenge - even just to simply coordinate the coordinators of the respective departments!
Clearly it takes very skillful leadership and management from the top to ensure that all this machinery continues to function in a cohesive fashion. With so many disparate elements it can easily devolve into silos working at odds with each other. Beyond logistics and the challenges of integration, the individual overseeing such an array of specialties must possess a level of knowledge and understanding of each respective area if they are to make best use of the support available - and indeed to have any idea what is going on. In addition to the inherent complexity of the task, the nature of the challenges and state of the art within each discipline are also continually evolving.
GETTING UP TO SPEED…
Given the scope, complexity and evolving nature of the role (and elite sport in general), it seems fanciful to expect to find a ready-made candidate who will be able to seamlessly step into a performance director or equivalent leadership position. Whatever the background of the individual, it is highly unlikely that their professional experiences to date will have adequately prepared them for all of the myriad functions that senior leaders in elite sport are now expected to fulfill.
When put in control of the machine it soon becomes apparent there is no instruction manual. To some degree Prepared was written to fill this gap. It has been extremely gratifying to hear from readers in leadership positions in the field who share that they can very much relate to the themes presented and attest that in some ways the book does provide something akin to a handbook.
Equally there is a limit to the written word when it comes to applying knowledge in practice due to the nuances and the need to accommodate specific constraints in each situation. The context within each sport and organisation differs dramatically, so it is rare to find solutions that apply universally. Given the variety of scenarios those who operate in elite sport will encounter there remains a need for further support to assist in developing and exercising professional judgement and decision-making in the specific context and under live conditions.
FILLING KNOWLEDGE GAPS…
Irrespective of the background of the individual appointed there will inevitably be knowledge gaps to fill. Practically, there will be some need to ‘retool’ and acquire new areas of expertise in order to meet the various requirements of the role. A gap analysis will be necessary to help direct the initial process of getting up to speed. The varying backgrounds and expertise of those appointed into senior leadership roles means that a bespoke approach will be necessary to support these efforts for each individual.
A basic awareness of the lexicon is an important starting point to becoming conversant in the language of each discipline. Aside from understanding the jargon, it is important that those in leadership roles possess some grounding in the essentials to attain a level of shared understanding with each department of the performance staff. For instance, to successfully integrate the coaching staff, performance staff and other branches of athlete support, the head coach must possess an array of knowledge and understanding to be able to engage with the respective departments in a meaningful way. The general manager is likewise ultimately responsible for recruiting critical positions and assembling the staff, and this too demands a level of understanding in order to discern capability and understand what constitutes current best practice in the respective professions.
Given the scope of the task and the surplus of information in the digital era it follows that some assistance will be required to avoid either getting swamped entirely or else lost in the weeds. At the very least the learning process will benefit considerably from having somebody to provide a filter and help curate information sources to access the most relevant and meaningful insights. Aside from directing the learning effort, a knowledgeable teacher can greatly expedite the process by providing a thorough understanding of the fundamentals and first principles.
ENLISTING EXTERNAL SUPPORT…
The downside to being at the top of the pyramid is that mentorship only flows in one direction. This begs the question who fulfills this need for continuing education and peer-mentorship when it comes to the leader?
Whilst having the courage to be vulnerable might presently be in vogue, in reality those in leadership positions are understandably hesitant to seek this assistance from those within the organisation. Asking junior colleagues to help teach them how to do the job is not generally considered a good look. The person in the hot seat will naturally suspect such requests might not entirely inspire confidence in their ability to lead. Relying too heavily on any one colleague to be a confidante can similarly disturb the dynamics within the organisation. Staff members are naturally attuned to who has the ear of the leader. In lieu of a neutral third party to provide such support, new appointees will often feel that they have no alternative but to muddle through on their own.
In an earlier offering we explored the benefits and utility of a neutral third party and this very much applies when it comes to providing ‘on the job learning’ for those in senior leadership positions. Having somebody knowledgeable they can call on without any hesitation to demystify a given topic is naturally very valuable. Not only does the enhanced level of understanding aid with ongoing learning but having such a resource to call on also provides reassurance and a greater sense of self efficacy. Leaders who are more confident in their ability to handle things are in turn more inclined to critically appraise themselves and their own organisation. Ready access to an outsider who is capable of providing meaningful insights thus helps drive the continuous improvement not only for the person at the helm but for the organisation as a whole.
Clearly in addition to a user manual it would be very helpful to have dedicated user support to call on when issues arise. A dedicated neutral third party can serve the leader in a number of ways, such as providing counsel, bouncing ideas and troubleshooting problems. Enlisting external support thus helps to empower the leader. Having somebody to provide clarity and counsel is a major asset, especially when there is confidence that the person providing the advice does not have any agenda or conflicting interest such as advancing their own status within the organisation.
IN CLOSING: ‘EXECUTIVE COACHING’ FOR LEADERS IN ELITE SPORT?
“It can be lonely at the top... but only if you choose to go it alone”
In other professional domains - notably business - it is customary for high flyers in general and senior leaders in particular to engage outside assistance to provide dedicated support for their professional development. In particular, executive coaching is well established as a service to hone leadership skills and provide ongoing individual support for those in senior leadership positions. Professionals and senior leaders in these realms recognise the need and benefit of dedicated support to equip themselves.
The broad recognition across other sectors of the value that a neutral third party who possesses relevant expertise can bring has yet to be reflected in elite and professional sport. That this practice has yet to be adopted in elite sport is all the more striking given the scope and complexity of the performance director role at elite level. Likewise a contemporary head coach in elite and professional sport faces similar challenges - coaching expertise alone is only part of the equation and the role demands greater breadth and depth of knowledge than ever before.
Given the concept is already thoroughly proven in other sectors this trend will inevitably emerge in elite and professional sport and no doubt in due course it will become customary for head coaches, performance directors and general managers to have the equivalent to an executive coach. In the meantime, there is significant first-mover advantage to be had by those with the foresight and conviction to be among the early adopters.
In view of the size and scope of the challenge it can certainly be a lonely and bewildering experience for those who find themselves at the top of a high performance system - but it can be made far less onerous for those who choose not to go it alone.
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