The One-minute Soccer Coach

As I was cleaning out my garage (not a pretty site by the way I came across an old copy of The One-Minute Manager, a business classic by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson.  As I glanced through it, I noticed that it was a nice blueprint for organizing a team.
 
In case you haven’t read the book, it is basically about a new manager learning the best practices for leading a staff from a mentor manager.  Here is an outline and some adaptations for a soccer team.
 
1.  Shared Goals

Create goals and target behaviors for the team, TOGETHER.  Goals that are shared create a greater accountability and commitment.
Agree on goals and clarify so all understand. 
The coach will have his/her own expectations and goals they bring to the team.  Make them completely clear and transparent.
 Revisit goals often

2.  Consistent, Meaningful Feedback

Inform team you will be giving feedback and agree on what form it will be given (i.e. written, verbal) and how often
Look at your goals, look at your performance and see if your behavior matches your goals
Give genuine, daily praise often – make a habit of “catching your players doing things right”
Make sure any negative feedback is relevant, constructive and not personal.  Correct the behavior not the person.
Shared goals make negative feedback easier since the player is not meeting the standard they set for themselves.

3.  Clarify, Clarify, Clarify

Goals, expectations and feedback should be able to be recited by all team members.
Use as many opportunities, forms and mechanisms possible to make goals/expectations clear and transparent to all.
One of the coaches primary goals should be clarity of message. 

By the way, if parents are a prominent part of your team’s function, there is no reason why the principles above could not be applied to them!
 
Application of shared goals, consistent, meaningful feedback and clarity of message will not only help any organization run better, but it could, as The One-Minute Manager claims, “give you the gift of getting greater results in less time.”