Who owns the task of coach development? Is it possible that no one owns coach development? Perhaps, the various agencies, organisations, and actors all own a stake.
We can better understand who owns coach development by examining who benefits from it.
There are lots of people who benefit from the coach development industrial complex. So, here’s another question that will bring some clarity. Who pays the price if the outcome of our coach development efforts is poor?
The owner bears both the upside and the downside. To understand why, watch the difference in the behaviour of a founder and a business expense account holder. One has skin in the game, and the other is playing the game.
There can be only one answer: the coach – the only person with skin in the game. The rest are players.
Of course, there are risks involved in playing the game. You might lose, or it might not work. This explains why some coaches are happy for others to play the game for them. The game is not for everyone.
Here are some principles to distinguish coach development, where coaches ultimately own their growth, from mentoring or coach education, where other factors may play a more dominant role:
Build horizontal relationships: If you believe your role is to “develop” another coach then you have placed yourself above the other person – that’s a vertical relationship. The coach sits beneath you.
Far better that a coach learns to believe in what they are doing than believe that you know what you are doing. It’s a lot less risky and far less disappointing.
Coach the person, not the problem. This is coach development, not ER, we have the time to shift the focus from the problem to the person.
Is it a real problem or the first problem? Help reconnect them to emergent realities (information, goals, emotions, intentions.) “What is ready to happen now?”
Focus on commitment, not success. I wrote the Good Coach Bad Coach Manifesto because I wanted to give myself a yardstick by which to measure my performance. the question I was trying to answer: “Under what conditions was I a bad coach or a good coach?” Pretty black and white.
How about when I was 78% good and 22% bad? When did that happen? Worse still, I let someone else make my mind up for me.
If you believe in the process, look for commitment, not success. What are you committed to? What do you stand for?
The coach is responsible for what they care about. Agendas are helpful for meetings, and curriculums provide frameworks in education, but in coach development – find the energy. The alternative is to play along and end up in places we don’t belong.
The question isn’t “How do we create a better coach development strategy?” but it could be: “How do we help coaches build authority, influence, and status?” or “How do we help coaches build their practice?” or “How do we help coaches find their Elvis?”
Don’t try to herd cats, build trust. Creative tension describes the gap between where you are and where you would like to be. Why anyone would want to try to herd cats from one place to another is beyond me; perhaps it’s easier than saying “No one is listening to me!” When you are talking about people though, it’s about the relationship and more specifically the role you play in that relationship.
Show don’t tell. Here are two examples of horizontal, ownership-based approaches to coach development that focus on creating the conditions in which relationships flourish:
Accept the Offer. I created Coach Camp using the prompt “Here’s what I am working on now.” When a coach says “Here’s what I’m working on now,” they’re inviting collaboration on their terms. They own both the challenge and the direction. The response isn’t to fix or teach but to join them in their exploration. This maintains their ownership while creating space for genuine co-learning.
If you want a quick fix, Coach Camp is not it, it’s slow but important work building trust. I can tell you that if you apply the same thinking that comes with low trust, high control environments, and start head counting – Coach Camp is not for you.
Make an Offer. Show up with something you have built – Here’s what I have built, I think we can do better.” Could be a coaching practice session, an experience, or just about anything that you are willing to see broken down.
Prof Matthias Lochmann, the German academic credited with reshaping youth football in Germany, wanted to develop his ideas. He showed up with hand clickers – the type that door security uses. All the coaches had to do was count how many times individual players touched the ball during different session designs. Was one session better than the other?
I can’t think of a better place to end – an invitation to build together, not a presentation of a finished solution. I’ll leave you with this: You don’t have to own coach development to play your part. Just know your role.