Your article “Thank Your Lucky Stars” on elite coaching (View from the Balcony, vol 6, issue 1) prompted me to reflect on what a ‘star’ might look like in the coaching world.
Neither of the definitions proposed by the author worked for me. The attributes of a coach who writes good articles and supports the coaching community or who costs more than other coaches are not helpful in defining a star coach.
As I reflected, I thought about star players in the football world. Manchester City now has some of the best-paid players in the world, many of whom are called stars. They match the financial definition of a star as given by the author of the article. For me, most of them are not yet stars in a way that is satisfactory. Critically, in performance terms they have not yet won anything.
An example of a true star for me is footballer Thierry Henry during Arsenal’s invincible season (when the team was unbeaten in the league).
Henry scored goals often, and at critical times he was a great team player both on and off the field. Importantly, he won medals and trophies for the club.
It would be helpful to find parallel attributes for stars in the coaching world. It would help buyers get the best value from their investment.
I believe a very good coach helps clients become at ease with themselves, make powerful use of the relationships around them, be comfortable in the environment they are in and perform to the best of their potential.
Coaches who can do this in the most difficult environments, and do it consistently, can then be considered stars.
I also think you know a true star when you see one.
Len Williamson, executive coach, Praesta email len.williamson@praesta.com
Coaching at Work, Volume 6, Issue 4