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On the eve of his departure from New Zealand, leading rugby coach Robbie Deans was interviewed on his success as a sporting coach. Many of the key messages are also relevant to effective business and leadership coaching. Here are some of them:

Self analysis

 ”I took a break from the NPC and did some research which was the best thing to happen to me. I started looking at other ways of running the group and started to challenge my own thinking and realised there was a whole lot out there that I was missing.”

Motivation

“My personal motivation, in the back of my mind, I keep asking myself, am I making a difference here? Am I adding any value? If not then you need to consider what you do as it pertains to the people you work with.”

Listening skills

“There is no doubt I was more of a teller - I am a better listener now. I was a bit inflexible - if players couldn’t do something I used to make them go harder. That was how it was done. I have changed a great deal. I thought it was all about knowledge and what the coach wanted and then driving that through but that method is a short-term fix.”
Working individually with team members

 ”I treated the team and people generically, for example they would all get flogged at training for the benefit of a few. Now the work is far more customised, much more individual.”
The coach’s role in managing stress

“Look, you go in at the break, points down and you are struggling or it is not going too well.  There is no point in getting them agitated. You are frustrated and the team is probably frustrated and you go in and rant and rave and tell them what they already know.  All you’re doing is making yourself feel better and that is only temporary. You have got to help them find solutions. If you don’t have one you have to talk to them because they may have one, collectively you’ve got to find one.”

Positive thinking

“Through those (bad) times we had to consider what we had all contributed to that demise.”