Coaching techniques

June 17, 2008 7:15 PM

Is there a book or other resource that will provide tips/techniques on being a coach?

I am tasked with helping others to bring forth their best in an endeavor in which I do not have experience. The coaching will one on one. It will be in a business related endeavor, not sports.

I’ve been told by people I respect not to worry, that a good coach does not need to be an expert in the field at hand. I’m told that good coaches often don’t have background in the business of the coachee; that a coach with experience in the field runs the risk of being a problem solver.

So I’m needing to learn techniques for coaching on this level. Not on being a tutor. Not on being an instructor.

If you can’t relate to this idea, please don’t try to set me straight, and that I should obtain expertise in the field; it won’t help me. What will help is if I can be guided to material that will support the approach indicated above.

Thank you in advance, metafilterites, for your generosity.

posted by elf27 to Work & Money (3 answers total)

I _am_ and athletics coach and I can tell you that domain specific knowledge is maybe 1/3rd of my job. Another 1/3 is general know-how and administrative skill and the most important third, the most difficult and crucial to success simply boils down to being able to observe people and find the right time, place and vector along which to nudge them along their away.

Just as I can't get up on the blocks and swim the race for my kids you don't want to do their job either. That's their job.
posted by mce at 11:39 PM on June 17, 2008

You should read The Inner Game of Tennis, or, for a similar approach in a different domain, A Soprano on Her Head. The latter is more piano/music than strictly singing, and is based on the approach in the Tennis book.

These focus on teaching the coachee or reader to observe himself, to pay attention to what's actually happening in the body or in the situation. These are not strictly focused on physicality, either.
posted by amtho at 12:28 AM on June 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

These guys are specifically for kids sports, but they have great articles on that 2/3 of the job that is motivation and organization. Check out "free tips and tools" and sign up for their excellent free e-newsletter.
posted by nax at 7:07 AM on June 18, 2008 [1 favorite]