Work on Those Soft Skills!

I have been spending a lot of time lately working on my second book-hoping to get it published by the summer. The book, in simple terms, is an “intro to coaching” book to be used by new to the profession coaches, but also as a refresher for any coach wanting to continue to grow in their job.

A good chunk of the book talks about characteristics/qualities of great coaches and I divide those into 2 categories: soft skills vs hard skills. Hard skills would be the technical knowledge needed for the sport-the “X’s and O’s” so to speak while soft skills are the personal qualities and traits that impacts how someone coaches. It is vital that coaches are constantly working to improve all of these skills and having a growth mindset is certainly a theme of the book.

In the book, I talk about coaches needing both soft and hard skills in order to be successful but that the “soft” skills may be the more important. Some of those soft skills include building relationships, being a great communicator/listener, being trustworthy, and loving the athletes you coach and the work that you do. There is a famous saying from Theodore Roosevelt that says, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This is so true in all walks of life, and I think especially true with coaching. We are working with young people who don’t have the same interests and life experiences that we do and if we aren’t intentional about connecting with them beyond the sport we are coaching, we will never get the maximum out of them as a player. Too many coaches become too concerned about outcomes and X’s and O’s when the personal traits a coach brings to a team are something to always be thinking about as you build the culture of a team.

The importance of soft skills was reinforced on Saturday as I received a thank you note in the mail from a former highly successful player who was recently married after a very successful college career. In her note, she said, “I am so thankful to you for making my high school experience so enjoyable with all of the basketball memories that will last a lifetime. I’m so blessed to have worked with someone who cared so much about the success of all player both in the present and especially in their future.”

I must admit I got a little emotional reading the thank you note. You hope that as a coach, you are making the right decisions and supporting your players in the right way, and this was a reinforcement that maybe I did. It was a sign that focusing the book on those “soft skills” and continuing to emphasize those in the mentoring I am doing definitely the way to go. Creating better extra-curricular experiences for kids is a focus as well and if coaches are aware of the importance of these skills as well as getting feedback and working to improve these skills, we will be on the way to improving student experiences.

Clearly, focusing on soft skills is important not only in athletic activities, but in all occupations we are a part of. Imagine how much outcomes and productivity would improve with a focus on how we treat and work with others. What if businesses spent more time and effort on those areas? It is a win-win situation!

What soft skills are your strengths and what are some areas you could focus on for improvement? We can always get better at these personal qualities with some effort and some feedback from others on how we are doing. Hopefully you are able to get positive notes like I received in the future because of the impact you had on others.

Have a great week!

Coach K