It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
I don't know when things changed, but there was a change. It might have been when my kids were growing up and I found incredible joy in seeing them accomplish something. It might have been when I began to see young people that I had pastored and led years earlier find their place and their voice. It might have been when I saw our organization begin to invest in the lives of team members and then experience the impact of their growth and effectiveness.
I don't know when it was, but at some point in my life I changed from wanting to be the one who was doing all the great things to being the one who "helped" others do great things.
I became a coach.
I had a basketball coach all the way through high school that taught me what a coach is:
He taught me new skills and pushed me physically so I could perform my best.
He provided me the tools I needed to improve in my basketball game from work out plans to weights to drills.
He challenged me to become a leader on the team, and as I grew over the years I learned a lot about teamwork and leadership through basketball.
He walked with me, not just as a basketball player, but he took an interest in my life. What a great lesson.
Coach Howard impacted my life far beyond the basketball court. I use the things he taught me every day of my life: Training - Resourcing - Coaching - Community
Today, I want to tell you WHY I COACH:
I've learned that I get great satisfaction when I get to help someone pursue their calling and define their vision
I've learned that my life and leadership experience can be used to help others figure out their journey. Often my greatest failures and mistakes are the greatest lessons
I've learned that I don't want to simply "tell" people what they should do. I want to "be in the game" with them. I want relationship and ongoing communication. I want pushback and debate. I want conversation.
I've learned that it's not my job to have all the answers. It's my job to simply help someone else arrive at their right answer. Tom Paterson said, "You be the content, I'll be the process." I want to help people process their truth.
I've learned that my life and leadership can be leveraged into others that will go much further than I will ever go. I can choose to be jealous of that, or I can be thrilled to get to be a part of that process!
I've learned that it's not all about me. I'm simply one person, connecting with others, working hard to impact this world. It's a higher calling.
I still like to create and build, however there is an element of coaching in everything I do.
Today I spend my time doing a couple of things in the "Coaching" world:
In my role with Extreme Response, I manage a global community of leaders called Leader Mundial. We have leaders from about 14 countries that come together in a series of leadership summits each year, and I help manage and drive these coaching communities, and I'm involved personally with a number of these men and women, helping them through direct coaching in their role and in their leadership.
Locally, in Southern California I'm a part of The Barnabas Group, and we have a network of 20 non-profit ministries that we provide coaching and support to. We use Barnabas Partners to come alongside leaders, but the goal is "greater impact" through these leaders lives and their organizations.
I serve as a Paterson Guide, using 2 proven tools to help position both Leaders and Organizations for greater impact. For Leaders, I do a LifePlan, which is a 2-day engagement that helps a leader answer these questions:
How did I get here? • Where am I going?
A LifePlan will help define a leaders greatest focus and contribution. These are for both ministry leaders and
business leaders.
For organizations & companies, I do a StratOp (Strategic Operation) which is strategic planning for an
organization. It's a 3-day engagement that will position your organization for the future.
• I'm still a dad, coaching my kids from the sidelines, celebrating in their
achievements, their success and their struggles. Dad Coach for life.
What about you? Who are you "coaching"?
How are you coming alongside others to see them achieve their full potential, using your experience and your story as a platform?
Who has been one of the most instrumental coaches in your life? Have you told them that you appreciate their role? I encourage you to do that.
"A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be." Tom Landry
"A good coach can change a game, a great coach can change a life." John Wooden