What’s the one non-negotiable thing every top athlete has? The one thing you simply must have to play in the top 1%, regardless of the sport, whether it’s football, tennis, or chess? Grit, discipline, and the will to win? Sure, you won’t get to the very top without them. But there are also a few “sloppy” talents who, for whatever reason, can still compete at the very top. Take Éric Cantona or Wayne Rooney, former Premier League stars known more for pouring their drive and competitive spirit into parties and alcohol. So yes, those traits are hugely important, but sometimes they’re still missing.
No, the common denominator is coaches. Every top athlete has at least one coach at their side. Across the world of pro athletes, success is strongly tied to the coach. Consider Novak Djokovic, one of the best tennis players in the world with, let’s say, a lively coaching history. Whenever he has tried to coach himself, including recently, his performance dipped. There were no Grand Slam wins. As soon as a coach was back by his side, his results surged again, as in 2018 after the return of his former coach. That year he posted 53 wins, including titles at Wimbledon and the US Open.
In this example you can also see the different disciplines a top coach has to master. Everything is geared toward peak performance, and that goes far beyond technique. Of course, a player hits a thousand forehands, then a voice says two words that change the next thousand. But that alone wouldn’t have instantly turned Djokovic from losing to winning again. A coach also has to cultivate peak performance in the mind: mental strength, handling defeats and, just as crucial, successes, resilience, and not least self-leadership.
And why can’t you do it all on your own? Because “figure it out yourself” takes too long. A coach can help you find the shortcuts that let you reach peak performance without unnecessary detours. That’s as true in sports as it is for you as a research team lead. Good coaching keeps you from merely guessing how a high-performing team works, and you should become one of those top coaches for your team so they can become your professional research “athletes” team.
I’d put a coach’s most important task like this: a good coach gets people to hear, inside themselves, the voice that would render the same judgment, draw the same conclusions, and arrive at the same consequences as the coach. Coaching builds judgment.
How to coach like a pro
Start with goals that are visible. A tennis coach doesn’t say, “Play better.” They say, “Place 7 out of 10 serves on the T.” And when that’s worked a few times, “Now make it eight.” You need equally ambitious, precisely defined goals for yourself, and you need to set such goals for your team. A coach is there to support and to challenge you. They’ll help you find the right goals.
Another key job of a coach is to bridge big ambitions and the tiny changes sometimes needed to get there, and to connect the two. They give pointers someone can put into practice within the next hour: “Your introduction asks the question in sentence two; move it to sentence one because it grabs readers’ attention and increases the chance of funding.”
A good coach also tailors their approach to you. Do you need more confidence in certain areas, or do your ambitions need to be reined in here and there? A good coach will see that and help you build self-confidence, or be more realistic in how you define your goals.
Blind spots are things in your behavior, actions, and knowledge that you don’t see but others can. A coach helps you discover your blind spots. You’re not clear enough in communicating your expectations to your team (I often say, “The boss’s wish wasn’t precise enough”)? The coach will work with you to turn that into an opportunity for change.
You should also treat your team members as top research athletes, just as you treat yourself. You and your team will get better, no matter how high the current level, when someone is close, observes carefully, and cares enough to say the hard things at the right time. So find yourself a coach if you don’t have one yet, and be the best coach for your team if you want to run world-class research.
– Robert
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