BLUF: Part of your role as a coach is to help every one of your players find their voices to bring more energy to your team and help your players undertake psychological transformation.
We are going through a series titled breaking free at our church right now. Probably one of the top 3 series of importance that I have listened to in my life. This series emphasizes that many of us are deceived by lies that are holding us back from the life God offers us, and it is essential for us to identify and use God's truth to break free from those lies.
Jordan Peterson says that we "act out what we believe," and I tend to agree with that. If we believe things that are not true, we will make decisions that are not in our own best interest. A well-documented sociopsychological phenomenon known as a self-fulfilling prophecy points to this being true. It states that when someone expects or predicts something, it will come true because their resulting behavior, subconsciously, aligns to fulfill that belief.
In my experience as a sports leadership coach, I see this play out all the time in the athletes and teams that I work with, especially when it comes to being a "vocal" team leader. Many athletes (myself included) grow up only believing that their one skill to use to influence others (leadership) is to outwork others and "lead by example". They believe this to be true and so they will, just like the self-fulfilling prophecy points to, only enact behaviors in line with that belief.
This matters because ALL THE RESEARCH points to us developing new skills by actually working on that skill. If we want to transform and improve ourselves, we have to move into and through the zone of discomfort. And that zone is messy, and it is ugly!
Unfortunately, in my past experiences, I have seen athletes take the plunge into this zone only to be kicked back by their teammates. A metaphorical punch right in the gut right after they try to take actions to become more vocal and given feedback such as:
"You are trying to do too much."
"Just be yourself, man. Don't try to be something that you're not."
All lies. Lies spoke by those closest to them that push them back into their comfort zone and hold them captive from reaching who they have the potential to be.
Your team needs to be aware of the role they help to play in this transformation. Everyone should be on the same page on how to react during the 'ugliness' that is the zone of discomfort as someone is striving to improve in this skill set. This athlete needs to be seen by the team as someone who cares so much about their team that they are willing to get outside of their comfort zone and be vulnerable to serve their team. Regardless of how good they are to start, that action and the heart behind that action, need to be encouraged and celebrated. Feedback should be given but in a loving way, usually after the fact in retrospect and 1:1 as often as possible. During that pregame speech, though, when a player fumbles over a word or whose rhythm is off, the team should encourage, not laugh. We want them to see what is happening inside that player and how beautiful it is when someone faces their monsters to serve the team.
So, here is how you as a coach can develop more vocal leaders on your team:
Philosophy
Communicate the three WHYs
Instruction
Alignment of perception
Role clarity
Practice
Provide honest feedback
Force them to speak more in public
Root Cause
Philosophy (The WHY)
There are three "why's" you want to communicate to your team to help align everyone with this process:
The Principle of Energy
Team significance
Individual significance
The principle of energy: Energy is one of the precursors for high performance. Brendon Burchard has this as one of his six high-performing habits. Nothing is done without energy. The individuals and teams who are aware, intentional, and able to manage energy have a competitive advantage.
Team significance: As we speak, we push energy into the world. The environment that a team creates HAS to optimize for energy. Everyone should be encouraged and expected to communicate with each other verbally. The bottom line is that developing confidence in each of your players to use their voice to better themselves and the team is necessary for the team to be the best version of themselves.
Individual significance: If we want our team to be better, we also need to ensure that each player focuses on helping improve one another at the personal level. Your hope as a coach is that every player that comes through your program should transform themselves. I would say that 90% of players who have a hard time speaking in front of their teammates due so because of a lack of confidence. It would help if you communicated to your team that by developing their voice, they are going through the zone of discomfort, which is helping them go through a psychological transformation. Something necessary for them to grow and improve.
Instructions
Alignment of perception: After you have explained the whys to your team, you now need to provide instruction on how to align everyone's perception. Explain to them what is happening when players move into this zone of discomfort. The team needs to all view this in the same way. The player cares so much about their team that they are willing to be vulnerable and fail to give the team what it so desperately needs: energy.
Clarity on roles: Once you explain this to your team, you need to provide expectations for how your team and the individual players play a role in this process. The team should do the following:
Encourage them through successes
Encourage them through failure
Provide feedback behind the scenes and in a loving way
The role of the players is for them to take the actions necessary to overcome this psychological barrier to develop their voice:
Be vulnerable enough to go into the zone of discomfort
Take ownership of your self-talk and be gracious with yourself
Be coachable
Prepare
Practice
Here are a few examples for you to get your players to speak up more during practices and games:
Have them lead team meetings
Have them conduct pregame speeches
Do multiple breakdowns throughout practice that they lead
Just bring them in front of the team and have them yell as loud as they can
Give them a certain number of verbal encouragements that they need to give each practice and game
In summary, this is why helping your athletes find their voices matters. It matters for the players and the team. EVERY PLAYER SHOULD DEVELOP THEIR VOICE ON YOUR TEAM. When they leave your program, they should communicate clearly, confidently, and with a purpose habitually.