Transcript

ALEX TWITCHEN

I suspect there is often a feeling amongst coaches that I will provide them with the answers to their problems, as though I have the solutions that will magically make everything better for them. I have to explain that I don't have all the answers. I can't tell them what to do in every situation.

My job is to help them find the best solutions to their problems. And a really important part of this involves learning from the mistakes they make. All the mistakes they think they make. As somebody who develops coaches my responsibility is to help them make better sense of things, which didn't work, that didn't go quite as expected, or maybe, had a different impact or effect than originally planned. Reflecting on these instances, provoking curiosity as to why things happened the way they did is crucial.

As I explained to the coaches I work with, mistakes and failures are not a roadblock in their progress, but instead, a very good way of speeding up the journey. I make sure I reveal the mistakes I have made and the mistakes I continue to make, both as a coach and a coach developer, and how I've learned to accept that I learn just as much from these situations than I do from what I might consider a success.

I found this has also given me the courage to be more innovative, bolder, and experimental in my own coaching and not be afraid of playing safe and sticking to what I know works.