Bill Belichick and the Bottom Line of Coaching

The ASLAN Other-Centered^® Leader 
Coaches Quiz Blog Series

Every winner has a coach, and every coach has a philosophy.  The ASLAN Other-Centered^® Leader Coaches Quiz matches your coaching style with some of the legendary coaches in sports.  Here is a deeper look inside the philosophy of one of the best.

When asked about Bill Belichick's "thing" - that special something that makes his coaching distinctive - players and rivals find it hard to pin down exactly what has led to Belichick's exceptional success as the longest-tenured active NFL coach of the New England Patriots.

Belichick's four Super Bowl rings and 12 division titles are a testament to a well-run team that knows how to win. Players describe his program as disciplined, noting that no one wants to disappoint their leader by not knowing something or being ill-prepared for that day's practice.

When asked to sum up his coaching philosophy, Belichick says things like "The only way to get better in football is to wear pads and actually play football." He chooses players who are not afraid of hard work and discipline, then just lets them go to work. His straightforwardness about what needs to be done and his blunt way of putting things may be the closest thing to a "thing" that he has.

In sales coaching, getting to the bottom line is also an advantage. Sales coaches may not be able to choose their sales team members like a football coach can choose players, but sales coaches can choose to put their time into the team members who show willingness to learn and grow rather than those who make excuses and blame others.

ASLAN Training's white paper, "Is it Possible that What You Learned About Coaching is Wrong?" addresses ways of coaching that help sales team members decide whether they have the desire to succeed.

Desire Determines Development.

Change is difficult - it takes work. When a rep doesn't have the desire to do the difficult work required to reach a new level of performance, sales coaching is futile. Desire, not talent or skill, is the only ticket required to enter a coaching session. The responsibility of the sales coach/ manager is to be prepared and available - but if the rep is unwilling to put in the effort to improve, what's the point? And that means more than just going through the motions. If that's all that happens, change will never occur.

In a coaching session, the "fork in the road" is the assignment at the end of the coaching session - the step that should be the conclusion of any coaching session - a clear action plan that ensures the reps has a specific assignment to address a knowledge or skill gap.

Unfortunately, most coaching sessions are little more than discussions about the previous call - with the manager offering a few tips and reminders on how to improve. While it is always helpful to review critical information, "talking" has very little impact on developing new skills and habits. For reps (or anyone for that matter) to change, they have to "do."

Therefore, every coaching session should end with a clear plan to improve - a developmental activity - with an agreed upon completion date and a specific goal. By drawing a line in the sand - what is required to improve, a rep's desire is determined. Attitude is irrelevant; their true willingness is exposed by their engagement in the assignment.

This approach opens the door to a whole new way of thinking about where to invest your time. Assessing a rep's desire and embracing the idea that desire is a requirement for coaching, allows you to categorize your team members and develop an effective development strategy for each role.

Bill Belichick knows that he can't make any of his players want to do their best, so he tells them like it is and lets them decide to step up and do it for themselves. His philosophy has created many winning teams and continues to inspire success. The same approach may be what is needed to inspire your sales team.

Download the entire whitepaper here.