Applying management principles to the way we coach

Those of you who have ever been coached by SwimMastery co-founder Tracey Baumann will know why, when choosing books to read on holiday recently, I chose one by Michael Bungay called “The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change The Way You Lead Forever”. Tracey is a great believer in not explaining the theory in detail but cutting to the chase as it were and enabling swimmers to feel change by actions and observations of the feelings and feedback offered by the body and I thought this might reflect some of this philosophy.

Perhaps inevitably, the title of the book tends to over-sell the contents a little. Some books may have the ability to completely change your life. Frankly, it’s unlikely that this is going to be one of them. Nevertheless, it makes some interesting points even once you take into account that Bungay is referring to “coaching” in the broader sense of mentoring and developing rather than teaching and instructing which might be more relevant to the average swim coach.

The structure of the book is to take seven questions which the author believes managers should ask to maximise the performance of their team. Whilst some of this has no direct application to a swim coaching scenario there are golden nuggets which can be picked up along the way. 

For example, he notes that James Bond films never start with him in the supermarket buying groceries for the week but open instead with straight in-your-face scenes of car chases and death-defying stunts which grip straight from the outset. In the same way, notes Bungay, it is usually best practice not to spend time explaining why you want an answer or why it’s important, instead just ask the question, then shut up and listen to the answer. Sounds simple doesn’t it but I’m betting it’s a trap into which every swim coach has fallen at some point or another (even Tracey!).

Bungay also talks about the development of new habits. He cites five steps which are necessary to achieve them. These are, providing a “reason” and then a “trigger” which leads to a micro-habit. These proceed to “effective practice” and finally a “plan”. 

To translate these to a swim coaching situation (and remembering the fundamental philosophy behind the book) the language used is important. The “reason” might be seen as the improvement or development the coach is trying to achieve. But it’s not a “description” or an “explanation” just a reason why the coaching is necessary. It may not even be communicated to the swimmer at all and may remain purely as a focus in the mind of the coach. 

The “trigger” could be seen as the feeling or sensation experienced by the swimmer by which they know that change is needed. This might be a visual clue, (such as what is seen when turning for the breath) an audible clue (such as splashing when entering the arm at the end of the recovery, or a sensory clue (such as water pressure on a particular part of the body). The trigger itself will vary on the reason for it but should be easily identifiable by the swimmer. 

The “micro-habit” could translate to a SwimMastery cue, concentrating on a specific aspect to achieve an overall effect. Bungay’s “effective practice” would be the longest aspect of the process. He describes this as requiring “repetition, repetition, repetition” and there can be little doubt that swimmers will invariably need time in which to adopt new movement patterns; time in which they need to acquire new ways of moving but also new ways of thinking plus the ability to apply continual concentration on the smallest of actions. 

Finally, a feedback loop needs to be completed and the swimmer will need to acquire the ability to monitor their performance on an ongoing basis, decide upon their effectiveness and also have a way back to the starting point should they deem it necessary.

All good stuff. However, perhaps the greatest advice that Bungay gives in his book, which can be adapted to a swim coaching scenario, is what he states is “The Best Coaching Question in the World. (Mr Bungay is not one for an understatement!). 

He has termed this the AWE Question.

AWE stands for “And What Else?” Simple to say, yet often overlooked in its importance. After asking a swimmer to perform a drill or a particular task a good coach will ask for feedback. A great coach will ask “And what else?” Rarely is the full information provided from the initial request. This is not necessarily due to any reticence from the swimmer, it can merely reflect the fact that they haven’t fully analysed their performance. Thus the first feedback might be “I think that went well”. Good news certainly, but not particularly informative. But with the AWE question, the coach may find that this means the swimmer felt lighter in the water, that they felt faster and this was because they felt connected etc etc. (You’ll notice that the AWE question might need to be rephrased as “why do you think that?” or “how do you think you achieved that?” or some other variant. No matter, the principle is always the same, the aim being to gather as much information as possible.

Of course, this information can only be useful if the coach listens properly to the responses and acts upon them accordingly. Information is power. Lots of information is lots of power. 

As is the process of garnering it, because the process takes time. It reduces the risk of what Michael Bungay calls the Advice Monster taking over. The Advice Monster is ever-ready to jump in with a perceived solution to a problem, often within just a few seconds. That might be great but equally it might not if it hasn’t got the full picture. By employing the AWE question the Advice Monster is tamed and rash decisions are less likely to be taken. 

There is one other benefit of the AWE question too. By investigating more the coach can not only gather more data but give themselves valuable time to think and to analyse what they are hearing. This in turn can lead to the formulation of better planning for the lesson. Is the swimmer ready to move on or do they need to repeat the drill they have just completed? Have they understood the instructions or does a different tack need to be taken? What is the next best step to take to develop their overall performance? And so on. All from asking “And What Else?”

The author summaries all this neatly in a haiku

Tell less and ask more

Your advice is not as good

As you think it is

Every swim coach could do worse than frame that and hang it on their studio wall!