Coaching is every dad’s dream. The day your son or daughter is old enough to swing a bat, shoot hoops or catch a pass is the day you get to take on a new role. You are no longer just dad, but you are now “the coach”. You get to don the team ball cap, wear the t-shirt with COACH emblazoned on the back; call the plays from the sidelines or the dugout. You’ve successfully accomplished a major bucket list goal, Congratulations! That was never going to be me.

I am blessed to have four gifted kids, who have all been in sports through their growing up years and only once for a brief time, literally only one season, in one of my kids’ rec sports careers, have I ever been their actual coach. I agreed in a moment of weakness to coach my son’s baseball team. It was a huge learning curve for both of us. My knowledge of sports in general is pretty limited and baseball was never my thing, my hand eye coordination was horrible. For me to succeed in the sports I did attempt, let alone teach skills to a team of young players meant I would have needed a lot more experience, expertise and understanding of the strategy behind the game. And then there were the parents, they can be crazy and very intimidating! But, having supported my kids across softball, wrestling, rugby, baseball, football, soccer, volleyball, cross country and track, I’ve seen a lot of coaches and a lot of coaching styles. Some coach with an iron fist, some like a cheerleader, some like a big sister, some like a domineering parent. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. The best coaches I’ve observed have believed in their players and their limitless potential.

Good coaching takes patience, it’s a role that requires knowledge of the game, ability to spot talent in an unlikely team member, a willingness to make the hard call of calling up the underdog when you know she may not make the play but it will be what makes her a better player. Being the coach means making difficult decisions, having a cool head, being diplomatic with difficult parents and showing restraint when referees make seemingly unfair calls.

Most of these same principles can be applied to coaching in an executive capacity. A good coach has a solid knowledge of the industry, the ability to spot talent in the rough and a vision for bringing out the jewel within so that the client becomes a stronger “player” than they were before. Sometimes the coach has to make the hard calls. The idea, the discipline to work, or the economic factors are just not there and the client can’t always see that. It’s the coach’s job with humility and authority to l say the hard thing, even if it loses the client.

You may wonder, I’m an author. I don’t have a team, how could a coach help me? Where is there a role for a coach in what I do? Do you ever struggle with getting ideas on the page? Do you feel alone and isolated? Do you ever question the strength of your content? How about where to begin in marketing your book once it does get published? If the answer is yes to any of those questions, a coach can help you.

I’ve never met an author who doesn’t struggle with writer’s block at some point. No matter how excited you are about the idea, there are just times when the words don’t flow and the concepts are not clear. Accountability is the key to getting the words out of your brain and onto the page. Having another person you meet with regularly (even virtually in our current Covid-19 situation) will clear the cobwebs and press you to have something to show for the hours in front of the keyboard.

Writing is not usually a group effort. Most authors have an idea that they have been given to convey but it can be a lonely process. Sitting in a coffee shop or at your desk in your bedroom or at the dining room table can feel isolated and discouraging. Community is key for a writer. We are created to be in relationship in all facets of our life and work. A coach can give an author that contact with another human being, be a sounding board for ideas and help them connect ideas that seem to be disjointed and fragmented.

For an author writing the book is only part of the job. Authors also need to be marketers, promoters, authority figures. They may find themselves speaking at conferences or being asked to give interviews and certainly must continue to create more content that stands alongside the book. The stewardship of these newly found opportunities is not an easy world to navigate. It’s not always obvious which opportunities are most helpful to invest in and spend time on. A coach can help guide, support and steward those challenges coming at the author.

Even though my “coaching” career in little league baseball was short lived, over the years observing other coaches both on the field and off, growing in my knowledge of self and the industry, the calling to coach others, where I can, has become a great joy to me. It is a pleasure to work with my clients as they craft and construct the ideas, arguments and content that eventually come to life as published works with a wider impact on others. As they flourish as writers, becoming published authors, the privilege of supporting them in that process is one I thrive on and one that has been valuable to them.

Over the coming weeks I hope to post more articles, snippets and advice that hopefully will be helpful to those who are striving to get their ideas out into the wider world. The time is now. We may be facing a pandemic but it has caused us all to slow down, take stock and given us maybe, just maybe, a bit more head space to finally write and get those ideas on paper. Let our team here at Wadestone help you do that and get you closer to that finish line, home run or touchdown that is ‘being a published’ author.

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