COACH YOU BLOG

Learning to fail
30/6/2014

One of the greatest challenges my clients face is learning to fail. I get this … it’s the thought of what it brings … the gut wrenching disappointment, the fear of loss, the erosion of self esteem, the chipping away of self-confidence …

But does it, really?

I helped my husband with a Learn to Row course tonight, teaching 17 to 25 year olds in doddery old Eden boats (short, fat and wide) with floats – they did really well. However, putting the floats on the boats gives them a false sense of security and an unrealistic sense of balance. It gets them rowing though …

The World Class Start Crews, young things selected solely for their physical stature and strength for the next Olympics, also row from our club and as an early bird, I often see them training at 7am. Now their Learn to Row Course is a whole different experience. They are put straight into fine boats. After two years of rowing I have only recently rowed in a fine boat (long and skinny – from behind it makes me look a bit like a Thelwall pony sitting on a fence!) They get in, balance, fall out … get in, balance, take a stroke, fall out … ad infinitum until falling out holds no fear …

It’s not failure, it’s learning … each time they fall in the coach discusses with them how it happened and what to do differently next time. They learn the extent of their balance – push the boundaries of their ability to recognise just how far they can go, without falling out. Knowing, that if they do fall out of the boat they will learn, get back in and try again.

A good coach knows when to coach at the edge … risking getting sacked for the sake of the client. If we don’t push our clients to their edge then they may never take the risks that might lead them to the fulfilment they deserve in life or in business. Yes, they will risk failure and they will learn from it and how else will they win … the Olympics of Life!