Introduction to Student Leadership: Student Leadership Playbook 3. COACHING

COACHING Learn the PLAYBOOK. In 1st to 3rd grade a group of us that got to school before the other students would play outside. We would stand on the edge of the concrete and race each other to the fence. I am proud to say that in 1st grade I was the fastest. But by 2nd grade I was not anymore. By the time I am in 9th grade I am down to about the middle of the pack. Seemed like everyone around me was getting faster and I was staying the same. 

Have you ever felt like everyone is improving and you are staying the same?

Coach Rosales saw me running one day and told me the secret on how I could instantly increase my speed. After the secret I was one of the fastest runners on my football team while being much larger than all the other fast runners. The trick he showed me made me fast enough to start getting attention from universities. The trick he showed me moved me from the back of the line to the front of each race. 

What was the huge change that made me 2x, 3x, 10x faster? I was running on my heels and he told me to run on the balls of my feet when I was trying to run full speed. It was not a huge change, but rather a small change but with a huge effect. The small change in moving from heel to the ball of my feet was a game changer. 

Did you know that as a student leader you have many small changes that can have a huge effect on your results?

The same way the rest of my body is shifted when I move the weight/force from the heel to the ball of my feet, when you improve as a student leader the entire weight and force of the organization, group, team that you lead will change. 

An improving leader lifts an entire organization, group, or team just like a rising tide lifts all boats. 

My college admissions coach helped me change my personal statement college essay from ok to one that got me into the most prestigious schools. My College admissions coach helped me prepare my application from good to great. 

My student leadership coaches helped me learn to speak in public and have confidence I was being persuasive. My student leadership coaches helped me to go from starting a new club to it being one of the largest clubs on campus. 

Oftentimes my coaches helped me correct mistakes that I had been making for years. They helped me see mistakes that I could not see. They helped me become the leader I needed to become to lead effectively. 

This book is not for student leaders not willing to be coached. You can be a great student leader, but you will need to be coached to correct mistakes and make improvements. Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you Coachable?