Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

194 LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
cess of the team’s performance, the intimate relationships he was
developing with the players, and the constant commitment to development
truly put Coach French on the road to becoming a Star.
In 1978, French was asked to be the head coach of the women’s
basketball team at University of the Pacific. He took the job and
found, “I really liked working with the women, and it fit me better.
Women value other things than just being the star. They are there
to be a part of a team.” In his fi rst season the team won 16 games
and lost 11. The second season they were 20 and 7, and Coach
French proclaimed, “I can do this.”
Another key influence for Coach French was Stephen Covey’s
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It helped him in his personal
life, and he was able to integrate the practical habits into his
coaching philosophy as well. To be an effective coach or player he
learned, “You have to win the inner battle and work interiorly first to
become trustworthy and confident.” This is in line with focusing on
the personal competencies of Self-Awareness and Self-Management
before addressing the social competencies of Social Awareness and
Relationship Management.
13 SECRETS & CURRENT PRACTICES OF
MARK FRENCH—STAR PERFORMER
Coach French took his early learning experiences and created a
successful coaching philosophy and strategy, not just for basketball
players but also for being Star Performers in all aspects of life. You
are probably not developing Star basketball players in your role, but
season after season Coach French has honed the development process,
and you can borrow some of his strategies.
Think about these practices and how to apply them to your
own business or setting to help develop and guide your Stars. Read
through the strategies and pick one or two to try out. (Note that
each secret is followed by a set of business applications you can use
for your organization.)