Global Coaching Perspectives

Global Coaching Perspectives - Coaching By Country
It takes humility to admit that we don’t have all
the answers, to listen with an open heart and
take on board other people’s ideas and to give
credit to others where credit is due.
2. Embracing Uncertainty
Hansen talks about being open to challenging
boundaries and courageous enough ‘to step off
the cliff and jump into the unknown.’ To do this,
he needed the right people that he could trust to
play their part. As coaches, we cannot bring out
the best in our clients if we cling on to what we
know and what we believe may be the answer.
We must be willing to work with what our
clients bring to the conversation and challenge
everyone’s boundaries (our client’s and our own)
to allow our clients to ‘jump into the unknown’.
3. Trust
How many people are willing to listen without
judgement to the ideas expressed by others,
particularly if we think they have come to us
for advice? I find many leaders struggle with
the idea of listening from a place of complete
curiosity and allowing someone else (perhaps
more junior and less experienced) to come
up with ideas about something in which the
leader believes s/he has vast experience and
knowledge.
Hansen talks about creating a culture of love
within the All Blacks– the love, acceptance and
respect one shows to members of our family. At
the heart lies trust. He believes in his players
and wider team and their ability to do the best by
everyone. And, when leaders trust their people,
together the team can (in Hansen’s words)‘go to
places that people can’t dream of.’
This means that everyone involved with the All
Blacks has learned to listen to others’ ideas and
value their contribution. It means respecting
people. It means allowing players to make
their own decisions and show their flair. This
also means giving young, inexperienced team
members a chance to show what they can offer
knowing that they might not deliver as one might
want or expect.
4. Creating the right environment for
people to thrive
Hansen sees the role of his coaches as
‘facilitating an environment… that is conducive to
[them] being able to play on Saturday.’ For him,
no-one should need to be controlled or motivated
by leader or coach when they are trusted to
perform and win. This was aptly demonstrated
on several occasions during the tense winning
final match when players made split-second
decisions that had a major impact on the
outcome of the game. They were in charge of
their own destiny, with no one telling them what
to do. They followed their instincts and worked
together to beat their opponents.
5. And finally, don’t take yourself too
seriously
Like his predecessor, Sir Graham Henry, Steve
Hansen has won many admirers because he
doesn’t take himself too seriously. Whilst he is
known for looking serious, he regularly showed
flashes of a wicked sense of humour during
press conferences. When one punter asked
him what else he had up his sleeve after the
French quarter final match (where the team had
performed superbly), his deadpan response was
typical – ‘my arm’ - before moving to the next
question. As coaches, we can take a leaf out of
his book. What could we help our clients create,
if we simply lightened up?
About the Author
Yvonne Maclean is the principal of Strategic Direction Consulting Limited. She’s a leadership
development consultant, facilitator and executive coach, based in Auckland, New Zealand. She is
an ICF-credentialled professional coach and a Forton Group Accredited Professional Leadership
Coach. She works with organisations to develop programmes for leaders to gain insights into who
they are and the impact that they have on their organisations.
© Yvonne McLean, Strategic Direction Consulting Limited, November 2015
January 2016 | Issue 8 | associationforcoaching.com | 21