Does a coach create best performers or does individual talent matter the most?
The recent passing away of legendary cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar got me thinking – Does a coach bring out the best performance in you or is it your individual talent that is the sole criteria for success?
Not just in the playing field, even in professional life, a mentor is often the person who is the responsible for our success.
Let us look at the coaching success of Ramakant Achrekar. His most famous student, Sachin Tendulkar, is an international cricket icon and other finds like Ajit Agarkar, Chandrakant Pandit, Vinod Kambli and Pravin Amre are also brilliant cricketers themselves. Each one of them has made a mark in either national or international level cricket. However, Achrekar himself was not as successful a cricketer as he was a coach. So, did he just happen to get the best students or did his personal learnings benefit the players?
One of the biggest traits of becoming a coach is the ability to help your students grow bigger and more successful than yourself. In today’s professional world, we have different words for a coach – mentor, senior or even office buddy. Whatever we may call them, the ability to get somebody to evaluate your performance and then advise on improvements is critical to success.
A good and wise counsel from somebody who has traversed the same path will definitely bring the benefits of experience and wisdom. In today’s world, a good guide is necessary for all of us, where one good or bad decision can make all the difference. A coach is different from a teacher, as the latter does a professional job for the entire class. However, a coach puts special emphasis on each of his students and works on their strengths and weaknesses.
Successful global and local corporate leaders have always spoken about a mentor or guru who has acted as a coach in their life. Former ICICI Bank Chairman K. V. Kamath is a towering figure who comes to my mind instantly as somebody who has nurtured many leaders that have made a mark in India’s financial ecosystem. Globally, Jack Welch is a leader who has mentored industry stalwarts during his stint at GE, some of whom have gone to lead few of the biggest global companies in the world. A small point to note is that both these gentlemen were immensely successful in their own professional life, alongside coaching their juniors.
In my opinion, coaching is critical to one’s success. And the need for coaching varies from time to time. As a young professional, we may need coaching for work skills while as we grow professionally, we may need coaching for life skills. Having a mentor or a sounding board is critical to one’s progress. Often the best talent can get derailed or remain unutilized for lack of proper direction.
Another advantage of having a coach is an unbiased and at times, uncomfortable feedback. Today, many of us don’t get genuine and honest feedback as the other person is worried about the reaction. A coach gains nothing by being polite and gains everything by being honest and sometimes harsh to bring out the best in his students. In the corporate world where relationships are fragile, ego and power are intoxicating, a coach often helps one stay grounded.
Like a diamond, where a rough stone is repeatedly cut and polished to create a sparkling gem, a coach often acts as the person who chisels out the best in you. At the same time, every rough stone cannot become a diamond. A coach is able to spot talent and hone it further. It is important for all of us to find our coach and mentor in life.
As the Master Blaster said on his coach’s passing away, “Look at the difference he made to so many people here.” Surprisingly, during his entire lifetime Ramakant Achrekar praised Sachin only once after the master blaster retired. He said, “I don’t want to praise him as praise would go to a person’s head.” Only a real coach can speak so honestly for his best student! For many of us, who have been unable to get a coach, I often feel that life is the biggest coach as it teaches us from experience, failures and successes at every turn in life.
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