The Less I Speak The Better We Get

One thing I've learned over my years as a head coach: the less I was saying, the better my team was performing. If I was doing a lot of talking, usually the team was struggling.

There is certainly a cause and effect conundrum involved with it. Am I talking more because the team is struggling and they need direction, or are they struggling because I am doing most of the talking?

Obviously I'm not saying you shouldn't talk to your team. But the more you talk, the more dependent they become on you for direction. The more they expect to be told what to do. The less ownership they take of their own situation. They become compliant, showing up every day willing to do what they are told.

Set the tone, establish the approach, and ask a lot of questions. Get your team to talk as much as you can. Of course you have to make sure you are sending the right message. But understand the more you get your team to talk - and the less you talk - the better you will be.