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Greetings!
Do you remember those old edicts? “No gain without pain” or “Go for the burn” if you were a Jane Fonda disciple. They seem about as motivational now as saying “think of all the starving children” as you gulped down a grey shepherd’s pie in the school dining hall back in the day.
Therefore it came as a breath of fresh air to hear the England football coach Thomas Tuchel is using a whole new “life coachy” approach to motivation and inspiration to boost the team’s spirit. No macho threats or insults, no tearing in and ripping up of egos. No pain tactics.
Gone are the “hair dryer” shout fests of Brian Clough and in has come a kind of “flow” approach to getting results. “He was top at half time,” said Declan Rice (no relation) of the manager Tuchel after the England V Croatia match. “The words he used settled everyone. I can’t say too much. It was one of those moments where you are like ‘Wow, what a top manager’”
So come on, what did he say to help the guys score a 4-2 victory?
He told the team to “take the shackles off”, said Harry Kane. He said “What’s the worst that can happen? Show the world who we can be. If we lose, we lose. We lose in our way.”
Tuchel then went on to urge them to calm down, calm their nerves and encouraged them to do it their way, to be themselves. He said “I told them that my perception of them and of the last 17 days will not change because of this result, no matter what the result is.”
The real humanity of it all is that he said they must trust themselves and that there is nothing to fear. It almost brings a tear to this sage old coach.
Every child needs to hear a parent loves them no matter how they do in their exams or get on at university. Love can feel conditional, it can be hard to play to our strengths when it is someone else’s agenda driving the outcome.
I have always cherished the people who have believed in me or those who took a chance and gave me an opportunity. As coaches we believe in our clients, want the best from them and know that each and every one of us has the answers within to lead their best lives.
You don’t need to be fearless; you just need to trust yourself more than you trust your fear.
And in the end, while others shouted for glory, Tuchel lowered the volume and raised the belief—because the loudest victories are often won in a whisper.
I’ve never been a football fan but with these new life coaching dynamics guiding the game, I am now a shameless convert.
Come on, England!
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