Coaching Essential #6: Great coaches develop other coaches.

Do you remember the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know"?  I'm not sure this saying is any more true than in the world of coaching.  The coaching network is unbelievable!   At every level of coaching, from professionals down to little league, this is true.  Networking is important because the last thing a coach needs in the middle of a competitive game is a breakdown in chemistry or philosophy among their coaching team. Coaches aren't scared:

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A coach's success is measured not only by their number of wins but also by the number of coaches they produce. You can translate this into leadership and ask yourself, "Is my leadership producing leaders?"  Do the people directly affected by your leadership and influence move on to be leaders somewhere else?  Are those on your core leadership team moving on to lead great teams?  If you don't see this happening around you, ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Do I give people the opportunity to lead?

2.  Do I give people the opportunity to fail?

3.  Am I intentionally bringing those I lead into specific leadership situations?

4.  Have I told someone they could do what I do?

5.  Am I praying for the people I lead?

6.  When I make decisions for the organization, company, or team am I asking the opinions of those closest to the work?

More than likely you're in your current role because of talent, but the distance of your impact will be measured by how much you poured into others and how seriously you took developing them.