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The Olympics give us great insight into the result of good coaching and teamwork.  We get a chance to see how the coaches have used their skills to motivate and touch that inner greatness and power within their athletes, which is sometimes harder than actually performing the task. Tracy Hutton a TMBC Strengths Consultant wrote this excellent post about coaching and teams: 

Coaches stand back and let the athletes perform. They are not out there moving the athletes’ feet, pushing them down the track or holding their hockey sticks. They allow the athletes to perform unhindered because they recognize who has the talent. Similarly, managers who build their teams by selecting people whose strengths eclipse their own, and then allowing them to express those talents freely, will reap the reward of outstanding performance.

But here’s what I think is one of the best cues we can take from these Olympic partnerships. If an athlete fails to deliver an expected performance, the best coaches do not berate and hang on to the team or athlete’s shortcomings. They recognize that the athletes are fully aware of what went wrong.

The best coaches support and encourage, helping the performers to regain their confidence so that they are psychologically prepared to face their next battle. Managers who focus their feedback on detailing an employee’s deficiencies will simply demoralize individuals and seriously undermine future opportunities for exceptional performance. Great managers seek what’s working and no matter how small the feat, they fan that flame to give the employee the confidence to keep going. Of course, they don’t ignore easy fixes but they frame the feedback in a future-oriented way: "Next time try this…" They provide ideas about how to improve and always include the employee’s ideas in the plan.

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