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Connecting with your Team
by Doug Reese TTNL
Whenever you coach, you deal with a diverse group of individuals. To build team you need connect with each member of the squad - find common ground and develop an understanding of each team member.
As a coach it is so important to connect with your team. Times are changing, and so are athletes, but we need not just coach them, we need to know them and understand them. We need to connect with them.

We as coaches are capable of finding common ground with our athletes, no matter what differences we have in age, gender, socio-economic background, race, etc. We need to acknowledge that we are all different, and that is one of the greatest joys of coaching.

An excellent way to understand a person is to understand their personality. There are four basic personality types:

  • Sanquine: desires fun; is outgoing, relationsip orientated, witty, easygoing, popular, emotional, outspoken, and optimistic.
  • Melancholy: desires perfection; is introverted, task oriented, artistic, emotional, goal orientated, organized, and pessimistic.
  • Phlegmatic: desires peace; is introverted, unemotional, strong-willed, relationship oriented, pessimistic, and purpose driven.
  • Choleric: desires power or control; is strong-willed, decisive, goal oriented, organized, unemotional, outgoing, outspoken, and optimistic.

Just about everyone you will try to coach and connect with will fall into one of these categories, or will have the characteristics from two complementary categories. For example, Amanda is a classic sanguine, she loves to have fun and is very outgoing. Katie is a choleric, she is very strong willed, and is outspoken to the team, and pursues her goals with a full steam ahead attitude.

As you connect with members of your team, recognize and respect their differences in motivation. With cholerics, connect with strength. With melancholics, connect by being focused. With phlegmatics, connect by giving assurance. And with sanguines, connect with excitement.

As a coach in today's world you need to be sensitive to understand what your athletes want and have the willingness to give it to them. Pay attention to your athlete's personalities, and do your best to meet them where they are at. Deep down they will appreciate your sensitivity and understanding. You will connect with your team members, and as a result you will be able to reach down and pull out the best in each of your athletes.

REFERENCES

Littauer, Florence; Personality Plus, Grand Rapids: Revell, 1983, p. 24-81.
Copyright (c) 2001, TTNL Reprinted with permission.