In ancient history, sports were a form of ritual for warfare, entertainment and even military training. In today’s world, sports plays a crucial role in bringing nations together and even improving a nation’s economy. Over the years, it has shaped cultures across the world, and influenced the ways in which people relate with one another and even apply themselves to their daily tasks in the world of work.
According to the history of Positive Coaching Alliance, PCA Founder Jim Thompson first realized the need for an organization to be dedicated to cultivating a positive youth sports culture in 1971 when he worked as a teacher’s aide at the Behavioral Learning Center (BLC). BLC, an elementary school dedicated to serving children with severe behavioral and emotional issues used relentless positivity to help children achieve their goals.
Success is guaranteed in both sports and business when there is great performance from each sphere. That is what both share in similarities. For each team, be it in sports or in the corporate world, both need to be dedicated and determined to not only win but to also have the passion to thrive and stay at the top. Even though there are days when both parties face being in the losing team, the beauty of the situation, is in how well they regroup and come back better.
The world of sports prioritises training and development to help athletes perform better. Similarly, there is a need to prioritise reskilling, training and development in the corporate world. Reskilling an employee offers them a chance to learn, grow and perform better on the job. The more skill an employee obtains, the more eligible they are for versatile or elevated roles.
The POSITIVE coaching model is defined as a solution focused model that helps individuals identify their goals and start to work towards them. It has eight stages: Purpose, Observations, Strategy and SMART goals, Insight, Team, Initiate, Value and Encourage. This model is fairly simple, effective and popular in the workplace. Encouraging athletes with positive reinforcement helps them hear and heed the necessary corrections.
With that winning combination of truthful, specific praise and constructive criticism, athletic performance improves and so does the chances that kids stick with sports longer and learn all the valuable life lessons inherently available through organized competition. In incorporating positive coaching in the workplace, an employer needs to engage his/her employee more and get to know them. In the just ended HR Focus Conference 2022 dubbed “Vodafone HR Forum”, the CEO for Allianz Life Insurance, Mr. Gideon Ataraire, made mention of “trusting your employees, and mentally and emotionally connecting with them to boost employee engagement”.
According to HR Daily Advisor, in April, Coach Kerr, who also serves on the national advisory board of the Positive Coaching Alliance, explained at OpenView’s 2017 CEO Forum in San Francisco that a big element of his leadership style is building strong relationships “real, person-to-person relationships based on compassion, trust, and respect” which is exactly what HR should aim at achieving.
Incorporating the Positive Coaching concepts to the workplace will make a difference in any organization because it advocates just that: building real relationships with people. HR must build trust and provide support where appropriate. It is crucial to develop a colleague-type relationship as opposed to being seen as an extension of management, a perception from employees that will hinder the possibility of a deep and trusting relationship.
