Advancing Associations

PING Europe Takes Next Steps Towards Sustainable Future

13th Oct 2023

European Tour group partners with the NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman

30th Aug 2023

Golf Participation Continues to Surge Worldwide

2nd Aug 2023

Unlocking Peak Performance: The Crucial Role of Mental Toughness in Golf Coaching

14th Jun 2023

Wil Besseling and Lars van Meijel join GolfSixes event at KLM Open

25th May 2023

PGA of Italy Elections – Ascanio Pacelli Elected New President

23rd May 2023

Popular GolfSixes Introducing More Young People to Shorter Form of Team Golf

16th May 2023

EDUGOLF Begins Developing New Education and Training Products for the Golf Industry

19th Apr 2023

Spanish Trailblazer, Marta Figueras-Dotti, Recognised With CPG’s Christer Lindberg Bowl

11th Apr 2023

Renowned Spanish Golf Coach Eduardo Celles Wins Prestigious John Jacobs Award

6th Apr 2023

New Quick Guide to the Rules of Golf Released

29th Mar 2023

Pioneering Ólafsson Receives Iceland’s First 5-Star Pro Award

13th Mar 2023

Golf Genius Hits Milestone With Golf Hub

7th Mar 2023

New EDGA Research to Collect Quality Data On How Golfers With Different Impairments Are Affected in Their Ability to Play Golf

6th Mar 2023

PING Signs EDGA Golfer Juan Postigo Arce

6th Mar 2023

Guenther Enters the Winner’s Circle With AESGC International Victory

4th Feb 2023

Research Request: How Coaches Can Provide More Meaningful Learning Experiences for Players

11th Jan 2023

New PING G430 Family Delivers Speed and Distance (and Forgiveness, of Course)

10th Jan 2023

IGPN 68 Goes Live – Spheres of Influence: The Value of the PGA & the Pro

22nd Nov 2022

EDUGOLF Partners Make Progress in Poland

9th Nov 2022
load more

How to Be a Better Coach, According to Neuroscience3 min read

Inc.comAuthor: Inc.com


Posted on: 26th Oct 2016

Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in Cyprus with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM, and Brazen Careerist.

@EntryLevelRebel


A new study finds that great coaches don’t focus on finding and fixing their team’s weaknesses. They do this instead.

Sure, running a business is about maximizing the bottom line, but few entrepreneurs care only about the dollars and cents.  For most, going into work every day is also about making the world a slightly better place and helping your team get better at what they do.

In other words, most business owners aspire to be not just managers but coaches.

How do you learn to be a great coach?

Thinking back to your Little League days or star turn on the girls’ volleyball team in high school may give you some inspiration.  Didn’t the coach point out your weaknesses and provide guidance on how to get better?  Your memory doesn’t fail you–traditionally, coaching has largely been about identifying areas in need of improvement and supporting folks as they work towards better performance.  But according to the latest science, there’s actually a better approach.

Positive vs. Negative

A new study, published in Social Neuroscience, used brain sans to test two different approaches to coaching on a group of undergraduates.  The first approach mirrored traditional coaching, asking students to identify areas in which they might be struggling at school and think about ways to improve.  Coaches asked questions such as: “What challenges have you encountered or do you expect to encounter in your experience here?” and “How are you doing with your courses?”

In contrast to this negative approach, the second group of coaches focused on possibilities and positives, asking the students about their aspirations and urging them to visualize their future goals.  They asked questions such as, “If everything worked out ideally in your life, what would you be doing in 10 years?”  The student volunteers were then run through a functional MRI to examine how their brains responded to the two techniques.

The different types of coaching lit up different areas of the brain, the scientists found, with the positive approach stimulating areas involved in:

  • Visual processing, which come online when we imagine future events
  • Global processing, or the ability to see the big picture
  • Feelings of empathy and emotional safety
  • The motivation to proactively pursue big goals rather than simply react to loss or fear

The Takeaway

If you want people to dream big and actually have a shot at reaching their lofty ambitions, the list above would be a pretty good place to start, right?  The researchers thought so too.

“These differences in brain activity led the researchers to conclude that positive coaching effectively activates important neural circuits and stress-reduction systems in the body by encouraging mentees to envision a desired future for themselves,” UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center reports in their write up of the research.

More research needs to be done, and the encouraging effects of a positive coaching style doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no place for the more traditional find-the-problem-and-fix-it approach, but the results should give business owners a nudge towards a positive coaching style.  Why not try spurring your team to dream big, set ambitious goals, and nurture their strengths?

How do you approach coaching your team?

Image designed by Freepik

Inc.comAuthor: Inc.com
Read more by

Inc. is the leading, longest-standing, most trusted brand, focused on serving the needs of the SMB Market from start-up to fully managed organisation.

Inc. is the first to identify entrepreneurs as they are breaking out — introducing them to their peers and ultimately garnering attention from the world at large. You can look at Inc. today to learn about the leaders of tomorrow.