Most people around me don’t know that I am a championship ice skater.

At least I will be, if you agree to be my coach. The role of a coach is really simple. There are only two things required. Think of a coach, any coach, a famous one works the best. I used to pick on Dave Wannstadt of the Miami Dolphins, but he left, so I will have to find someone else to pick on. Pat Riley was my second choice, but he kicked himself upstairs with the Miami Heat.

When the coach shows up at practice, what is the first order of business? When I ask this question in my management class, I get a number of interesting guesses, but seldom the response I am looking for.

• Stretching drills
• Warmup drills
• Conditioning drills

All are reasonable, but there is something that happens first. Somebody is walking around with a clipboard, and on that clipboard is a list. Who is on the list? Now, the guessing stops. The first order of business is to take attendance.

Woody Allen says that half of making progress in life is just “showing up.” The first responsibility of any coach is to make sure the team members show up. You cannot get better unless you show up for practice. So, if you are going to be my coach and turn me into a championship ice skater, your first responsibility is to make sure I show up for practice.

If you are doing a good job of instilling, within me, the discipline of “showing up,” we can now move to the next responsibility of the coach.

There are two things you know about my ice skating ability. First, you have noticed that, on the ice, I have a very strong right push-off. It is powerful, smooth, fluid, a perfect setup to transition into a number of other moves. The second thing you notice about me, on the ice, is that often, the laces on my skates are untied. And here we move to the second responsibility for the coach. Remember, your job (should you decide to accept it) will be to turn me into a championship ice skater. With these two pieces of information, how will you do that?

• Strong right push-off
• Laces untied

The second responsibility of the coach (after the “showing up” piece) is to give me feedback. As my coach, you have two areas to work with (for now). One area is positive, one area is negative. Here is the question of the day: Do you have to give me the negative feedback, or can you just work with positive feedback?

Here is where I depart from other theorists on feedback. Some would say, just work on strengths and the weaknesses will become irrelevant. My response: Bulloney. My laces are untied, for Pete’s sake. I gotta get my laces tied correctly or I am going to fall flat on my face… EVERY TIME.

Yes, you have to give me negative feedback so I don’t fall flat on my face. But now that you have my laces tied correctly, am I now a champion ice skater? No way! (What? You must have seen me skate.) Just because my laces are tied, only means that I don’t trip over my laces. To turn me into a champion ice skater, you must build on the only strength that you have to work with, my strong right push-off. By building on that strength, you can transition me into other moves, adjusting speed, position on ice, balance, gliding.

The role of the coach is really simple, two primary functions. Make sure I “show up,” and give me feedback. You have to give me both, positive and negative. The negative feedback is necessary, but to turn me into a champion, you have to build on my strengths. —TF