Ep 29: Scott Hann & Jo Cole

If you worry about your efforts to deliver actionable feedback in a manner that resonates with your athletes then you are not alone. Scott Hann ran us through his work coaching double Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Max Whitlock at the 2016 Leaders Sport Performance Summit in London. He was joined onstage by Jo Cole, the Head of Strings at the Royal Academy of Music, to compare and contrast with her approach to the music students who enter its fabled halls.

The duo agreed that a student or athlete’s receptiveness to feedback hinges upon the relationship with the tutor or coach, which inevitably is a question of trust. They also felt that it is not only the student or athlete who evolves as a consequence, but the coach too, who must be aware of their charge’s ever-developing needs. Other topics on the agenda that morning included:

• Teaching people to know themselves intimately as a performer;
• The reality that performers often know there’s a problem but not what it might be;
• Intentional feedback;
• The creation of a safe learning space;
• Filtering feedback for positive information, not the coach’s personal taste;

Previous Episode:

Leaders Performance Podcast: Alex Hill

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