Coach-Athlete Relationship a Byproduct of Emotional Intelligence on Both Sides
I like to define emotional intelligence as a person’s ability to recognize, understand, and manage their emotions and the emotions of others. Psychologist believe that emotional intelligence is a learned behavior. I regularly seek out interesting articles related to emotional intelligence as developing it is a critical part of pursuing most goals.
With this in mind, today I came across a very good article with a unique take on this topic with respect to coaching. The title of the article is Why Coaching Is All About Emotional Intelligence. The author states:
… emotional intelligence is a combination of self-awareness and self-regulation that affects motivation, social skills and empathy. When it comes to coaching, emotional intelligence is essential. When both parties have a high degree of self-awareness and self-regulation, communication flows smoothly, allowing coaching to be facilitated successfully.
I 100% agree with this perspective. Although the author is not specifically talking sports, I believe the quality of the coach-athlete relationship is a byproduct of the emotional intelligence of each. If one or both sides of this relationship lacks emotional intelligence, the relationship will suffer.
Furthermore, emotional intelligence is one of the first skills coaches should invest in developing within themselves and their athletes. Without it, everything else suffers. As a result, I highly recommend reading the cited article Why Coaching Is All About Emotional Intelligence for yourself. In addition, you should also review my guide on the four domains of emotional intelligence.