Think like Southgate

The World Cup´s over. For some people the last weeks have been heaven and for other people it’s been hell. Either way, especially given England´s overall tournament performance, the vast majority of people, including myself, will have seen at the very least part of a match. But before you click over to another non-football related website, there is a personal development reason I bring up football. There is a link, and thanks to the football pundits after the nail biting penalties between England and Colombia I saw the link. IT’S ALL ABOUT MATCH ANALYSIS!

What? OK, I’ll clarify. Whether a team wins or loses, their performance is re-visited and the good the bad and the ugly are analysed. And the purpose of this analysis is not just to ensure that slip ups and errors are avoided in the next match, but that any tactics that worked are not only repeated but improved upon. The players and the team learn from every match. And their learnings build and build and build, and these learnings are taken into the next match. The individual players and team are prepared and aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They walk down the tunnel and onto the pitch with knowledge.

So how does this relate to you? I´d like you to think about this next question. Apart from at work when you are forced to do your yearly/quarterly performance review; do you regularly analysis your performance? And if you do...do you evaluate both the positive and the negative? And if you do...do you do anything with those learnings? And if you don´t analyse your own performance, how does that benefit you?

And if you did analyse, how would that benefit you?

I appreciate that life is fast paced and it’s difficult enough to do everything already without adding another “to do” onto the list. In fact, the only time I used to really stop and evaluate both my personal and professional progress was just before my birthday and at Christmas. It was nice to think about how far I´d come in a year, but that’s as far as it went. A pat on the back or a telling off was as analytical as I got. I approached each action and project as a separate thing that just need to be completed. Never taking what I had learnt and applying it with thought or preparation. Until I became a Coach.

During my training I was forced to take the time to evaluate my performance, and I haven’t stopped evaluating since. The outcome of this reflection is that I am not only reminded of the areas that I need to work on but also the areas which I excel at.

My self-evaluation rule is that I am only allowed to list 3 areas of improvement that would have improved the session and I must write 3 areas in which I was happy with my work.

The impact of having this quick evaluation has been huge. I go into my sessions excited and confident, as I know my strengths and I’m ready to work on specific areas which may need a little more attention.

And now, if we re-direct the focus over to you. And again take a moment to that about what are the costs if you continue to just keep moving forward without taking a little time to think about what happened? How could you NOT evaluating your performance facilitate your actions and successes in the future?

Perhaps you keep making the same mistakes, you keep choosing the wrong partner, you aren’t progressing professionally as quickly as you want to and you don’t feel confident dealing with colleagues or clients despite being in your job for some time.

So, what can you do? Think like Southgate ; ).

Seriously. After a meeting, sending that report or having a difficult conversation with your partner. Write down, see it on paper in a notebook. 3 good things that you did and 3 areas of improvement. Keep that notebook and before you start that next meeting, report or difficult conversation; revisit that analysis. Use that analysis to increase your confidence and better your performance. To built on your constant improvement to being a better you.

That’s it. 3 good. 3 bad. Oh and re-read that list before starting similar tasks.

Then just like England you can rise above and beyond your own and other people’s expectations. Don´t waste your learnt knowledge, be efficient with your time and your energy and maximise your future performances by analysing those in the past. Celebrate your successes and be aware of your weaknesses. Be your own coach. Be your own Southgate.

Good luck to you and good luck to England in 2020! : )

Need a little help in your own self-evaluation either personally or professionally. Talking to someone free of bias or judgement can be extremely insightful.

For more information on Coaching with Alexa have a look at her Facebook page or contact her. Be that better you.

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