The Coach-it Forward Philosophy

-Being truly invested in supporting someone else becoming the best version of themselves that they can be

-The understanding that, "If you want to be, coach"

-Great coaching creates a structure; a vision; a language; organization; rituals; etc

-Great coaching appears in practices, meetings, one on ones, practice, huddles, etc.

-Great coaching influences skill development, work ethic, attitude, the desire for triumph

The true quest of Coach-it Forward is to create a team of leaders that are forward thinking about coaching and feel strongly about the concept of supporting someone else's quest to become the best version of themselves. Part of the process to create our team will be through Coach-it Forward Leadership Summits.So be ready for announcements of time and place.

Coaching is everywhere. What the Coach-it Forward Team will focus on is that great coaching in today's world can change the world for the better a little bit at a time. We aren't the only people that are thinking this concept and trying to make this sort of commitment. What we will be is a team of leaders that wants to have an impact on the opportunity that is out there.

This effort - the decision to be a part of this quest - isn't for you if you can't imagine the idea of declaring and putting into action your own personal belief system about coaching (we'll call it "writing your own book" or creating your own "Belief System") that describes what it takes to perform like a champion and what it is to lead others by learning to lead yourself first. You need to be able to embrace the idea that you have expertise to share about things like life purpose, winning, coaching under pressure, healthy communication, team cultures that are soulful and making life an adventure of fun moments.

In the early part of 2007 I went to visit my brother Kevin at his home in Seattle. (kevin@kevinhoffberg.com) My brother is one of the smartest people you'll ever meet and has massive experience in developing excellence and success in the corporate world. The two of us sat down to talk about what the whole Coach-it Forward thing was going to be all about. Here are some of our notes:

You might have been a great player.

You might have been just an okay player.

You might run a very large organization.

You might only have one person you're responsible for coaching and caring about.

You might have a personality as big as all outdoors.

You might fill up only a small room.

You might have been very "successful" in the past.

You might not have been.

We totally salute all of it. It's what got you to this point. It's part of who you are. It's what you bring to the game every day. Now forget about it. None of it means that at this moment you're a good coach. It doesn't mean you will or won't be a great coach. That's what lies ahead of you. The decisions you make going forward are all that matter. The coach you can become comes from what's in front of you. That's the game we want to help you play through Coach it Forward.

What do those words add up to?

Maybe something like this:

Together we will work towards developing your own and our shared belief system that represents "how we roll" off the playing field (the culture) and how we attack the chance to "play", to compete, to "win' and to show the world our unique style and approach to achieving greatness. Each member of the Coach it Forward Team will find that who they are fits perfectly into the Team's Belief System. By being a member of our team you will gain greater clarity of:

• Who you are – This effort is about the best version of you; the whole person.
• What coaching is to you – In relation to you, your team, your "players" and your community

So if you're still here reading what this quest is all about, you're someone that is spending time thinking about coaching. If you're thinking about coaching, you've probably been coached. And if you've been coached, you can probably divide the people that coached, mentored, taught, and encouraged you into two groups: good ones and not so good ones.

There are lots of factors that go into the idea of being a "good coach". It seems that there are more and more people out there that have lots to say on that topic but one idea seems to shine out and capture the idea of what we mean by Coach it Forward

"Helping someone else become the best version of themselves they can be."

Depending on the context you coach in, there are layers of ideas that get attached to that simple notion. For example, if you're a hockey coach, you're doing that within the texture of the sport and your team concept. You may or may not be interested in developing the whole person, but for the parts you are interested in, your focus is in helping that player, that person, be the best version of themselves in that role that they can be.

If you're a sales leader, the same concept applies. Your job is meeting business objectives and within the texture of doing that, you're job as coach is to help the people working for you become the best versions of themselves they possibly can be.

There's a second thought that goes along with this that gets to the real meaning of Coach-it Forward.

"You know you've got command of yourself, your skill, and your passion when you can coach someone else."

In other words, mastery doesn't end with you being good at what you do. Mastery never ends, but the path to achieving it lies through the ability to engage and inspire others to do the same. Or to put it yet another way, there's an old saying that says "to teach is to learn."  We'd turn it on its head and say that "you don't own it until you can coach it."

So to put it all together, coach it forward means three things:

• Be the best version of yourself you can be
• Help others become the best versions of themselves they can be
• Pass it on

Coach It Forward is a philosophy and a practice. It requires discipline and disciplines. You don't have to be or want to be a head coach or a senior executive to live the spirit and practices of Coach It Forward. You just have to believe in the idea that the coaching ethos has the capacity to not only make good things happen for you, but for the people you work with and support.

Martin Luther King said "I have a dream." He didn't just say that he had a good idea.

I have a dream too. My dream is to create a group of people that will create another group of people that will create another group of people and so on. I have a dream that momentum will be created through people that care about coaching and respect the chance to engaging in the coaching responsibility the way it should be engaged in. We will build in numbers and we will build our capacity to impact.

We will impact leadership across the country in positive and productive ways. Coaches from all walks of life will think about what their Belief System is and coach others to develop their own System. Through the commitment to Coach It Forward we will help people see beyond bottom line numbers, see beyond the need to crack the secret code of life balance and see beyond the pressure of trying to arrive at some sort of hilltop hour. We will make it clear that Coaching is Doing. Coaching is Living. Coaching is creating something for yourself to believe in and something for your people to believe in.

It isn't enough to believe that great things can happen.

What great coaching does is make great things happen.