We can learn a lot about coaching from different sources. In Season 6 in the “Luxury Lounge” ratified of the Soprano’s, Tony Soprano tries to help his good friend, Artie Bucco. Artie runs a restaurant that has hit hard times and is not doing well.
Tony reaches a point where he is tired of hearing Artie complain about the business and blame other people for the problems. Tony goes into the kitchen and tells it straight.
“We gotta talk about your problem. I gotta a name of a good psychiatrist, she’s Italian, you’ll like her.”
Artie will have none of the talk about a psychiatrist, but Tony keeps going.
“You go about pity for yourself. You bitch and you moan, you blame everyone else for your problems. You know I am going to eat here until I fall off my chair. In business sometimes shit happens, the playing field changes, whatever.”
“I’ll tell you one thing and this is very hard. Nobody wants to hear you talk, they’re trying to eat out there and you come along with your corny jokes and stupid stories. Just stay in the kitchen that would be a good start.”
It was hard but Tony Soprano was willing to tell his friend the truth. He was willing to tell his friend tough things that the friend didn’t necessarily want to hear.
Before he gave him the honest criticism, he tried to express that he was on Artie’s “team.” “I am going to eat here until I fall off my chair.”
And he tries to express that being critical is not easy, “I’ll tell you one thing and this is very hard…”
What does this have to do with coaching?
1- Do you have assistants who are “going to keep eating here until I fall off my chair”? We need staff who is with us no matter what.
2- As a coach, do you have assistants who are willing to tell you some tough truths when you may not want to hear them? If you are surrounded by “yes guys,” you may not make changes that need to be made.
3- Have you developed a culture where your players know you care about them?
4- Have you developed a culture where you can tell your players the hard truths that they may not want to hear but that they need to hear?
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