Change – The Constant

In high-level sport as in life the only constant is change. If you are the best at what you do you must change and adapt to stay the best. The difference maker in coaching is how you manage and lead change. Change represents a tremendous opportunity to improve. Rather than a time of reaction it is an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the causes for change and then to plan subsequent actions based on the reflections. In elite sport the focus must be on what needs to be done to produce both short and long term results. The following quote from Walter Isaacson in the forward of Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal contains a powerful message for the necessity of continual change and adaption in today’s world:

“Management models based on planning and predicting instead of resilient adaptation to changing circumstances are no longer suited to today’s challenges. Organizations must be networked, not siloed, in order to succeed. Their goal must shift from efficiency to sustained organizational adaptability.”