This first weekend of December, I have been at Loughborough University along with about 20 other amateur coaches from rugby clubs and schools in the
Our course tutors especially emphasised the power of coaching within a variety of different games and game situations and encouraged us to move completely away from the old mantra of coaching through warm up first, then drills, with a game only at the end of the training session. This "Whole Part Whole" approach of letting players play (to solve the problems the coach has set by trail and error), intervening briefly to provide observation and feedback, playing again to improve the solution, and then repeating the process over and over by changing the conditions of the game to promote increased skill development and learning, was a timely reminder that players learn best through "game sense".
In business, we also learn best by doing many different types of work matter, but to learn most effectively, we need not only good supervision and leadership from those more experienced than ourselves, but also regular review and feedback (effectively coaching) from colleagues throughout the project period of the particular piece of work, wherever practicable.
I continually develop and refine my business skills by transferring knowledge gained in my sports coaching. My weekend at Loughborough was further evidence of this.