Author: Donna

11

February
2017

Frank achieved incredible success coaching the UK athletics team through four
Olympics Games and is currently working alongside Eddie Jones and the England Rugby Leadership Team as a strategic planning consultant having finished his post as the High Performance Consultant for SASCOC
(South African Sports
Confederation and
Olympics Committee). consultant.
#coachingexcellence

© Dr Frank W Dick, OBE
120 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5EA
+44(0)20 3603 0115;
office@fwd.uk.com
www.frankdick.co.uk

News & Views of Frank W Dick, OBE

Observation Powers
By Frank Dick

There’s little point of trying to achieve the outcomes we seek in our diverse and challenging arenas of life without a plan.
In its preparation, we know our purpose is not in expecting certainty as a consequence, but being ready for the uncertainty that change brings.
Because that’s all there is out there.
So at best the plan is a framework that guides us towards our desired outcome whilst affording license to leverage the uncertainty of change to advantage.
This sense of “license” means creating an attitude where we do not expect things to be what we want them to be, so are ready to make things how we need them to be to achieve our outcome goals.
While the basics of what we do and how we do it are pretty well fixed, it is a mistake to assume that once learned they need no farther attention, the fact is they must be constantly revisited to keep them sharp.
Because some things that are controllable today were not so yesterday, we must regularly search and address the changing landscape to ensure that we are consistently in control of them.
Change and uncertainty demand that we have mental, physical and emotional agility in being adaptable and resilient in the face of adversity or whatever conditions and circumstances we encounter.
But to be truly ready, given speed of change in our arenas, we must take the advice of early 20th century Italian General, Giulio Douhet:-
“ Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the changes in the character of war, not those who adapt themselves after changes occur”.
Given such thinking, it is clear that to be ahead of the game we must be able to read the game faster than the opposition and translate that to effective action. It is this that will feed the resilience we need to win persistently out there.
Reading the game starts with observation.
So we must develop our observation skills to see, hear or sense not only what is happening in our arena today, but to join up the dots inside and beyond our arenas to anticipate what tomorrows arenas may bring.
Like all skills, they must be practiced so that they are as excellent under pressure situations as when there is no pressure. It is speed of change and in translating observation through calling the shots to effective action that is the “pressure”.

Tweet of the month
You can follow Frank at www.twitter.com/frankdickcoach. This was the most popular tweet in the last 30 days:
‘The true picture of your values and character emerges when you do the right thing despite personal consequence and against popular pressure’.

CONTACT FRANK
If you wish to find out about Frank’s availability or book him for a presentation, workshop or consultancy, go to www.frankdick.co.uk, or call +44(0)20 3603 0115 or email: office@fwd.uk.com
Frank’s books Winning Matters, Winning, Winning Lines and Sports Training Principles are all available for purchase by email to:
office@fwd.uk.com
We welcome new subscribers to FWD Thinking .

Observation Powers
In the interest of progress, technology, science and the analyses they make possible have almost encouraged a non-reliance on observational skills and consequently we can end up seldom practicing them. We are persuaded to await the evidence of numbers before making decisions and taking appropriate action.
But how can we learn to be agile in being adaptable, resilient or in anticipating “in the moment” if we must rely exclusively on subsequent data? And because if we are to win out there, it will come down to coping with the pressure of speed, of observing “in the moment”, we must have opportunity to learn and to exercise our observation skills.
By all means we should rely on analysis and numbers when necessary. Or again use such to check if we have got our observation right. But make time to practice those skills.
So coaching points for such practice…
When you are looking, learn to see what you need to see.
When you are listening, learn to hear what you need to hear.
When your sense tells you something is out of focus, learn to use the experience to learn judgement.
Learn what these observations mean; what their context is.
Because observation skills and their meaning are best learned through experience, seek out challenging experience and be sure to get advice for lessons learned from a trusted mentor. The learning experience can, of course, be tough, because as Vernon Law suggested –
“Experience is the toughest of all teachers, because she gives you the test first and the lesson after”.
Final critical point then, is find a trusted mentor.
Event Highlights
In the past months, Frank’s speaking engagements have taken him to Europe, Dublin, Scotland and the home of England Rugby at Twickenham. He has presented to William Fry, Ireland’s leading corporate law firm & to Spar International, Maersk, Airplus International, & the RAF. He’s run workshops with the academic and professional staff leaders at Bournemouth & Liverpool Universities, to the Canadian recruitment firm Tundra not forgetting coaches at several sports organisations including RFU, Scottish Rugby and Scottish Football.
Books
“Sports Training Principles 6th Edition was recently released and is on sale now on Amazon.
If you are interested in any of Frank’s other titles, please contact office@fwd.uk.com

Dr Frank W Dick OBE
Speaking, Coaching, Workshops
120 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5EA
tel: +44 (0)20 3603 0115; email: office@fwd.uk.com; www.frankdick.co.uk
Twitter.com/frankdickcoach
www.frankdick.co.uk
twitter.com/frankdickcoach

November 2013