Strength Coaching in Dhaka June 2023.
The journey really began at a friend’s daughter’s party a few years back, the quiet guy sitting across the table from me seemed to be more than just quiet. Me, being me, went and sat beside him and gradually we started to talk, a little bit start/stop at first, but then we got into a bit of a flow, and it turned out he was the head coach of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. I thought this was so interesting as I love coaching.
I have no experience in sports coaching but have focused in a few various different areas. In 2011 I qualified as a Gallup Strengths Coach, and have also completed level 1, 2, and Leadership in Gottman marriage therapy, alongside a post grad certificate in Professional Supervision. In 2020 I was authorized to train the facilitators for the global pre-marriage course, Prepare and Enrich.
All these skills have one outcome in mind – how can I best help others.
What I love about coaching is the ability to use all my skills and experience to help others, we can slip from Strength Coaching into Gottman, and then into a reflective creative supervision conversation without losing the thread.
Anyway, back to the story….. I became connected with Chandika and his family, and as time passed, we became friendly. I introduced him to Gallup Strengths in a season when he was being (in my mind at least) very unfairly treated by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. We enjoyed robust conversations, and he was always ready to challenge my assumptions and even my thinking. He then transitioned into a role at NSW Cricket, and for a season he enjoyed the balance of working in cricket and family life.
Chandika was recently approached by Bangladesh Cricket Board and after some negotiations accepted the role as head coach for BCB for Test, ODI, and T20 cricket.
We talked a little about the idea if Gallup Strengths could be a benefit to his team, and I think because Chandika had seen some benefits for himself he began to seriously think about introducing Gallup Strengths as one of his coaching tools to help develop the team. Shortly after he invited me to head out to Bangladesh and spend two weeks as the Gallup Strengths Coach for the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.
So here I was, a Scotsman, living in Sydney, who played schoolboy rugby union and teenage Sunday league soccer, on a flight to Bangladesh to spend two weeks working with a small selection of the Bangladesh National Cricket team on a pilot project to introduce Gallup Strengths.
There were some nerves for me, around language, and even around how Gallup Strengths would work culturally, and in a team sport. On the flight out I had a sort of epiphany moment as I sensed that what I had, my own unique style of coaching was enough, and that I did not need to try and “wear Saul’s armor”. I let go of any plans to introduce what had worked for others, and decided to focus on what was in my hands. My first meeting with the team was a two-hour introduction and presentation – I learned a lot there, especially that I needed to keep things short and introduce the benefits much more than the features.
I think what settled with me for this group of elite sportsmen was the idea of “know yourself, back yourself, and know your team, back your team”. We were very quickly into the individual sessions with players, most of whom have huge social media followings. I had no concerns about who was who, and from the word go we were deep into long conversations that blended Gallup Strengths, with Gottman Marriage Principles, Covey’ Seven Habits, and skills from my training as a Pastor and as a Professional Supervisor. I wondered if these players would perhaps benefit from Gallup Strength based Professional Supervision, and we used that format frequently. I was learning about culture, and language and how to introduce the support available against that backdrop. From each conversation we landed on one of two things that the player could put into practice, and I followed up each coaching session with an email to the player. Our agreed outcomes were wide ranging and just a few examples are – “regular date nights; keeping a journal of ideas; increased levels of self-care; intentional rest; and putting thinking time into the calendar”.
I planned to do 5 or 6 one-hour coaching sessions each day with breaks to write up notes and prepare for the next player, staff member, or coach that was coming to coach with me. I did this for 12 days in a row.
Our trips to the cricket ground from the hotel were quite an adventure, through the streets of 25m population Dhaka – with rickshaws, mopeds, motorbikes, tuk-tuks, beat-up buses and brand-new luxury cars all competing with traction and horns within six lanes on a three-lane road. When the Afghan team arrived, we were provided a police escort, with all side roads closed as we whizzed through near empty streets. I could not help but feel sorry for the already harassed population as they faced longer delays in getting to their destinations.
When we got to the game day – a test against Afghanistan, I was officially in the team – as the “Mental Strength Coach” – I had an “all venues” pass and was given the full anti-corruption talk by the ICC, before heading into the dugout with the rest of the team coaches.
They had kindly geared me up a few days earlier and allowed me into the nets to face a round 8 balls from the world’s best left arm spin bowler Rangana – who is a truly amazing, funny, kind, and super competitive man. Next time I maybe will have a go at bowling against Nic Pothas or Alan Donald – both amazing coaches and great men.
On the last day of my stay, I was invited into the team huddle, where I was presented with a Bangladesh Cricket Test Jersey, signed by the full team. I had been accepted as part of the team, and there were hugs and handshakes all round as I tried not to tear up.
For me as a coach I know now that what I do can transcend language, culture, and discipline boundaries, I feel like I can now hit an occasional six, (although it was probably a single when I was in the nets), and look forwards with excitement and anticipation to the next few years supporting this amazing group of sportsmen.