Dr David Hemery CBEOlympic Gold medallist 1968
Founder and Co-Director of theEducational Charity, 21st Century Legacy
Co-author of ‘Be the Best you can Be!’
Enhancing Coaching/Facilitation and Self-managed Leadership in Education
Mexico Olympics 400m hurdles final
• 1. Rheine Shubert - Germany• 2. Gerhard Hennige - Germany• 3. Geoff Vanderstock - USA• 4. Roberto Frenolli - Italy• 5. Vyacheslav Skomorokov - Russia • 6. David Hemery - Great Britain• 7. Ron Whitney - USA• 8. John Sherwood - Great Britain
There was a strong congruence in many of the holistic factors of
body, mind, emotion and spirit
AND
These two attributes stood out in all these high achievers
Self-Awareness and
Self-Responsible
In a follow-up survey, top business leaders strongly displayed the same factors
Awareness and Self-responsibility
If these attributes are in the best –how do we increase these in
young people?
Does this do it?
Nancy Kline –Author of ‘Time to think’ said:
I believe I’ve achieved what I have with my life because my mother was such an
Attentive listener
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Never under-estimate the value of giving someone your full attention – even if only for a moment
Results-driven behaviour
• Instructions, suggestions, encouragement, setting challenging goals and giving feedback -
All can be good and are needed however they are…• Teacher / Parent / Coach / Manager / Leader Centred• We are on our Agenda (usually trying to help)• Often doing the thinking for them
Unfortunately these generates dependence! (The opposite of what we want from them during high level performance)
Empowermentis generated through effective questions
• Questions should aim to raise self and situation awareness and the choice to take responsibility
• We are being Performer Centred by asking them first• Exploring and understanding their hopes and needs • Making them think too• Which generates their independence and ownership of their
choices
One challenge is to link their choices to Fair Play and Ethical Values
Sport can produce the best and the worst of human responses – from the Olympic ideals
of friendship, respect and excellence -
to the un - ’professional’ fouls, greed, discrimination, illegal betting, bribery,
corruption, drug cheating, etc.
In fact sport parallels what we experience in the world in general, containing angels and villains
and masses in between
From my survey of 83 top achievers from 22 sports and a 12 countries
* 100% Would like to see drugs have no part in sport * 93% had parents who emphasised fair-play and keeping within the rules
How aware are adults of their influence?
Life is about Choices & Consequences
Recently Choices have been made by VW, FIFA, Ben Johnson and Lance Armstrong which carry
heavy consequences.,
A focus on Olympic and Paralympic values can help
This is how study of Olympic and Paralympic valuesin our ‘Be the Best you can Be!’ programme
affected seven 13 year old boys who made this presentation
An all-boys Comprehensive School in Wokingham west of London
One aim for sport is to help our athletes, coaches, officials, administrators and agents recognise that
their choices, are underpinned by their values and are key to moral and social education
Many people do not recognise thatour behaviour is based on our values
Olympic Values: Friendship, Respect, Excellence.
Paralympic Values: Inspiration, Determination, Equality and Courage.
--------------------------------------Feedback from one class of eleven year olds asked –
‘If you had sat on the committee determining additional values what might you choose?’
Empathy and Integrity(these provide a nice counter balance to cheating)
If young people feel under a lot of pressure to win - how can we change our
Win - Lose judgement
into
Win - Learn experiences?
Not everyone is ready or wants to accept responsibility
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It will help them if they recognise that they have a choice - they have the ability to respond
In 2008 I founded the Charity
Purpose: Developing real thought in our young people to awaken them to their potential.
It is a holistic programme for personal development underpinned by effective questions generate
increased Awareness and enhanced Responsibility in the young person
Chris Argyris - Harvard Professor Guru of Organisational Development
‘People should be involved in decisions that personally affect them’
Not everyone wants to take responsibilitybut all would like to have a say.
Input from the performers allows for much wiser decision making by those in power
If young people don’t have the skills to ask effective questions and to have independent
thought, how do we expect them to handle their own life issues and those in the world today?
e.g.Climate change, global political conflict, financial instability, conflict resolution, poverty, inequality, injustice, health and well being, education, abuse
of power, fair play, etc.
Are we not Co-Creators of our world?
We cannot control what life throws at us (for our learning and development)
however our choice is how we react- our Attitude, our Focus and our Values
are always our choice
The Mind is Key
How can we generate the courage and wisdom to challenge the attitude -
‘’ ‘Everyone else is doing it, they’ll have an advantage,why shouldn’t I/we?’
You can only make wise choices if you are awareand choose to take responsibility based on
ethical values
Ideal Coaching and Leadership use both – Asking and Telling
Asking - to generates greater Awareness & Responsibility
Telling - to share knowledge, experience and ideas
Asking comes first!
“Physicist Isidor Isaac Rabbi, who won a Nobel prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules in the 1930’s, attributed his success to the way his mother used to greet him from
school each Day
‘Did you ask any good questions today?’
A potential screen saver for us –
What good questions did you ask today?
“No man ever made a greater mistake than he who did nothing when he could only do a little”
Edmund Burke1790’s Irish philosopher and politician
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“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, then you’ve obviously never been in bed with a mosquito!”
Anita RoddickFounder of The Body Shop
“Which of you will become great, in your chosen field?
If not you, who then? Why not you?”Abraham Maslow
“And if not now - when?”
****************David Hemery’s personal belief:
There is a spark of greatness in everyone
My hope and belief is that if
young people will empower themselves to make aware and responsible choices – they are
more likely to take advantage of sport or other healthy and challenging activities and generally live
healthier and more fulfilled lives.
Empowerment – through Coaching / FacilitationChallenging young people to be more self-responsible
GROW model questions
The GROW process can be applied to anything –
Academics, Exercise, Health, Behaviour, Relationships, and any other performance related focus
Life is about Choices & Consequences of those
Big point here - Effective questions come from
Truly attentive empathic listening
Throughout life, all of us will experience some set-backs, trauma and occasionally tragedy
This has highlighted a real need for resilience
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Research has shown that a holistic approach is needed and the following gives an illustration of
a questioning / ‘coaching’ approach
US Army Research
• Physical - (Assumed)
• Mental - Positive Mental Attitude
• Social - Family Support
• Spiritual - Spiritual or Moral Compass
What empowering questions need to be asked?
Physical - Energy to make Positive Decisions What is needed to gain Health and Strength?
Mental - Positive Mental Attitude What Positive Personal Goals can you set?
Social - Supportive Relatives / Friends Who could support you, inside and outside school?
Spiritual - Giving life Meaning and Purpose How will you make your contribution?
Questions to generate Resilienceand to ‘Be the Best you can Be!’
It takes a holistic approach to fulfil potential?
•Physical - Health, fitness and purposeful hard work
•Mental - Goals, planning, focus, positive intent
•People - Encouragement, challenge and support
•Meaning and Purpose - What can I contribute? and understanding - What are my core ethical values?
In preparation for the 1968 Olympic Games I experienced the value of Complete Alignment in
Body - Fitness & Nutrition Mind - Visualising achievement & Focus Emotion - Harnessing passion & commitment Spirit - Values based Mission and Purpose with Self-Awareness & Self-Responsibility
Mind
Much depends on by whom we are taught -
A competent, enthusiastic coach, parent, teacher or manager can have a hugely positive impact on the motivation and aspiration of a young performer
Parents - Eileen & Peterfrom whom I learned ethical values -
Hard working, Supportive, Encouraging, Giving, Caring, Integrity
Spiritually
What will give your athletes, coaches and administrators a real Sense of Purpose - believing that they can make a positive ethical difference
and a positive contribution?
Olympic Values
Friendship, Respect and Excellence
Billy - Noon blizzard‘Out there is the road to Mexico!’
Mutual Respect
Who has meant a great deal to you in your personal development?
Did they not give you timeand really listen to you?
Never underestimate the power and benefit of giving someone your
full attention – even for a moment
I was inspired by watching and doing sport but it had a far more profound effect on my personal
growth and development than over twenty years of academic education.
“Top leaders have DRIVE - to achieve
&HUMILITY - willing to listen and learn”
Jim Collins author of Good to Great best selling business book
Verbally pushing can generate a push back -
‘I think that you should do this!’ often get a ‘Why should I? response
The word education comes from the Latin, ‘educare’ - to support and nurture the growth of someone and
‘educere’ is to draw out – not to stuff in!
Questions can be in focused on ethics and values.
Are we not all co-responsible for the direction and future of our world?
Who has meant a great deal to you in your personal development?
Did they not give you timeand really listen to you?