Lessons Learned
Back in 2009, I attended an AASP conference in which the late Ken Ravizza was speaking. The title of his discussion was, “What not to do as a sport psychology consultant”.
I didn’t know Ken personally, but this had Ken’s personality written all over it. Out of all the big names, he always appeared to be the most humble, self-deprecating consultant I had a chance to observe and learn from.
Over this month, I hope that we can engage in the same dialogue. I invite you all to share your lessons learned. Each week for this month I’ll share new lessons learned from my own experiences as well as share what your peers in our community have learned as well.
THE FIRST LESSON LEARNED
“Build credibility in your role, not your knowledge”
Credibility starts with the relationship. There have been several models that discuss how to establish credibility. Concepts like competence or sport knowledge are frequently highlighted. They are important, but they should not be the primary driver.
Case in point:
Why are there highly successful female consultants working in male dominated sports and vice versa?
Why is it that many of us have worked in both sports and military? Many of us have never served, so how could we ever expect to add value?
Because they know how to sell their role. Below are things to consider going forward:
When introducing yourself, what does your audience care the most about? They want to know they are going to be taken care of. So - think about that during your introductions.
Set expectations for the immediate future. What will things look like going forward?
Separate yourself from sport psychology. Describing what you do is important (a.k.a. - what is sport psychology and its services), but that is different than developing credibility with your audience. They care more about you than the field.
There are many specifics we could add to this list and I’m sure you have more you would add or even change some of mine out - but here is the main point - TRUST TAKES TIME. Put effort into getting more skilled at how we describe our role and how we are there to help. This trumps any fancy models or science backed approaches you may have ready to roll.
THE PATH AHEAD
Focus on developing a trusting relationship and the credibility will come. Do little things, from following through on your commitments, being accessible when you say you will be, and show a genuine interest in your audience. Authenticity will generate far greater returns than your expertise in the short term (and some may argue always). Expertise is important, but it isn’t above authenticity in context of today’s conversation.
Over the remainder of the month, I’ll continue to share additional lessons learned. What have some of your lessons been?
February Announcements
Changes to the newsletter - Going forward, I’ll separate information such as events, job alerts, or updates separate from the weekly conversation
Community Networking - For those interested, stay tuned. I’ll be sending out a specific link to join networking within our community. I’ll send out that information over the next week.
Thanks!
Russ