Good Cop, Bad Cop: One of the Most Challenging Parts of Teaching/Coaching

Want to get notified about new posts? Join the mailing list and follow on X/Twitter.

One of the most challenging parts of teaching/coaching others is striking the right balance between good cop and bad cop. You need to be both. It’s the duality of coaching. You have to set high performance standards and hold the line on what it means to achieve them. But at the same time, you have to support your trainees in developing that level of performance.

You can’t just say “work harder.” You have to actually pinpoint specific areas for improvement and specific types of training exercises that will develop the trainee’s skills effectively. But at the same time, you have to call out when a trainee is not engaging with the process, not putting forth the effort that’s necessary to complete the exercises, extract the learning from them, and make the skill development happen.

You have to give honest feedback – often about shortcomings in the trainee’s performance – in a way that’s motivating, or at least not demotivating. You have to talk the trainee up when they’re feeling beaten down by the grind, and help them see their progress – but if they start getting cocky, demanding superstar treatment when really they’re a promising junior, you have to put them in their place and communicate that they’re still in the early stages of a long journey (again, without demotivating them).

Want to get notified about new posts? Join the mailing list and follow on X/Twitter.