Coaching Hard Work: Grit and Conscientiousness

We know training harder improves our success in cricket. This is another piece of evidence that psychology underpins our skill because attitude to work is a personality trait.

Another word for this is “conscientiousness”, which is one of the Big Five personality traits in psychological theory. Conscientiousness is the only one of the five traits that predicts improved performance in sport. This makes logical sense. Conscientious people strive for achievement, are self-organised, disciplined, productive, and tend to engage in deliberate practice more often. Those low in conscientiousness show less motivation to work and are less organised. We can easily see how personality - displayed as behaviours like training harder and more deliberately - has an impact on skill levels in the long term.

The next question, then, is how do coaches help players improve conscientiousness?

One popular theory uses a different word; grit.

Grit and conscientiousness

Grit has become a popular term due to research by Angela Duckworth into the trait, and its effect on school performance in children. She discovered grit better predicts success than IQ. Although there is much academic debate about the differences between terms like grit, conscientiousness and perseverance, as coaches were are just concerned with helping players display these helpful behaviours. We want players to stick with their cricket goals over the long term, often in the face of difficulties because we know it makes a difference. For this reason, I’ll use grit and conscientiousness interchangeably.

Grit is a personality trait, so some people are more naturally inclined to it. However, it does change over time. People in their 30s tend to be more conscientious than teenagers for example. This shows the trait is flexible. We can coach more grit into players, especially those who are still developing.

Coaching grit

Players can learn more grit like they can learn to bowl an away swinger or hit a cover drive. However, it is much more difficult because the results can’t be seen easily, or even guaranteed to work.

Nevertheless, there are several ways we can build an environment that allows determination to flourish. Much of it we have already discussed:

• Focus on behaviours as performance.

• Encourage a growth mindset.

• Challenge players to improve, and support them when they need it.

Tied to this are some additional practical solutions for players who are low in conscientiousness.

We all know the type; they say they want to work hard but their behaviours don’t match their statements. Chances are they are low in grit - possibly born that way - but the following techniques can develop more helpful behaviour in even the most tardy and slovenly!

Make a plan

The first solution is to have a plan. This sounds straightforward, but it’s tough for everyone and even tougher for those not inclined to planning. Coaches help with this process. We can establish motivations and agree expectations with players. We can also help enforce these behaviours with the Rule of Three. These are simple and effective measures.

Often this does not work efficiently because we are fighting ingrained habits so it could take more work for the players. Of course, those low in grit are also the least likely to work a more systematic programme of habit change, so this is not easy. Most players who struggle to maintain helpful behaviours are happy to admit they need to change. We can easily find this out by asking questions like,

• Do you make decisions that you regret?

• Do you want to do something to help your game but never seem to get to it?

• Is your current plan failing?

• Do you feel unsatisfied or anxious about your plan failing?

If the player wants to solve these kind of problems - and most do - then the most common response is to use willpower to break the bad habit. Despite overwhelming evidence, many people think they can tough it out. They will assure you they just need to try harder, or blame something out of their control. This time, they say to themselves (and anyone else), things will be different.

In fact, players in this position need to accept the only way out is to make a realistic plan. A plan that doesn’t rely on willpower. If we can convince players this is true, we can help them by asking them to,

• Make a list of everything on their mind

• Decide about each item; is it actionable or otherwise?

• If there’s no action needed, put it away or throw it away.

• If there is action needed, decide the next physical action.

• Keep those actions in a list.

• Check the list and do the actions regularly.

This is a simplified version of the Getting Things Done (GTD) system of planning and managing plans. I highly recommend it for players (and coaches) low in grit. It provides a clear, rules-based system to put a plan into action. And those people who are not naturally conscientious need rules. While you can apply GTD to your whole life - as author David Allen recommends - some find they only need it for their cricket. Either way, it helps to go through this process with someone supportive, like a coach. If for no other reason than it is more likely to build a helpful habit.

The second solution to low grit is an extension of the first: Now we have a to do list, we can also use a calendar. A calendar is really just another list, only this one is based on time. Making sure games and training are down on paper (or in a phone) helps significantly because it creates a firmer commitment that is harder to forget.

Calendars also lock down other useful habits: The gym, doing daily drills, even doing food shopping and prep, which leads to healthier eating. Combining set times for these things with a habit tracker is very useful. It might all seem like a lot of work planning, writing and being beholden to external calendars, but for those low in grit, we could easily argue about how the alternative has failed so far. Why wouldn’t you try?

The brotherhood

The final way to boost grit is to use support. Even the most introverted person needs help from and connection with, others, especially if a positive change is to be established. That means, as coaches, we can have a role in helping players admit they need a plan, come up with one and stick to it. This might be;

• Directly by becoming a sounding board. There is great power in simply listening.

• Indirectly by finding someone neutral to speak to. A disinterested third party is helpful because players can admit things they might be nervous saying to the coach.

However, many players still struggle with seeking support because it’s weak minded or embarrassing to “admit fault”: A thinking trap, of course, but one that seems very real to a player with low conscientiousness.

With players at this stage, it’s best to reframe emotional support as “brotherhood”. This has parallels with the military, which helps players realise support is a crucial tool. It also allows those with grit in the team to develop those without it. The brotherhood understand each other’s challenges and focus on,

• Clearly defined expectations.

• Accountability for each others actions.

• Behaviours not value judgements.

The brotherhood have a robust review system. The brotherhood use the Rule of Three to say “that’s not how we do things” in a non-judgemental way. For a player lacking grit, and wanting to change, this culture is a powerful motivator: Especially when combined with a practical plan and calendar.

The negative side of grit

If the above techniques help the players we coach become more conscientious, we will see more effective cricketers. However, there are down sides to applying grit in a cricket team. In general, the more grit player have, the more they are likely to be,

• Risk adverse. Conscientious cricketers work hard to a clear plan. They try to minimise risks. Often this is an incredibly successful strategy, especially for batsmen. However it can have a negative side, as adaptability in the moment becomes more difficult.

• Perfectionist. The obvious end point for hard work is perfection. We know this is impossible, yet many players don’t enjoy their successes because they are so focused on the things they did wrong. They end up chasing an impossible perfection which could increase anxiety and reduce performance.

• Low in creativity. Don’t ask player with a lot of grit to come up with something different in the moment. A medium pace bowler who relies on swing and seam will likely be reluctant to try a bouncer unless they have practiced it for hours to perfection.

Of course, these are extremes. It would be foolish to suggest players fit into such neat categories. Nevertheless, understanding how conscientious people think generally helps us to understand behaviours, and influence change where appropriate.

Summary

Conscientiousness is a personality trait linked to success in sport. It’s trainable and can increase or decrease over time. Sometimes this is referred to as grit.

Coaching grit is simple but not easy because players need to admit they need to improve. If they do so, players who need more grit can benefit from:

1. A clear plan with clearly defined rules.

2. A calendar.

3. A “brotherhood” or other support system.

Why We are Here: Coaching Cricket with Purpose

It’s easy to jump into coaching with warm ups and drills. The “what” of coaching. I do it all the time. It feels right and comfortable. We want to get on with it as fast as we can. So do the players we coach.

But hold on.

First, we need to know why we play and how we can work together to achieve our aims: Our purpose and principles.

You might think it’s obvious.

Yet we have already learned jumping in too fast is unhelpful. Coaching before purpose makes it difficult to develop players. We overthink or run on emotion. To manage this we need to know our motivations. Our deepest purpose.

Or to put it another way; how can you get somewhere unless you know where it is?

I feel this process is now a vital part of modern coaching. If we don’t have a purpose we don’t set expectations clearly: We end up unfocused, frustrated and confused. Business solved this issue decades ago: Every planned project starts with a purpose and core principles.

Clinical psychology has a similarly well-established method. In CBT, we learn behaviours are drawn from thoughts and feelings. The goal is to become aware of what we think and feel so we can alter our actions. If we are feeling angry and confused we know we have not identified our mutual purpose and principles yet. We can prevent this confusion with clarity of behaviour.

These ideas are easily transferred to coaching.

Practical purpose

So how do we achieve this step zero, this crucial meta-coaching?

Find out.

Ask “how” and “what”.

Of course, you want true, honest answers. Getting that from a group of beginner six year olds is different from a professional cricket team. Nevertheless, we are looking for the same thing. We are looking for a mutually agreed purpose. Here are the key questions:

• Why do you play cricket?

• Why do you come to training?

Most people say to have fun and to get better at playing cricket. But dig deeper if you can. We don’t all agree what is fun and we don’t all agree what to get better at. Here are some deeper questions:

• What’s the most enjoyable part of cricket?

• What style of cricket do you want to play?

• What type of team do we want to be?

• What do you expect from your coach?

• What support do you expect from your team mates?

• What support do you think your team mates expect from you?

• What does someone in our team do when they are at their best?

• What do you think your coach expects from you?

• What can stop us being successful?

You don’t need to know the answer to all of them in detail. Ask as much as you need to have a clear purpose for the team: The big unique idea, the motivation that gets us up on cold winter mornings and travelling miles to matches on wet summer afternoons. The reason why we choose this life and not one of a million others.

It’s not just rabble rousing inspiration: Together with the players you can agree well-defined standards based on your ideal. And we know what happens once we nail those expectations down.

Is there a problem?

It’s not always as smooth as this. Any change to the status quo is hard and meets resistance. Purpose is a vague idea. It smacks of Instagram posts telling us the “Chase our rainbow”. We know differently but players can be cynical.

For example, players start to clam up and agree to anything because they are running on emotion; bored, insecure, impatient, angry, frustrated, afraid or confused.

In this moment they want to to get past the painful talking and “just hit balls”. That’s secure. That works. That feels right. They don’t see the big picture and they want to get on with something tangible like having a net. This is a perfectly understandable reaction, especially from a group who are not yet self-aware of their emotional state (sounds like most children and most cricketers to me).

However, we also can’t let it go. That’s an abdication of our responsibility as a coach to get the best from players.

Dig in.

If you face this kind of resistance - passive or clearly stated - ask an even deeper question:

• What do we want to change?

This question is great because everybody wants to change something. Nobody wants to have problems. Everybody knows the only way to solve them is to change behaviour. Even the players who think they need to change nothing personally can get behind the idea the team can make improvements as a whole. It’s something tangible to hold on to. It gets people back into a clear and present state of mind.

The answer you get back will be unique to the players and team you coach. Things to change usually hover around words like commitment, focus, effort, mindset or teamwork. Often it’s about something technical (because again it’s the easiest thing to see). Whatever your specifics, the next two questions are:

• Are we prepared to change this?

• Can we accept help to make the change?

If the answer is yes to both, we can start to make progress. If more examination is needed you can go deeper still with these questions:

• What pain is caused by making a change?

• What is the cost of not changing?

• What benefits are there to changing?

• What ways can we have more fun if we change?

• How is this problem stopping our success as a team?

• Is this problem causing a loss of respect between team mates?

• What part of the problem do others notice the most?

• Why has the problem not been solved yet?

• Are we willing to do whatever it takes to solve the problem?

• Do we accept making change requires us to think and act differently?

• What single goal can we all work towards to make this change?

• What could go wrong if we change our perspective to try and solve the problem?

• Are we open to a new plan?

If players recognise the need for change, you won’t ever get this deep into the discussion. You can outline your purpose, set out your key principles and move along quickly towards the batting and bowling. However, these questions are tools if you need them.

The goal is to help players see how important it is to focus on both training the way you play, and playing the way that rings true to your ideals. We are unlikely to solve our cricket problems any other way.

Whether you have worked with a team for years, or are doing your first session, it’s crucial everyone knows this. Take as long as it takes to get to your purpose and define your principles. We face a lot of frustration and wheel-spinning if we take another route.

Don’t get me wrong, action is still paramount.

Once purpose is in place we can get on with doing stuff, safe in the knowledge we are moving towards mutual purpose.

But that’s not the end either. It’s not a one off. We all need commitment to reviewing and applying our purpose and principles. We can’t spend time on purpose and defining our core principles then never apply those expectations. We need to live this every day in the way we act.

The nuts and bolts of how we do this, and help players do this, is next.

Agree Coaching Expectations First

Before we can coach, or be coached, we need to agree expectations.

At most sessions there’s an assumed agreement, but it’s rarely overt. We understand vaguely what is supposed to happen without saying it. This works when the implied expectations match between coach and players.

But when expectations don’t match, someone will get frustrated.

For example, have you ever coached young players who don’t meet your expectations for behaviour? I know I have. Does it frustrate or even anger you? I’m sure it does.

It’s also confusing for those you coach. They see you as erratic: One minute you allow something by not picking up on it, the next minute it’s unacceptable and you’re making an example of someone. Everyone is fed up with that way.

All that’s is needed is an agreement of what is expected and a strong application of the agreement.

In our behaviour example, the coach could tell the kids they expect full attention when instructions are being given, and full commitment when the drill is being performed. The kids might say back they expect the coach to keep instruction and waiting to a minimum, and make sure everyone gets to compete and get plenty of goes.

At a higher performance level the expectation will be different, but there is the same need to be clear and overt about them.

This agreement alone is enough to make huge improvements in sessions.

Young players behave better because they know what better means. They also know why coaches are doing what they do. There is less confusion and less frustration all round.

Does clarifying expectations solve every problem?

Of course not.

Yet, clear expectations allow you to reduce the amount of frustration as behaviours improve. Even better, you have a way of managing things when expectations are not met.

Instead of getting upset about bad kids, you can ask them about the agreement you made.

If they have forgotten, you can remind them, and either change the agreement or stick to it. If they remember, you can ask them to remember next time to correct their own behaviour in line with the agreement.

This simple method can be applied to any skill or behaviour, any coach or player. You expect batsmen to put away half-volleys. You expect talent-pathway players to work on their fitness between sessions. You expect five year old beginners to try their best. You are expected to enforces breaches of expectation. Anything can be agreed. You just have to decide — before you begin - exactly what they are.

By agreeing expectations and holding each other accountable, we will be focused and get better results. It also sets up the ability to encourage self-sufficiency in players. More on that later.