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061 - Transformational vs. Transactional Coach
87 Plays14 days ago
Explore the profound difference between coaching approaches that enforce compliance versus those that build lasting belief. Drawing from research and personal athletic experience, as Tex reveals how transformational coaches create ripple effects far beyond performance metrics.
Transformational coaching operates through four core principles: role modeling authentic leadership, inspiring compelling visions, stimulating creative problem-solving, and recognizing individual needs. This approach pulls athletes toward their potential rather than pushing them away from mistakes. In contrast, transactional coaching relies on external rewards and punishments, managing behavior through compliance rather than empowering growth.
The critical insight: while both methods can generate immediate results, only transformational coaching builds the internal belief system that carries athletes forward long after competition ends. This isn't just about winning games—it's about developing humans who understand their potential, embrace creative challenges, and maintain growth mindsets throughout life's journey.
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#TransformationalCoaching #CoachingLeadership #AthleteEmpowerment #SportsLeadership #CoachDevelopment #YouthSportsCoaching #AthleteMotivation #CoachingMindset #SportsTransformation #EmpowermentCoaching
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Transcript
Athlete Memories of Coaches
00:00:00
Speaker
Every coach leaves a legacy. Question is, do your athletes remember you for the rules that you enforced or the belief that you built in them?
Podcast Introduction
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to the Captains and Coaches podcast, where we explore the art the science of leadership through the lens of athletics and beyond.
00:00:14
Speaker
I'm your host, Texan Quilkin, and today we're going to compare and contrast transformational coaches and transactional coaches.
Personal Coaching Experiences
00:00:23
Speaker
I first heard this term from Jim Quilkoso, interview I did with him,
00:00:27
Speaker
years ago i thought jim came up came came up with the term and had been giving him credit for years when he shared it with me it unlocks so much of my athletic experience where i had transactional coaches and that that experience outweighed almost the transformational experiences if we just went one-to-one But the transformational coaches that I had in my athletic career, their experience and what they gave to me, what they gifted to me, far outweighed an experience and passion and growth of what led me to be a coach than the transactional coaches that I had.
Teaching Behavioral Aspects of Sport
00:01:08
Speaker
I'm currently teaching, I'm an adjunct professor, I'm teaching a course, Behavioral Aspects of Sport, and we had a leadership chapter this week. And within one little section of that chapter was Transformational versus Transactional Coaches.
00:01:24
Speaker
and then all the research that's connected to this, ah was blown away. What I'm going to do is i'm going to break down these two and then start to compare and contrast so you can give some self-awareness, self-assessment to your communication, your connection, and what you're a comp trying to accomplish, aiming to accomplish as a coach with your athletes.
00:01:46
Speaker
what we're going to do is we're going to with the transformational coach.
Traits of Transformational Coaching
00:01:50
Speaker
Transformational coach is a visionary position. They inspire people to follow that vision and they work alongside those athletes to excel, not just in performance, but in personal growth.
00:02:04
Speaker
They have four core characteristics of a transformational coach. We're going to go through each one of those now. The first one is idealized influence.
00:02:15
Speaker
also known as role modeling. Athletes respect what you consistently demonstrate. If you show up early, prepared, and disciplined, that's the standard that they're they'll mirror and you can hold them accountable for.
00:02:29
Speaker
Think of the coach who models composure under pressure as well. I am huge on treating referees with respect. How I treat the referees is how my I green light my athletes to treat the referees.
00:02:45
Speaker
So, if that's not with respect, guess what I am instilling and allowing to happen on the sidelines? So, aiming to understand that one thing, that's during the highest stress of performance, that can't just happen on game day. And I can't just yell at them during game day for for outbursting or saying something from the sidelines.
00:03:06
Speaker
Only the head coach can talk to the referees. that starts in practice for how I'm treating my co-coaches, how I'm treating my captains, how I'm treating my athletes, then at the highest level of stress, game day for these guys, that is going to be modeled. The expectation of even how they're talking to each other and communicating when the going gets high and somebody makes a mistake or somebody's down on themselves and we need the whole team to lift them up.
Traits of Transactional Coaching
00:03:39
Speaker
Motivation drill. Alright, so role modeling. Numero in, numero uno. Next up is inspirational motivation. This is vision and purpose.
00:03:51
Speaker
leading off the this is where you paint the picture of what's possible for your team you're giving your team an accurate portrayal of what success is you're defining it so it's very clear for them if they're not a state championship squad don't put state championship expectations into their mind i would take the opposite approach of 1-0. We're going to go 1-0 every single week rather than state championship.
00:04:18
Speaker
I've been on teams that had state championship goal aspirations. One bad game later, they throw the whole season away. No bueno. So inspirational motivation.
00:04:31
Speaker
We establish a vision and a purpose, and we're able to articulate one that is compelling. State championship is compelling, but if it's not real, what can we present that is real and give the energy and enthusiasm and a positive sense of something we're aiming up? And and even if we stumble, we're able to come back and continue on track for a big goal.
00:04:57
Speaker
I love to involve the team in that vision and expectations and then help shape the what their vision is. i have my vision for the team, but also what do my athletes see as possible?
00:05:10
Speaker
Let's include them in that and that connects them to the purpose. So vision and purpose. We can have a one-liner vision, and then my athletes start to build the purpose. And again, why they're involved is when their behaviors don't match the purpose in our big picture vision goals, then i can have that conversation with them. So it sets the stage early on before the season even starts.
00:05:35
Speaker
All right, number three, intellectual stimulation. creativity and growth. I love sports like football and was some aspects of football.
00:05:48
Speaker
I love sports like basketball and lacrosse where there's just creative flow. There's fast breaks and expression both offensively and defensively where there are no set plays. Athletes are just going athlete.
00:06:00
Speaker
Love sports like that. Well, we practice creativity within our practice. We also have set plays and guides that we need them to execute.
00:06:11
Speaker
So there's set plays, but when, guess what? the gameplay collapses or the the The game the play, the defense blows it up. Well, I need to inspire creativity. If I'm only teaching them, do your job, one role, one thing right in front of you, there's only one way to do this.
00:06:29
Speaker
Then when the play gets stopped and blown up because the defense has been watching film, then... What do they do? Then I have to over coach. I have to throw stuff at them that we did not practice at the highest amount of stress, not the best time.
00:06:45
Speaker
So I aim to bring principles into how we execute offense and defensive practice. So if then... and aspects of the game two-man game we're going to set a pick and be creative here if the defense does this then you're going to do that on the flip side for defense if ah offense does this then you're going to do that so we have different scenarios set up and then athletes are going to athlete aiming to have one aspect of practice where it's no coaches calling plays athletes are calling the plays for themselves if they get stopped well let's keep the flow going and get creative there
00:07:24
Speaker
within the aspect of strength and conditioning, creativity and growth. This is handing off what run are we gonna do to my captains? The team decides, captains decide.
00:07:35
Speaker
So aiming to have some ah creativity and growth within there. Hey, how many reps are gonna do today? I know how many reps I want to do as a coach and I can help guide their vision, but I'm handing off some creativity in there.
00:07:49
Speaker
Hey, we just gotta run a thousand yards right now. How do you wanna accomplish that? It could sprints, it could be backpedals, could be 50s, whatever it is, I just need a thousand yards out you. So finding ways that I am stimulating their minds and if they give me something that is crazy outlandish in the world of strength and conditioning, well now I can educate them on some things so we avoid rhabdo and know rhabdo captain's practices.
00:08:15
Speaker
Definitely don't want any more of those this year. All right. So the final aspect of a transformational coach is individualized consideration.
00:08:26
Speaker
So we recognize the unique needs of each individual on the roster. We're not waiting for them to bring us needs. they These are teenagers for the most part or college kids. They don't have the self-awareness or the confidence to bring needs to you.
00:08:43
Speaker
So we need to be able to recognize the unique needs. We can't assume that, hey, nobody brought me any problems. Everything's perfectly fine. Well, guess what?
00:08:55
Speaker
It's not. And it's going to blow up. And then you're really going to have to be reactive to put out fires versus a preventative maintenance when you have a good relationship with them. and they're confident enough to bring you their needs that we can take care of.
00:09:09
Speaker
In the same line, I want to recognize all of their strengths and then communicate to them their wheelhouse. I want confidence. There was a trend within the world of fitness where you're attacking your weaknesses.
00:09:22
Speaker
and just neglecting your strengths. Well, in the world of athletics and sport, I want you to have your wheelhouse. Have confidence. This is your best pitch. You are a fastball pitcher, and then I have something else in my toolkit.
00:09:37
Speaker
This is my go-to dodge for this, and then I have my aspects ah that I can work out and pull out at certain times. But if the The ball is in my hand in the moment.
00:09:49
Speaker
I want to have the confidence to go to my wheelhouse and execute. Try to stop me. That's the the the aspect and confidence I want to give to athletes in certain circumstances to be their strength.
00:10:05
Speaker
So individualize, personalize. This is going to take time to relate and connect and build rapport and a relationship. especially the the higher you go up on the the the rankings as a coach, the more challenging it is because you have other people that you have to connect with, parents, boards, directors, what boosters, all of that.
00:10:28
Speaker
So the lower you are on the totem pole right now within your career, I want you to get really good at connecting. So that way you can do it very quickly the higher you go up when more people are pulling away ah from your time and energy.
Comparing Coaching Styles
00:10:43
Speaker
Now for the flip side of the coin, a transactional coach. Transactional leadership emphasizes structure, task completion, and compliance through reinforcement and monitoring.
00:10:53
Speaker
Coaches using this approach rely more on extrinsic motivators, rewards, and punishments than inspiring or leading to intrinsic motivation.
00:11:06
Speaker
Focuses on reinforcing and punishing followers, this is from our research, relative to team task in monitoring follower performance. and There are three core characteristics of a transactional coach.
00:11:20
Speaker
It's do X get Y. like connecting playing time to your free throw percentage. ah We had, ah this is classic, conditioning test in college when I was a collegiate athlete.
00:11:33
Speaker
We had to make our conditioning time or else we could not practice. There's also connected to t-shirts. If we passed our 930 mile and a half test instead of wearing one gray shirt every single day and needing to wash it and prepare it we got a blue shirt for those of us that passed the conditioning test so then we had two shirts to wear in athletics what a reward what a treat there college all right so kidding um so contingent reward if this then you get that or else
00:12:11
Speaker
uh another a example this is contingent reward i was collegiate strength conditioning coach for a team and they were not allowed to practice until they passed their conditioning test so it could have been day one We showed up early, did the conditioning test. Then, hey, go gear up. You passed. We will participate in practice.
00:12:30
Speaker
There were dudes two, three weeks that every single day they would do the conditioning test. It was not the mile and a half. That was easy. It was a monster.
00:12:41
Speaker
So then they were withheld from practice until they passed that conditioning test. I get it. i Man, that that is... motivation in a sense and it's highlighting the teammates that did not prepare for that and i would aim if I was I did coach that group I would aim to really put some emphasis on preparation during the summer before we get to the fall in this test is coming only one year did that happen where there was just guys that were there for three or four weeks again they were aiming to change the culture for that program and they certainly did so
00:13:21
Speaker
Contingent rewards. Think about how you're doing that at your practice or not. And is it connected to playing time? That's where things start to get ah fishy and you back yourself into a corner as a coach because if it's this then that but hey i need to win and need him out there but he was late for practice okay just get out there now there's potential here with contingent rewards that you start to not act in integrity and you take away from your ability to or your ideal self as a transformational coach so you got to be very uh
00:14:01
Speaker
Very aware of how you use contingent rewards. Next up is management by exception. Constant monitoring to correct mistakes the moment they happen.
00:14:14
Speaker
You're a coach. You're not providing rewards You're not reinforcing great stuff. You're just looking only for mistakes and correcting them. You have the mindset of, oh, that's their job. Well, they should be doing it.
00:14:29
Speaker
So you don't congratulate effort because effort is assumed. If they did their job, you don't acknowledge them because that's what they're supposed to do. You're only looking for mistakes.
00:14:40
Speaker
That's transactional. So now what do they assume? Coach is only talking to me when I effed up. Now you paint yourself in a corner as well. When you do have something positive to say, majority of the time that you interacted with that athlete, it was all MF in them.
00:14:58
Speaker
Now you try to say something. They don't believe you. You may believe that it's positive, but they don't. They're not willing to accept the praise and compliment in our self-esteem starts to tank.
00:15:12
Speaker
So that management by exception, it's that's very active monitoring performance and catching mistakes. You think you're doing good to correct them, but how can we not a compliment sandwich,
00:15:25
Speaker
but how can we reward what they did do well on that? Next is management by exception, a very passive approach where you step in only when problems occur.
00:15:37
Speaker
This, I feel, is more connected to behaviors. Dudes are missing practice. Dudes are showing up late. Dudes are ah cursing a lot. Dudes are talking back to coaches.
00:15:48
Speaker
Yeah, it's fun. We're at practice. It's okay. ah It's not a game week. Or ah they just missed the warm-up. It's good. they're They're here for the skill work because that's what matters the most. right So they are very passive.
00:16:01
Speaker
But guess what? Now, come game time with the competition, how are they communicating to each other? Are they late for game day? Do they miss the game day warm-up? Are they...
00:16:13
Speaker
neglecting fundamentals. They're trying to pick the ball up with one hand if they're in lacrosse. they're I gave this reference in a previous podcast that I did as a football player.
00:16:25
Speaker
They're undercutting they're ah their blocks versus going over them. So they're skipping on fundamentals. They got away with it in practice because maybe they're better than their teammates or coaches just didn't feel like saying anything and intervene at that moment.
00:16:42
Speaker
But when it starts to become a problem and negatively affects the team, then you try to overcompensate as a coach. That's very transactional. You had opportunities in time. You saw it.
00:16:53
Speaker
You chose to ignore it because of energy or that's not that big a deal until it was. So that's that's passive, and it just you're hiding stuff, you're covering up, you're allowing it until it becomes a problem for you.
Rewards and Punishments in Coaching
00:17:08
Speaker
That's a transactional coach. All right. Now what we're going to do is is compare and contrast a little bit. And just with within, there's certain things that I introduced here.
00:17:19
Speaker
There are time and places for certain moments to use this stuff. With rewards, you have to be very strategic, I'd rather reward than punish.
00:17:29
Speaker
Example is is if attendance at practice is starting to become a problem, they're allowed they're using their allowed excuses of school and class and and work or whatever it may be to not show up on practice, but damned if they'll miss a game day.
00:17:45
Speaker
Okay, well, I could punish them for missing practice and then take away their playing time because they didn't show up to practice or I can reward the guys that are showing up. If you make five practices in a row, here's a pair of socks. If you make 10, here's this, so on and so forth. So aiming to reward there, that'd be more of an inspiring and and aiming to create a vision that if you show up, good things happen versus you're not showing up, bad things are going to happen, period, end story.
00:18:19
Speaker
Yes, bad things do happen if you don't show up for the whole team. But think about how you can strategically apply these when you need to ah use these tools for certain individuals.
Cultural Impact of Coaching Styles
00:18:32
Speaker
Something of to consider. All right, now let's talk counterpoints of each of these ah examples of transformational coach and transactional coach.
00:18:42
Speaker
So we have our idealized influence. This is our role models versus the reward system. So a transformational coach, you model the behavior, you earn the trust, and you're setting and inspiring example.
00:18:54
Speaker
Example, lacrosse coach. shows up early, demonstrates drills with intensity in 10 cities that I want them to. I'm not just using my words. I'm mimicking the intensity, the speed, and direction that I want to go.
00:19:08
Speaker
And we maintain the same discipline off the field as I expect to them on the field. A lot of the character decisions, showing up on time for class, showing your teacher's respect, same rules apply for practice, our referees and our coaching staff.
00:19:25
Speaker
Transactional coach. contingent reward, you make it clear, if you do X, you'll get Y. Basketball coach tells player you'll earn extra playing time if they consistently hit their free throw percentage.
00:19:38
Speaker
That's an example. If this, then that. Then we have the, and one note on that, transformational modeling, what you expect, transactional, is dangling a carrot.
00:19:49
Speaker
Both get effort, but only one builds lasting respect. everybody's athlete athletic career ends that's what we're going for alright next we have inspirational motivation versus management love the exception within management of these Exception, the transactional coach closely monitors execution and steps in when mistakes happen.
00:20:13
Speaker
Example, soccer coach immediately pulls a defender from a drill after repeated positioning errors, alignment assignment technique, and emphasizes compliance with the tactical rules of the game.
00:20:26
Speaker
I've also seen experiences, and then Jim Davis, Good Athlete Project, talked about this on our podcast, where if he made a tactical error, Coach would bench him and then turn his back to him and not give him any communication. That's transactional as well because young Jim Javis' performance was affecting the team.
00:20:48
Speaker
And guess what? I need to get him out of there before he hurts the team even more. But there's no feedback loop. That's transactional and selfish. All right, transformational.
00:21:00
Speaker
Coach rallies athletes with a vision of future success and shared goals. Example, volleyball coach inspires the team by painting a picture of making the playoffs for the first time in school history and emphasizing how each player contributed to that vision and can contribute.
00:21:19
Speaker
That is inspirational motivation. So transformational pulls athletes towards a vision where transactional pushes them away from mistakes. See the difference.
00:21:31
Speaker
Next up, intellectual stimulation versus rule enforcement. Leading off with transformational here, coach invites players to brainstorm new plays and training methods.
00:21:42
Speaker
Example, a basketball coach asks the team captains to brainstorm a new inbound play and lets the team test and refine it during practice. The annexation of Puerto Rico. That's the fun one that you pull out, the the Philly special, where you practice it and then guess what?
00:22:00
Speaker
Hey, let's roll the dice. This is this is our time. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about those plays. They're fun. They're silly. The athletes are more willing to push and make that play happen because they were the ones that put it together and wrote it.
00:22:16
Speaker
All right. Real life in movies. I can continue on with the movie examples. I digress. All right. So now rule enforcement is the opposite opposite of intellectual stimulation where a transactional coach discourages deviation. This is the plan. This is it. Period. End of story.
00:22:33
Speaker
You insist on the proven methods that have won you X amount of games in your past. A football coach shuts down a quarterback's idea to adjust the playbook, saying, run it exactly as I taught. No exceptions.
00:22:47
Speaker
This is where you get that athletic, creative quarterback. The play broke down, and then they use their legs to succeed. And guess what? Conflict arises. I'm thinking of an example of Matt Castle.
00:22:59
Speaker
I listened to an interview of him on a podcast, and he had this altercation where he would not run exactly the play. And then coach, ultimately professional, pulled him off, and Castle learned his lesson. he We shared that on the the podcast.
00:23:17
Speaker
All right. So think about stimulation versus rule enforcement. Transformational, open space for creativity where transactional locks it down. Last component here, individual consideration versus uniform standards.
00:23:33
Speaker
Transformational adapts. it's it's It's not black or white. It operates in the gray and some flexibility and creativity when you need it the most. And transactional treats everyone the same, whether it's a fit or not How many games does that cost a coach?
00:23:51
Speaker
So transactional transactional here, coach holds everyone to the same benchmarks and consequences no matter what. A track coach, for example, sets identical time cutoffs for varsity placement, regardless of the athlete's unique training histories, experiences, strengths, or weaknesses.
00:24:09
Speaker
A transformational coach, adapts to each athlete's needs and and develops a path and a plan. Example, track coach adjusts one sprinter's workload to ease back from injury while challenging another athlete to push them to a new personal best.
00:24:24
Speaker
Also football example, Tim Tebow. I remember there's a season with Kyle Orton. They were three and O ownership pushes Tim Tebow, his rookie year into the starting lineup where they had to rebuild the offense because he's a different player.
00:24:37
Speaker
So now transformational, they built the offense around Tim's strengths. Then they go on to win a playoff game with Tim Tebow as an example. So think about that. Uh, lots of different examples here, team.
00:24:52
Speaker
And, uh, Simply put, within how we're applying these tools in line with the intrapersonal, inter interpersonal, and environmental aspects of this, intrapersonal, you're empowering an individual's mindset.
00:25:09
Speaker
So if they are acting out a line, if their behaviors are not above the line, if their behaviors are not matching the vision and the purpose and the goals that you set out for the team, aim to work one-on-one with them and try a transformational versus a ah transactional and threaten to take away playing time aim to figure out what's going on within that in individuals mindset now interpersonal we're strengthening the coach athlete relationship so understanding and and so empowering an individual's mindset intra and in inter now i want to strengthen the trust so they trust my words versus seeing me as a potential enemy
00:25:50
Speaker
Now, environmental, we're shaping the culture to support every single athlete. So it's just taking one step back of how am I communicating to my captains to communicate to my athletes on the intra and in inter personal level.
00:26:04
Speaker
we were building self-efficacy through empowerment. We're handing off power to our our team. We're building trust that highlights their unique roles and responsibilities on the team.
Legacy of Transformational Coaching
00:26:15
Speaker
And then we're creating an environment that they can fail fast and often, but there's a feedback loop that's giving them high support so they can get more reps and opportunities and at no point cover up their mistakes with shame, put their head down, or Just stop bringing new problems as a coach because they're we're more worried about fight, flight, freeze, how coach will react than the actual consequences of whatever problem they may face.
00:26:44
Speaker
So that's that's all I got on that. I want to to end the day. Transactional coaching enforces compliance. Transformational coaching builds belief. And belief, that's what carries athletes forward long after the scoreboard lights go out.
00:27:02
Speaker
Thank you
Podcast Conclusion
00:27:03
Speaker
for tuning in to another episode of the Captains and Coaches podcast. I encourage you to sign up for our newsletter for more informative pieces like this and challenges for you to take into your practices and games.
00:27:15
Speaker
To do that, head to to sign up head to captains and coaches dot com and if anything resonated with you you can hit me on Instagram or share in the comments on Spotify and YouTube and like subscribe and share this with your coaching staff I had a ah coach message me today one of my previous podcast loved it pass it along to his staff and they're aiming to now hold each other accountable for their behaviors and just increasing self-awareness, social awareness across the board for the team. So thank you for tuning in and helping us raise the name.
00:27:51
Speaker
And let's see.