The Lean East team has supported many healthcare improvements and coached multiple leaders over the past 12 years. We are excited to share this TedTalk about coaching by surgeon, leader, and public health professor Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande, who also wrote The Checklist Manifesto, wanted to become a great surgeon but since he was already considered one of the best in the world didn’t think he would benefit from coaching. Listen to him explain how he learned the benefits of hiring a coach.
There are a few graphic healthcare images in the video below. Click here to skip those images and see an edited, much shorter version of his talk.
The Growth Mindset
Why do all professional sports teams use coaches? Aren’t the athletes on the team already the best players in the world? Doesn’t being the best mean not needing to be coached?
Dr. Gawande considered these questions and decided to give coaching a try himself. Lean East congratulates him for following the growth mindset principle, one of the Personal Kaizen rules of life. Success is based on hard work, learning, and training – the realization that even the best in the world can grow from feedback and coaching.
Benefits of Hiring a Coach
As Atul Gawande says himself, “It’s how good you’re gonna be that really matters.” Here are a few of the benefits of coaching, and how they help individuals and teams improve for good across any industry.
- External perspective: This allows for acknowledgment of otherwise unseen errors or mishaps.
- Feedback from a different perspective: A good coach is like your external eyes and ears. They will observe the situation and provide critiques and suggestions that aid improvement.
- Team transformation: By working together and supporting each other, teams can grow and become better at what they do.
We hope that this TedTalk has allowed you to think about the benefits of hiring a coach in a new light and possibly even seek out a coach for yourself or your team. At Lean East, we offer various training and coaching sessions for both individuals and teams. Contact us today to see how we can help you improve!
