Fermanagh’s Pete McGrath

In his Gaelic Life column this week, John Morrison tries to explain why some managers like Mickey Harte and Pete McGrath, are more successul than others.

His conclusion is that those managers are coaches more than they are managers. Morrison said that they focus on getting the best out of their players, rather than on implementing rules.

“The reason for me, that all these managers have a successful high profile is because they operate more as a ‘coach’ than as a ‘manager’.

“What is different about a ‘coaching approach’ rather than a ‘managing approach’? There are five key differences:

“1. Coaches take an ‘ask vs tell approach’, ie, they don’t tell the players what to do. They ask powerful questions instead, thus allowing players to create their own solutions. When players go through the thought process to get solutions, they are much more bought in – it’s their idea.”

Read the remaining four key differences in the current issue of Gaelic Life. Or if you’d like to read them now, click here to buy the online edition.