Coaching Culture with Ben Herring
Coaching Culture with Ben Herring
Podcast Description
Coaching Culture with Ben Herring is your weekly deep-dive into the often-overlooked “softer skills” of coaching—cultural innovation, communication, empathy, leadership, dealing with stress, and motivation. Each episode features candid conversations with the world’s top international rugby coaches, who share the personal stories and intangible insights behind their winning cultures, and too their biggest failures and learnings from them. This is where X’s and O’s meet heart and soul, empowering coaches at every level to foster authentic connections, inspire their teams, and elevate their own coaching craft. If you believe that the real gold in rugby lies beyond the scoreboard, Coaching Culture is the podcast for you.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on cultural innovation, leadership, empathy, communication, motivation, and stress management within coaching environments. Episodes include discussions on building team unity through personal stories, balancing professionalism while coaching friends or family, and navigating the challenges of cultural dynamics in different countries, like Kieran Crowley’s insights on coaching across borders.
Coaching Culture with Ben Herring is your weekly deep-dive into the often-overlooked “softer skills” of coaching—cultural innovation, communication, empathy, leadership, dealing with stress, and motivation. Each episode features candid conversations with the world’s top international rugby coaches, who share the personal stories and intangible insights behind their winning cultures, and too their biggest failures and learnings from them. This is where X’s and O’s meet heart and soul, empowering coaches at every level to foster authentic connections, inspire their teams, and elevate their own coaching craft. If you believe that the real gold in rugby lies beyond the scoreboard, Coaching Culture is the podcast for you.
Ever wondered why certain coaches' words stick with you for decades? That's not coincidence – it's the powerful alchemy of language and leadership.
Words shape our reality as coaches and leaders. When we speak, we're not merely giving instructions or feedback – we're literally creating the internal dialogue that plays in our athletes' minds long after practice ends. This episode explores the profound neurochemical impact of coaching language: positive reinforcement triggers dopamine, enhancing motivation and learning, while negative criticism spikes cortisol, shutting down the very cognitive functions athletes need most.
Through personal stories from my rugby career and coaching journey, I unpack why technical expertise sometimes matters less than emotional intelligence in coaching relationships. Remember those C-team teachers who coached because they had to? Their encouraging words created safety and confidence that technical coaches often miss. I contrast this with the traditional pre-game hatred-fueled diatribes that leave many players disengaged, sharing instead how All Blacks legend Jerry Collins approached rivalry through love of competition rather than animosity.
As leaders, we're the headwaters from which team culture flows. One precisely delivered phrase can shape a player's entire career trajectory. The question isn't whether your words matter – it's how intentionally you're wielding their power. Are you creating dopamine or cortisol in your players? Building resilience or reinforcing doubt? Ready to transform your coaching impact through the language of leadership? Listen now, then watch how your words reshape your team's reality.
What coaching phrase has stuck with you longest, either lifting you up or holding you back? Share your story and let's explore the lasting impact of words in leadership.
Disclaimer
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