“Wake up every day and be better.” – Kenny Miller
Kenny Miller has made the switch from player to coach, but it’s not his intention to simply coach, he intends to become a top coach. In coaching as in playing, Kenny wants to be the best he can be.
Winning is a Process
As a player, Kenny wanted to win. As a coach, he wants to win. However, he points out, “Sometimes there’s too much focus on winning when the focus should really be on how to win. Players often set themselves the target of winning the league, but lots of lesser games need to be won to achieve that goal – winning is a process.”
As a player or a coach, winning is a process that begins and ends with being better. It’s Kenny’s belief that just aiming to “be better” from one day to the next is crucial in terms of achieving any goal, not just in football. Not every day will go the way you want it to, but every outcome is an opportunity to learn, and when you take that learning forwards to the next day, you can use it to be better.
Being a Team Player
Football is a team sport, but it’s a team that extends far beyond the players on the field. Kenny puts it this way: “Being better is not limited to being a better player. A football club is a vast support network and every role is of equal importance in terms of creating a winning environment. Making improvements and being better goes way beyond being a better shooter or being a faster runner on the field to include being a better person off the field and considering the way your actions affect others. The actions and attitudes of one person can have a knock-on effect on others – good and bad.”
Learn – and Move On
Analysing the game is a major element of football, but it’s important to remember that lessons can be learned from positives as well as negatives. Not everything will go to plan, but focusing on negatives can lead to becoming blinkered to positives, creating a negative environment. Analyse what went wrong and take appropriate action to do better, but don’t forget to take the time to notice what went well, and use what you learn to move on and be better.
Don MacNaughton has worked for the last 17 years helping professionals in Sport and Business get the most out of their talent.
For the full interview with Kenny Miller click here