{"id":11079,"date":"2022-07-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=11079"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:11:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:11:33","slug":"am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\t
\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n 12 Jul 2022 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
\n
Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Brighton Manager Hope Powell reflects on her qualities as a leader and discusses the leadership traits she admires most.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

By John Portch<\/h6>\n
Hope Powell, the First-Team Manager at Women\u2019s Super League [WSL] side Brighton & Hove Albion, has been coaching for almost 25 years.<\/h6>\n

What makes her a better coach now than she was when she was first appointed England Women\u2019s Head Coach in 1998 \u2013 the first full-time appointment to the position \u2013 or, say, when she led England to the final of the 2009 European Championships?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019m better,\u201d is her candid response. \u201cI\u2019m not saying I\u2019m any better. I think I\u2019m different, I don\u2019t always get it right.\u201d There are times when she admits that she can be intolerant in her interactions with players. \u201cI\u2019m having to adapt myself,\u201d she continues. \u201cI am still learning the art of management and I think it\u2019s important that you keep learning because the game evolves, people evolve, their experiences are different.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Powell took the England reins, women\u2019s football in the country was still largely amateur. The players she led to consecutive World Cup quarter-finals in 2007 and 2011 all held other jobs. Now, thanks in no small part to the work Powell did during her 15 years at the Football Association [FA], she is in charge of a fully professional Brighton. She joined the club in 2017.<\/p>\n

Here, Powell, who also serves as mentor working with the FA, Premier League, Uefa, and Fifa, reflects on her qualities as a leader and discusses the leadership traits she admires most.<\/p>\n

Hope, what do you regard as your biggest strength as a manager?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think being honest and supportive with staff. I\u2019m sure if you were to ask any member of my staff if they feel supported I think they\u2019d say \u2018yes\u2019. I\u2019m fair, honest and supportive. I see being honest as a strength; \u2018this is what I think, and I\u2019m saying it how it is\u2019.<\/p>\n

What strength do you admire most in others?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honesty. Being authentic.<\/p>\n

What do you mean by \u2018authentic\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know it has nothing to do with the delivery, but my experience has been interesting. A lot of coaches are copy-cat coaches. They\u2019ll watch you deliver a session and write everything you do down and then just go out and copy what you\u2019ve done without perhaps understanding, without putting some context to it. I\u2019ll ask them \u2018if it doesn\u2019t work how are you going to change it? How are you going to be creative?\u2019 I\u2019ve had a lot of that in my career. \u2018Hope, have you got any sessions that you can give me?\u2019 No, I can\u2019t give you anything. That\u2019s not coaching. Put yourself out there, design your sessions, have a go, if it doesn\u2019t work, tweak it and do something else. I think authenticity is a big one for me. The coaches of the future, in any sport, will need to be creative, authentic, and be students of their sport; understanding the nuances of their game.<\/p>\n

What is the key to strong teamwork?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strong teamwork is all believing in the vision. All on the same page. I think if everyone buys into that and the team buys into that, it brings that togetherness and that togetherness means that you want to work for your team, your teammates. It\u2019s having that. \u2018This is where we want to be, do we all believe in it? Yes we do. Let\u2019s all work in one direction and if we all believe in it collectively then we\u2019re more likely to support each other and work harder for each other and do anything for each other.\u2019 That for me is what teamwork is. Everyone believes in what you\u2019re trying to achieve and everyone wants it because everyone is prepared to work together.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re Brighton\u2019s First-Team Manager but you\u2019re not the keeper of the club\u2019s vision.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, the owner [Tony Bloom] sets the vision for both teams: the men top ten, the women top four; and our job is to try and deliver that with the resources he puts at our disposal. It\u2019s a collective. He set the vision but we\u2019ve all gone \u2018great, let\u2019s go for it. Why not?\u2019 And I go: \u2018top four? Why not top one?\u2019 That\u2019s good because it gives you some direction. Is it just about staying in the league? The first year I was there, of course it was, because we were new to the WSL. The owner is a fan of the club and as soon as he decided he wanted to make progress in the women\u2019s game he said \u2018this is where I want this club to go\u2019 and we said \u2018great\u2019 and, for me, it was telling him \u2018this is what I think it will take\u2019. We have ownership of that and he\u2019s been very supportive.<\/p>\n

Do you enjoy regular conversations with the Brighton board?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have a men\u2019s board and a women\u2019s board, which is great. I have to present to the board annually. We have a Technical Director [David Weir] who has that direct link with the board. It\u2019s kind of a one-club concept, one-club vision for the men and the women, so you feel heavily involved. And my job as the First-Team Manager is to ensure the team delivers that on and off the pitch, which is a great responsibility and a huge one. It\u2019s what I\u2019m used to. It\u2019s what I like doing.<\/p>\n

How will you look to get stronger in your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a challenge to bring in the right players and the right staff at a club like ours; and there is always some turnover at the end of the season. But the right players and the right staff make your job so much easier. We\u2019re in a recruitment phase at the moment and we just want to get better and perform better. That\u2019s the idea.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":11081,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[20],"pathway":[295],"topic":[340,297,308,334],"sport":[303],"class_list":["post-11079","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership-culture-performance","pathway-leadership-development","topic-accountability","topic-adaptability","topic-influence","topic-leadership-of-self","sport-football"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019 - Performance Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019 - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T05:11:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019 - Performance Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-12T09:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T05:11:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 16: Hope Powell, Manager of Brighton and Hove Albion gives their team instructions during the Barclays FA Women's Super League match between Leicester City Women and Brighton & Hove Albion Women at The King Power Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker\/Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/\",\"name\":\"Performance Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019 - Performance Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019 - Performance Institute","og_url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/","og_site_name":"Performance Institute","article_modified_time":"2025-12-15T05:11:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/","name":"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019 - Performance Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2022-07-12T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T05:11:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1365004815-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706,"caption":"LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 16: Hope Powell, Manager of Brighton and Hove Albion gives their team instructions during the Barclays FA Women's Super League match between Leicester City Women and Brighton & Hove Albion Women at The King Power Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker\/Getty Images)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/am-i-improving-as-a-coach-i-think-im-different-you-have-to-adapt\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Am I Improving as a Coach? I Think I\u2019m Different. You Have to Adapt\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/","name":"Performance Institute","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/11079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/11079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11091,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/11079\/revisions\/11091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11079"},{"taxonomy":"pathway","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pathway?post=11079"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=11079"},{"taxonomy":"sport","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sport?post=11079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}