Andrew Longley – Article 8 – The art and neuroscience of high-performance coaching

Andy is a team performance expert with a background in psychology & applied neuroscience, who will over the coming months share insights ground the art and neuroscience of high-performance coaching. Each article will share a little of the latest applied neuroscience plus give simple tips on how to practically bring it to life in your own coaching.

Great to be back with you. In my seventh article I introduced you to another part of the coachup model of high-performance teams and coaches, which you can see below. We looked at If-Then Planning with your athletes and teams.

The coachup.academy model of high-performing teams/coaches

Today we’re going to take a look at how to coach for Motivation and why this is a key aspect of high-performance coaching.

Motivation is the driving force behind human behaviour, influencing everything from our daily routines to our long-term goals and aspirations. While the concept of motivation has been well documented, modern neuroscience has provided unprecedented insights into what underlies this complex phenomenon. As coaches, it’s essential that we know why and how to motivate our athletes so that we can unlock higher performance in training and competitions. What I’ll share with you today are five of the universal motivators and how to increase motivation using this knowledge.

At CoachUp, we use the acronym CARES to capture 5 of the universal motivators we believe are essential for high performance. Similar models exist, such as David Rock’s SCARF model if you’d like to explore this area further.

To get started, CARES represents Certainty, Agency, Relationships, Equity, and Social Status. Our brains evaluate social stimuli based on these five dimensions, influencing how motivated we feel.

Certainty: Certainty relates to our need for predictability and control in our environment. We’ve already explored
our brain’s need for certainty in previous articles, so this won’t come as any surprise to you. Uncertainty and ambiguity can trigger a state of heightened arousal in the brain or a threat state, activating the stress response and undermining motivation. On the other hand, a sense of certainty and clarity can promote feelings of safety and security, increasing our motivation. Neuroscience research has shown that the brain is sensitive to cues of uncertainty, with uncertainty often interpreted as a potential threat. So, when we experience uncertainty in our team environments, this can often lead to reduced motivation. So, in order to increase motivation levels in your team(s), think about where you can provide certainty and clarity to your athletes and team, and you’re likely to be turning the dial up on motivation. A great coaching habit is, therefore, to regularly ask your athletes or team if there’s anything fuzzy for them and provide clarity wherever possible. Where can you provide more clarity and transparency via your coaching?

Agency is our second motivational lever for coaches. This refers to the sense of control and freedom that we have over our own actions and decisions. The brain’s reward system is closely linked to experiences of agency, with agency-supportive team environments promoting intrinsic motivation and also creativity. When individuals feel empowered to make choices and take ownership of their sporting performance, they are more likely to experience a sense of fulfilment and engagement. This is why we often hate being micro-managed! Neuroscientific studies have demonstrated that agency is associated with the activation of regions of the brain involved in reward processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum. A great coaching habit is therefore to provide agency and autonomy to your athletes wherever possible. As examples, this could happen through appointing a leadership group to set the culture for the team, or offering someone the responsibility of being the ‘training standards captain’ or ‘social galvanizer’. Where can you provide more athlete agency via your coaching?

Relationships refer to our need for social connection and belongingness. As I’ve shared before, humans are inherently social beings, and our relationships with others play a crucial role in shaping our motivation. Research in social neuroscience has shown that experiences of social connection activate neural circuits associated with reward and pleasure, similar to other basic needs such as food and water. By fostering positive relationships amongst the team, coaches can enhance athlete motivation and, in turn, performance. A great coaching habit is, therefore, to create opportunities for athletes to get to know each other on a deeper and more personal level, which will, in turn, increase athlete and team motivation. This will also stimulate our team identity, levels of trust and psychological safety, which we explored in articles 3 and 4. Where can you encourage more positive team relationships via your coaching?

Equity relates to our perception of equitable treatment in our team environment. The brain is highly sensitive to cues of fairness and unfairness, with unfair treatment activating regions associated with negative emotions such as anger and resentment. (This is why we hate queue jumpers!) In contrast, experiences of fairness and equity promote trust, teamwork, and motivation. Coaches who prioritize equity and transparency in their coaching are more likely to cultivate a motivated team. Equally, by addressing issues of perceived inequality we can also elevate motivation. Interestingly, we’re not the only species to lose motivation when faced with inequity. Our monkey friends also lose motivation and react angrily when experiencing inequity. A great coaching habit is, therefore, to review all our coaching practices through the eyes of our athletes and identify where perceived inequity could be lurking. Are we spending equal amounts of time with each athlete? Do we know the first names of every athlete? Do we offer praise and rewards consistently or proportionately? Where can you encourage more perceived equity via your coaching?

Social Status refers to our perception of relative importance and social standing within a given team or social context.
In every social situation we find ourselves in, our brain will automatically & unconsciously calculate where it thinks we fit in the social hierarchy. In the brain, status-related experiences activate neural circuits associated with reward and social comparison. In other words, our reward system kicks in, and we feel good when our perceived social status increases. Research suggests that it goes two ways, and both positive and negative changes in status can significantly impact motivation. For instance, receiving recognition in front of our teammates for playing a great match can boost motivation by triggering the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Conversely, experiencing a loss of status, such as being vilified for a mistake in front of our teammates, can lead to feelings of demotivation. A great coaching habit is, therefore, to use genuine recognition and appreciation to inspire motivation among our athletes. Where can you increase the perceived social status of your athletes via your coaching?

So, there we have a little of the applied neuroscience behind coaching for motivation. It’s important to note that not everyone’s the same, and different individuals will experience a different motivational impact based on their own preferences and history.

The ninth article in this series will focus on stretch learning and how to create a team environment that promotes this. Stay tuned.

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