Build a Practice Where You Belong: Lessons from Sport for Coaches (Simon Harling, Author)

What does a sports coach building a kids' speed session in Cardiff have to teach executive and leadership coaches about practice design? More than you'd expect. In this episode of The Coaching Edge Podcast, Dr. Steve Jeffs and Erwin de Grave sit down with Simon Harling, author of Good Coach, Bad Coach and a practice developer with 15+ years across pro football, national governing bodies, and elite individual sports. Simon walks through his shift from being the directive expert ("tell people what to do and they'll succeed") to becoming an environmental designer who creates conditions for people to learn, play, and perform. You'll hear how Simon uses a "can, can, can't, can" framework to move people past their self-imposed limits, why he runs sessions with no logistics or line-ups, and how the "rule of two feet" keeps participants engaged. He also tackles the tension every leader faces: holding development and performance together without picking one at the expense of the other. The conversation digs into stakeholder alignment, clarity of values, the difference between skill and luck, and why consistency of practice beats peak-chasing in business and sport alike. Steve and Erwin draw direct parallels to team leadership, executive coaching, and building a coaching business. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 3:00 Simon's path into coaching 6:00 From directive expert to environmental designer 10:00 Designing the speed session: stiffness, stories, and the rule of two feet 14:00 Holding performance and development in tension 17:30 The under-9s scenario: what does your coaching stand for? 21:00 Steve Hansen and the long road to a World Cup 24:00 Peaks, sprints, and the conditions of practice 28:00 Skill vs luck and the Arsenal example 32:00 Where to find Simon Connect with Simon: https://simonharling.blog Book: Good Coach, Bad Coach (available on Audible, Spotify, and major retailers) Subscribe to The Coaching Edge Podcast: https://thecoachingedgepodcast.com/ Episode page: https://thecoachingedgepodcast.com/fr...