Blog

Coaching Talent – Part 2

By David Kidd, BPR

There are many ways to coach & direct talent.

Each programmer has his/her own style. Each individual talent will often require different ways to coach them depending on their personalities & experience.

Here are a few strategies & suggestions to coach talent effectively:

• Set clear goals and expectations: Clearly communicate what is expected of the talent and provide clear and measurable goals to help them stay focused and motivated.

• Provide regular feedback: Regularly provide feedback on their performance, both positive and constructive, to help them understand what they are doing well and where they need to improve.

• Encourage self-reflection: Encourage the talent to take responsibility for their own development by encouraging self-reflection and self-evaluation. Ask them what they thought of their show that day…. how do they think it could have been better?

• Create a supportive environment: Cultivate a culture of growth by creating a supportive environment that encourages the talent to take risks, experiment and make mistakes without fear of failure. Of course, the caveat is that they do all this within the bounds of responsible broadcasting and their actions won’t put their career or the station’s reputation in jeopardy.

• Recognise and reward success: Show appreciation and recognition for the talent’s achievements and hard work, it can be a strong motivator.

• Ensure the transfer of knowledge: Talent must understand the essence of the station’s format, the audience it is trying to target and the overarching strategy designed to achieve success. This way, the talent knows what must be done on air to reach the desired goals for the station.