Recently I spoke on my Instagram regarding a presentation I presented to colleagues. Yeah, you heard that correctly, muscle-man workout-dude writes and now conducts presentations (apparently). The Topic: Collaboration.
It dawned on me that I was sick of looking at the Fitness Industry/Health Industry and seeing such 1-Dimensional behavior and belief systems. Kind of like my previous rant from my last Blog post, THIS IS A REAL AND RESPECTABLE OCCUPATION. And it's about time EVERYONE starts to realize that. Who should really realize this, in my opinion? The following people:
-Clients
-Coaches themselves
-Managers/Executives/Owners of Fitness Centers
-Everyone.
Anyway, the cats out of the bag. Real professionals who take this job as a REAL profession are sick and tired of being sick and tired and not being viewed as on the same level as other business activists.
Introducing my presentation from the previous week. Let me briefly walk you through it.... The below chart was the main ingredient I extracted from an article on Forbes (shoutout Jacob Morgan and Chess Media Group... plz don't sue me):
The article was staged in more of a "corporate" setting, illustrated from a managerial/executive stand point. Now, I'm an entrepreneur through and through. I've been forced to be institutionalized for some of my work, but for the most part, I can look at thoughts/ideas regarding business and apply them where I see them fit. In this instance, Jacob Morgan (author of this piece) had an agenda to assist superiors to better understand HOW to cultivate a successful employment within their organization. Hints "The 12 Principles of Collaboration" (refer back to the chart above if I've already lost you or you're asleep).
What does this have to do with the fitness/health scene you say? Everything. So much of business operations/business success is constricted because of an institute's inability to fully understand the value that fitness professionals (the ones that actually get it and care) CAN bring to the table for the corporation. THERE IS SO MUCH MONEY TO BE MADE. All it takes is a happy staff, carefully planned platforms of compensation, and TRUST from the front house. With that said, directly apply the 12 Principles of Collaboration to the business of Fitness!
Let's take this down to scale...
I spoke to a room of fitness professionals as one of them. Not necessarily knowing anymore than them, or feeling superior to anyone, but as one of them down in the trenches... My hope was to spark some enthusiasm. Often times just looking around at coaches, trainers, and other fitness professionals, I see very non-linear motives. Work ethic, growth, expectations, etc.
My thoughts: WE WILL ALWAYS BE VIEWED THIS WAY IF THIS IS WHAT WE PORTRAY.
I've decided it's time. WAKE. UP.👉🏼
In the process of my presentation, I delivered the aforementioned chart. Following that delivery, I broke down each of the 12 Principles into MY OWN words, and how I see them to be applied within our industry on a day-to-day basis. I became a FIRM advocate in the fact that IT IS GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US to get more serious and INFORM the public/superiors that this shit is serious. We do not only want to help people and their health (duh, that's why we started this journey), but we also want respect in the business world (at least for those of us willing to work for it). Again, I realize I cannot speak for everyone. MANY people are fine just getting by. Ben Bruno, a successful celebrity trainer (why successful, I'm not sure... probably mostly marketing tactics) once said, "It's okay, the world needs mediocre people too." So go ahead, stop reading now, or keep training Susan for the fifth consecutive year with no results, no pay scaling, no respect.
Here is what I came up with in regards to the 12 Principles of Collaboration:
Individual benefit >/= overall corporate benefit:
Working on yourself and your craft amongst your peers and professionals will, in turn, create a more dynamic and productive output as a whole.
Strategy before technology:
Shiny tools are nice and physical resources are beneficial, but nothing spreads faster and initiates creativity amongst a staff better than bouncing ideas off of one another and trying new tactics together.
Listen to the voice of employees:
Superiors are going to be much more inclined to initiate and implement new platforms and tactics if they see that we are collaborating together as professionals out of the best interest for the entire business. Then a snowball effect can occur.
Learn to get out of the way:
In conjunction with each of our clients, sometimes you are your worst enemy when it comes to physical progress, business relations, programming, etc. Take a step back, ask a peer their thoughts, and get out of your own way!
Lead by Example:
All of us operate our own businesses within an entity (EBC). Reaching out to one another in pursuit of collaboration/assistance shows leadership and willingness to succeed.
Integrate into the flow of work:
Some of us may not like the idea of meetings and trainings. That can be understandable. But if we are to collaborate amongst ourselves outside of mandatory events, some of the tedious tasks and responsibilities may be delegated upon trust/experience.
Create a supportive environment:
So many of us (myself included) work towards self-rewards on a daily basis. This is fine to an extent. But an emphasis on team-rewards and victories through collaborative efforts create an environment that encourages better overall performance, which in turn trickles down to individual success.
Measure what matters:
Within EBC as a full-time employee we all have a quota to make per pay period as a form of measurement. This can be stressful. Rather than obsessing over this often times daunting task, measure other metrics within your coaching business (which I’ll remind you that you do enjoy). Measure weekly collaborations with co-workers whether its workouts together, client questions, etc.
Persistence:
Enough said. Doing or trying something only once or a couple of times never provided consistent results. Keep reaching out, keep challenging, keep figuring new ways.
Adapt and evolve:
The exercise and coaching industry is changing rapidly. It can be really hard to keep up with the science, new exercise modalities and even more important, it can become extremely difficult to keep the interest of a retaining client (from a business standpoint). Look around at all of the tools at your disposal. These coaches are your professional development, research platforms, and other collaborative utilities.
Benefits the customer:
More knowledgeable professionals, better prepared, more confident and infinite resources amongst each other for our clients.
Makes the world a better place:
Through job-connection, co-worker bondage, stress reduction, and proof of initiative, collaboration shows a willingness to become better and creates a culture.
Rallying the Troops...
There you have it, the main dialogue of the presentation. Yes, I was playing cheerleader. Yes, I was waking people up. Yes, I am tired of it. But it has to start SOMEWHERE!
The presentation concluded with a COLLABORATIVE group activity where I separated the room into groups and challenged them all to combine their "specialties" and collaborate to produce a gameplan (whether that's a one day workout or an ongoing program) for a PARTICULAR client. See below for the group activity specifics:
In Conclusion...
If you want to HAVE the respect of people, you have to EARN the respect of people. And that starts AMONGST one another. Create a comradery, develop a culture, display the professionalism, demand what you are WORTH. Oh, and to those of you in a position to pay for a service or hire staff.... START PAYING FOR VALUE (or jump on board with this movement and CHARGE. WHAT. YOU. ARE. WORTH.)
