! We spent the first four weeks of this journey talking about how we can get ourselves dialed into an efficient work system. Our goal was to get shit done as well as we could in a manner that used up the least amount of time possible. Good shit!
After that, we spent 4 weeks working on the template that holds this all together: programming. If you can put together a great program in an efficient manner, you are not only holding your great product together and delivering it in a nice neat package, you are saving yourself a boat load of time. Yay! We like that shit!
We spent the four weeks after that working on becoming better coaches- that’s important stuff for us. Building relationships with our clients, finding out how to best work with them and get them to their goals- that’s our product and what ultimately defines us as professionals.
To cap off this 16-week journey, we are talking about developing our businesses, whether it be your book of business at a corporate club, or making sure all our bases are covered for the start-up you are running out of your garage. There’s a lot of common threads that we can all build on regardless of whether we are the boss or we report to one.
This is all great stuff for the individual coach, but what can it do for us in a team setting? The staff at Rebell Strength and Conditioning has been following the Strength Faction curriculum for two semesters now, and I want to share with you how it has affected us not only as individuals but as a team, and how we did it.
At Rebell we have a staff of five (pictured left to right): Dan (coach, writer of the “Bird” which is groundbreaking shit you all will get a taste of in the next cycle), Wes (coach), Chase (coach), Sarah (coach, social media guru, nutritional guide), and Mike (me, the owner).
Building a team is hard work. Not only do you have to find the right people, you must figure out different ways to navigate personalities, feelings, goals, and lifestyles in an effort to reach a team goal. There’s even more to it if you want to create a core team that will stand the test of time and produce results, grow the business, and help each team member grow as an individual.
Here’s how the Strength Faction has helped us as a team:
Team Building
Having the team going through the same training program for the better part of the last year has been fun. It gives us something to grow around, and an experience to share with each other. It gives us an opportunity to have five minds analyzing and sharing insights on the journey which affords us a much richer experience to learn from. The times we are able to train together are pretty fun and motivating too!
Saving Time
The programming that the Faction follows is essentially the perfect GPP program for about 99% of the people that make up the Rebell community. At times, it takes a tweak here and there to make it fit for a little less experienced crowd, but the approach is spot on and is very easy to implement in my group training model. In fact, the programming at Rebell has mirrored the Faction programming for the past two semesters, and my people love it! The autonomy aspect makes it really easy for us to fit the program to all our members regardless of their training experience.
On the staff side, using the lessons and current topics of discussion on webinars as a guide for our staff development keeps things clean and simple on that end. Coming up with a curriculum to help grow your staff can be draining. If the lessons haven’t been an exact fit, they at least serve as a catalyst to get the creative juices flowing in forming an in-service curriculum for my staff. We have a very diverse and experienced pool of knowledge available to us through the Faction. Not using that to form how our business educates its staff and clientele is an opportunity missed. The Faction curriculum influences everything from in-services and continuing education, to social media and blog content.
Taking the brain-drain out of putting all of this together has been invaluable, has opened up my schedule, and has reduced my stress in an immeasurable way!
A Not-Creepy Amount of Uniformity
Perhaps one of the biggest impact the Strength Faction has had on my coaches to date is in their programming habits and techniques. They have adopted Chris’ techniques which is saving them a bunch of time and brainpower. The amount of stress that has been alleviated from not having to spend an exorbitant amount of time writing programs is worth the squeeze in itself.
Now that we have found a level of uniformity in our programming we are seeing ancillary benefits that we didn’t think about before. When a coach is out and needs someone to cover their clients, the transition is seamless because we all have a deep understanding of how each other’s programs work. This makes our clients feel safe and warm while their trainer is away and we all know that in order to make gains you need to feel warm and safe. (Blank stare)
Our collective cueing game is on point as well. We are all on the same page which also makes coach swapping easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. So not only are we on the same page with our program templates but the way we coach the exercises is very similar which makes for crazy synergy. Everyone is pushing in the same direction which sets us up for quicker growth and easier adaptation to new tasks. Hooray!
Building Trust
In the main training room at Rebell hangs a Strength Faction banner. It often sparks a conversation between my clients and me. Once I can share with them what the Strength Faction is and how all the Rebell staff is involved, they are all really impressed. It shows them how much effort we put into bettering ourselves. It shows that we are part of a network of top-notch coaches that spans multiple continents, and that makes our clients feel like they are part of something bigger than the square footage of Rebell. It reassures them that they are getting the best information and training available from a group of coaches that has a genuine interest in bettering themselves for their clients. All of this helps build a better relationship between my staff and my clients.
This is just the beginning of what I think will develop into a whole new opportunity for small fitness businesses. Within the Strength Faction curriculum is a path to streamlining your team’s efforts, and the ability to tap into that will only grow as we come to understand its applications to our specific needs.
Stay flexible, be creative, and see change when it presents itself. This business thing only needs to be as complicated as you want it to be!
