The Tough Stuff

Book excerpt: THE BARRIER TO YOUR TEAM'S PERFORMANCE? It's you. As the speed of change in elite sports has increased, the support infrastructure around head coaches has not kept up. This has left many coaches--supposedly experts in human performance--walking zombies who don't sleep, don't exercise, and don't see their families. To succeed in the modern sporting world, head coaches must face some hard truths. By grappling with these truths, which cut to the very core of who they are as human beings, head coaches can get out of their own way and achieve all-new levels of personal performance. In The Tough Stuff you'll learn: Just how much the emotional toll impacts your ability to coach How to become a high-performance knowledge worker Why communication mastery is key to unlocking your full potential As well as sharing his own struggles as a head coach, Cody Royle enlists the help of some friends who are all too familiar with The Tough Stuff, such as Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, Connacht Rugby head coach Andy Friend, Ryerson Rams basketball head coach Carly Clarke, DC United head coach Ben Olsen, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns head coach Jay Triano, and Colorado Avalanche head coach Tony Granato. Cody Royle is the head coach of AFL Team Canada, the men's national team for Australian Rules football. He is a standout voice on how teams create sustained success. His debut book, Where Others Won't, is a go-to guide for professional sports teams around the world, and his podcast of the same name was nominated for a Podcast Award in 2019.