It’s 2:15 pm, and a calendar notification pops up: “Check-in with Leo.” My heart immediately starts to beat faster. Leo is one of my top performers. He delivers great results and is seen as a future leader in the organization. But there’s a problem: Leo has a habit of shutting down his peers in meetings – dismissing ideas he thinks are weak and pushing back aggressively when challenged. I’ve tried to address the issue, but it always goes sideways – tempers flare, and we both leave frustrated without resolving anything. I’ve been walking on eggshells for the past two weeks, but I can’t avoid this conversation any longer. Am I even capable of getting through to him? What if I lose my cool in the process? Will he still respect me afterwards? It’s 2:30 pm. Time to brace for impact.

Confronting is a Coaching Conversation

Confronting is a coaching conversation. It doesn’t fit neatly with the popular notion that coaching is just about asking good questions, but watching Olympic coaches operate, as we have for 30 years, makes one thing very clear: having the courage to have a direct conversation when needed is vital to helping someone reach their highest potential. In fact, avoiding a difficult conversation about something that’s preventing a person’s success is the opposite of good coaching. That’s why confronting is one of the four core communication skills in our 3×4 Coaching model, and one that builds on the other three communication skills – questioning, listening, and feedback. It’s not the first or most frequent approach that coaches reach for, but it’s an important part of the overall coaching skill set. Knowing that you can navigate complex, high-stakes conversations is part of what underpins your confidence as a leader.

Choose Your Challenge

Having a confronting conversation with Leo is going to be challenging because I don’t want to damage our relationship. It doesn’t take tremendous courage to call up the airline after my flight was delayed and demand a refund because I only care about getting compensated, not my relationship with the customer service representative. But Leo is one of the strongest performers on my team and I want to have a good relationship after this conversation. It’s also going to be challenging because Leo has been resisting making this change and now it’s getting in the way of his success. This isn’t just a straightforward piece of feedback anymore. There are real stakes. If Leo’s behaviour continues, we could end up in the realm of more formal performance management channels.
“When done effectively, these conversations can resolve the issue at hand, build the other person’s commitment to making progress, and strengthen the relationship.”
It’s easy to see the threats in these conversations but there are also potential benefits. When done effectively, these conversations can resolve the issue at hand, build the other person’s commitment to making progress, and strengthen the relationship if they see you as someone who holds them to a high standard yet cares about them and respects them. So, I choose my challenge: I can avoid the conversation and deal with the fallout – Leo’s behaviour continues, our relationship becomes strained as my frustration seeps out, and I lose credibility with other people who see me allowing this behaviour to continue. Or I can face the discomfort of addressing the issue head-on and put my coaching skills to the test.

Connection Before Correction

Once I decide to address the issue, how do I have this conversation in a way that not only protects our relationship but gets Leo committed to making a change? It starts before I even enter the conversation. Often, we fall into the trap of thinking that we need to emotionally distance ourselves from the other person in order to be “tough” or objective. But it’s our relationship with the other person that’s the foundation for coaching them. I cannot coach Leo if I lose my connection to him. So rather than distancing myself, I start by strengthening my connection to Leo. I put myself in his shoes and explore the most generous, plausible story I can come up with for why he might be acting this way. Maybe he’s under a lot of pressure that is leaving him with little patience. Maybe I’m not aware of some underlying tension with his teammates. Or maybe Leo is so enthusiastic about his ideas that he doesn’t realize he’s shutting down other people. I choose the story that most strengthens my connection to Leo because it puts me in a mindset to engage in this conversation in a direct but caring way. I also need to get clear on the specific change I want to see – not all the ripple effects of Leo’s dismissive behaviour, or the fact that I’m also irritated because he was late for our team meeting yesterday – but the specific gap between what I need to see from him and what I’m currently getting.

Open Strong

Next, I need to prepare my opening statement. This will set the tone and direction for the conversation. Without carefully crafting and practicing my opening, things can go sideways quickly. I could fall into the trap of starting with a sneak attack, “Well Leo, I guess you know why we’re having this conversation…” Or I might unleash my pent-up frustration and anger, leaving Leo like a deer in the headlights trying to respond. Or I might revert to the classic “feedback sandwich”, muddying my message and leaving Leo guessing at what I really mean. An effective opening is short – less than 60 seconds – and clearly articulates the specific behaviour that needs to change, the impact of that behaviour, what’s at stake if it doesn’t change, and my desire to work together to reach a resolution. “Leo, I want to talk to you about a pattern of dismissing input from your peers. For example, in yesterday’s meeting, Sarah raised a concern about the project timeline. You interrupted and said, ‘That’s not really an issue.’ I felt worried that you dismissed her question because I’ve noticed people hesitating to speak up in front of you. This can affect your ability to get the information needed to make good decisions and manage the concerns of staff. Advancing in this organization depends on your ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively. I haven’t been entirely clear on the importance of this, and that’s on me. I want to find a way to modify this behaviour. What are your thoughts?”

Drop Your Agenda

After delivering my opening, it would be great if Leo said, “got it boss, no problem.” But that’s not what typically happens. I’m likely to get resistance – anger, excuses, deflection, or awkward silence. Counter-intuitively, that resistance is not something to fight against or try to “objection handle”; instead, I need to recognize that the path to a solution is through the resistance. So instead of defending my position, I drop my agenda and lean in to explore the resistance I’m getting from Leo. Questioning and listening are the critical coaching skills at this stage of the conversation. Questions to deepen and clarify my understanding of his story: Can you say more about that? Could you give me an example? What is significant about that? And active listening to draw the person out and check for understanding: So, what you’re saying is…, Let me see if I have this right… I stick with asking questions and listening until I can summarize what we call “the third story.” The third story represents all of what is true for me and what is true for Leo. It’s like I have a bucket, and I keep adding things into the bucket. I don’t take anything out and try to solve it yet. I just add things until we’ve collected all of what is true for both of us. “So, to summarize, I need you to listen to the concerns and questions of your teammates and address them. It’s frustrating for you to have to consider other people’s concerns as you’ve already thought it all through. Further discussion is unnecessary, slows you down, and may interfere with you hitting your numbers. Do I have that right?” I don’t necessarily have to agree with Leo’s perspective, but I need to get to a place where I understand him, where I can summarize his point of view in a way that he says, “yes, that’s it.” And if that’s not it, then I keep asking questions until we get to the core of the issue. It’s not until we reach that point that we can start problem solving. It’s this final stage of the conversation that is often more comfortable and familiar – generating options and agreeing on a path forward. It’s best if most of the options come from Leo so that he owns how he wants to move forward but I can offer ideas as well. Together we can agree on a plan and next steps. Be sure to build in support and accountability. “What do you need from me to put this plan into action?” “Let’s schedule time to check-in and see how it’s going.”

Manage Yourself

Now, is it ever that easy? Of course not. While it’s helpful to have a map for these conversations, no matter how prepared we are, it never goes exactly how we expect. People are complicated and will almost always throw a wrench into the conversation that we never saw coming. Or they’ll do something that seems perfectly designed to get under our skin – raise their voice, roll their eyes, or say that one thing that touches our most sensitive nerve And so, a big part of the discipline of these conversations is having a plan for how we will manage ourselves in the face of the triggers that could knock us off our game. First, we need to be aware that we’re triggered in the first place. Often, we become our irritation, or our anger. Instead, we need to notice it by tuning into our internal signals – I might notice myself thinking “here we go again with the excuses,” or that my breathing has accelerated, or that I’m starting to feel impatient. These signals are like lights on your car’s dashboard. When the “check engine” light comes on, you don’t smash the dashboard – you check under the hood. The same goes for triggers in tough conversations. Get curious about what the signal is telling you and take corrective action to get yourself back on track before you respond. If we don’t notice and manage our triggers, all sorts of unintended behaviours appear, and we can become the worst version of ourselves. Things start to escalate, or the other person withdraws, and we get further and further from a resolution.

The Courage to Coach When it Matters Most

Being effective in these conversations requires the very best of us. It takes self-awareness and being a big person. But the 3×4 Coaching model provides everything we need to succeed. We need to enter the conversation with a generous mindset and clarity on our objective. We deliver a clear opening statement to get the conversation off on the right foot and then drop our agenda to explore the other person’s perspective before we jump into problem solving. It isn’t always comfortable, but the goal of coaching isn’t comfort. It’s about challenging someone to reach their highest potential. It requires the courage to speak up, the patience to wade through the discomfort, and the belief that the people you’re coaching are capable of more.

New manager development programs are often a surprising “problem child” in the Learning & Development portfolio.

The recent Association for Talent Development (ATD) report sponsored by Third Factor, “New Manager Development: Building a Foundation for the Future,” highlights a critical gap: while 70% of organizations have new manager development programs, most fail to realize their full potential with 77% reporting only moderate success or worse.

16% success rate
Successful
Unsuccessful
No program

Helping new managers transition from individual contributor to people leadership roles is vitally important for the performance of not only those managers but everyone that reports to them as well. But with the large population of managers in most organizations, Learning & Development (L&D) is often tasked to execute these programs at scale and on a shoestring budget. Add in the time pressures on new managers, and it can feel near impossible to deliver impactful leadership development programs for this audience.

We know how challenging this mandate can be, so we’ve collected some practical strategies from leading organizations that we partner with to help get the value out of your investment in new manager development.

Leadership at the Helm: Building Top-Down Support

The ATD report underscores the importance of senior leadership in new manager development. Most of the organizations surveyed indicated that a lack of either resources, senior leadership support, and/or prioritization were challenges to training new managers. So how do you build that critical support at the top of the house?

01.

Pick your moment and leverage business needs to advance new manager training.

02.

Enlist your partners to sell your vision for new manager training internally.

03.

Get senior leaders directly involved in training to underscore its importance.

First, pick your moment. When organizations make significant investments in new manager development, it typically comes at a time when there is a clear business need – for example, a new strategy, a culture transformation, declining engagement scores, or high turnover. Use these windows of opportunity to demonstrate how Learning & Development can help turn conceptual business plans into real action by driving the right behaviors in managers.

Second, enlist your partners. You need every tool in your arsenal to build the strongest business case to senior leaders for investing in new manager development. Involve HR or internal business partners as well as your third-party vendors to help demonstrate to senior leaders the value and expected outcomes of these programs. Hearing directly from your leadership team about a strategic transformation they are driving from transactional to advisory services, for example, will enable your vendors to design programs that directly support those needs.

Finally, start small and get senior leaders directly involved. One L&D team that we work with is driving a multi-year rollout of a two-day in-person program to help managers build coaching skills – a significant investment of time and resources. But it all started with just one session focused on the C-Suite team. Through that firsthand experience, the CEO and his team became passionate champions of the program. They not only committed to funding a broad program rollout, but the CEO now speaks directly to every cohort of managers that goes through the program. His involvement sends a strong message about his commitment to manager development and also reinforces the connections between the content and their business priorities.

Balancing Learning Formats

Training a large population of new managers can be costly. For many organizations, it’s just not feasible to offer in-person experiential learning programs to all new managers.

In fact, the ATD report notes that asynchronous learning channels are the most common offering made available to new managers. We often hear from L&D leaders about the benefits of asynchronous learning for creating custom learning pathways and offering flexible programs that work around the busy schedules of new managers. Yet there is always a desire to incorporate some of the benefits of live, in-person learning experiences as well.

Increasingly, organizations are looking at blended learning formats to provide the scale and cost effectiveness of asynchronous learning but with some of the human connection and energy of live or in-person programs.

A financial services company that we partner with offers an asynchronous program that enables managers to learn coaching skills through a series of self-paced videos. But to enhance the experience through peer support and live discussions, managers are placed into learning cohorts that proceed through the program as a community. A live virtual kickoff provides context about the program, introduces managers to others in their cohort and builds energy around the learning journey they are about to start on. Midway through the program, cohorts reconvene for a live application lab to work through any questions and challenges as they start applying the skills in their work environment. And upon completion of the program, managers have access to 1:1 coaching and a library of resources to support ongoing skill development and application.

“The most successful new manager development programs that we see always place a strong focus on practical application.”

Whether asynchronous, in-person, or a blended format, the most successful new manager development programs that we see always place a strong focus on practical application. New managers are often completely underwater balancing their priorities of delivering results while also developing their people.

In fact, time constraints on new managers were the most common challenge cited in ATD’s report. Most new managers simply don’t have the time, energy, or interest to dive deep into theories on motivation and performance. Instead, they need a few practical tools that they can implement immediately, opportunities to practice new skills, and strategies to focus on actions that will have the greatest impact so that they see immediate results and build confidence.

Measuring What Matters: The Art of Success Metrics

You’ve heard it a million times – “how are we measuring the impact of this program?” When it comes to reallocating investment or cutting costs, new manager development programs are an easy target if they can’t demonstrate impact. Effective metrics not only demonstrate program effectiveness but also ensure the program remains relevant, impactful, and aligned with evolving business priorities.

ATD’s report highlights a similar issue: 87% of respondents cite a lack of metrics to track the program’s results as a challenge to new manager training. While most organizations do assess program effectiveness, many focus on participant satisfaction and use informal conversations rather than quantitative or outcomes-based measures. So how can you incorporate impactful metrics without creating an overly complex science project?

Most important is systematizing and quantifying participant feedback with a short, standard feedback form for every participant to complete. In our experience, taking a few minutes to do this at the end of sessions before participants return to their other work is the best way to drive response rates and specific feedback. In addition to participant satisfaction, include one or two questions tied to target outcomes – for example, participants’ confidence in their ability to apply the skills in their daily work.

With a basic feedback system in place, start looking at longer-term metrics and impacts. A large energy organization that we work with administers a final survey approximately three months after leadership development programs on how participants are applying their learnings and the resulting business impact of those actions. These concrete examples offer powerful impact stories that are highlighted to the company’s most senior leaders.

Another financial services organization surveyed the direct reports of program participants and found that more than 85% noticed an improvement in their leaders after completing the manager development program – a metric that helped build ongoing support and expansion of the program.

Transforming Insights into Impact

As the ATD report highlights, new manager development programs are a critical aspect of the L&D portfolio and yet there are very real challenges to making them effective and impactful. These strategies offer a blueprint to help ensure the investment in these programs delivers real value for the business and for your people.

At a glance:

Third Factor has partnered with the Association for Talent Development (ATD) on exciting new research that reveals how organizations approach training for new managers. The report draws on a sample of 287 organizations seeks to understand why organizations do or don’t invest in training for new managers, how new manager training is approached, and the common trends in the most successful new manager development programs. In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the importance of new manager training is highlighted by a notable statistic: 70% of organizations have a development program for new managers, and among those without, 54% plan to introduce one within the next two years. This trend underscores a growing recognition of the crucial role new managers play in organizational success. However, transitioning from an individual contributor to a managerial role is a journey filled with challenges. Managers must not only manage tasks but also lead people, a shift that requires a fundamentally different skill set and mindset.

Successful new manager training programs can be hard to come by

While about a quarter of organizations consider their programs extremely or highly successful, another quarter view them as only slightly or not at all successful. This suggests a broad spectrum in the effectiveness of such programs across different organizations, highlighting the need for tailored approaches and continuous improvement in managerial training practices. It underscores the importance of not just having a training program in place, but also ensuring its relevance, effectiveness, and alignment with organizational goals. The good news is that the report shows 78% of organizations actively measure the success of these programs. The most common method used is assessing participant satisfaction. However, high-performing organizations often go further by evaluating long-term impacts such as the retention rate of managers and their contribution to organizational performance. This approach underscores the importance of not only implementing development programs but also rigorously assessing their outcomes to ensure they meet organizational goals and contribute to long-term success.

Performance and culture are the most desired outcomes

When developing training programs for new managers, organizations are unsurprisingly focused on performance – but the question of whose performance is most important raised our eyebrows. While 85% of organizations want their new manager development programs to enhance individual performance, only 62% include team performance in their goals. While enhancing a manager’s skills is essential, it’s crucial to recognize that a manager’s success is inherently tied to their team’s performance. Focusing solely on individual managerial skills without equally emphasizing team leadership and development can create a disconnect. This approach may lead to managers who excel individually but struggle to foster a high-performing team, ultimately impacting the broader organizational effectiveness. Fortunately, continuity of organizational culture and values is also a top outcome for new manager development. Some 69% of organizations rely on new manager development programs to ensure that leadership is aligned with the core principles of the organization. This alignment helps in maintaining a consistent organizational ethos, which is essential for long-term success and identity.

The most important skill for new managers? Communication.

The skill new manager training programs focus on above all others is communication, with 93% of organizations prioritizing this in their development programs. In our 3×4 Coaching program, we teach that coaches use four key communication skills to develop their people: questioning, active listening, feedback, and confronting. Feedback also made the list of skills, with 92% of new manager development programs dedicating time to giving people information about their performance. While performance management (91%) is another top focus area, the communication skill of confronting didn’t make the list. Questioning, listening and feedback are useful and necessary skills, but aren’t always the best tools when a valued performer needs to make a non-optional change to their behaviour. Teaching new managers skills for managing challenging conversations is a worthwhile investment. Giving younger leaders the opportunity to learn and practice the skill means they will be better prepared to confront problem behaviors when they reach a more senior position. By thinking of communication skills for new managers as an investment in the future, organizations can strengthen their entire leadership pipeline.

Finding time is a top challenge in training new managers

The primary challenge in this developmental journey, as reported by 91% of organizations, is the lack of time for new managers to participate in training programs. It’s no secret that new managers are expected to hit the ground running, often having been selected for their aptitude for the role and prior success in a non-leadership role. The rub is that the bias toward execution, rather than leadership, is actually counterproductive. While managers at this level need to be adept at leading their people while being responsible for their own work product, putting emphasis on the former in the earliest days could set them up for a career-long belief that their individual productivity is more important than that of their team. This misprioritization can also lead to a situation where managers are underprepared for their roles. Moreover, the pressure of managing operational tasks while also trying to develop people management skills can lead to burnout and decreased effectiveness. Just as new managers need to skillfully coach their people in the flow of getting things done, their own leadership training needs to happen in the flow of work. Training programs need to be flexible and easily integrated into the daily workflow of new managers. This might involve bite-sized learning modules, on-the-job training, and leveraging technology for accessible and engaging learning experiences. Additionally, creating a culture of continuous learning and providing ongoing support and resources can help new managers adapt to their roles more effectively and efficiently.

Equipping new managers for success

The research from Third Factor and the Association for Talent Development presents a valuable opportunity for improvement in new manager training. This study offers a roadmap for organizations to refine their leadership development strategies, emphasizing the integration of training into daily work, a comprehensive focus on communication skills, and prioritizing team success alongside individual performance. By embracing these insights, organizations can significantly enhance their outcomes, nurturing leaders who are well-equipped to meet the challenges of the modern business world. You can download the full report from the ATD website.

The Meta-Skilled Organization: Building the Capability to Evolve

Skills allow us to execute. Meta-skills like empathy, resilience, creativity, and self-awareness allow us to evolve. As organizations and industries face increasingly rapid change and disruption, in which job descriptions are fluid and agility is essential, these meta-skills are increasingly at the heart of sustained success. The ability to adapt is what makes us future-proof, and what separates individuals and teams that endure from those who are replaced. In this webinar, Third Factor CEO and author of The Power of Pressure, Dane Jensen, will illustrate how the capability to evolve can be broken down into six core meta-skills and outline practical skills and strategies you can use to cultivate your own ability to adapt. You’ll gain new insights into what’s really required for future-proofing yourself and your organization, and discover six core meta-skills across three categories that foster personal evolution. You should attend if:
  • You want to build your team or organization’s resilience to rapid change
  • You’re responsible for change management at a project or organizational level
  • You’re charged with building competencies of adaptability, flexibility, innovation, or problem solving
  • You want to build your own capability to adapt to an uncertain future

The Meta-Skilled Organization


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About the presenter: Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, the author of The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn’t The Problem, It’s The Solution, an acclaimed speaker, an instructor at Queen’s University and the University of North Carolina, and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.
How do you make a leadership development program stick at a time when there are so many competing priorities? This is the problem Renee Landry, Bayer’s U.S. Learning Lead, and Rachel Lamb, Bayer’s Senior Leadership Expert, set out to solve. The solution was Rise & Thrive, an innovative microlearning experience developed in partnership with SweetRush and Third Factor. Approximately half of Bayer’s US leaders voluntarily participated in the program, which has received outstanding quantitative and qualitative feedback from participants as well as attention from the broader learning industry. The program has also been recognized with four Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards. Click here to read the case study. We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded four Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards alongside our partners, Bayer and SweetRush. The awards are a result of our participation in Bayer’s innovative Rise and Thrive program, a microlearning experience based on the idea that if you have two minutes, you have enough time to become a stronger, more empathetic, more inclusive leader. The experience comprises bite-sized content including short videos, curated articles, and 2-minute “dares.” Rise and Thrive was pioneered by Bayer’s U.S. Learning Lead, Renee Landry, and Senior Leadership Expert, Rachel Lamb. The interactive experience was developed by e-learning development company SweetRush and supported with video and learning content by Third Factor. Approximately half of Bayer’s 4,000 US leaders voluntarily participated in the program, which has received outstanding quantitative and qualitative feedback from participants as well as attention from the broader learning industry. The awards include: Brandon Hall Group is a research and analyst firm with a mission to empower excellence in organizations around the world. The Excellence Awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results. All of this year’s winners can be found on the Brandon Hall Group website.

How Leaders Enable High-Performing Hybrid Teams

The transition to a hybrid work model is replete with hazard and risk: Can our people adapt to yet another major change in the way we do business? It also presents a unique opportunity to create new systems that work for companies and people – a culture of high performance in which people are truly committed. To capitalize on this opportunity, organizations need leaders who are motivated by a compelling vision of what’s possible and can adapt their skills to shape their environment. In this webinar, Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, will uncover the opportunity present in the transition to hybrid work and showcase how leaders can get the most from it. The session will explore the challenges and advantages of hybrid work from a leader’s perspective, present an approach for building consensus and commitment in the face of novel problems, and introduce strategies to overcome some of hybrid work’s biggest challenges. You’ll leave with an exciting vision for a high-performing hybrid culture, a clear understanding of your people leaders’ assets and challenges in a hybrid environment, and insight to how leadership competencies can be adapted for hybrid teams. You should attend if:
  • You’re responsible for maintaining employee engagement in the transition to a hybrid work environment
  • You’re responsible for developing leadership competency for a hybrid model of work
  • You’re a senior leader concerned about hybrid work’s impact on performance
  • You want new ideas and practical tools for leading your own hybrid team

How Leaders Enable High-Performing Hybrid Teams
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This event has passed, but it won’t be the last. Be the first to know about future webinars from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is a lawyer, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, an inspirational speaker, and holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology. Whether he’s on the pool deck, in the classroom, or at the lectern, Garry is the consummate coach.

3×4 Coaching

As supply chain issues and staffing challenges continue to hammer organizations, there are two critical moments that determine whether people will stay committed and rise to the challenge: The crisis of engagement, when people realize their path forward is harder than they thought it would be; and the crisis of meaning, the emotional low that makes them question whether to continue. To stay committed and see the journey through, people need three things from their leader: clarity on what they’re supposed to be doing and why it matters; the skills and abilities to be confident in their job; and a sense that they’re seen and appreciated. In this webinar, Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, will synthesize our 30 years of experience working with world-class coaches and reveal a simple framework to give leaders the mindset, skills and tools to keep people committed – and ultimately drive results. You’ll leave inspired with fresh ideas for addressing problems caused by the “great resignation” and other pandemic-related disruption, and a clear image of how you can use coaching at all levels of your organization to fight burnout and keep people engaged. You should attend if:
  • You’re responsible for maintaining employee engagement and retention despite serious disruption
  • You’re an L&D practitioner frustrated by other coaching programs that deliver poor results
  • You’re a senior leader looking to drive performance without sacrificing a positive culture
  • You want a new approach for getting commitment and results from the people you lead

Coaching in Critical Moments
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This event has passed, but it won’t be the last. Be the first to know about future webinars from Third Factor by entering your information below.

About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is a lawyer, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, an inspirational speaker, and holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology. Whether he’s on the pool deck, in the classroom, or at the lectern, Garry is the consummate coach.