Cultivating Meaningful Connection - with the England Nets Team

According to Brené Brown to cultivate meaningful connection it requires grounded confidence, the courage to walk alongside and story stewardship.

As a coach you need to develop a meaningful connection and the first step is for the Client is to feel grounded confidence in themselves. This is very much about the relationship being developed and the client being prepared to drop their armour. We want clients to experience vulnerability, be curious about new ways of thinking or working and be receptive to trying new things. If they arrive at a session so confident that they know it all they will not experience grounded confidence. We mistake the loudest voice as the most confident, and if not challenged that knowing and proving will limit their ability to be open to new ideas.

Grounded confidence is also about embodiment, which means being open with what your body is telling you and being prepared to adapt. Angry people live in angry bodies!! Physical self awareness is a good step to letting go. It is far too easy to just listen to our heads and not our bodies, if you have not slept well, what is that telling you? If you feel anxious, or simply just ache – what is this telling you? Understand and know when you are in flow with body and mind.

“We have to prepare the child for the path, not the path. for the child.” – Tim Elmore



If we are going to walk alongside we can’t control the path. Walking alongside is other-focused and control is self focused. As a coach you never know where a session is going to go and that is right for the Client. We have prepared the environment in creating a safe place but we don’t lead the direction.

The greatest honour as a Coach is story stewardship, honouring the nature of the story and knowing we have been entrusted with something valuable. We must tread with care that we don’t takeover the narrative or tap out. This is where as a Coach you often have to sit with discomfort, you have to follow the story they want to share. The takeover or tap out can be prevented by extricating yourself from the story, don’t look for anything relatable, this is about them.

In summary meaningful connection is about:-

• Centred confidence
• Walking alongside
• Story stewardship

Please do get in touch to book a coaching session bev@nuggetsof