Said Ferriola: “We encourage our people not to fear failure. You cannot stretch the limits of your knowledge, your imagination, or your skills, if you’re afraid to fail. It’s very typical to hear a manager or a supervisor coach a new teammate by saying something like: ‘If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing the limits of your abilities.

For an example that unites all three of the “internal credibility” sources— details, statistics, and the Sinatra Test—we can turn to Bill McDonough, an environmentalist known for helping companies improve both the environment and the bottom line.

Observing their own behavior, the coaches learn the lesson—how they found it easier to criticize than to support, to think of ten clever insults rather than a single consolation. Thompson found a way to transform his point into a testable credential, something the coaches could experience for themselves.

So, conversely, publicly accepting a coach can actually be a sign of confidence. And a 2010 article notes that “group coaching” is effective but generally underused as a way to improve team or group performance (which the authors call “goal-focused change”).

This was inspired by this Bill Walsh quote: “Champions behave like champions before they’re champions. They have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.