Our Great Coach on this episode is Andrea Anastasi.

Andrea played volleyball for Italy 141 times, and was part of the team that won the 1990 World Championship. He transitioned in to coaching in 1994, and in 1999 led the Italian team to gold medals at 2 European Championships, the World League, as well as a Bronze at the 2000 Olympics. In 2007 he took over the Spanish National team and famously led them to the 2007 European Championship. He then moved on to coach the Polish national team and in 2011 led the team to their first ever medal in the World League.

He has also coached teams to National Championships in Italy and Poland, and is presently the head coach of the Belgian National Team. Andrea is a coach with a global perspective and as you will hear in this interview speaks multiple languages that allows him to communicate with his very international teams. What I found most interesting, and unique, in this interview was the process Andrea goes through when he joins a new team in a new country.

I think anyone who is moving in to a new culture in either a team or new company will find this interesting and helpful. I also enjoyed the way Andrea talks about using body language to communicate across cultures and again I think this applicable for anyone who is communicating across age or demographic groups. And finally, the importance he places on listening when it comes to effective leadership.

Andrea was both a champion player and coach, and this combined with his empathetic style made for a terrific interview.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

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