Coaching commercial truck drivers requires a unique set of skills and qualities to ensure safety, efficiency, and professionalism on the road. It requires exceptional communication skills, a hint of diplomacy, and a bit of psychology. All this emanates from a firm philosophy, one that goes beyond company culture.
In our last article, we suggested legendary basketball coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success serve as a philosophical foundation for effective driver coaching.
Wooden’s pyramid-shaped model emphasizes 15 foundational qualities, and we examined three of these in our previous article. The next four principles worthy of discussion are self-control, alertness, initiative, and intentness.
Self-Control
Wooden says, “Control yourself so others won’t have to do it for you.” Specifically, Wooden notes that control comes from “avoiding emotionalism, temptations, and peaks and valleys of effort”.
As a fleet or safety manager, instilling self-control in truck drivers may involve teaching them to manage their emotions, impulses, and reactions in these challenging situations. Some will need more coaching than others simply because some drivers process information more emotionally than others, based on their hard-wired psychology.
Self-control comes from self-awareness, and that same hard-wired psychology may make self-awareness more challenging for some of your drivers.
Therefore, begin by expressing clear expectations and guidelines for behavior on the road, a concrete set of facts that anyone – regardless of psychology – will understand. This point of departure negates any differences in individual psychological foundations.
Addressing emotionalism in general will also negate inherent differences in psychology. Encourage truck drivers to recognize their emotions and reactions and provide them with techniques to manage stress and frustration, to help them maintain composure and make sound decisions while driving.
The use of in-cab video to monitor those emotions, reactions, and decisions will benefit both the driver and safety manager via real-life analysis.
Maintaining control is not interpreted as being emotionless. It means keeping control of one’s emotions and channeling them properly into safe and efficient driving.
Coach Wooden kept his players aware of their own and their teammates’ emotions in a game. Misplaced and mistimed emotions lead to mistakes that can cost a game or can cost a truck driver his life.
Alertness
There is no greater analogy between Wooden’s basketball philosophy and driving a vehicle than this foundational block. His words may as well have been directed at truck drivers:
“There is activity always going on around us from which we can acquire knowledge if we have Alertness. Too often we get tunnel vision and don’t see the full picture which precludes learning things that are available…Alertness is that asset that keeps you awake and perceptive and increases Skill…The driver who’s asleep at the wheel will crash.”
There’s scientific evidence to support Wooden’s statements when it comes to trucking. Tunnel vision is a real thing that is directly tied to alertness, as reported in a September 2020 paper: “…monotonous driving performance in two studies revealed a deterioration in the ability to detect stimuli presented in the periphery, compared to central presentations, as driving time increased. This indicates that conditions that lower alertness can narrow attention to the center of the visuospatial field.
Alertness derives primarily from promoting mental and physical fitness. For drivers to be fully present, attentive, and responsive to the changing road conditions, traffic patterns, and potential hazards, they must be coached in fatigue management by encouraging regular breaks, hydration, and healthy eating habits. Fatigue management includes sleep apnea testing for those who exhibit symptoms.
Only after ensuring alertness will defensive-driving training, hazard perception, and situational awareness be of maximum value.
One activity that can instill alertness at the beginning of every day is for the driver to do a proper pre-trip inspection. The focus and attention required to perform this activity is akin to that first cup of coffee.
Initiative
Coach Wooden says, “Proper preparation must be followed by Initiative.”
Initiative is about taking proactive steps and being self-motivated to achieve success.
In the trucking industry, it involves going beyond the basic requirements of the job and taking ownership of one’s responsibilities. As a coach, fostering initiative in truck drivers involves encouraging them to take charge of their own learning and development, setting goals for improvement, and seeking feedback to continuously refine their skills.
Empowering truck drivers by giving them the tools to identify and address challenges independently, such as using telematics technology for planning routes, managing schedules, and finding solutions to problems on the road, can instill a sense of ownership and accountability.
Recognizing and rewarding initiative in truck drivers can also motivate them to take proactive steps towards success and contribute to a positive and empowered work culture.
Intentness
Coach Wooden says, “This personal quality may be as important as any within the Pyramid. It is the ability to stay the course even when that course is most difficult, and the obstacles seem insurmountable. You do not quit.”
Nowhere is this more applicable than when a driver is involved in, or even causes, an accident. It can be a terrible blow to a driver’s feelings of self-worth and confidence, amplified by feelings of guilt, even if they didn’t cause the accident but someone was severely injured.
A good fleet or safety manager knows that intentness is about staying focused on goals, overcoming obstacles, and never giving up despite setbacks.
A good coach that provides feedback and support and encourages a growth mindset in the aftermath of a serious accident can keep a driver motivated and determined at the time it is most needed.
Conclusion
Coaching truck drivers is more than just applying technical skills, knowledge of regulations, and adherence to safety protocols. If drivers understand there is a method to safety management that stems from a specified philosophy, they are more likely to take that philosophy to heart.
By applying John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success principles of self-control, alertness, initiative, and intentness to coaching truck drivers, fleet managers can help them develop the mindset and skills needed for safe, efficient, and successful driving on the road.
Coaching sessions in basketball and in trucking are best served by ending on a positive and constructive note. It means obtaining explicit commitment from a driver to correct unsafe behavior in the aggregate and not only the specific incidents discussed. Drivers who don’t take accountability for their actions are not likely to change, putting themselves and the fleet in peril. Most of all, thank the drivers so they understand that they are valued and the trainer – like a basketball coach – is always available.
