Trust: The Essence of Talent Coaching
| I worked with Patrick Davis when he was the Operations Manager for the syndicated Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show. Kidd trusted and respected Patrick more than any other programmer. His career evolved to become Senior VP of Programming for iHeart Dallas and Program Director for Kiss FM for over 20 years. As a programmer coaching talent, you will benefit from Patrick’s relationship-building tips in this week’s blog. Randy Lane |
As a programmer and talent coach, your job is to help shape content and make it more effective. But that only works when something more important is in place first: trust.
Before we focus on structure, teasing, or storytelling, we must to build the kind of relationship with talent that makes feedback meaningful and actionable.
Here are five field-tested ways to strengthen that connection with your talent:
1. Listen When You Don’t “Have To”
Kidd Kraddick once told me:
“I’ll discuss anything on the show with you, as long as you heard it on air. I’m not listening to my show twice because you didn’t listen once.”
It’s not harsh—it’s honest. If we want talent to trust your coaching, they need to know we’re truly invested. That starts with listening, even when it’s not required, like on non-meeting days.
2. Say What You Mean—And Mean What They’ll Hear
Prep for a meeting with talent from their perspective. Think about how they will hear your coaching points. “Play more music” may be heard as “less of you is better.”
Clarify the why: music is a cume magnet that draws people to the show, but it’s your personality that turns them into loyal fans. What’s said isn’t as important as what’s heard.
3. Connect Beyond the Content
Spend time building relationships with your team by NOT talking about content or performance. The better you know talent the easier it is to know whether on air issues are a creative misstep or something more personal.
4. Push or Pull, Based on What They Need
When ratings are strong but their show growth is flat, push them to reach their potential.
When content is strong but ratings are off, pull back and encourage talent with positives.
Coaching is a balance of challenge and support.
5. Don’t Pretend to Know—Commit to Finding Out
Don’t BS talent. You don’t need to have every answer. But you do need to be honest.
“Let me find out and get back to you,” goes further than a guess. Trust is built in those small moments and advances the relationship.
Bottom Line:
Talent management is as much about relationships as it is about character development or setups. It’s about the human connection. Stronger relationships make for stronger shows.
Contact Patrick Davis: halfdavis6@verizon.net
Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash
