How Asking Better Questions Builds Better Leaders & Parents

Описание: REAL TALK for SPORTS PARENTS (Ep. 22) 🏆
How Asking Better Questions Builds Better Leaders & Parents — with Executive Leadership Coach Jeff Raker

If you’re a sports parent (or coach) who wants to raise confident, resilient athletes without constant conflict, this episode is for you. Host Samantha Livingstone sits down with Jeff Raker—executive leadership coach, longtime pastor, collegiate swimmer, and veteran swim official—to unpack how better questions create better communication, stronger leadership, and more agency in young athletes.

We talk about:
✅ Sports parenting without perfection
✅ Emotional resilience & handling feelings (yours and theirs)
✅ The power of pausing + listening tools that actually work
✅ Self-awareness as the foundation of leadership & performance
✅ Boundaries, sleep, screen time, and building healthy habits
✅ How to shift from “fixing” to “guiding” your athlete

👇 COMMENT BELOW:
What’s one question you want to start asking your athlete this week?

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CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS
00:02:34 Jeff's Journey in Swimming and Officiating
00:05:51 The Role of Officiating in Sports
00:13:51 Blending Ministry and Coaching
00:19:46 Parenting and Coaching Insights
00:28:01 The Power of Asking Questions
00:43:37 The Power of Pausing
00:44:05 Acronyms for Better Listening
00:56:15 The Role of Self-Awareness in Leadership
01:02:11 The Importance of Sleep and Screen Time
01:11:57 Jeff's Leadership Coaching Philosophy

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KEY TAKEAWAYS (Quick Wins for Sports Parents)
• Parenting is “on-the-job training”—progress beats perfection.
• Ask questions that build ownership: confidence grows when athletes feel agency.
• Pause before you problem-solve: presence beats pressure.
• Self-awareness fuels leadership: athletes perform better when they understand themselves.
• Boundaries matter: rest, routines, and screen time impact performance and mood.

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QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE
• “Parenting is on the job training… you do the best you can with the moments you have and the information you have.” (20:04)
• “You’re an imperfect human being raising imperfect human beings… if you’ve messed up then apologize and ask for forgiveness.” (28:59)
• “Can you say, ‘Wow, that is a great question. I don’t know.’” (1:10:03)

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ABOUT JEFF RAKER
Jeff Raker is an Executive Leadership Coach (coaching since 2019) with 36 years of pastoral experience. He’s a collegiate swimmer (University of Cincinnati), a dad to swimmers and softball players, and a swim official (former FINA Starter). Jeff is also a master’s swimmer and national champion. Married to his wife Stephanie for 39 years, he’s a father of three and grandfather of seven.

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CONNECT + LINKS
RTSP Instagram: (add link)
Samantha: https://samanthalivingstone.co
Jeff’s Coaching: https://levelupleadershipcoach.com
Jeff on YouTube: @JARaker5
Jeff on Instagram: @jeffraker
Book: “Now That’s a Great Question” by Jeff Raker (Amazon)

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#SportsParenting #YouthSports #LeadershipDevelopment #ParentingAthletes #Mindset