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Coach? Who needs a coach?

Posted by Graham at 4.27pm on 29 August 2008

The recent scenes of celebration at the Bejing Olympics is a timely reminder of the potential for individuals to challenge themselves to perform and achieve at the highest possible levels. It is the culmination of countless hours of dedication and endurance for every competitor in every sport. Even the cinematic spectacles of the opening and closing ceremonies, orchestrated by the great Chinese Film Director Zhang Yimou, illustrated the intense capacity of humanity to communicate universal symbolic themes with inspirational grace.

It is interesting to note the current Team GB medal haul (and the attendant euphoria) in comparison to the number achieved by Great Britain at the London Games nearly a century ago. Of course it was a different world then when the notion of Olympic amateurism in sporting endeavour still held true and the rest of the world struggled to compete or even attend. Now the Chinese in 2008 have not only created a potent benchmark for the staging of the Games with its flawless infrastructure and sense of theatre but it has dominated the sporting success as well with even the US and Russia lagging behind. Clearly for Team GB, the Lottery funding has had a postive impact on the level of achievement in terms of supporting training, coaching and the embrace of the latest technology. All sporting participation includes success and failure and the role of the coach is key in focussing the competitor on the minute detail and margins that might make all the difference between the two outcomes.

When considering the impact of the Chinese business market, Will Hutton in his book  ‘The Writing on The Wall – China the West in the 21st Century’ reminds us that it was the reduction in the US protectionist policy in the last 60 years which prompted the $1 Trillion bonanza in the tidal wave of globalisation and concomitant Asia miracle. This opened up and intensified the scale of competitiveness for companies large and small. How ironic now that the US search for new money markets and revenue streams has precipitated such painful loss for vulnerable home owners, a Western banking meltdown and resultant ‘credit crunch’ that threatens recession on both sides of the Atlantic. 

So in times of recession or economic slowdown, who needs a coach? Business advisors immediately caution us to look after the money – maintain good housekeeping and manage the cashflow -as if a competent business wasn’t doing that anyway! Therefore when you have to tighten the belt, a coach might seem like an unnecessary luxury. Yet in times of stress, calmness and a clarity of focus in both operational and strategic terms are crucial. Sound management approaches will maintain the assets as well as monitor the margins and the key component is the people skills to retain good staff and good customers.

Executive coaches can be a vital tool in helping managers and directors to challenge their assumptions, the issues they avoid and the attitudes and patterns of behaviours that are self-defeating. There is never a more important time to have somebody listen and ask the right questions to maximise your positive business impact. Who needs a coach? The Olympics reminds us that we can all benefit  – and in both sport and business, the margin between success and failure can be very small indeed.  

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This entry was posted on 29 August 2008 at 4.27pm and is filed under Executive Coaching. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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