What is Performance Coaching?
Performance coaching combines business/executive coaching with a broader focus on your physical & mental health. In my experience as one of the UK’s leading fund managers, there is usually no clear divide between your work and the rest of your life - to be at your best you need to optimise both aspects. A balanced and healthy lifestyle will enable you to deliver your best professional performance, which in turn enhances your overall levels of fulfilment and happiness.
I spent 25 years investing in & advising companies and working closely with their executive teams, so I can fully understand your professional challenges and help you to work through them. Time management, prioritising effectively and better focus (and reduced distraction) are key areas too. We also take a step back to think strategically about your career and how it dovetails with your broader ambitions in life.
In terms of health & wellbeing, I know what is required to be resilient, energetic and to make good decisions under stress and with a heavy workload. My focus is on simple, practical changes that can be fitted easily into a busy working life.
How it works
In each session, we focus on developing your career path to prioritise enjoyment, fulfilment and sustainability, as well as dealing with any short-term challenges, goals or issues you are facing. We will also cover different health & lifestyle areas such as sleep, nutrition, movement & exercise, relaxation, screen time & concentration and time management. And we will work to create more "Breadth" in your life - for family, friends and other interests - rather than having your self-worth entirely determined by professional success (or otherwise).
In all these areas, the focus is on developing practical and actionable plans that will improve your wellbeing and performance.
For most clients, meeting for 60-90 minutes each session can work really well. I prefer to do as much as possible while walking with people outside. Ideally, I want to get you away from your work & home environments to remove any distractions or interruptions and to enable us to focus deeply on each topic. I am based in London and the Cotswolds but can also travel to suit you. For international clients in Europe and North America, I encourage them to put their headphones in and walk while we are speaking.
Ideally, we will meet once every month or so. That gives people sufficient time to make some real changes in between sessions, whilst retaining regular accountability to ensure that we remain on the path to progress.
I write up detailed notes and action points for you after each session, so that you can just concentrate on reflecting and talking rather than having to make notes yourself. In between sessions, I will provide you with additional books or articles to read, podcasts to listen to and activities to try on your own, as well as offering plenty of encouragement and support.
For new clients, I encourage them to try one session and then, if they are keen to proceed, to buy a block of 5 or 10 hours of coaching time. But a pay-as-you-go model is also fine if that suits you better. Many prefer to pay individually, but companies are increasingly willing to fund or subsidise this type of coaching, as they realise that it can significantly enhance the value, productivity and contentment of their employees.
Around half of my clients are from the world of finance, but I also work with CEOs & other leaders from both private & public sectors, as well as a wide variety of City professionals. I only work with 8-10 clients at a time to ensure that I can give them each the attention and support they need. To find out more about how it works and pricing, please click on the contact button below.
A 360 degree approach
Many common issues have complex causes and are best addressed by considering a wide range of relevant factors. Take the example of why someone may be sleeping poorly:
- Are they drinking too much coffee in the afternoon?
- Are they facing stressful work issues that are causing them to wake up in the middle of the night?
- Are they using their phone just before bedtime and then finding it hard to nod off?
- Is their bedroom too hot or too noisy to promote good sleep?
- Are they being forced to wake up earlier than preferable because they are cramming so much into each day?
We need to consider nutritional habits, time management, sleep hygiene and screen time as well as an informed understanding of someone's professional life in order to improve the situation.
A professional athlete might have a team of coach, psychologist, nutritionist, trainer, physio, doctor and the like in order to optimise their performance. You can benefit from the same kind of support from me and my team of experts.