Performance, Change and Strategy

Hedge Funds and coaching.

One of the UK’s top performance coaches Professor Graham Jones has recently been working with a Hedge Fund and has been interviewed by the Institutional Investor about his work with the leaders there . He has also expressed his reasons in his blog as why coaching has exploded in the business world.

“Among the reasons offered for such growth in a recent study by the U.K.-based Institute of Employment Studies) are the knock-on effects of the downsizing and delayering of the 1990s resulting in “lonely” and isolated senior managers, and the increasing demand by organizations for senior managers with key “soft skills.” Executives eager to find new ways to develop personally and enhance their performance for senior managers with key “soft skills.” Executives eager to find new ways to develop personally and enhance their performance generally have seen great value in applying the coaching analogy. Just as the best athletes still need and employ coaches, so too do business executives. Indeed, my experience as a business coach in one context and as a sport psychology consultant in another suggests that it is a good analogy, because there because there are several common issues I have encountered. Stress management, confidence, motivation, and focus are well-documented in the literature as being key to performance in sport (Hardy et al., 1996), but my experience is that they also are key to business performance, particularly among the highest levels of leadership and management”

He also talks about his experiences on coaching high performers in business on his blog :

“I published a study in Consulting Psychology Journal a few years ago which showed that high achievers want a coach who is credible, challenging, flexible and who adds value quickly.  They want a relationship with their coach which is built on total trust and mutual respect. They are sponges for new information and need to feel they are working with cutting-edge data. These high achievers also have an insatiable appetite for feedback and the coach is an important source of this. They are demanding and fast-paced so that the coach should always be striving to stay one step ahead.

Highly recommended see more at http://www.tpc.uk.net/archives/841