Talking sport and business

“Executive Coaching”- a profession which is emerging as one of the fastest growing

Just over two decades ago the business world borrowed, and then revitalised some concepts of coaching from sport, giving birth of the profession “Executive Coaching”- a profession which is emerging as one of the fastest growing (by 40%, The Economist, 2002) and significant business tools in the world today. Unlike this recent progress in business, coaching in sport remains largely dogmatic and instruction based.  

The sporting world can learn a lot from business. Stuff like adopting tried and tested business principles in the running of its affairs, concepts like adult learning and empowerment, promoting ownership, leadership, responsibility and accountability amongst employees (the players). A recently retired international star commented to me; “@$&*, for the first time in 10 years I now have to keep a diary”.

By the same token I suggest business has got a lot to learn from sport – take team development/ dynamics. As part of the SA Cricket team management, I spent over 10 months per year, 7 days per week and 24 hours per day in the same bus, aeroplane, hotel and change-room (ok, and the odd pub) with the same 14 players. And this was always in the public/ media eye, in high pressure situations, where players were competing against the best in the world. This gave heaps of time and space team dynamics to develop, and nowhere for them to hide. I guess that some of what sport might already have forgotten about team development, business teams have yet to learn.

To succeed on the sporting stage, players need to be as physically, mentally and emotionally fit as possible; they have to know the opposition well; they have copy the worlds best and innovate beyond that; they must constantly adjust strategy and tactics to changing opposition, rules and competitive demands – and are always under public scrutiny. Business can surely adopt and/or learn from some of these provisos for sporting success.

There are also commonalities, one of the many but more limiting (and controversial) of which is the ‘over developed ego’ – of which business and sport have their fair share. The more one operates from a place of ego, the less the presence of self-awareness. I suggest heightened self-awareness is a more valuable tool for sustaining effective leadership/ performance than ego. After-all, one can only really know others to the extent that ones knows oneself.

Particularly when the pressure is on and one has to dig deep into ones own truth, strength and resourcefulness, self-awareness is required. And ego gets in the way. I guess top sport and top business will never be without ego, but its limiting qualities can be controlled by the self-aware individual. Reminds me of a quote from William O’Brien, former CEO of the Hanover Reinsurance Company, who insists that; “The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervenor”.

Paddy Upton

Without order nothing can exist - without chaos nothing can evolve
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