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“The ideas that coaching is a spend rather than an investment, or a nice to have, not a need to have, are two of the biggest misconceptions about executive coaching.” – Lara Milward. 

This month, we talked to Lara Milward, one of our Eternal Optimists, about executive coaching and our unique Optimist approach. So, if you’ve never done coaching and think it’s not for you or your team (another misconception), keep reading. We’ll discuss the benefits of coaching and why coaching is now more important than ever for leaders and organisations. 

About Lara Milward:

Lara is a NeuroLeadership coach who works with individuals and teams to strengthen their mental muscles. Just like physical muscle, your brain needs challenge and fuel to be stronger. 

Lara loves supporting people to achieve what they didn’t believe was possible. As a former athletic coach, she understood that by knowing how our body works, we could improve our performance, and she wanted to do the same with our brains to enhance our personal and business performance. 

“I don’t believe in a self-made man or woman, we all need at least one other person, a coach or mentor or a team. I love being that trusted advisor who helps individuals and teams go from great to world-class.” – Lara Milward. 

How would you describe coaching? 

“Coaching is fuelling performance and confidence through improved thinking.” As coaches, we create a safe space where people can work things through, think out loud, gain insights, and create new habits & behaviours. We help them by being their trusted advisor and thinking partner. 

“There is no more thrill for me than seeing someone achieve more than they thought they could.” – Lara Milward

Coaching is also about transformation. As coaches, we help our clients reframe their view of their situation, their abilities, and their agency in order to play to their potential. During our sessions, we turn obstacles into opportunities and challenges into learning, which in turn supports their behaviours and performance. 

Why is coaching more important than ever for leaders?

71 % of CEOs in the US have reported feelings of imposter syndrome. Being a leader doesn’t mean you aren’t human! We live in a world where we are all dealing with constant information overload and the pressure of being constantly online. This is overwhelming for the prefrontal cortex of anyone’s brain, including leaders.

They are not only dealing with that overwhelm, but they are also the ones who everyone looks to for answers, solutions, and clarity in an uncertain world.

Additionally, leadership positions can be lonely at times. The fact that leaders want to show their best selves to their teams means that they might not have anyone they can confide in and who can help them sort their own challenges out. 

This is where executive coaching becomes invaluable for leaders because it gives them the space and time to think things through, work on problem-solving, and enhance the confidence they need to lead their teams in the best way possible. 

It’s important to note that we don’t come to new insights and ideas when the brain is in gamma wave, on task, at the computer. We only come to insights and new thinking when we are in the alpha wave. This makes coaching time even more valuable for leaders as it diarises space to slow down and work through their challenges and struggles. They can also work on themselves and how they want to show up for their teams, which in turn, allows them to be better leaders. 

What are the main benefits of coaching you’ve seen in your clients?

We asked Lara about the benefits of coaching. These are the ones she mentioned as the most valuable for her clients: better solutions and better thinking, transforming fears into confidence, clarity of thinking (seeing a way through), validation (understanding they are not alone and that it’s ok to feel the way they fell), ideas generation and dissolving stress 

Other benefits identified by our clients are improved communication and feedback, reduced stress and feeling less anxious, increased self-awareness and learning to manage themselves and others better. 

The link between executive coaching and well-being. 

It can be easier to think that our personal lives don’t have a space within executive coaching, but there is nothing further from the truth. The reality is that we are all humans and it’s impossible to separate our personal and professional lives. 

When we go to work, we are still the same person. This is why, as Optimists Coaches, we take a holistic approach and work around the full individual and not only their professional lives. If we want to achieve our full potential, it’s important that we look at ourselves and our lives as a whole and deal with it accordingly. 

Part of this holistic approach is to work on emotions and more specifically “affect labelling”. This is the process of identifying and labelling our emotions to be able to deal with them better. 

Research shows the importance and benefits of labelling our emotions. By naming our emotions, we can understand and work through them. It also allows us to cope better with stress, adversity and negative emotions. Some of the benefits are reduced emotional reactivity, enhanced problem-solving skills and improved emotional intelligence. 

Read “The Human Behind the performance” here.

What makes the Optimist Performance approach different from other executive coaching programmes?

At Optimist Performance, we use experiential learning and coach the whole person, physically, personally, and professionally. . . Through our other services (group coaching, leadership training and experiences), we support both the individual and the team to shift mindsets and behaviours so that they play to their strengths and enhance their adaptability to change, challenge and opportunity. As we know from high-performing athletes, the ability to adapt is what will help you thrive in a VUCA world. 

“I love that our way is right there in the name – Optimist. With the mindset and behaviour of an Optimist you can play to your potential whatever life throws at you.” – Lara Milward.

Another unique characteristic, according to Lara, is the mature and experienced team of coaches or Eternal Optimists (as we call them). At Optimist Performance, we bring our sports background into our coaching and the business world. Additionally, all our Eternal Optimists have been through coaching themselves (both in their sports and business careers), they have been there and understand the power of coaching and the impact it has on performance. 

“We have all just seen it at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics none of the athletes were alone. They all have coaches.” – Lara Milward.

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Up-and-coming leaders often hear the advice that to land those high-ranking roles, especially in the C-suite, they’ve got to show some “executive presence” (EP). Traditionally, this boiled down to three things: having gravitas, nailing communication skills, and looking the part. But how have our ideals about EP changed over the past decade, and what are they today?

Gravitas: Inclusiveness and Respect for Others. Traditionally dominated by confidence and decisiveness, gravitas now places a premium on inclusiveness and respect for others. For leaders creating high-performance teams, this signals a crucial shift towards fostering diverse and inclusive environments. Encourage team members to appreciate and support each other, ensuring everyone feels valued. MGM Resorts International’s “culture of yes” serves as an exemplary tactic, empowering employees and enhancing their work experience.

Communication: Zoom Mastery and “Listen to Learn” Orientation. The accelerated adoption of virtual communication has elevated the importance of Zoom mastery in the EP playbook. Developing leaders of high-performance teams should involve honing virtual communication skills. Additionally, the emphasis on a “listen to learn” orientation reflects the contemporary preference for leaders who prioritize understanding before deciding. Develop these traits within your team, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are actively sought and valued.

Appearance: Authenticity in the “New Normal”. Authenticity emerges as a newfound treasure in the appearance category. Leaders are now expected to showcase who they fundamentally are, shunning outdated ideals. Getting the most out of your high-performance teams requires cultivating authenticity within team members. Encourage them to embrace their backgrounds, values, and unique strengths. Sundar Pichai’s adaptable yet professional style exemplifies dressing for the “new normal,” demonstrating the importance of aligning appearance with the evolving hybrid workplace.

Strategies for EP Development in Team Creation

1. Deliver Informed Empathy: Drawing inspiration from MGM Resorts International, encourage leaders to understand and respond to the unique challenges faced by their team members. Informed empathy can enhance morale and foster a positive work environment.
2. Hire and Utilise Diverse Talent: Following Dyson’s example, emphasise the value of a diverse workforce in driving disruptive innovation. Leaders building high-performance teams should actively seek out and leverage diverse talents to fuel creativity and success.
3. Proactively Manage Virtual Meetings: Borrowing from Reginn’s CFO Rosa Gudmundsdottir, instil best practices for high-impact virtual meetings. Ensure that technical aspects are addressed, relevant materials are shared in advance, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
4. Engage Eye-to-Eye: Encourage leaders to adopt a “listen to learn” orientation, drawing inspiration from Jørgen Vig Knudstorp’s approach at Lego. Actively seek insights from various stakeholders, both internal and external, to inform decision-making.
5. Showcase Roots and Values: Taking a cue from Thasunda Brown Duckett, leaders should be encouraged to embrace and showcase their backgrounds and values. This authenticity fosters connection and understanding within the team.

Conclusion 

The evolving rules of executive presence demand adaptability and a keen understanding of the current leadership landscape. For those coaching high-performance teams, it’s crucial to integrate these new elements into leadership development strategies. By aligning with the contemporary expectations outlined in Hewlett’s article, leaders can inspire their teams to greater achievements and contribute to the flourishing of their organisations in this dynamic era of leadership.

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A recent survey by Zippia showed that employee engagement increases by 48% with a gamified work experience. Furthermore, their data analysis team showed that

Companies that use gamification are seven times more profitable than those that do not use gamified elements at work—whether with employees or consumers. 

Studies show that these gamified initiatives have increased workplace engagement by 48%. What’s more, 72% of workers report feeling motivated to work harder, and gamification has been demonstrated to boost employee productivity by 90%.

Here at Optimist, we have long since been incorporating games as one of our methods in leadership development, and with the slew of recent articles on engagement out there, we thought we’d share how gamification can be a game-changer in building teams that are not only inclusive but high-performing. So, let’s delve into some key insights and uncover some secrets to levelling up your team. 

Resource: Financesonline.com

1. 1. 1. Gamification and Collaboration: Incorporating game elements into workplace activities promotes collaboration by fostering healthy competition and teamwork. They lead to improved communication and collaboration among team members.
      2. Boosting Engagement: Gamification can enhance employee engagement by making tasks more enjoyable and rewarding. Elements, such as leaderboards or rewards systems, can motivate team members to go the extra mile.
      3. Creating an Inclusive Culture: Gamification plays a role in building an inclusive work culture. Game-based approaches can break down barriers, encourage diverse perspectives, and create a sense of belonging among team members.

As you can see, gamification is not just about making work more enjoyable; it’s a powerful tool for building inclusive and high-performing teams.

Perhaps this is why 87% of businesses are projected to utilise gamified techniques in the next five years. Half of these companies will also consider gamification as a top priority. By incorporating game elements into everyday tasks, organizations can tap into the inherent human desire for achievement, recognition, and collaboration. Of course, the journey to lasting behavioural change starts with a strategic approach to gamification amongst many other tools. 

Are you ready to level up your team? Let’s explore the Optimist journey that’s best for your teams.

And be sure to sign up for our Optimist Newsletter, as this week we share some gamification ideas to try with your team!

What are you waiting for?

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