Monday, October 20, 2008

Executive Coaches

Global FTSE chief executives use personal coaches.

"Around 40% of FTSE chief executives have used a personal coach. (“It is extraordinary to think you can be excellent at something without a coach. The notion that Roger Federer would not have several coaches is ridiculous. One of the best things that happened to me was to get a coach,” says Richard Baker, a former boss of Alliance Boots, a pharmacy.)

Typically, these coaches are mentors, but some bosses have sought other varieties of personal training. One (unnamed) FTSE chief executive told Messrs Cave and Tappin that he used an actress once a month to teach him how to act out the chief-executive role. “I am a very shy individual,” he reveals. “I would not naturally engage with people. It’s just a management style I have developed over the years. We all put on a show. We are all actors and I have learnt to act. The actress comes in and coaches me in body language, presentation style, and public speaking. I am an introvert and introverts get drawn in. I don’t need to have a high regard for friendships or closeness. I can retain my intellectual distance with people who work for me.”

Source: According to “The Secrets of CEOs”, a new book by Steve Tappin and Andrew Cave based on interviews with over 150 current and former chief executives from around the world.

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