Coaching and Sustained Performance

In a world of increased ambiguity, uncertainty and complexity, working with a skilled coach can help you to identify and execute strategies to sustain performance over the long term. 

At present, we’re seeing increasing shifts in the relationships people have with their work and their expectations. The global pandemic has given many people an opportunity to work differently and to organise their lives differently. The uncertainty, and the blurring of lines between home life and work life have led to many people feeling exhausted and some feeling burnt out. Commentators are using language like “The Great Resignation” and “The Great Realignment” to explore this phenomenon. What’s clear is that we’re in a transition point, and that we may need to shift the way we think and work. 

If any of this resonates with you, it may be that working with a coach could be helpful. A coach can help you to identify the values and goals that are important to you and how to take committed action towards them in a way that enables you to sustain performance and avoid burnout.

Ideal Performance State

One question to consider is how to bring all your strengths and skills to life in a way that enables you to sustain high performance over time and to deliver peak performance when that’s necessary. Like an athlete, you need to be clear what the goals are and how to train for them – and like an athlete, you might need a coach to help you along the way. Increasing your capacity across domains and managing your energy are critical.

Values and Purpose

Getting clear on your values and purpose is a significant component of high performance. If your role is aligned with your values and purpose, you don’t have to expend as much energy on motivating yourself. Your values and purpose can act like a compass, guiding decisions (large and small) and behaviour.

Self-Care and Energy Management

You may have noticed that when elite athletes are preparing for competition events, there is a balance of training and recovery time. They’ll have a plan for nutrition, sleep and exercise so that they are able to deliver results when it matters. Disciplined rest and recovery are considered as important as the training.

In the world of work, we need to deliver sustained performance over a longer timeframe. Self-care and energy management are equally critical in the workplace, particularly when there are increased demands on our capacity.

Emotional Capacity

Much as we might like to pretend otherwise, our emotions are an important part of performance at work. Positive emotions can provide energy and drive for performance, while negative emotions can drain energy – or sometimes, if they’re harnessed in the right way, can help push us forward. Increased uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity

Cognitive Capacity

Our capacity to think clearly and make good decisions is often critical in the world of work. We need to be able to develop our capacity in this space, and we also need to be able to direct the spotlight of our attention efficiently and effectively.

How Coaching Helps

So how can coaching help with all of this? An effective coach can help you to identify what’s most important to you, how you’re currently operating, and what rhythms and rituals you can put in place in your life to deliver sustained performance over extended periods of time.

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Reach out to us to speak to one of our coaches to improve your performance: connect@boldly.app.