A great deal of my approach to leadership is driven by my experience and training in exercise science & fitness. I first qualified as an aerobics instructor when I was 18, and an assistant weightlifting coach and personal trainer when I was 19. 

​​​

Over the intervening years, I taught Spin, Kickboxercise, Boxercise, Salsarobics, body conditioning, circuits and step, alongside taking on personal training clients, all alongside a career in business & academia. I went on to earn a PhD from Loughborough University (the worlds' no. 1 sports research institution) engaging in a study of leadership & sport. I then spent two decades working in academic sports & business faculties.

​

Sport and business are natural bedfellows: major crossovers appear in areas as seemingly disparate as sport spectators studies and behavioural finance, specifically because of the role of physiology and the endocrine system (to cite one example) in directing behaviours & performance. Sport has a lot to teach the field of management (e.g., burnout, goal setting, feedback, performance, duality of mind & body in performance gains). However, without an appreciation of the exercise science that underpins coping strategies like deep breathing before a big presentation, or the use of supplements or nature exposure in performance, one cannot effectively leverage potential transferable gains.

 

Further, without a knowledge of sport sociology (e.g., the social structure of feedback systems within a sport), it is equally hard to transfer those lessons to the corporate arena.  But it can be done. Wellness & burnout in the workplace are particular case studies where this transference can be extremely effective where salient variables such as age or individual differences (e.g., life stages such as the andropause and menopause) also need to be factored in to performance goals & strategies.

​​

Ultimately, as part of my practice, I extensively use orthodox leadership and management theory (e.g., full range leadership, charismatic leadership, motivational theory), as well as sport & exercise psychology approaches such as deep breathing, visualisation, mental rehearsal, positive self talk and affirmations to help individuals achieve higher levels of performance.

​