James Harcourt is an encountas Executive Coach and Facilitator and has over 25 years experience working with people to deliver straight forward advice and equip leaders with tools that support them in their day to day. James has a passion for bringing people together, supporting individuals, leadership groups and teams to deliver superior outcomes.
In his own words, he 'wears many hats.' He is also, a dad, a husband, a son, an avid cyclist, a listener, and a challenger of ideas. He enjoys learning about people’s stories and helping others realise their potential. James had the privilege of serving in the army for over a decade and spent time in the corporate world which included running his own business. "I’ve made plenty of good and not so good decisions on this journey, which has shaped who I am today."
I’m not sure that it was ever a conscious decision – I simply found myself coaching more than anything else, so it was a natural evolution to coach full time. I had received the benefits of great coaching and knew first hand the immense value of having the trusted ear of someone truly independent. It brings me great satisfaction supporting the success of others.
The continuous juggle of finding the time and energy to do all the things that I love and are most important to me – family and friends, staying fit and healthy, and spending time with my amazing clients. My best energy is when all these are in balance; this has been tricky in 2022, as a large focus was rebounding from a broken ankle and the family coming down with COVID, which was exhausting.
I’ve just finished reading a fabulous book call ‘Racing with Aloha’, by Fred Haywood. It’s his tale of growing up on Maui, becoming a champion swimmer and then world champion windsurfer. I love the philosophy of ‘moving away from that you don’t want to do, and towards what you do want to do’ in relation to life’s journey.
Simplifying what’s going on their minds and focussing forward - easier said than done as there is a lot of noise out there and it’s easy to fall into the trap of absorbing it.
Slow down and focus on getting the basics right so you can perform at your best. This starts with looking after your health and fitness, and spending quality time with those most important to you. Great work will follow.
The constant tension between delivering expectations of the organisation and looking after their teams. I feel this has been particularly challenging in 2022 as there has been a real FOMO (fear of missing out) across organisations of missing out on the ‘post COVID rebound’ and being left behind. Consequently, everyone has been running really hard and fatigue is beginning to hinder focus and performance. Leaders have been finding it extremely difficult to push back on these expectations and create space for a healthier and sustainable work tempo.
Many of us started 2022 still exhausted from the previous two years of COVID and lockdowns. We have spent a lot of energy this year trying to find the new life equilibrium as COVID triggered a tectonic shift on the work life balance equation, and the dust still hasn’t settled.
Emails, lots of Zoom meetings, working late….just kidding! MBWA (Management By Walking Around) is a really powerful tool - getting out and talking to your people and seeing things from their perspective. The shape of this has changed dramatically in recent years and those leaders who have embraced technology and found creative ways to connect use MBWA with great effect.
Let’s go outside! I listened to a fantastic book on Audible recently – ‘Lost Connections’ by Johann Hari, and one of the benefits of being outside in nature is that it reminds us of how big the world is and helps keep our individual egos in check.
I’ve been reluctant to make predictions ever since my crystal ball rolled off my desk and smashed. Who knows what 2023 will bring? If the past few years are any indication, it will continue to be bumpy and unpredictable.
I will go on record and predict that great leaders who slow things down and bring clarity for their teams, prioritise activities and create space for them to deliver on the most important things, will be much more successful than ‘leaders’ who simply act as a post box, continuously loading their teams without re-prioritising or dropping activities. The latter will see high turnover of their best staff, inducing even more turbulence, stress and uncertainty for their organisation. This always applies but will be greatly amplified in 2023 as almost everyone I speak to is still exhausted from the past few years and operating near and often over capacity.
