Emma Hayes: Why I use an Executive Coach

Speaking on The Sports Agents Podcast, with Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman, Hayes revealed she had used an Executive Coach during the tournament.

“I’ve worked with different coaches and mentors over the years but have never had an Executive Coach beside me through an entire tournament like that,” Hayes said. “What was I doing beforehand?!

“I had someone that was involved with some of that at Chelsea, but more from the communications and connecting piece. This time it was much more intentional, probably because there was an actual alignment between us. 

“We are very similar in the way we like to create and she definitely brought out the best parts in me. She doesn’t have experience in football, but she has had experience of working in high-performance environments.

“Working to develop the human connection and human potential was beyond rewarding. I found myself being really vulnerable within it too.”

Hayes, who won seven Women’s Super League titles with Chelsea, said the Executive Coach had “coached me to deliver the messages that are important” and helped ensure she got her messages to the players “on point” and “make everybody feel valued.”

She added: “That was the most important part for me, because it was a safe space to go with my checks and balances, even if it was affirmation, to say, ‘How do you think that landed?’ Or, ‘Do you think I could have included more of that?’

“She would in turn coach me and say, ‘I noticed you do these things when that happens, reflect on that.’ Or, ‘When you present that next time, think about adding this to it.’

“She was playing LEGO with Harry (Hayes’ son) sometimes in the middle of a meeting, because that was what was required. She wasn’t on the bench. 

“Because we are doing leadership work with the two captains, Naomi Girmer and Lindsey Horan, her role in the stands might have been noticing their behaviours and interactions and (whether) that was in line with their KPIs and things they had set out for themselves.

“It was brilliant. Loved it, loved it.”

Hayes said she had – and would always – continue to use an Executive Coach.

“Without question I will have a coach with me and think everyone should to be quite frank,” she said. 

The Londoner said football had become too preoccupied with data, science and tech in recent seasons. 

“I feel we have spent so much time talking about the innovations from science or AI,” she said. 

“What that doesn’t tell you is so many things. How is that person’s mental health? How is that person’s resilience? What are that person’s traumas? And how all of those things play an integral part in their performance.

“To get the best out of humans and understanding humans, science is the antithesis of that, the opposite of that. I am the opposite. As great as that is, I am all about human potential.”

When asked whether football had been neglecting understanding and developing the human, Hayes replied: “That’s an understatement, they are completely ignoring it. 

“I’ve done so much work in and around that area, trying to understand, ‘Ok, who is this person when things aren’t going well? What does it look like? How do they get out of that? How can others help them get out of that? Why are they doing what they are doing?’

“And, trust me, when you go through these exercises it is FASCINATING to see how, for so many top performers the self talk is so negative [and] the interferences that get in the way of performance. 

“We spend so little time in making that right and are more interested in things like a jump test. That insecurity that exists in the game comes from a place of not really understanding how to get the best out of human beings.”