Paul Ogden, Perform Green Associate, Discusses his new book on health, wellbeing, and performance – The Feldenkrais method for Executive Coaches, Managers, and Business Leaders
Mention health and wellbeing in the workplace and you will generally see executive eyes glaze over – you can almost read their mind, ‘What’s this got to do with me and how I manage myself or the performance of my team?’. The answer is actually – a great deal. We ask one of our expert Associates, Simon Paul Ogden, about his new book and why health is critical to improved business performance.
What led you to focus on health as a key part of performance development?
“I specialise in interpersonal communication in business – primarily how people relate and interact with each other in the workplace. My focus was, and still is, how to enable my clients to operate more effectively and have successful careers that are of benefit to themselves and the businesses they work for. I was definitely one of those people who considered that health and wellbeing was outside my remit and within the exclusive domain of other human resource specialists and/or health practitioners outside the working arena.
It took me a while before I realised that all my work, especially in the area of developing self-awareness, had a significant impact on my clients’ health and wellbeing. As my clients started to take control of their relationship with work, they reported back that not only did they consider that their overall performance had improved but also their general health. It took me a little while longer to realise the significance of this.”
Poor employee health impacts the Bottom Line
According to research by PwC the UK economy loses up to £180 billion through absenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace, with businesses picking up at least £50 billion of that total cost. These estimates do not take into account additional losses that may occur from; having to provide cover for absenteeism, reduction in customer service, inability to fulfil contracts, etc. If you then consider that we are currently facing a significant period of economic uncertainty, where the actual pressures placed on the workforce have amplified it is hardly surprising that existing and increasing pressures to maintain and increase productivity continue to take their toll upon the workforce. The latest Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey figures show that the main causes of absenteeism from work are:
- stress/anxiety/depression (approximately 12 million work days each year),
- and muscular skeletal disorders (approximately 9 million work days each year).
Quite simply a lack of health in any part of the workforce impacts on the ‘bottom line’.
Improving your Business Performance: Simon Paul Ogden primarly helps client across key themes including;
- assertiveness
- communication skills/emotional intelligence
- innovative thinking
- impact and presence
- influencing skills
- resilience
- work life balance.
“Over the years I have become increasingly aware that these are all areas in which improvements in performance will generally have a beneficial impact on the levels of stress a person may encounter, together with the muscular skeletal disorders that often occur as the direct result of excess tension.”
Why did you choose to focus on The Feldenkrais Method?
“In 2014 I stumbled across the Feldenkrais Method. As a great deal of my coaching related to developing self-awareness I was looking at my own ongoing professional development needs for something extra that would support my work. A friend of mine gave me Moshe Feldenkrais’ book ‘Awareness Through Movement’. What immediately struck me were his ideas about awareness and performance – they correlated with my own experience.
I went on a course ran by Garet Newell (who was a student of Moshe Feldenkrais and runs the International Training Centre in the UK) and very quickly concluded that because of it’s relevance to my life and my work I would join a training to become a practitioner. This decision has proved to be life-changing.”
Why is this approach different?
“The method is based on sound mechanical and neurological principles that are easily accessible to absolutely anyone. It emphasises experiential learning and the development of self-awareness, and offers a means to improve many aspects of our everyday life, including our performance at work. It encourages the discovery of new possibilities and choices and as a result it provides a remarkable approach for expanding our potential as individuals.”
Why did you decide to bring your knowledge together into your new book?
“I was asked to write an article about the method for Coaching Today magazine, the quarterly professional journal for counsellors and psychotherapists involved in the field of coaching and published by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy. Naturally I focussed the article on health and wellbeing in the workplace. As a result of the article I was contacted by an editor from the publishers Routledge asking if I would be prepared to extend the article into a book.”
The Feldenkrais Method for Executive Coaches, Managers, and Business Leaders, co-written with Garet Newell, was published at the end of April. It is a practical book containing case studies showing how the method improved the performance and the health/wellbeing of a number of senior executives, together with tips as to how we can all apply the same principles with great effect in our own lives. Perform Green will also be running a series of snippets from the book over the coming months, you can look at the other insights from Paul –
How to Reach Peak Performance at work
The Importance of Self Image for Continued Success
For more details about The Feldenkrais Method for Executive Coaches, Managers, and Business Leaders follow the link http://www.routledge.com/9781138230910