Interference: The Silent Saboteur

The pursuit of excellence in performance for senior players is often hampered not by a lack of ability but by interference.

This interference, an interplay of internal and/or external factors, acts as what we might call a ‘silent saboteur’, hindering even the most accomplished leaders from reaching their potential or from continuing to succeed when they have always succeeded before.

Understanding and addressing this interference is critical for your executive development.

Multifaceted Interference

Interference manifests in various forms, creating a web of obstacles that can cloud your judgment, stifle creativity, and impede your progress. There’s an array of psychological, organisational and societal pressures which can potentially get in your way.

Internal Interference

We’re talking about your “Inner Game", something which for me is ‘coaching 101’ but understanding of which can be of critical importance to the players with whom I work: self-doubt, fear of failure, and negative self-talk.

There might be cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias and anchoring bias, which distort your decision-making.

And emotional regulation also plays a crucial role; it might be stating the obvious but unmanaged stress or anxiety will impede your performance.

External Interference

Organisational culture and politics can, for example, create a climate of fear or competition, hindering collaboration and innovation.

Or you might be grappling with market volatility and economic uncertainty which can generate stress and get in the way of strategic, future-focused thinking.

Societal expectations and the pressure to maintain a certain image can create a sense of constant scrutiny: classic interference.

And those time constraints and that ever-increasing workload will prevent sufficient focus on your longer-term priorities (when did you last stop/cancel something to create space for a priority?)

The Impact on Executive Performance

The effect of interference can be far-reaching: 

You risk making impulsive or risk-averse decisions, hindering strategic agility.

Stress and anxiety can impair your communication skills, leading to misunderstandings and conflict.

Blind-spots can diminish empathy and emotional intelligence, impacting team dynamics and morale.

Chronic interference can, and sometimes does, ultimately lead to burnout, impacting both personal and professional life.

 A Barrier to Coaching Itself

Paradoxically, and the reason I sat down to write this article, interference can also act as a significant barrier to executives even seeking coaching in the first place.

Self-doubt may tell you that you are not "worthy" of coaching, or that seeking help is a sign of weakness; I come across that fairly frequently. Fear of judgment from colleagues or superiors might also deter you.

The aforementioned time constraints, often exacerbated by the very interference you need to address, can create the illusion that coaching is an unaffordable luxury.

So the very forces that necessitate coaching can also prevent you from accessing its benefits, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.

I can help an executive to see their blind spots, to develop coping mechanisms, to be the best version of themselves…but only if I have the opportunity.

This is coaching

When I launched my new company brand and visual identity one person asked me if I would rule them out as a coachee as “I’m not sure I am successful enough for you”.

This is fascinating, for they are objectively a huge success in their career and occupy a position in their profession which many would envy, but is also a salutary reminder of the insidious effects of psychological interference, that Inner Game. One business, upon enquiry, discovered that more than 40% of their senior players lived with this kind of internal interference – sometimes referred to as Imposter Syndrome.

“When will they find me out?”; “When will I lose everything?”; “Is my next decision the one that kills my business”.

I have seen this so many times – at its simplest it’s a case of success breeding anxiety when it could foster confidence.

Challenging for so many; in my sweet-spot as a coach.

For this is part of what I do. In service of brilliant people (that might well be you) continuing to succeed, we work out what might stop you and then we deal with it. Together.

That is executive coaching.