Case Study: Coaching

Raising performance to new levels with personal coaching

Euton Daley MBE, CEO of Oxford's Pegasus Theatre explains how personal coaching helped him create a new future for the theatre - and raise the funds to turn vision into reality.

When Euton Daley became chief executive of Pegasus Theatre, the home of Oxford Youth Theatre in East Oxford, in 2006, the prospect was daunting. Previously under the control of Oxfordshire County Council, the theatre now had independent charitable status and was controlled by a board of trustees.

After 16 years as artistic director, Euton would now take on responsibility for running the theatre, reporting directly to the board's chairman and vice chairman. "Previously, aspects such as HR and governance were dealt with by the county council," he says. "Now we had to govern ourselves, I needed to know how I could best be accountable to the trustees."

In addition, the theatre needed to raise £6.3 million to refurbish the dilapidated theatre building and create new facilities including a rehearsal and dance studio; and a new workshop for technical training.

With the board's agreement, Euton decided to seek expert help to allow him rise to the challenges of his new role. At the recommendation of ABL, a consultancy specialising in the arts and cultural sector, he turned to Elva Ainsworth of Talent Innovations.

Business & Career Grounded

At an initial meeting, Euton was immediately struck with Elva's holistic approach. "She very quickly grasped the situation and understood my dilemmas and concerns whilst making connections that I was too close to see for myself. On top of that, she let me talk and voice my opinions rather than telling me what I should or shouldn't do. I decided straight away that I wanted to work with her," he says.

Elva suggested four two-hour sessions. She worked with Euton to agree what results he wanted to achieve in his new role and identify specific objectives for the coaching. The coaching process also incorporated 360° feedback, in which his senior management team and a number of trustees participated.

Euton explains, "The analysis showed that what I imagined people thought of me wasn't necessarily right. It also highlighted my own perceptions of myself, providing a very useful perspective for the coaching sessions."

Creating Partnership

The sessions comprised straight talking in an atmosphere of positive regard. "Elva has a very conversational style and makes you relaxed enough to talk," he says. "She questions your assumptions and checks if you mean what you say. For example, she'll ask: 'Is this what you are intending to say because this is what I'm hearing?' She would then question whether this has to be the case."

She let me talk and voice my opinions rather than telling me what I should or shouldn't do. I decided straight away that I wanted to work with her.

The process helped Euton understand how his experiences had shaped his opinions about management and his personal style. "Elva helped me clear my mindset about who I am, what I have achieved and what I want to do," Euton says. "She was spot on. She pinpointed how experiences in my early education, schooling and upbringing have had a big influence on how I operate."

Managing People

A key objective for the coaching sessions was to help Euton feel comfortable in his management role and develop an effective management style.

Euton discovered that while his mindset was often black and white, right and wrong, there were other ways of looking at things. "Elva enabled me to avoid having fixed opinions and to understand that things move and change, which helped me to improve my ability to delegate, a critical factor in my new role and to set strategies for understanding and managing people."

Elva taught Euton a lot about dealing with people and mutual respect. He found out that he doesn't always make it clear how much he values people, or explain what he thinks is wrong and why an approach or behaviour is unacceptable. "I learnt a great deal about how I could adapt the way I communicate in order to manage people more effectively," he says.

Elva helped me clear my mindset about who I am, what I have achieved and what I want to do. She was spot on.

An unexpected benefit for Euton was an improved work life balance. "I began to question whether it is always necessary to work so hard or spend so long at work. By identifying priorities and communicating these effectively, my delegation skills improved."

A Vision for the Future

Another key element of the coaching process was to help Euton create and communicate a clear vision for the future of the theatre. By clarifying his personal vision, Euton was able to communicate the theatre's long term goals more effectively to both the staff and potential donors.

"I had to unpack what's clear in my head and make it digestible for other people," Euton says. "I also needed to commit my thoughts to paper. It doesn't mean they will never change. For me it's more about getting down what I want to do despite not being a great writer, about finding a way to transfer my oral passions to paper."

Talent Innovations is committed to delivering tangible results through personal coaching. Did Euton get the results he wanted from the process? He concludes, "The results have gone way beyond my expectations. The process has left me more at ease with my new role and really excited by the opportunity to make a difference. Even better than that, I can now communicate this excitement effectively, to help build an even brighter future for the theatre and plot a way forward for myself."

Perhaps most positive proof of Euton's leadership skills is provided by the theatre's colossal fund-raising achievement. He and the team have already raised £5.5m of the £6.3 fund-raising target, allowing them to schedule building work to start in 2009 and extend the reach of the theatre's work even further into the local community.

"The fact that my trustees were in a position to providing this opportunity and support is something I'm very grateful for. The benefits are already apparent and are having positive effects on the theatre's big plans."

Talent Innovations