Business coaching and psychotherapy
I have been engaged by The World Bank, The I.M.F., Fortune 500 Corporations, and State and Federal Governments in Australia and the United States for over thirty years, principally specialising in organisational and strategy development, executive and team ‘coaching’, and project turnaround. My coaching and project management has been acknowledged as best practice by the Australian Federal Government State governments, and internal banks.
As background, I have held academic positions at the Graduate School of Business at American University, and at the University of Southern California where I was a joint recipient of U.S.C.’s teaching and research award. In addition, I have been a senior executive and CIO for major organisations in the U.S.A. Currently, I maintain an organisational consulting practice and a psychoanalytic psychotherapy practice in Melbourne Australia.
Executive ‘coaching’
The term ‘coaching’ is widely used but is a misnomer at senior levels in my view. Senior executives are experts in their fields and frequently find themselves in changed or unusual circumstances. Rather than coaching in the common sense of that word (for football players or students), I prefer describing the relationship as a peer-to-peer collaboration. It is a business relationship not psychotherapy or any other form of working.
My approach involves jointly working with the client on strategy and selected tasks, in order to bring a perspective based on my more than 30 years of high level consulting experience. The aim is to advise and assist the client to sucesfully establish their organisational roles.
Of the established business coaching philosophies, the Organisational Role Analysis approach is generally most appropriate. This approach focuses on the synergy of the individual (client) and the organisational boundary. That ‘boundary’ is defined as the expectations of role and function by the client and the organisation.
Understanding ways of working within this boundary is part of the ‘collaboration’ process, and leads to executives doing the ‘right thing at the right time, to quote Peter Drucker.
I have significant sector experience in: Banking, Government, Health, and Education, and have over sixty publications and presentations in management and psychoanalysis topics. Additional information can be provided on request at: james@jameswalker.net.au.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
I have been a practicing psychotherapist for over thirty years first with a behaviorist orientation, moving into the gestalt paradigm, and, then for the past twenty-five years with a psychoanalytic focus. My practice in Melbourne Australia is limited to individual psychoanalytic work. This practice has also provided invaluable contributions and insights into my organisational work although the two are distinctly separate. For further details please contact me at: james@jameswalker.net.au