You'Re On Consulting For Peak Performance-Mantesh

Title:
You're on!: Consulting for peak performance.

Author(s):
Hays, Kate F., The Performing Edge, Toronto, ON, Canada. Brown, Charles H. Jr..
Publisher
Information:
Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, 2004. xi, 328 pp.
ISBN:
1-59147-078-1
Link to this
Publication:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pzh&jid=200388365&site=ehost-
live
Publication
Type:
Authored Book
Subjects:
Achievement; Clients; Counseling; Performance; Interviews; Professional Consultation
Language:
English
Abstract:
Provides guidance and advice on counseling performing clients so that they achieve their
best. The authors have compiled interviews with people in numerous performing fields.
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
Table of
Contents:

Preface
I. Setting the stage
Introduction: The roots of performance consultation
Kate F. Hays and Charles H. Brown, Jr. / 3-17
The back story: Research in performance consultation
II. Domain-specific information
Unique aspects of the business domain
Unique aspects of high-risk professions
Unique aspects of the performing arts
III. Key factors in performance
The foundations of excellent performance
Getting it right: Preparation
Keeping your head: Mental skills
The microscopic nightmare of infinity: The experience of stress
Reframe and relax: Coping with stress
You're on! (Performance)
IV. What do performers want?
The help they need: Assistance performers want
The ideal consultant
Consultant efforts that hinder performance
V. What consultants need: Training, ethics, and practice
A good fit: Training, competence, and ethical practice
The consultant as performer
Appendix A: List of participants
Appendix B: Interview questions for performers
Appendix C: Interview questions for consultants
References
Author index
Subject index
About the authors

Introduction: T h e R oots of
P e rf o rm a n c e C ons ulta tion
I a m f i n d i n g i t r e a l l y f a s c i n a t i n g t o s e e t h e p a r a l l e l s be t we e n a t h l e t i c
p e r f o r ma n c e a n d wh a t mu s i c i a n s d o . We bot h h a ve t o p r a c t i c e s k i l l s u n t i l
t h i n g s bec ome a u t o ma t i c ; t h e n we h a ve t o g e t out of our own wa y t o
s how t h e m t o o t h e r s .
Di a n e ( m u s i c i a n )
n r e c e n t y e a r s , p r a c t i t i o n e r s , p e r f o r me r s , a n d t h e g e n e r a l p u bl i c ha ve
be e n a c t i ve l y i n vo l ve d i n t h e s y s t e ma t i c a p p l i c a t i o n o f ps y c hol og i c al p r i n -
c i pl e s t o t he i mp r o ve me n t of p e r f o r ma n c e . Thi s e xp l os i on of i n t e r e s t has
be e n mos t e vi d e n t i n r e l a t i o n t o e l i t e a t h l e t e s . La r g e l y t h r o u g h t he s t u d y
of t he s e e xt r a o r d i n a r y p e r f o r me r s , s por t ps yc hol og y i n p a r t i c u l a r has t a k e n
t he l e ad i n t he r e s e a r c h of p r i n c i p l e s a n d p r a c t i c e s of p e ak p e r f o r ma n c e .
Mor e r e c e n t l y , t h i s i n t e r e s t i n e n h a n c i n g p e r f o r m a n c e h a s br o a d e n e d
f r o m t h e c o n f i n e s o f a t h l e t i c s t o t h e e n t i r e s p e c t r u m o f h u m a n p e r f o r -
ma n c e . Thi s n e w a n d bu r g e o n i n g f i e l d i s g e n e r a l l y d e s c r i be d a s perfor-
mance psychology, an d t he s er vi c es p r o vi d e d ar e r e f e r r e d t o as performance
consultation or coaching.
As we c o n s i d e r e d t h i s br oa d s p e c i a l t y , we wer e a wa r e t h a t p e r f o r -
ma n c e p s y c hol og y h a s o f t e n been a p p r o a c h e d f r o m d i f f e r e n t pe r s pe c -
t i ve s , eac h wi t h v a r y i n g f o c u s a n d e mp h a s i s . Fo r u s , t h i s r a i s e d n u me r -
ous que s t i o n s . I s t h e r e a s p e c i f i c a r r a y of k n o wl e d g e t h a t c an be d e s c r i be d
a s p e r f o r ma n c e p s y c hol og y ? Wh a t d oes i t i n c l u d e a n d h o w d oes o n e
g a i n t h a t k n owl e d g e ? I s s p or t p s y c h o l o g y t h e bes t r o u t e f o r g a i n i n g t h a t
k n o wl e d g e , o r a r e t h e r e be t t e r p a t h s f o r l e a r n i n g t h e s k i l l s a n d t e c h-
n i que s f o r e n h a n c i n g p e r f or man c e i n d i f f e r e n t d o ma i n s ?
Our i n t e n t i o n i n wr i t i n g t h i s book i s t o p r o vi d e a d e s c r i p t i ve a c c oun t
of t he s t i l l -e vo l vi n g f i e l d of p e r f o r ma n c e p s y c hol og y as we t r y t o a n s we r
t he s e qu e s t i o n s . We hop e t o a s s i s t p s y c h o l o g i s t s a n d o t h e r me n t a l h e a l t h
p r o f e s s i o n a l s i n m a k i n g u s e o f t h e c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a bl e i n f o r ma t i o n , i n
f i n d i n g t h e c o mmo n a l i t i e s ac r os s a r e a s o r d o ma i n s o f p e r f o r ma n c e , a n d
i n d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g a mo n g d o ma i n s wh e r e wa r r a n t e d .
S E T T I N G T H E S T A G E
Intention of the Research
I n a p p r o a c h i n g t h e t o p i c o f p e r f o r m a n c e p s y c h o l o g y , we we r e g u i d e d h y
t h o s e s ame p r i n c i p l e s t h a t s e r ve d a s t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e p r a c t i c e o f
a p p l i e d s p or t p s y c h o l o g y . Th i s p r a c t i c e f o c u s wa s n o t c r e a t e d i n a l a bo r a -
t o r y o r c l a s s r o o m; r a t h e r , i t be g a n t h r o u g h s t u d y i n g t h e e xp e r i e n c e s o f
t op a t hl e t e s a n d c oac hes . Ps y c hol og i s t s h a ve s o ug h t t o u n d e r s t a n d t he s e
"be s t p r a c t i c e s , " a l be i t i n c o n j u n c t i o n wi t h k n o wl e d g e f r o m mor e f o r m a l
r e s e a r c h a n d l a bo r a t o r y s e t t i n g s ( Go u l d & P i c k , 1 9 9 5 ) .
I n a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n , we be g a n o u r r e s e a r c h by i n t e r v i e wi n g e l i t e p e r -
f o r m e r s a bo u t t h e m e n t a l , e mo t i o n a l , a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s o f p e r -
f o r ma n c e . We we r e a wa r e o f t h e l a r g e e xt a n t l i t e r a t u r e wi t h i n s p or t p s y -
c h o l o g y t h a t s p e a k s t o t h e s e qu e s t i o n s . I n s t e a d o f d u p l i c a t i n g t h a t
i n f o r m a t i o n , we d e c i d e d t o d r a w f r o m i t t o f r a m e o u r qu e s t i o n s a n d t o
u n d e r s t a n d o u r i n t e r vi e we e s ' r e s p on s e s . Th e r e f o r e , we d e l i be r a t e l y c hos e
t o i n t e r vi e w p e r f o r m e r s i n " n o n s p o r t " a r e a s . We c o n s i d e r e d t h r e e o t h e r
g e n e r a l d o m a i n s o f p e r f o r m a n c e : bu s i n e s s , h i g h - r i s k p r o f e s s i o n s , a n d
p e r f o r m i n g a r t s .
We a l s o i n t e r v i e we d c o n s u l t a n t s i n t h e s e p e r f o r m a n c e d o m a i n s ,
pe opl e wh o c a n be c o n s i d e r e d " e l i t e " i n t h e i r o wn r i g h t , g i ve n t h e i r e x-
t e n s i ve wo r k wi t h p e r f o r m e r s . We f o u n d t h a t t h e c o n s u l t a n t s o f t e n
br o u g h t t h e i r o wn p a r t i c u l a r t h e o r e t i c a l f r a m e wo r k o r t e mp l a t e t o t h e i r
p r a c t i c e s a n d t h a t t he s e p e r s p e c t i ve s va r i e d . Li k e t h e I n d i a n f a bl e o f t h e
t h r e e bl i n d me n a t t e m p t i n g t o d e s c r i be a n e l e p h a n t , n o o n e p e r s p e c t i ve
s e e me d t o qu i t e r e p r e s e n t t h e " be a s t " p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t i n g i n i t s
e n t i r e t y .
Eve n t h o u g h c o n s u l t a n t s h a ve e s t a bl i s h e d p r a c t i c e s i n t h e s e p e r f o r -
ma n c e d o m a i n s , t h e va s t m a j o r i t y o f p e r f o r m e r s we i n t e r vi e we d we r e
u n a wa r e o f t h e p r a c t i c e a n d c on c e p t s o f p e r f o r m a n c e p s y c hol og y . Th i s
l a c k o f f a m i l i a r i t y c o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d a l i a bi l i t y : Wh e n d i s c u s s i n g p e r -
f o r m a n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n , we r e t h e p e r f o r m e r s me r e l y p r o j e c t i n g va g u e
n o t i o n s a n d i mp o s s i bl e e xp e c t a t i o n s t h a t h a ve l i t t l e p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n ?
Howe ve r , we s a w t h e i r n e wn e s s t o t h i s a r e a a s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o l e a r n
p e r f o r m e r s ' a c t u a l e xp e r i e n c e s a n d n e e d s f i r s t h a n d . Th e i r d e s c r i p t i o n s o f
t h e m e n t a l , e m o t i o n a l , a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s o f p e a k p e r f o r m a n c e
r e f l e c t e d t h e i r d i r e c t e xp e r i e n c e s , u n t a i n t e d by j a r g o n o r c o n s t r u c t s o f
o r g a n i z e d p s y c h o l o g y .
Fr om t h i s e xp e r i e n c e , we c a me t o u n d e r s t a n d be t t e r wh a t performers
e xp e r i e n c e , u n d e r s t a n d , a n d n e e d . To bes t i n f o r m c o n s u l t a n t s a n d p o -
t e n t i a l c o n s u l t a n t s , o u r u l t i m a t e i n t e n t i o n be c a me ( t o p a r a p h r a s e Fr e u d )
a f u r t h e r c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e qu e s t i o n , " Wh a t i s i t t h a t p e r f o r me r s r e a l l y
wa n t ?"
Introduction: The Roots of Performance Consultation
Amon g our c e n t r a l qu e s t i o n s we r e on e s t h a t as k e d p e r f o r me r s t o
r e f l e c t on t h e i r own e xp e r i e n c e s :
1. Ar e t h e r e c r i t i c a l o r u n i qu e f e a t u r e s o f y o u r p e r f o r ma n c e d o -
ma i n ?
2. Wh a t a r e t h e k e y me n t a l f a c t o r s i n vo l ve d i n e xc e l l e n t p e r f o r -
ma n c e ?
3. Wh a t k i n d of me n t a l p r e p a r a t i o n i s n e c e s s ar y i n or d e r t o ac c om-
p l i s h t hi s ?
4. Wh a t ar e t he ma j o r s t r e s s e s of p e r f o r mi n g i n y o u r f i e l d , an d how
d o you c ope?
We al s o a s k e d qu e s t i o n s mor e d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o c on s ul t i n g an d c on -
s u l t a n t s . Pe r f o r me r s wh o h a d p r i o r e xp e r i e n c e wi t h c on s ul t an t s t y p i c al l y
we r e c l ear a bo u t wh a t t h e y wa n t e d an d d i d n ot wa n t . The res pon s es of
t he ma j o r i t y of p e r f o r me r s ( wh o we r e u n a wa r e of t he r es our c es of per -
f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t i n g ) r an g e d f r o m a n u n f e t t e r e d "wi s h l i s t " t o a n a t -
t e mp t t o i n c o r p o r a t e t he c on c ept wi t h i n t he i r e xi s t i n g p e r f o r ma n c e p a r a -
d i g m. We a l s o s p e c i f i c a l l y a s k e d t he f o l l o wi n g que s t i on s :
1. Wh a t a s s i s t a n c e or s k i l l s mi g h t be h e l p f u l ?
2. Wh a t woul d y ou c on s i d e r t o be t he c har ac t e r i s t i c s of an i d e a l
c o n s u l t a n t ?
3. Ar e t h e r e wa y s i n wh i c h a c o n s u l t a n t c oul d hi n d e r p e r f o r ma n c e ?
We wa n t e d our u n d e r s t a n d i n g of p e r f o r ma n c e t o be g ui d e d p r i ma-
r i l y by t he e xp e r i e n c e s of t he p e r f or me r s , but we d i d n ot wa n t t o n eg l ec t
t he k n o wl e d g e of c o n s u l t a n t s . Cu r i o u s a bo ut c on s ul t a n t s ' un d e r s t a n d -
i n g of t he s e s ame que s t i o n s , we a s k e d t hem t o e l abor at e s pe c i f i c al l y on
ma t t e r s of t r a i n i n g , c omp e t e n c e , a n d e t hi c s . Wi t h t he s e ma n y a n d va r i e d
voi ces an d per s pec ti ves , our i n t e n t i on i n t hi s book i s t o c r eate a s y n t he -
si s, or even be t t e r , a c ol l ag e : i n f o r ma t i o n wi t h d i s t i n c t i ve f e a t u r e s t h a t
y e t p r o vi d e s a n o ve r a l l p a t t e r n a n d whol e .
Organization 0/You' re On!
I n t he r e ma i n d e r of t h i s c ha p t e r , we e xp l o r e t he r oot s of p e r f o r ma n c e
p s y c hol og y , t h a t i s , t he u n d e r l y i n g i n f o r ma t i o n , per s pec ti ves , r es ear c h,
a p p l i c a t i o n s , i n t e r e s t s , a n d mo t i va t i o n . Th e n e xt c h a p t e r d e s c r i be s t h e
r e s e a r c h t h a t f o r ms t h e bas i s o f t h i s book .
On e of our qu e s t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h i s r e s e ar c h has been t he e xt e n t t o
wh i c h t he me n t a l as pec t s of p e r f o r ma n c e ar e g e n e r i c an d c an be g e n e r al -
i zed an d t he e xt e n t t o whi c h t he y ar e d omai n -s p e c i f i c . Al t houg h muc h
S E T T I N G T H E S T A G E
of t he book l o o k s at g e n e r a l a s p e c t s of p e r f o r ma n c e , we t h o u g h t i t i m-
p o r t a n t t o g r o u n d t h a t wo r k by h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e d i f f e r e n t a n d u n i qu e
a s p e c t s o f eac h d o m a i n . P a r t I I d e t a i l s c r i t i c a l a n d u n i qu e i n f o r m a t i o n
c o n c e r n i n g t h e bu s i n e s s d o m a i n , t h e h i g h - r i s k d o ma i n , a n d t h e p e r f o r m-
i n g a r t s d o m a i n .
I n P a r t I I I , we f o c u s o n t h e ma j o r p s y c hol og i c al , e mot i on a l , a n d me n -
t a l e l e me n t s of o p t i m a l p e r f o r ma n c e . We be g i n wi th t he bas i c i n f o r ma t i o n ,
p r e p a r a t i o n , a n d m e n t a l s k i l l s r e qu i r e d f o r s uc h p e r f or man c e , r e c og n i zi n g
t h a t s t r e s s a n d s t r e s s ma n a g e me n t a r e n e c e s s ar y e l e me n t s a s wel l . Chap t e r
1 1, " Yo u ' r e On ," d e s c r i be s t he out c ome of ap p r op r i at e p r e p a r a t i on .
Ou r f i n a l t wo s e c t i on s s h i f t f r o m p e r f o r ma n c e p e r s e t o p e r f o r ma n c e
c o n s u l t i n g . I n Pa r t I V, we d e s c r i be v a r i o u s as pec t s of p e r f o r ma n c e c on -
s u l t i n g , m a i n t a i n i n g a n e mp h a s i s o n p e r f o r me r s ' t h o u g h t s a n d p r e f e r -
en c es . We r e vi e w t he a s s i s t a n c e f or wh i c h p e r f o r me r s e xpr e s s i n t e r e s t , a
s en s e o f i d e a l c o n s u l t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , a n d e f f o r t s t h a t c o n s u l t a n t s mi g h t
ma k e t h a t wo u l d i n t e r f e r e wi t h o r h i n d e r e xc e l l e n t p e r f o r ma n c e . Pa r t V
i s d i r e c t e d t o c o n s u l t a n t s a n d d e r i ve s l a r g e l y f r o m o ur i n t e r vi e ws wi t h
c o n s u l t a n t s . We l ook a t t he i n t e r r e l a t e d a r e a s of t r a i n i n g , c ompe t e n c e ,
a n d e t h i c s . I n o u r f i n a l c h a p t e r , we c o n s i d e r t h e me t a p h o r o f c o n s u l t a n t
a s p e r f o r me r .
The Roots of Performance
Consultation
To u n d e r s t a n d t he mo d e l a n d out c ome s of t h i s r e s e ar c h, i t i s u s e f u l t o
a p p r e c i a t e t h e s our c e s o f p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n . An ove r vi e w o f t h e
h i s t o r y a n d a p p r o a c h us e d by e ac h of t he " bl i n d me n " of t he I n d i a n f a bl e
( a l s o k n o wn a s p e r f o r m a n c e c o n s u l t a n t s ) p r o vi d e s a ba c k g r o u n d a n d
f r a m e wo r k t o s y n t h e s i z e t h e r e s e a r c h a n d d e ve l o p n e w p a t t e r n s o f p r a c -
t i c e . I n a d d i t i o n , u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e s e r oot s c a n as s i s t r e a d e r s i n as s e s s i n g
t h e i r o wn p a r t i c u l a r ba c k g r o u n d , wi t h a vi e w t o f u r t h e r i n g t h e i r k n o wl -
e d g e a n d t r a i n i n g .
Th e r oot s o f p e r f o r m a n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n l i e i n t h r e e g e n e r a l a r e a s : a p -
p l i e d s p or t p s y c hol og y , c o n s u l t a t i o n a n d c oac hi n g , a n d p s y c hot he r a p y .
Ea c h c omes f r o m a s o me wh a t d i f f e r e n t f r a m e wo r k , wi t h d i s t i n c t bas es of
h i s t o r y , k n o wl e d g e , p r a c t i c e , a n d a s s u mp t i o n s .
APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
The f i e l d of s p o r t p s y c h o l o g y i s a g o l d m i n e of i n s i g h t a bo u t i s s ue s of per -
f o r ma n c e . As p s y c h o l o g i s t p r a c t i t i o n e r s wi t h c ombi n e d e xpe r i e n c e of more
t han hal f a c e n t ur y, l e t us s t at e our bi a s at t he out s e t : The a p p l i e d r e -
s earc h an d pr ac t i c e of s por t p s y c h o l o g y p r o vi d e ps y c hol og i s t s an d o t h e r
me n t a l he al t h p r a c t i t i o n e r s i n t e r e s t e d i n p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n a
we al t h of d i r ec t l y a p p l i c a bl e k n o wl e d g e an d s k i l l s , y e t i s u n k n o wn t o
ma n y ps yc hol og i s t s . Al t houg h s por t ps yc hol og y c on t a i n s t he wor d "p s y -
c hol og y" i n i t s t i t l e , t h i s f i e l d , wi t h i t s l on g h i s t o r y , has seemed of l i t t l e
i n t er es t to ps yc hol og i s ts ( Br e we r & Van Ra a l t e , 2002; Mur p h y , 1995; Petr i e
& Di ehl, 1995). The p r i ma r y i n ves t i g at or s of t hi s d oma i n have been e d u-
c at or s an d a c a d e mi c i a n s f r o m d e p a r t me n t s of e xe r c i s e an d s por t s c i en c e
( p hy s i c al e d u c a t i o n a n d k i n e s i o l o g y ) .
The 20t h -c e n t ur y r oot s of s por t an d e xe r c i s e ps yc hol og y l i e i n a c oupl e
of late 19t h -c e n t u r y s t u d i e s : On e p r obe d t he e f f e c t of hy p n os i s on mus -
c ul a r e n d ur a n c e , an d t he s e c on d , by No r ma n Tr i pl e t t i n 1898, i n c l ud e d
t he f i r s t e xp e r i me n t a l r e s e ar c h on t he p e r f o r ma n c e e f f e c t s of c omp e t i -
ti on ( Gi l l , 1986) .
The hi s t or y of s por t ps y c hol og y i n t he Un i t e d St at e s i s o f t e n d e s c r i be d
as beg i n n i n g i n t he 1920s an d 1930s wh e n Col e ma n Gr i f f i t h , a p s y c hol o-
g i s t at t he Un i ve r s i t y of I l l i n oi s , c on d uc t e d l a bo r a t o r y an d f i e l d r e s e ar c h
on t he s ubj ec t . Ps yc hol og y h i s t o r i a n E. G. Bo r i n g ( 1 9 5 0) d es c r i bed Gr i f f i t h
as on e of a s elect n umbe r of r e s e a r c he r s wi t h t he p o t e n t i a l t o i n f l u e n c e
t he e n t i r e f i e l d of ps yc hol og y. Gr i f f i t h wa s t he c o n s u mma t e ( p r e -Bo u l -
d e r ) s c i en t i s t -pr ac t i t i on er , s e t t i n g t h e s t a n d a r d s f o r t h e s y s t e ma t i c i n t e -
g r a t i on of l a bor a t or y f i n d i n g s wi t h p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n t o "r e al wor l d "
s i t uat i on s . I n f ac t , he was p r oba bl y t he f i r s t ps y c hol og i s t t o l eave ac ad e mi a
f or a c ar eer i n p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n . Gr i f f i t h s t ud i e d t he bes t p r ac -
ti ces of hi s d ay; he i n t e r vi e we d a t h l e t i c g r e a t s s uc h as Not r e Da me f oot -
bal l coach Kn u t e Ro c k n e a n d r u n n i n g bac k Re d Gr a n g e , a n d he c on -
s ul t e d wi t h t he Chi c ag o Wh i t e Sox ba s e ba l l t e a m. He al s o wr ot e books
on ap p l i c at i on s of ps yc hol og y t o c oac hi n g an d a t h l e t e s ( Ca r r o n , 1993;
Goul d & Pi c k, 1995; Si n g er, 1989) .
Gr i f f i t h was s ome t hi n g of an a n o ma l y , howe ve r , an d a t t e n t i o n t o hi s
r e s e ar c h r e ma i n e d s p or ad i c u n t i l t he 1950s , wh e n i n t e r e s t d e ve l ope d i n
mot or l e a r n i n g an d ot he r ar e as of a c a d e mi c s por t ps yc hol og y. Ge n e r a l l y
s uc h r es ear c h was c on d uc t e d wi t h i n p hy s i c a l e d u c a t i o n d e p a r t me n t s ( a l s o
k n own as d e p a r t me n t s of k i n e s i ol og y, mo ve me n t s c i en c es , h u m a n per -
f or man c e, or more g en er i c al l y, s port s c i en c es ) . Appl i ed s por t ps yc hol -
og ythe appl i c at i on of pr i n c i pl e s of ps yc hol og y t o a t h l e t i c p e r f o r ma n c e
came i n t o i t s own i n t he 1960s wi t h an i n i t i a l c l i n i c a l f o c us on p e r s o n a l i t y
var i abl e s a n d t he ps yc hol og i c al ma n a g e me n t of t he e l i t e a t h l e t e .
I n t e r e s t i n exer c i s e an d s por t p s y c h o l o g y s ur g e d d u r i n g t he 1970s
an d 1980s. The p ubl i c be c ame mor e a wa r e of s por t ps yc hol og y d u r i n g
t he 1984 Ol y mp i c g ames , whe n t e l e vi s e d c ove r ag e i n c l u d e d s e ve r al p r e -
s e n t at i on s on t he me n t a l as pec t s of s por t . Ap p l i e d s por t p s y c hol og y or g a-
n i za t i on s be g an t o e me r g e d u r i n g t h i s p e r i od , wi t h t he f o u n d i n g of t he
8 S E T T I N G T H E S T A G E
No r t h Ame r i c a n Soc i e t y t o r t h e Ps y c h o l o g y o f Sp or t a n d P h y s i c a l Ac t i v -
i t y ( NASP SP A) i n 1984, t h e As s o c i a t i o n l o r t h e Ad v a n c e m e n t o f Ap p l i e d
Sp o r t Ps y c h o l o g y ( AAASP ) i n 1985, a n d Di vi s i o n 47 ( Exe r c i s e a n d Sp o r t
Ps y c h o l o g y ) o f t h e Am e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i c a l As s o c i a t i o n i n 1987. D u r i n g
t h i s s ame t i m e t h e f i r s t p r o f e s s i o n a l j o u r n a l s d e d i c a t e d t o s p o r t p s y c h o l -
og y be g a n t o e me r g e . The f i r s t i s s u e of The Sport Psychologist a p p e a r e d i n
1986, f o l l o we d i n 1989 by t he Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. Re s e a r c h ,
c our s e s , a n d g r a d u a t e p r o g r a ms p r o l i f e r a t e d , p r i m a r i l y wi t h i n s p o r t s c i -
en c es d e p a r t me n t s . I t wa s d u r i n g t h e mi d -1 9 80s t h a t Or l i c k a n d P a r t i n g t o n
( 1 9 87) c o n d u c t e d t h e i r l a n d m a r k Ol y m p i c Exc e l l e n c e St u d y o f Ol y m p i c
a t h l e t e s . Th i s wa s o n e o f t h e f i r s t o f s e ve r a l e f f o r t s t o i d e n t i f y t h e p s y c h o -
l o g i c a l a n d m e n t a l a s p e c t s o f a t h l e t i c e xc e l l e n c e ( Sm i t h & Ch r i s t e n s e n ,
1995; Wi l l i a m s & Kr a n e , 1 9 9 7) .
As k e y a s p e c t s o f a t h l e t i c p e r f o r m a n c e we r e i d e n t i f i e d , e f f o r t s i n t h e
f i e l d i mme d i a t e l y f oc us e d on how bes t t o c u l t i v a t e t he s e a bi l i t i e s . I t i s
d i f f i c u l t t o d i s t i n g u i s h be t we e n t h e Zeitgeist o f c o g n i t i ve -be h a vi o r a l t e c h -
n i qu e s t h a t we r e d e ve l o p e d a n d p o p u l a r i z e d a t t h i s t i m e a n d t h e g ood
" f i t " be t we e n t h e s e t e c h n i qu e s a n d p e r f o r m a n c e i s s u e s . Wh a t e v e r t h e
r e as on , f a i r l y r a p i d l y a " c a n o n " o f c o g n i t i ve -be h a vi o r a l i n t e r v e n t i o n t e c h -
n i qu e s ( An d e r s e n , 2000b) wa s d e ve l o p e d a n d a p p l i e d i n t h e t r a i n i n g o f
c o mp e t i t i ve a t h l e t e s ( s e e t h e m e t a -a n a l y s e s by Gr e e n s p a n & Fe l t z , 1989;
Me y e r s , Wh e l a n , & Mu r p h y , 1 9 9 5 ) .
The s e t e c h n i qu e s , o f t e n d e s c r i be d a s p e a k p e r f o r m a n c e o r p s y c h o -
l og i c a l s k i l l s t r a i n i n g , a r e bas e d o n t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t a s p e c t s o f t h o u g h t s
a n d f e e l i n g s c a n i n h i bi t e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d t h a t t h e u s e o f m e n t a l s k i l l s c a n
e n h a n c e o p t i ma l p e r f o r m a n c e . Ps y c h o l o g i c a l s k i l l s t r a i n i n g p r o g r a ms t y p i -
c a l l y i n c l u d e t r a i n i n g i n r e l a xa t i o n , i ma g e r y , g oa l s e t t i n g , c o n c e n t r a t i o n ,
a n d c o g n i t i ve s e l f - m a n a g e m e n t . Re s e a r c h s u g g e s t s t h a t e d u c a t i o n a l p s y -
c hol og i c a l s k i l l s i n t e r ve n t i o n i mp r o ve s c o mp e t i t i ve p e r f o r ma n c e ( e . g . ,
Go u l d , Gu i n a n , Gr e e n l e a f , Me d be r y , & P e t e r s o n , 1999; Me y e r s e t a!. ,
1995; Wi l l i a m s & Kr a n e , 1998) .
Thi s p r a c t i c a l a s p e c t o f e n h a n c i n g p e r f o r m a n c e h a s be c o me t h e mos t
p o p u l a r a n d p o p u l a r i z e d as p e c t o f s p o r t p s y c h o l o g y . I n f o r m a t i o n f o r i n -
t e r e s t e d p r a c t i t i o n e r s i s be c o mi n g p r o g r e s s i ve l y mor e a v a i l a bl e ( s e e , e .g .,
An d e r s e n , 2000a; Br o wn , 2001 ; Co g a n , 1998; Ha y s & Sm i t h , 2002; Le s y k ,
1998; Pe t r i e , 1998; Si mo n s & An d e r s e n , 1995; Van Ra a l t e & Br e we r , 2002;
Wi l d e n h a u s , 1997) .
An i n c r e a s i n g n u m be r o f s p o r t p s y c h o l o g i s t s h a ve e xp a n d e d t h e i r
p e r s p e c t i ve o n c o n s u l t i n g t o i n c l u d e wo r k wi t h o t h e r p e r f o r m e r s . ( A r e -
c e n t s p e c i a l i s s u e of t he Journal of Applied Sport Psychology was d e vo t e d
e n t i r e l y t o t h e t h e m e " Mo vi n g be y o n d t h e p s y c h o l o g y o f a t h l e t i c e xc e l -
l e n c e " ; Go u l d , 2002. ) I n p a r t , t h i s d e c i s i o n i s f i n a n c i a l l y d r i v e n . Co n s u l t -
a n t s wh o r e s t r i c t t h e i r pr ac t i c e t o a t h l e t e s ma y l i m i t t h e i r bu s i n e s s o r
s our c e s o f f u n d i n g , e s p e c i a l l y c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e s e s e r vi c e s a r e t y p i c a l l y
n ot r e i mbu r s a bl e by t h i r d -p a r t y pay e r s
( Me y e r s , Co l e m a n , Wh e l a n , &
Me hl e n be c k , 2001 ) .
Th i s br o a d e r p e r s p e c t i ve h a s ot he r
c a us e s as we l l . For at l e a s t t he pas t 20
y e a r s , t h e bus i n e s s c o mmu n i t y h a s f o -
c us e d on t he p s y c hol og y of exc el l en c e
( We i n be r g & Mc De r mot t , 2002) . Pet er s
a n d Wa t e r ma n ( 1 9 82) , f o r exampl e, f o -
c us ed on p e r f or ma n c e exc el l en c e i n bus i -
n es s i n t h e i r p o p u l a r book , In Search of
Excellence. Man y bus i n e s s p e op l e e xpe r i -
e n c e a l og i c al c on n e c t i on be t we e n at h-
l e t i c p e a k p e r f o r ma n c e a n d bus i n e s s e x-
c e l l e n c e ( Jon e s , 2002; St r a u s s , 2001 ) .
Fu r t h e r m o r e , wi t h t h e c o r p o r a t e
d o wn s i z i n g of r e c e n t y e a r s , a n umbe r of
e xe c u t i ve s h a ve e xp e r i e n c e d i s o l a t i o n
an d l on e l i n e s s ; hen c e t he n eed f or k e y
" s of t s k i l l s " wi t h whi c h c o n s u l t a n t s c a n
be h e l p f u l ( Jon e s , 2002) .
I n a j o u r n a l t y p i c a l l y mor e n ot e d f or
i t s s p o r t p s y c h o l o g y r e s e a r c h t h a n i t s
d e s c r i p t i ve p r a c t i t i o n e r a r t i c l e s , Jon e s
( 2002) r e c e n t l y d e t a i l e d h i s o wn t r a n s i -
t i o n f r o m s por t p s y c hol og i s t t o bus i n e s s
c o n s u l t a n t . Kn own f or hi s r e s e ar c h on
c o mp e t i t i ve a n xi e t y a n d h i s wor k wi t h
e l i t e a t h l e t e s , Jon e s was a p p r o a c h e d by a s e n i or e xe c u t i ve of an i n t e r n a -
t i on al bu s i n e s s o r g a n i z a t i o n i n t e r e s t e d i n i n c r e a s i n g t he p e r f o r ma n c e of
i t s s e n i o r ma n a g e me n t . Jon e s d e s c r i be d t he p ar al l e l s be t we e n s por t s a n d
bu s i n e s s : o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t s , s t r es s r e s ul t i n g f r o m t h e hi g h vi s -
i bi l i t y a n d p u bl i c n a t u r e o f p e r f o r ma n c e out c ome s , t r a n s f o r ma t i o n a l l e a d -
e r s hi p, an d t he i mp o r t a n c e of t e a m f u n c t i o n i n g .
On e bu s i n e s s c o n s u l t a n t wi t h wh o m we s pok e d e s c r i be d how he was
r e c r u i t e d by a we l l -k n o wn bu s i n e s s t r a i n i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n . The y i n vi t e d
hi m t o t r a i n wi t h a n d wor k f or t h e m be c aus e of hi s c o n s u l t i n g e xpe r i -
en c e wi t h h i g h -a c h i e vi n g a t h l e t e s . As Dr . De an ( a s we c al l h i m ) e xp l a i n e d :
The y h a ve wo r k e d wi t h s ome ot he r f o l k s who ha d s ome s por t
ba c k g r o u n d a n d t h e y ' ve f o u n d t h a t e xe c ut i ve s r e al l y c on n e c t
wi t h i t . Some of t he o t h e r f o l k s who ha ve s t a r t e d i n t h i s ar ea
wi t h o u t t h e s por t s ba c k g r o u n d h a ve f e l t r e a l l y i n t i mi d a t e d . I t i s
h a r d f or t h o s e c o n s u l t a n t s t o c ha l l e n g e s ome of t he s e peopl e.
I was speaking to a group one time and
they said, "These are marvelous skills, so
useable, how come we're just hearing
about them now?" I said to them, "If I'd
come in 15 years ago and said: I've got
this great group of skills that Buddhist
monks are using, you wouldn't have
listened to me. But coming in and saying
athletes use them, you suddenly perk
up."
Athletes are seen as very practical
people, very goal oriented, very
achievement oriented, certainly not
interested in anything frilly or at the
fringes. It better be solid, meat and
potatoes stuff, or the athletes aren't
going to take it on. They're seen as
being very conservative. And so the
business world has no trouble embracing
anything from there.
Dr. Colin Cross (consultant, business)
1 0 S E T T I N G T H E S T A G E
Fo r me , t h e ba c k g r o u n d o f wo r k i n g wi t h e l i t e a t h l e t e s h a s be e n
ve r y u s e f u l . Bu s i n e s s f o l k s n e e d t o be c h a l l e n g e d a n d e n j o y
be i n g c h a l l e n g e d .
Th e t r a n s f e r o f i n f o r m a t i o n , s k i l l s , a n d t e c h n i qu e s f r o m s p or t p s y -
c h o l o g y t o o t h e r d o m a i n s h a s be e n i n ve s t i g a t e d i n t h e p a s t f e w y e a r s .
P r e s e n t a t i o n s , a r t i c l e s , a n d c h a p t e r s a d d r e s s i n g t h e l i n k s be t we e n s p o r t s
a n d t h e p e r f o r m i n g a r t s i n d i c a t e t h e i n c r e a s i n g i n t e r e s t wi t h i n t h e p r a c -
t i t i o n e r c o m m u n i t y ( Ha y s , 2000, 2002; Ma r t i n & Cu t l e r , 2002;
P o c z wa r d o vvs k i & Co n r o y , 2002; Sc hoe n & Es t a n o I -J o h n s o n , 2001 ) . Sp or t
p s y c h o l o g y t e c h n i qu e s a r e be i n g a p p l i e d i n e v e r - wi d e n i n g a r e a s o f p e r -
f o r m a n c e , s u c h a s p u bl i c s a f e t y a n d o t h e r h i g h -r i s k p r o f e s s i o n s ( Le Sc an f t '
& Ta u g i s , 2002; Ne wbu r g , Ki m i e c i k , D u r a n d - Bu s h , & Doe l l , 2002) .
Dr . An d y Me y e r s , a r e c e n t p r e s i d e n t o f AAASP, s p ok e wi t h u s a bo u t
t h e f u t u r e o f t h e f i e l d a n d i t s e xp a n s i o n t o p e r f o r m a n c e d o m a i n s be y o n d
s p o r t .
I wo u l d h o p e t h a t s p o r t s m i g h t a l wa y s be t h e c or e o f wh a t we
d o , be c a u s e i n f a c t , i n o u r We s t e r n c u l t u r e , i t i s t h e be s t
e xa m p l e o f p e r f o r m a n c e e n h a n c e m e n t o p p o r t u n i t y . No m a t t e r
h o w m u c h s ome on e l o ve s ba l l e t , t h e a ve r a g e p e r s on i n t h e
a u d i e n c e ma y h a ve a ve r y h a r d t i me s a y i n g "Thi s ba l l e r i n a i s
be t t e r [ n o w] t h a n s h e wa s a y e a r a g o a n d be t t e r t h a n t h e
ba l l e r i n a I j u s t s aw." Wh a t we k n o w i n s p or t i s be c a us e i t f i t s
o u r c u l t u r e i n a ve r y s p e c i a l wa y . Wh e n t h e Ya n k e e s s c or e
mor e r u n s t h a n t h e Te xas Ra n g e r s , we a l l k n o w i t a n d we d o n ' t
h a ve t o g ue s s a t i t .
CONSULTATION AND COACHING
D u r i n g t h e s a me y e a r s t h a t a p p l i e d s p or t p s y c h o l o g y wa s e me r g i n g , t h e
pr oc es s es a n d p r a c t i c e s o f c o n s u l t a t i o n a n d c o a c h i n g we r e l i k e wi s e e vo l v-
i n g a n d be i n g r e f i n e d . Th e i n i t i a l s our c e s o f s ome o f t h e s e me t h o d s d e ve l -
oped wi t h i n s o c i a l p s y c h o l o g y d u r i n g a n d f o l l o wi n g Wor l d Wa r I I . Co m-
m u n i t y p s y c hol og y , d e ve l o p me n t s i n s y s t e ms t he or y , a n d a p p l i e d me t h o d s
i n i n d u s t r i a l - o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p s y c hol og y p r o vi d e d i n i t i a l mo d e l s o f i n t e r a c -
t i o n t h a t have s u bs e qu e n t l y e vol ve d i n t o p a r t i c u l a r a p p l i e d pe r s pe c t i ve s .
Thes e p e r s p e c t i ve s , n o w m a n i f e s t i n c o m m u n i t y p s y c hol og y , f a m i l y a n d
s y s t e ms p s y c h o l o g y , o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e ve l o p me n t , bu s i n e s s c o n s u l t a t i o n ,
a n d , r e c e n t l y , c o a c h i n g , h a ve s h a r e d c e r t a i n e s s e n t i a l t e n e t s . De p e n d i n g i n
p a r t on who on e i s wo r k i n g wi t h a n d i n p a r t on what i s e mp h a s i z e d , c on -
s u l t a t i o n a n d c o a c h i n g s h a r e a r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t i n d i v i d u a l s d o n o t o p e r a t e
i n i s o l a t i o n a n d t h a t t h e r e i s a p o we r f u l i n t e r a c t i o n be t we e n t h e p e r s on
a n d h i s o r h e r e n v i r o n m e n t . Th i s e mp h a s i s o n t h e s y s t e m o f f e r s i m p o r t a n t
i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g s u c h i s s ue s a s g a i n i n g acces s o r " e n t r y " i n t o a s ys -
Introduction: The Roots of Performance Consultation 11
t e r n , f o r m a l a n d i n f o r m a l power , s t r a t e -
g i c i n t e r v e n t i o n s , r o l e f u n c t i o n , s i t u -
a t i o n a l d e t e r mi n a n t s , a f o c u s on s o l ut i o n s
t o c u r r e n t i s s ue s , an d a c o l l a bo r a t i ve pe r -
s p e c t i v e ( S a r a s o n , 1 9 67; Wy n n e ,
Mc Da n i e l , & Weber, 1986) .
Th e a r e a o f f a m i l y / s y s t e m s c o n s u l -
t a t i o n h a s p r o vi d e d a f r a m e wo r k f o r d e -
s c r i bi n g t h e r u l e s a n d s t r u c t u r e o f t h e
c o n t e xt i n wh i c h t h e p e r f o r m e r wo r k s
a n d t h r o u g h wh i c h t h e c o n s u l t a n t e n -
d e a v o r s t o n a v i g a t e . A s y s t e m a t i c a p -
p r o a c h c o n t r i bu t e s t o p e r f o r m a n c e p s y -
c hol og y i n t wo d i s t i n c t ways : t h e o r e t i c a l
a n d i n t e r a c t i v e . Th e t h e o r e t i c a l p e r s p e c -
t i ve o f f e r s mo d e l s a n d f r a m e wo r k s t h a t
c a n g u i d e a c o n s u l t a n t i n g a i n i n g e n t r y
t o a p e r f o r ma n c e s e t t i n g , as we l l as i n
d e ve l o p i n g s u p p o r t f r o m a d m i n i s t r a t o r s
a n d o t h e r s wi t h wh o m t h e c o n s u l t a n t
h a s i n d i r e c t c o n t a c t . Fa mi l y a n d s y s t e ms
c o n s u l t a t i o n h a s a l s o c o n t r i bu t e d t o a
mo r e c o m p l e t e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e
wa y s i n wh i c h e xt e r n a l a n d i n t e r a c t i ve
i s s ue s c a n a f f e c t o p t i ma l p e r f o r ma n c e ,
wh e t h e r p o s i t i v e l y o r n e g a t i ve l y .
De s c r i be d a s " g o a l -o r i e n t e d a n d c o l l a bo r a t i ve " ( Fo s t e r , 1996, p . 9) ,
" e xe c u t i ve c o a c h i n g " h a s been i n vo g u e i n t h e bu s i n e s s wo r l d f o r a bo u t
a d e c a d e ( Tobi a s , 1996) . Exe c u t i v e c o a c h i n g i n vo l ve s t h e u s e o f a n o u t -
s i d e c o n s u l t a n t wh o me e t s o n a r e g u l a r ba s i s wi t h a c o mp a n y e xe c u t i ve
t o " i mp r o ve t h e e xe c u t i ve ' s m a n a g e r i a l s k i l l s , c or r e c t s e r i o u s p e r f o r ma n c e
p r obl e ms , o r f a c i l i t a t e l o n g - t e r m d e ve l o p me n t " ( Wi t h e r s p o o n & Wh i t e ,
1996, p . 1 25 ) .
Co a c h i n g h a s c e r t a i n f e a t u r e s i n c o mmo n wi t h p s y c h o t h e r a p y , s uc h
a s r e f r a i n i n g , a c t i ve l i s t e n i n g , e mp a t h y , a n d a f o c u s o n s o l u t i o n s ; h o w-
ever, c oa c hi n g e xp l i c i t l y e xc l u d e s t h e t r e a t me n t o f p s y c h o p a t h o l o g y
( De a n , 2001 ) . Re c e n t l y , Ha r r i s ( 2002b) h a s c o n c e p t u a l i z e d t h e s i m i l a r i -
t i e s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s be t we e n c o a c h i n g a n d t h e r a p y a s e xi s t i n g a l o n g t wo
d i f f e r e n t c o n t i n u a : t h e v u l n e r a bi l i t y o f t h e c l i e n t ( e . g . , a s a f u n c t i o n o f
l e ve l of me n t a l h e a l t h or p s y c h o p a t h o l o g y ) a n d t he s i m i l a r i t y of t y p e s of
t op i c s t h a t a r e d i s c us s e d t o t h o s e t r a d i t i o n a l l y d e a l t wi t h i n p s y c h o t h e r a p y .
Co a c h i n g i s d e s i g n e d t o bu i l d o n a p e r s o n ' s s t r e n g t h s , r e s o ur c e s , a n d p as -
s i on s t o a c t u a l i z e g r o wt h a n d p o t e n t i a l . Eve n i n s i t u a t i o n s wh e r e p r o b-
l e ms a r e a d d r e s s e d , t h e f o c u s i s o n s t r e n g t h s a n d s o l u t i o n s .
I think in terms of people as members of
an integrated unit rather than as a
bunch of individuals. A system reacts as a
whole. It doesn't just react as individuals.
They've got a history, they've got ways
they handle stuff, and you have to be
ready to pay attention to that because
that may be more dominant than an
individual's inclination. A given
individual may be willing to be
confrontational, but he may be in a
family where that is just not done. So it
never comes up and never occurs to him.
As a result, even though it is a skill he
might have himself and might be willing
to use, things don't get confronted
within the family and thus within the
family business.
Dr. Brian Bell (consultant,
family businesses)
Tr a n s f e r e n c e o r i n t r a p s y c h i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s n o t p a r t o f t h e c oa c h-
i n g p a r a d i g m . Th e i n t e r a c t i o n be t we e n c oac h a n d c l i e n t i s g e a r e d mo r e
t o wa r d f a c i l i t a t i n g g r o wt h r a t h e r t h a n t r e a t i n g i l l n e s s ( H. Le vi n s o n , 1 9 9 6) .
I n t e r ms o f c o n s u l t a t i v e mo d e l s , e xe c u t i ve c o a c h i n g c a n be c o n s i d e r e d
" c l i e n t - c e n t e r e d c o n s u l t a t i o n . " Me e t i n g s wi t h e xe c u t i ve s m a y e xt e n d ove r
a n u m be r o f m o n t h s bu t o f t e n o c c u r a t i n f r e qu e n t a l be i t p r e d i c t a bl e i n -
t e r v a l s . Th e g oal o f e xe c u t i v e c o a c h i n g i s t o a s s i s t e xe c u t i ve s i n i m p r o v -
i n g o ve r a l l p e r f o r m a n c e , wi t h a vi e w t o i m p r o v i n g t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f
t h e l a r g e r o r g a n i z a t i o n ( Ki l b u r g , 1 9 9 6) .
Wi t h i n p s y c h o l o g y , p r a c t i t i o n e r s i n bo t h i n d u s t r i a l - o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a n d
c o n s u l t i n g p s y c h o l o g y h a ve be e n i n c r e a s i n g l y a t t e n d i n g t o t h e l u c r a t i v e
m a r k e t o f e xe c u t i v e c o a c h i n g ( Ca i r o n i , 2002; Ka m p a - Ko k e s c h & Ki l bu r g ,
2 001 ) . V i c k i V a n d a v e e r , f o u n d e r a n d c h i e f e xe c u t i v e o f f i c e r o f Th e
Va n d a ve e r Gr o u p , s u g g e s t e d t h a t i n d u s t r i a l - o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p s y c hol og y ,
wi t h i t s e mp h a s e s o n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l t h e o r y , h u m a n m o t i v a t i o n , l e a r n i n g
t h e o r y , a n d p r o bl e m i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d a n a l y s i s c a n p r o vi d e a s t r o n g i n i -
t i a l ba s e f o r c o a c h i n g ( Ca i r o n i , 2002) .
Th e t e r m i n o l o g y f o r t h i s c o a c h i n g p r oc e s s va r i e s , d e p e n d i n g o n t h e
d o m a i n . P e r h a p s be c a u s e i n a t h l e t i c s t h e t i t l e o f "c oac h" i s a l r e a d y e s t a b-
l i s h e d a s t h e t e r m f o r a p h y s i c a l s k i l l s l e a d e r o r c o n s u l t a n t s u c h a s a c o n -
d i t i o n i n g c o a c h , a o n e -o n -o n e s e s s i on be t we e n a n a t h l e t e a n d a p e r f o r -
m a n c e p s y c h o l o g i s t i s l i k e l y t o be d e s c r i be d , d e f e r e n t i a l l y , a s
" c o n s u l t a t i o n . " ( On t h e o t h e r h a n d , f o r j u s t t h i s r e a s o n , s ome a t h l e t e s
p r e f e r t e r m s t h a t m o d i f y coach, e.g ., mental coach or concentration coach.)
Th e s a me pr oc e s s i n a bu s i n e s s s e t t i n g wo u l d mo r e l i k e l y be c o n s i d e r e d
" c o a c h i n g " ( J o n e s , 2002) .
Al t h o u g h executive coach iiuj ma y be t he t e r m mos t f a m i l i a r 10 p e op l e ,
t h e c on c e p t o f c o a c h i n g h a s e xp a n d e d t o i n c l u d e a wi d e a r r a y o l p e r f o r -
ma n c e s e t t i n g s . To d a y o n e c a n f i n d c oa c he s f o r v i r t u a l l y a n y a s p e c t o f
mo d e r n l i f e , i n c l u d i n g a d j u s t i n g t o m i d l i f e , d e a l i n g wi t h p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n
a n d b u r n o u t , o r , i n c r e a s i n g l y p o p u l a r , " l i f e c o a c h i n g " ( Co l e , 2000; D e a n ,
2 001 ) .
I n t h e p a s t f e w y e a r s , wi t h i n c r e a s i n g e m p h a s i s o n t h e v a l u e o f d i v e r -
s i f i c a t i o n f r o m a d e p e n d e n c e o n t h e m a n a g e d h e a l t h c a r e m a r k e t ( Ha be r ,
Ro d i n o , & Li p n e r , 2 001 ) , t h e a r e a o f " bu s i n e s s p s y c h o l o g y " h a s e xp e r i -
en c ed p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t a n d r a p i d g r o wt h ( Wa l f i s h , 2001 ) . Bu s i n e s s p s y -
c h o l o g y , n o t e d P e r r o t t ( 1 9 9 9 ) , i s
t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f Cl i n i c a l P s y c h o l o g y ' s [ s i c ] t r a d i t i o n a l
k n o wl e d g e a n d s k i l l bas e , m o d i f i e d a n d a u g m e n t e d by r e l a t e d
k n o wl e d g e a n d s k i l l a r e a s bas e s ( s u c h a s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
d e v e l o p m e n t t h e o r y ) t o p e o p l e wo r k i n g i n bu s i n e s s s e t t i n g s , f o r
t h e u l t i m a t e p u r p o s e o f e n h a n c i n g t h e bu s i n e s s ' p e r f o r m a n c e ,
( p . 3 1 )
Be n De a n ( 2001 ) , whos e Me n t o r Co a c h p r o g r a m s p e c i a l i z e s i n t r a i n -
i n g t h e r a p i s t s a s c oac hes , p r op os e d t h a t t h e r a p i s t s ' s k i l l s i n r e l a t i o n s h i p -
bu i l d i n g , c o m m u n i c a t i o n , a n d c h a n g e t e c h n i qu e s ma k e t h e m u n i qu e l y
s u i t e d f o r t h e wo r l d o f c o a c h i n g . He c a u t i o n e d , howe ve r , t h a t t h e t r a n s i -
t i o n r e qu i r e s n e w l e a r n i n g . I n a d d i t i o n , m e n t a l h e a l t h p r a c t i t i o n e r s n e e d
t o ma k e a t t i t u d i n a l s h i f t s , mo vi n g f r o m t h e i r o r i g i n a l p a t h o l o g y -f o c u s e d
t r a i n i n g a n d o r i e n t a t i o n .
I n a d v i s i n g c l i n i c i a n s wh o a r e t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e i r k n o wl e d g e a n d s k i l l s ,
s ome f o c u s o n t h e i mp o r t a n c e o f s h i f t i n g f r o m a n i l l n e s s -ba s e d mod e l t o
a s t r e n g t h s mo d e l . Ot h e r s e m p h a s i z e t h e i mp o r t a n c e o f i n c r e a s e d u n d e r -
s t a n d i n g o f s y s t e ms a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s . Ri c h a r d Ki l bu r g ( 2000) , o n e o f
t he f o u n d e r s of t he Soc i e t y of Ps y c hol og i s t s i n Ma n a g e me n t , has expres s ed
s k e p t i c i s m a bo u t t h e r a p i s t s ' a bi l i t y t o ma k e t h e t r a n s i t i o n f r o m o n e t o
t h e o t h e r p e r s p e c t i ve :
I d o n o t t h i n k t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e r a p i s t s c o u l d wo r k
s u c c e s s f u l l y a s c o n s u l t a n t s o r c oac he s i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
c o n t e xt s . The r e a r e m a n y a t t i t u d e s , va l u e s , be h a vi o r a l p a t t e r n s ,
a n d p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s t h a t wo u l d ma k e i t d i f f i c u l t f o r t h e m t o
a d a p t t h e i r i d e a s a n d me t h o d s t o t h e t y p i c a l c or p or a t e
s e t t i n g , ( p . 1 7)
Ma n y s e e c o a c h i n g a s t h e wa ve o f t h e f u t u r e ; bu t t h e mu s h r o o mi n g
n u m be r o f c oac he s a l s o r a i s e s s ome c o n c e r n s . At p r e s e n t , a n y o n e c a n
c a l l h i ms e l f or h e r s e l f a c oac h. The a bs e n c e of c l e a r p r o f e s s i o n a l s t a n -
d a r d s a n d c ore k n o wl e d g e r e s u l t s i n e xc e p t i o n a l l y d i ve r s e a n d s ome -
t i me s qu e s t i o n a bl e qu a l i f i c a t i o n s . As o n e o f t h e c o n s u l t a n t s t h a t we i n -
t e r vi e we d e xc l a i me d :
Yo u ' ve g ot e v e r y t h i n g ! He l l , on e I r an i n t o was a ba r be r . He g ot
s t a r t e d a d vi s i n g p e op l e a bo u t h a i r s t y l e s a n d t h e i r c l o t h i n g .
The y l i k e d h i s t a s t e a n d t h a t l e d t o d e c or . An d t h e n h e g o t i n t o
o f f i c e a r r a n g e m e n t s a n d p e r s o n n e l a n d h o w t o r e l a t e t o peopl e.
An d t he s on of a bi t c h i s a ba r be r !
No s t a n d a r d d e f i n i t i o n o f c o a c h i n g o r r e g u l a t e d c e r t i f i c a t i o n f o r e x-
e c u t i ve c oac hi n g c u r r e n t l y e xi s t s . Ra t h e r , e xe c u t i ve c oac hi n g i s a n " u m-
br e l l a t e r m" t h a t c a n h a ve v a r i o u s me a n i n g s a n d i mp l i c a t i o n s , bot h f o r
p r a c t i t i o n e r s a n d bus i n e s s p e op l e ( Fo xh a l l , 2002) . Pos t g r a d ua t e e d uc a-
t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g i s a v a i l a bl e t h r o u g h bo t h c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n a n d
f r e e - s t a n d i n g p r o g r a ms . At t h e t i m e o f t h i s wr i t i n g , t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Coac h Fe d e r a t i o n ( I GF) h a s a t t e m p t e d t o a d d r e s s s ome o f t he s e c on c e r n s
a n d h a s r a p i d l y be c ome t h e l a r g e s t p r o f e s s i o n a l g r o u p t h a t a c c r e d i t s
c oac he s ( Col e , 2000) . Th e I CF h a s i d e n t i f i e d f o u r c ore c omp e t e n c i e s f o r
13
14 S E T T I N T HI - ! S T A G
Yo u c a n go t o o f a r i n e i t h e r d ir e c tio n .
Yo u c a n be c o m e a ve r y n a r r o w c o a c h
wh o s a ys "I ju s t wa n t yo u t o la nd t h a t
pa rt o r to be a ble to s in g t h a t a r i a . Ho w
yo u ge t t h e r e i s s o m e t h i n g t h a t c o n c e r n s
m e o n l y i n s o f a r a s t h e r e s u l t ." T h e r e i s a
pl a c e f o r pe o ple wh o a r e c o a c h e s only,
bu t t h a t m a y n o t be ve r y h e l pf u l to
pe r f o r m e r s , i f t h a t 's a l l t h a t 's be in g d o n e
f o r t h e m . An d th e n t h e r e 's t h e
ps yc h o t h e r a pi s t wh o br u s h e s a s i d e t h e
s pe c i f i c qu e s t i o n s o f wh a t 's go i n g o n in
t h e c l i e n t 's c a r e e r a n d pe r f o r m a n c e in
o r d e r t o s a y, "I t a l l h a s t o d o wi t h wh o
yo u a r e a s a pe r s o n " a n d r e d u c e s i t t o
be in g ge n e r i c ps yc h o t h e r a py. T h a t
d o e s n 't s e r ve t h e c l i e n t e ith e r.
Dr . Owe n Os bo r n e (c o n s u l t a n t , t h e a t r e )
c oac hi n g : e t hi c s a n d p r of e s s i on a l s t a n -
d a r d s , r e l a t i o n s h i p s k i l l s , c o mmu n i c a t i o n
s k i l l s , a n d s k i l l s t h a t f a c i l i t a t e l e a r n i n g
a n d r e s u l t s ( I CF, 2002) . Va r i o u s l e ve l s o f
c e r t i f i c a t i o n a r e a va i l a bl e , bas ed o n h o u r s
o f f o r m a l t r a i n i n g i n c oac hi n g a n d h o u r s
o f s u p e r v i s e d c o a c h i n g e xp e r i e n c e . By
t he e n d of 2002, I CF ha d a c c r e d i t e d 13
f r e e - s t a n d i n g p r o g r a m s t h a t p r o v i d e
t r a i n i n g i n c o a c h i n g ; i t al s o c e r t i f i e d n u -
m e r o u s i n d i v i d u a l s a n d wo r k s h o p s t h a t
p r o v i d e " Ap p r ove d Coac h Sp e c i f i c Tr a i n -
i n g Ho u r s . "
Th e I CF p r o vi d e s a d i r e c t i o n a n d f o -
c u s t o t h e l e g i t i m i z a t i o n o f c o a c h i n g .
No n e t h e l e s s , t h e r e a r e o n g o i n g c o n c e r n s
t h a t d e s p i t e t h e d e ve l o p me n t o f e t h i c a l
s t a n d a r d s , t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n h a s n o wa y
o f m o n i t o r i n g o r e n f o r c i n g e t h i c a l c om-
p l i a n c e o r a s s u r i n g t h e qu a l i t y o f t r a i n -
i n g . On e o f u s ( CHB) r e c e n t l y e n c o u n -
t e r e d a b r i g h t , e n t h u s i a s t i c y o u n g
wo ma n wh o wa s d e l i g h t e d t o h a ve a t -
t a i n e d c e r t i f i c a t i o n as a 'Tile Coac h. "
Af t e r s e v e r a l y e a r s a s a p e r s o n a l f i t n e s s t r a i n e r , s h e wa s e xc i t e d a bo u t
o p e n i n g a p r a c t i c e d e s i g n e d t o h e l p p e op l e d e a l wi t h l i f e ' s c h a l l e n g e s .
Sh e e xp l a i n e d t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e be t we e n c o a c h i n g a n d t h e r a p y wa s
t h a i " t h e r a p i s t s f o c u s o n a p e r s o n ' s p a s t , a n d c oac he s f o c u s o n t h e p r e s e n t
a n d t h e f u t u r e . " Thi s o v e r s i m p l i s t i c d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n be t we e n t h e r a p y a n d
c o a c h i n g , o n e t h a t i s n o t i n f r e qu e n t l y t o u t e d by n o n -t h e r a p i s t -t r a i n e d
p r a c t i t i o n e r s , i s n a i v e . I t i g n o r e s t h e c o n t r i bu t i o n s o f p o s i t i ve ps yc hol og y,
s o l u t i o n - f o c u s e d t h e r a p i e s , c o g n i t i ve -be h a vi o r a l t h e r a p i e s , a n d ot he r we l l -
e s t a bl i s h e d p r a c t i c e s u s e d by t h e r a p i s t s t h a t a r e a c t i o n - a n d f u t u r e - o r i -
e n t e d .
I t i s i r o n i c t h a t wh a t i s o f t e n p r o mo t e d a s c oa c hi n g ' s g r e a t e s t s t r e n g t h
t h a t i t d oe s n o t f o c u s o n p s y c h o p a t h o l o g y m a y be a s e r i o u s l i a bi l i t y :
i g n o r a n c e o r l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p a t h o l o g y . Ma n y o f t h e c o n s u l t -
a n t s we i n t e r vi e we d e xp r e s s e d a p p r e h e n s i o n t h a t c oac hes who d o n ot
h a v e a d e qu a t e c l i n i c a l t r a i n i n g m a y s i m p l y be u n a wa r e o f a l l t h a t t h e y
d o n o t k n o w. I n s u c h c as es , t h e r e i s r i s k o f p r a c t i c i n g be y o n d on e ' s c om-
p e t e n c y , m a i n t a i n i n g c o a c h i n g e f f o r t s wh e n i n s t e a d a c l i e n t wo u l d be
be s t s e r ve d bv r e f e r r a l f o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l t r e a t m e n t . Th i s t op i c o f qu a l i f i -
c a t i o n s a n d c e r t i f i c a t i o n f o r c oa c he s wi l l u n d o u bt e d l y c o n t i n u e t o be
c l o s e l v wa t c h e d a n d d e ba t e d f o r s ome t i m e t o c ome .
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Thi s i s a t i me i n t h e h i s t o r y o f p s y c h o t h e r a p y p r a c t i c e wh e n t h e i n f l u -
e n c e s of c e r t a i n a r e a s a r e i n c o n f l u e n c e wi t h a f o c u s on p e r f o r ma n c e a n d
p e r f o r ma n c e i s s u e s . Co n t e m p o r a r y p s y c h o t h e r a p y o f t e n a t t e n d s t o i n d i -
vi d u a l s ' d e s i r e a n d a bi l i t y t o g r ow a n d c h a n g e , t o s ol ve p r obl e ms , a n d t o
be c ome mor e e f f e c t i v e . Ce r t a i n p e r s p e c t i ve s a n d me t h o d s , s uc h a s c og n i -
t i ve -be h a vi o r a l t h e r a p y , s o l u t i o n -f o c u s e d me t h o d s , a n d p o s i t i ve p s y c hol -
ogy, s eem t o p r o vi d e a p a r t i c u l a r l y good " f i t " wi t h p e r f o r m a n c e c o n s u l t a -
t i o n . Al t h o u g h c l i n i c a l p s y c h o l o g y p r o g r a m s a t t i m e s p r o vi d e t h i s
p e r s p e c t i ve , c o u n s e l i n g a n d c o u n s e l i n g p s y c hol og y , i n wh i c h t h e e m-
p h a s i s i s mor e o n g r o wt h t h a n o n f i x i n g i l l n e s s , h a ve be e n s p e c i f i c a l l y
n o t e d a s i n t e l l e c t u a l l y a n d me t h o d o l o g i c a l l y a l i g n e d wi t h p e r f o r ma n c e
e n h a n c e me n t ( P e t i t p a s , Gi g e s , & Da n i s h , 1999; Po c z wa r d o ws k i , Sh e r ma n ,
& He n s c h e n , f 9 9 8 ) .
Wh e n we a s k e d AAASP P r e s i d e n t Me y e r s a bo u t h i s g e n e r a l pe r s pe c -
t i ve s o n t r a i n i n g i s s ue s i n p s y c hol og y , h e c o mme n t e d :
I t h i n k wh a t we d o i s p r e t t y c o n s i s t e n t wi t h t h i s n e w o r
r e a s o n a bl y n e w e mp h a s i s i n a p p l i e d p s y c h o l o g y a n d t o s ome
e xt e n t i n s ome r e s e a r c h a r e a s , a n d t h a t i s t h a t we d on ' t
n e c e s s a r i l y h a ve t o f o c u s o n t h e p a t h o l o g i c a l c l i e n t wh o wa l k s
t h r o u g h t h e d oor . We ma y i n f a c t s p e n d s ome ve r y p r o d u c t i ve
t i m e h e l p i n g r e a s o n a bl y h e a l t h y p e op l e t o p e r f o r m we l l , t o
p e r f o r m be t t e r , t o cope i n a mo r e p r o d u c t i v e a n d h e l p f u l way .
Me y e r s ' s c o m m e n t s a r e c o n s i s t e n t wi t h t h e e mp h a s i s o f p o s i t i ve
p s y c h o l o g y mos t r e c e n t l y s p e a r h e a d e d d u r i n g Ma r t i n Se l i g ma n ' s p r e s i -
d e n c y o f t h e Am e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i c a l As s o c i a t i o n ( AP A) i n 2000. Al -
t h o u g h Ma s l o w ( 1 9 6 8 ) a n d o t h e r h u m a n i s t s i n m i d - 2 0t h - c e n t u r y
Ame r i c a n p s y c h o l o g y a t t e n d e d t o h u m a n p o s s i bi l i t y , Se l i g ma n ( Se l i g ma n
& Cs i k s z e n t m i h a l y i , 2000) wa s d e e p l y c o n c e r n e d t h a t f o r t h e mos t p a r t ,
t h e f i e l d o f p s y c h o l o g y h a d f o c u s e d s i n c e i t s i n c e p t i o n a l mo s t e xc l u -
s i v e l y o n m e n t a l i l l n e s s a n d a d i s e a s e mo d e l o f h u m a n f u n c t i o n i n g . Th e
p r i c e o f t h i s p r e o c c u p a t i o n wi t h t h e wo r s t t h i n g s i n l i f e wa s " k n o wi n g
ve r y l i t t l e a bo u t h o w n o r m a l p e op l e f l o u r i s h u n d e r mor e be n i g n c o n d i -
t i o n s " ( Se l i g m a n & Cs i k s z e n t m i h a l y i . 2000, p . 5 ) . Hi s mi s s i o n a s APA
p r e s i d e n t wa s t o c h a n g e t h e f o c u s o f p s y c h o l o g y t o i n c l u d e t h e p os i t i ve
a s p e c t s o f l i f e a n d h u m a n p o t e n t i a l . Th e e n e r g y o f p o s i t i ve p s y c h o l o g y
i s t h a t o f a n o n p a t h o l o g y - ba s e d s y s t e m, o n e t h a t a t t e n d s t o p e op l e ' s
c a p a c i t i e s . P o s i t i ve p s y c h o l o g y h a s be e n d e s c r i be d a s f o c u s i n g o n " wh a t
wo r k s , wh a t i s r i g h t , a n d wh a t i s i m p r o v i n g " ( Sh e l d o n & Ki n g , 2 00f , p .
2 1 6 ) . Se l i g m a n a n d Cs i k s z e n t m i h a l y i ( 2000) h a ve a r g u e d t h a t "t he f i e l d
o f p o s i t i ve p s y c h o l o g y . . . i s a bo u t v a l u e d s u bj e c t i ve e xp e r i e n c e s : we l l -
be i n g , c o n t e n t m e n t , a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n ( i n t h e p a s t ) ; hop e a n d o p t i mi s m
15
( f o r t h e f u t u r e ) ; a n d f l o w a n d h a p p i n e s s ( i n t h e p r e s e n t ) " ( p . 5 ) . P e r f o r -
ma n c e p s y c h o l o g y i s a n e xa m p l e o f a p p l i e d p o s i t i ve p s y c h o l o g y , a d -
d r e s s i n g m a n y o f t h e s e s a me i s s u e s a n d e mbr a c i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l o f t h e
i n d i v i d u a l .
Th e p s y c h o t h e r a p y s k i l l s a n d a p p r o a c h e s t h a t h a ve be e n mos t c l os e l y
a l i g n e d wi t h t h e t e n e t s o f p o s i t i ve p s y c h o l o g y wor k we l l i n t h e a r e n a o f
p e r f o r m a n c e e n h a n c e m e n t . So l u t i o n - f o c u s e d t e c h n i qu e s ( De Sh a z e r ,
1982, 1985; O' Ha n l o n , 1987) s h a r e wi t h p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n a n
e m p h a s i s o n p r e s e n t be h a vi o r a n d p r a c t i c a l s o l u t i o n s t o p r o bl e ms . As
m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r , c o g n i t i ve -be h a vi o r a l me t h o d s h a ve be e n a d a p t e d wi t h
c o n s i d e r a bl e e f f e c t i ve n e s s t o t h e d o m a i n o f s por t p s y c hol og y a n d t o wor k
wi t h a t h l e t e s .
Wi t h i n s p or t p s y c h o l o g y , t h e r e h a s be e n a s i m i l a r s h i f t f r o m a d e f i c i t
mo d e l o f h u m a n n a t u r e t o o n e wi t h a g r o wt h p e r s p e c t i ve i n a d d r e s s i n g
p e r f o r m a n c e e n h a n c e m e n t . D u r i n g t h e 1960s , p s y c h o l o g i s t s wi t h a t r a -
d i t i o n a l c l i n i c a l l o c u s ma d e i n i t i a l f o r a y s i n t o wo r k i n g wi t h p r o f e s s i o n a l
s p or t s t e a ms . Og i l vi e a n d Tt i t k o ( 1 9 66) f o c u s e d o n p r o bl e m a t h l e t e s a n d
how t o h a n d l e t h e m; Be i s s e r wr o t e The Madness in Sport (1977), a c ol l ec -
t i o n o f bi z a r r e be h a vi o r s a n d a c t i v i t i e s obs e r ve d i n s por t s e t t i n g s . Thi s
e mp h a s i s o n t h e p r o bl e m a t i c a n d p a t h o l o g i c a l c r e at e d a n e g a t i ve i mp r e s -
s i on a bo u t t h e v a l u e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l s e r vi c e s a mo n g ma n y a t h l e t e s a n d
c oac he s ( Ha r d y , Jo n e s , & Go u l d , 1996; Ra vi z z a , 1988) . I n c o n t r a s t , Le
Sc an t ! a n d Ta ug i s ( 2002) d e s c r i be d t h e wa y s i n wh i c h c o n s u l t a t i o n t o
Sp e c i a l For c e s p o l i c e i n Fr a n c e o c c u r r e d s p e c i f i c a l l y be c a us e o f t h e a c -
c e p t a n c e o f t h e s p o r t mo d e l o f p e r f o r m a n c e i m p r o v e m e n t r a t h e r t h a n a
p a t h o l o g y p e r s p e c t i ve .
The t e r ms psychology a n d psychotherapy e vok e va r y i n g i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .
I n m a n y p e r f o r m a n c e s e t t i n g s , p s y c h o l o g i s t s m u s t c o n f r o n t a n d c o u n t e r
t h e " s h r i n k " s t e r e o t y p e t o be a c c e p t e d ( Go u l d & Da m a r j i a n , 1998; Un d e r ,
Pi l l o w, & Re n o , 1989) . I n our i n t e r vi e ws , we f o u n d t h i s t o be p a r t i c u l a r l y
t r u e a mo n g p e r f o r m e r s i n s e t t i n g s wh e r e t h e r ol e o f e mot i on i s m i n i -
mi z e d d u r i n g p e r f o r m a n c e , a r e a s s uc h a s bu s i n e s s , me d i c i n e , a n d l aw.
Dr . Cr o s s , wh o c o n s u l t s wi t h bu s i n e s s p e o p l e , c o mme n t e d :
I ha d a h e c k of a t i m e l a be l i n g t h e s e me n t a l s k i l l s wh e n I f i r s t
s t a r t e d p r e s e n t i n g t h e m t o bu s i n e s s p e o p l e . As s oon a s y o u s t a r t
u s i n g t he wo r d psychology or psychological, i t c a r r i e s a l ot of
bag g ag e wi t h i t . I t ha d a bi t of a s t i g ma i n t he s en s e t h a t , "we l l ,
wh o n e e d s t h a t ? Th a t me a n s y o u ' r e we a k . "
I n c o n t r a s t , o t h e r s e t t i n g s wi t h d i f f e r e n t h i s t o r i e s , s uc h a s t h e pe r -
f o r m i n g a r t s , ma y c o n f l a t e p s y c h o l o g y a n d p s y c h o t h e r a p y , i n t h i s c as e
f r o m a p o s i t i v e p e r s p e c t i ve . Th a t t h i s a p p a r e n t i n c r e a s e d r e c e p t i vi t y c a n
a l s o be p r o bl e m a t i c i s e xp l o r e d mo r e f u l l y i n c h a p t e r 5 .
INTEGRATION OF THE ROOTS
At pr e s e n t , i t woul d be d i f f i c u l t t o a r g u e t h a t t he r e i s on e t r u e r out e t o
p e r f o r ma n c e p s y c h o l o g y p r a c t i c e . The f i e l d of p e r f o r ma n c e p s y c h o l o g y i s
be i n g s ha p e d by p r a c t i t i o n e r s wh o c ome f r o m va r i o u s f i e l d s , s ome o f
whi c h a r e i n t h e pr oc es s o f s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n . We wo u l d s ug g e s t t h a t t h e
t h r e e r o o t s t h a t we h a ve d e s c r i be d e a c h be a r c l os e e xa m i n a t i o n . A
p r a c t i t i o n e r ' s s k i l l s a n d e n e r g y c a n be s t r e n g t h e n e d t h r o u g h " c r o s s -t r a i n -
i n g , " i n whi c h on e d e ve l op s e xp e r t i s e i n s e ve r a l of t he s e s t r a n d s ( Br o wn ,
2001 ) . Spor t p s y c hol og y i s a we l l - d e f i n e d f i e l d wi t h r i c h qu a n t i t a t i v e a n d
qu a l i t a t i ve r e s e a r c h c o n c e r n i n g o n e s p e c i f i c d i m e n s i o n o f p e r f o r ma n c e :
p e r f o r ma n c e e xc e l l e n c e i n a t h l e t e s . Co n s u l t a t i o n a n d c o a c h i n g e mp h a -
s i ze t h e c o n t e xt u a l a n d s y s t e mi c k n o wl e d g e t h a t i s a vi t a l c o mp l e me n t
( or a n t i d o t e ) t o t he i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c f oc us of t he r a p y . Cog n i t i ve -be hav-
i or al me t h o d s al s o o f f e r r e l e va n t tool s ; s o l u t i o n -f o c u s e d a n d p o s i t i ve p s y -
c hol og i e s h a ve d i r e c t r e l e va n c e t o p e r f o r ma n c e p s y c h o l o g y i n t h e i r d i -
r e c t e d a t t e n t i o n t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i v e e l e me n t s wi t h i n i n d i v i d u a l s a n d
s i t u a t i o n s .
Te r e n z i n i ( 1 9 9 3) pr opos e d t h a t e f f e c t i v e c o n s u l t a t i o n r e qu i r e s t h r e e
d i f f e r e n t t ype s of k n o wl e d g e : ba s i c s k i l l s , k n o wl e d g e of i s s ue s , a n d k n o wl -
ed g e of t he s p e c i f i c g r o u p wi t h wh i c h on e i s c o n s u l t i n g . We wo u l d s u g -
g es t t h a t p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t s br i n g v a r y i n g s k i l l s t o t h e i r wo r k , o f -
t e n d e p e n d i n g on wh i c h of t he t h r e e r oots d e s c r i be d above has had g r e at e s t
s a l i e n c e f o r t h e m. Ul t i ma t e l y , we s ug g e s t t h a t t h e f u l l y c o mp e t e n t p e r -
f o r ma n c e c o n s ul t a n t s h o ul d h a ve bas i c p r o f i c i e n c y i n f i ve ar e as : r e l a-
t i o n s h i p s k i l l s , c ha n g e s k i l l s , k n owl e d g e of p e r f o r ma n c e e xc e l l e n c e , k n o wl -
e d g e o f t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s o f p e r f o r m a n c e , a n d k n o wl e d g e o f
s y s t e ms c o n s u l t a t i o n .
Wi t h an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of s o me of t he ba c k g r o u n d , or r oot s , of t he
f i e l d o f p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n , we n o w t u r n t o t h e r e s e a r c h t h a t i n -
f o r me d t h i s book . I n t h e n e xt c h a p t e r , we d e s c r i be t h e r e s e a r c h p a r t i c i -
p a n t s , t h e pr oc es s o f i n t e r vi e wi n g , a n d o ur me t h o d o f a n a l y s i s .
17
T h e B a c k S to r y : R e s e a r c h in
P e r f o r m a n c e C o n s u lta ti o n
s we sought to b r oa d e n the n ot i on of p e r f or m a n c e b e y on d a t hl e t i c s , we
r ea l i z ed t ha t ever y wor k i n g p er son p e r f or m s a j ob or t a s k a n d , henc e,
mi ght b e consi der ed a p e r f or me r . An a c c oun t a n t c om p l e t i n g i n c ome t a x
f or ms i s p e r f or m i n g hi s or her j ob b ut i s t y p i c a l l y n ot t h o u g h t of a s a
p er f or mer . O n t he ot her h a n d , p eop l e i n t he p e r f o r m i n g a r t s a r e r e a d i l y
accepted a s p e r f or m e r s . Wha t m a k e s a d a n c e r ' s p e r f o r m a n c e d i f f e r e n t
f r om t ha t of a n a c c oun t a n t ?
F or t he p ur p ose of t hi s s t ud y , we r ec ogn i z ed t h a t p e r f o r m e r s m us t
meet cer tai n p e r f or m a n c e s t a n d a r d s : T hey a r e j u d g e d a s t o p r of i c i e n c y or
excel l ence, t he r e a r e c on s e q ue n c e s t o poor p e r f or m a n c e , good c op i n g
s k i l l s a r e i n t r i n s i c t o e x c e l l e n t p e r f o r m a n c e ( M c G r a t h , 1970; P oc z wa r d -
owski & Conr oy, 2 0 0 2 ) . I n a d d i t i o n , a p e r f o r m e r i s e x p e c t e d t o b r i n g
t a l en t s a n d s k i l l s i n t o a c t i on a t a gi ve n p oi n t i n t i m e ( t h u s , t he t i t l e of t h i s
book, You're On!). The t e m p or a l a s p ec t of p e r f o r m a n c e wa s c e n t r a l to our
sel ec ti on. Peopl e who ha ve t he op t i on of s t a r t i n g a n d s t op p i n g a t a s k
( e. g. , t he a c c oun t a n t ) wer e e x c l u c e d .
A we a l t h of i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e a b out a t h l e t e s a s p e r f or m e r s ,
a n d we d e l i b e r a t e l y chose to a v oi d d u p l i c a t i o n . We a t t e m p t e d to c on-
si d er a l l other possi bl e a r ea s of p e r f or m a n c e t h a t f i t t hi s c r i t e r i on . Per -
f or mi n g a r t i s t s wer e c l e a r l y i n c l u d e d i n t h i s gr oup . I n e x p a n d i n g our
sea r c h, we al so r ec ogni z ed t ha t some " p l a y e r s " ha ve a l r e a d y been i n -
c l uded i n t he f i e l d of p e r f or m a n c e p sy c hol ogy : C e r t a i n wor k d om a i n s
ha ve a c k n owl ed ged c on c er n a b out i m p r ov i n g p e r f or m a n c e a n d ha ve been
r ecepti ve t o p e r f or m a n c e c on s ul t a t i on . B us i n e s s , t he s a l e s i n d u s t r y , a n d
19
2 0 S E T T I N G T HE S T A G E
t he m i l i t a r y ha ve l on g h i s t o r i e s of u s i n g c o n s u l t a n t s t o m a x i m i z e p e r f or -
ma n c e . We a d d e d c e r t a i n gr oup s f r o m t he d om a i n of m e d i c i n e , t hose i n
whi c h t he t e m p or a l d e m a n d s of p e r f or m a n c e wer e c l ea r : s ur ge r y a n d
t he e me r ge n c y r oom. I n t he e n d , our s e l e c t i on of p e r f or m e r s c oul d b e
c l a s s i f i e d i n t o t h r e e b r oa d gr oup s : t hos e i n t he p e r f or m i n g a r t s ( m us i c ,
d a n c e , a n d t he a t r e , t he l a t t e r i n c l u d i n g l i ve a n d f i l m , on stage or b e hi n d
a m i c r op hon e ) , those i n b us i n e s s ( i n c l u d i n g t he l aw, m a r k e t i n g , a n d s a l e s ) ,
a nd those whose p r of es s i on s or out c ome s a r e c ha r a c t er i z ed by a hi gh
l e ve l of r i s k t o h u m a n l i f e , whe t he r on e' s own or t ha t of ot he r s ( i n c l u d -
i n g s ur ge r y , e me r ge n c y r oom m e d i c i n e , p ub l i c s a f e t y of f i c e r s [ f i r e f i g h t e r s ,
p ol i c e p e r s o n n e l ) , r a c e c a r d r i v e r s , a s t r o n a u t s , n uc l e a r e n gi n e e r s , a n d
m i l i t a r y p e r s on n e l ) .
These gr oup s a r e e x t r e m e l y d i ve r s e , b ut t h e y a l l r e q ui r e t h a t a spe-
c i a l i z e d s e t of s k i l l s b e b r o u g h t i n t o a c t i on a t a gi ve n p oi n t i n t i m e . I n t he
t e x t t ha t f ol l ows , we r e f e r t o each of t he t h r e e gr oup s a s " d om a i n s , " a n d
t he s p e c i f i c p r of e s s i on s w i t h i n t he m a s " a r e a s . "
I n d e ve l op i n g our a n a l y s i s of p e r f or m a n c e psychol ogy, we opted to be
gui d e d b y p e r f or m e r s a n d c on s ul t a n t s who ha ve d e mon s t r a t e d e x p e r t i s e .
Our d e f i n i t i on of expert i n c l ud e d b ot h those whose a ut hor i t y der i ves f r om
t he i r wor k a n d i d e n t i t y a s p e r f or me r s a n d those whose a u t h o r i t y ha s d e -
vel oped t hr ough t h e i r wor k i n c on s ul t i n g wi t h p e r f or me r s . T hus , we s ub -
s e q ue n t l y r e f e r t o our ex p er t s , s ep a r a t el y , a s p e r f or m e r s a n d c on s ul t a n t s .
Participants
Purposive sampling ( R a t i o n , 1 9 9 0 ) , i n whi c h p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e c hosen on
t he b a si s of p er c ei ved s u i t a b i l i t y f or t he r e s e a r c h, wa s used t o r e c r ui t
exper t p er f or mer s . Sel ec ti on of p e r f or me r s was based on the f ol l owi n g
c r i t e r i a : t ha t t he p er son b e c on s i d er ed s uc c e s s f ul a n d exp er t i n hi s or he r
f i e l d , a s i n d i c a t e d b y a n a t i o n a l or i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e p ut a t i on a n d mor e
t h a n 1 0 y e a r s ' e x p e r i e n c e i n t he f i e l d ( Er i c s s on , 1 9 9 6 a ) . We i n t e r vi e we d
peopl e we k n e w a n d p eop l e we d i d n ot k n ow b e f or e ha n d . Non e of t he
p a r t i c i p a n t s wa s a c l i e n t of t he i n t e r v i e we r s or t he c o n s u l t a n t - p a r t i c i -
p a n t s . O ur own ge ogr a p hi c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n , p r of e s s i on a l n e t wor k s , a n d
va r i e d p r a c t i c e emp ha s es e x p a n d e d t he a v a i l a b l e pool of i n t e r vi e we e s .
To the e x t e n t p ossi b l e, we a t t e m p t e d to sel ect a he t e r oge n e ous sa mp l e
of i n t e r vi e we e s . We a c t i v e l y s ought p a r t i c i p a n t s who c oul d b r i n g f r e s h
k n o w l e d g e or a d i v e r g e n t p e r s p e c t i v e . F or e x a m p l e , on e of t he
i n t e r v i e we e s wa s a m a l e b a l l e t d a n c e r ; a n ot he r wa s a f e m a l e a t t or n e y .
F i f t e e n of t he p e r f or m e r s wer e m a l e , a n d n i n e wer e f e m a l e . Ei ght e e n of
t he c o n s u l t a n t s wer e m a l e , f i v e f e m a l e . We wer e a wa r e t h a t e t hn i c m i -
The Back Story: Research in Performance Consultation
nor i ty s t a t us was un d er r ep r es en t ed i n our sampl e. Onl y one person ( a
c on sul t a n t ) was so i d e n t i f i e d .
We had access to a n umb e r of cl assi cal musi c i a n s, and so we did not
tap i nto other types of musi c i a n s ( e. g. , j a z z , rock, countr y, or pop musi -
c i a ns) . Even wi th some potenti al l eads, we were abl e to d i r ec tl y i n ter vi ew
onl y one publ i c sa fety of f i c er and no a s t r on a ut s or n uc l ea r engi neer s.
The one ar ea of p er f or ma n c e t ha t we f oun d ut t er l y i mp en et r a b l e wa s
tha t of suc c essful tel evi si on a nd f i l m actor s. Despi te va r i ous l ea ds, possi -
bil ities, a nd connecti ons, the p ha l a n x of peopl e who s ur r oun d a nd pr o-
tect movie actor s p r even ted us f r om i n t er vi ewi n g peopl e whose p r i ma r y
l i vel i hood comes f r om t ha t f i e l d . ( Some of those who ar e i n br oa dc a sti ng
or ar e stage actor s ha ve al so been i n f i l m and on TV, and t hei r c omments
on those medi a ar e i n c l ud ed i n the i n f or ma t i on tha t fol l ows. )
Of the peopl e we a c t ua l l y c onta c ted, ther e were onl y two di r ec t r e-
f usa l s: one was a p er f or mer who expressed r egr et for l a c k of ti me, and
the other was a r eti r ed c on sul t a n t who was un i n t er es t ed i n the pr oject.
I n a l l , t he n , we e n d e d up i n t e r v i e w i n g 2 4 p e r f o r m e r s : f i v e
busi nesspeopl e ( two l a wyer s, one i n s ur a n c e br oker , one banker , and one
a dver ti si ng ex ec ut i ve) ; f our peopl e i n hi gh- r i s k p r of es s i on s ( t hr ee p hy si -
ci ans and one person who i s a Special Forces med i c and has a d d i t i on a l
tr a i ni ng as a pol i ce sn i p er ) ; and 15 p e r f or mi n g a r ti sts ( t hr ee actor s, two
br oadcaster s, thr ee dancer s, a nd seven mus i c i a n s ) . The d i s p r op or t i on a t e
n umb er of p er f or mi n g a r ti sts, compar ed wi th those i n the other domai ns,
r efl ected ease of access. Thei r voices ar e t her ef or e at ti mes mor e a c ti vel y
represented i n the text.
Among the busi nesspeopl e we i n ter vi ewed , f our wer e ma l e and one
fema l e. Each l awyer ha s pr acti ced l a w for 25 year s i n ma j or n a t i on a l l a w
f i r ms and has p a r tn er shi p exp er i en c e. One now i s d e p ut y gen er a l c oun -
sel i n the n on p r of i t sector; the other has r ec en t l y stepped down as ma n -
agi ng p a r tn er of hi s f i r m . The i n s ur a n c e br oker , al so i n the f i el d for 25
year s, has been r ecogni zed as one of the top i n s ur a n c e sal espeopl e i n the
Uni ted States; the banker, ha vi ng worked i n tr a di ti ona l banki ng for 20
years, c ur r en t l y hea ds a gl obal i n vestmen t ar m of a ma j or n a t i on a l b a n k
system. The a dver ti si ng exec ut i ve, i n hi s ea r l y 40s, i s p r esi d en t of a f i r m
wor ki ng wi th For t un e 1000 c ompa ni es.
The p er for mer s i n the hi gh- r i sk f i el d were al l mal e. One of the p hy -
si ci ans has chai red the d ep a r tmen t of n eur os ur ger y for a ma j or metr o-
pol i tan hospi tal and i s n eur osur geon for two p r of essi on a l spor ts teams;
another, a practi ti oner and chai r of the emergency medicine depar tment
of a maj or metr op ol i ta n hospi ta l , al so has r esear ch and a d mi n i s t r a t i ve
r esponsi bi l i ti es for a physi c i a n c or p or a ti on ; the t hi r d , si mi l a r l y , i s a c ti ve
as a sur geon, a d mi n i s t r a t or , r esear cher , and teacher . The other hi gh- r i s k
p er f or mer has two d i sti n c ti ve rol es and car eer s: He has been a n on c om-
21
m i s s i on e d o f f i c e r i n t he U. S. Sp e c i a l For ces, a n d he l i a s ha d t e n y e a r s of
e x p e r i e n c e i n a p ol i c e l a c i i c a l u n i t a s a s n i p e r .
T he p e r f o r m i n g a r t i s t s we i n t e r v i e we d i n c l u d e d t hr e e a c t or s , on e a t
t he b e g i n n i n g of hi s c a r eer , on e i n m i d c a r e e r , a n d on e who ha s been
a c t i n g f or 6 0 y e a r s . O n e i s k n o wn f or f i l m a n d T V wor k , whe r e a s t he
ot he r t wo ha v e s p e n t most ol t h e i r wor k l i f e on s t a ge. B ot h b r oa d c a s t e r s
ha ve a l s o ha d e x p e r i e n c e i n T V, t h e a t r e , a n d f i l m . Thr ee d a n c e r s wer e
i n t e r vi e we d : Two a r e r e t i r e d b a l l e t d a n c er s , on e l eaches a t a b a l l e t school
a n d i s p r i m a r i l y - e n g a g e d a s a n a r t s a d m i n i s t r a t o r . T he t h i r d d a n c e r s t i l l
p e r f or m s ( a s a mod e r n d a n c e r ) b ut c u r r e n t l y i s p r i m a r i l y en ga ged i n t e a c h-
i n g a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . Seven c l a s s i c a l m u s i c i a n s wer e i n t e r v i e we d . O n e
i s a me mb e r of a l a r ge s y m p h o n i c or c he s t r a ; two f r e e l a n c e , on e a s a s i n ger ,
t he ot he r a n i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t ; on e s er ves a d u a l r ol e a s m us i c i a n a n d c on -
d uc t or of a c ha m b e r m u s i c e n s e mb l e ; on e i s a m us i c i a n a n d m u s i c or ga -
n i z a t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r ; a n d t wo a r e c on d uc t or s , on e p r i m a r i l y of or c hes -
t r a s , t he ot he r , ol c hor a l gr oup s . A l on g w i t h t h e i r own p a r t i c u l a r i n d i v i d u a l
p e r s o n a l i t i e s , t e m p e r a m e n t s , a n d s k i l l s , t h e r e a r e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t we e n
t he d i f f e r e n t a r t f or m s , a n d even w i t h i n t he sa me a r t f or m , d i f f e r e n c e s of
r ol e ( e. g. , c on d uc t or vs. p l a y e r ) .
Bec a us e p e r f o r m a n c e c o n s u l t i n g ha s been of s uc h i n t e r e s t w i t h i n t he
c o m m u n i t y of s p or t p s y c hol ogy p r a c t i t i o n e r s , we i n i t i a l l y t u r n e d t o t h a t
p o p u l a t i o n t o s el ec t i n t e r v i e we e s . We t a r ge t e d t hos e c o n s u l t a n t s who
ha ve e x t e n d e d t h e i r p r a c t i c e s f r om w o r k i n g w i t h a t h l e t e s t o wo r k i n g
wi t h a b r oa d e r p o p u l a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y b us i n e s s p e op l e . We s u p p l e m e n t e d
t h i s s e l e c t i on w i t h c o n s u l t a n t s f r o m t h e b r oa d e r c o m m u n i t y o l c o n s u l t -
a n t s who wor k w i t h p e r f o r m e r s i n v a r i o u s f i e l d s . A ga i n , we l ook ed t o
e x p e r t i s e a n d l o n g e v i t y i n s e l e c t i n g t hos e t o i n t e r v i e w. Ul t i m a t e l y , we
i n t e r v i e we d 2 3 c o n s u l t a n t s ' n i n e i d e n t i f i e d p r i m a r i l y a s c o n s u l t a n t s i n
b us i n e s s ; s i x i n h i g h - r i s k p e r f o r m a n c e ; s i x i n p e r f o r m i n g a r t s ; a n d t wo i n
b r oa d er i ssues of p e r f or m a n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n ) . M ost wer e p eop l e we k n e w
a s p r of e s s i on a l c ol l e a gue s . A f ew wer e c o n s u l t a n t s whose wor k we ha d
r ea d or who we k n e w ol or who wer e s ugge s t e d t o us b y ot he r c o n s u l t -
a n t s , T he c o n s u l t a n t s ha d d oc t or a l l e ve l t r a i n i n g , a n d mos t wer e p sy -
c hol ogi s t s .
Du r i n g t he r evi ew pr oc ess, t h r e e p a r t i c i p a n t s wer e d r op p e d f r o m t he
a n a l y s i s . T wo wer e c o n s u l t a n t s a n d on e a p e r f or m e r , a l l t hr e e wer e i n -
vol ve d i n t he s a me p r ogr a m . Ea c h of t he s e i n d i v i d u a l s exp r es s ed c on -
c er n t ha t t he i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s d i d n ot c a p t ur e t he essenc e of t h e i r
m e t hod s . T hr ough m u t u a l a gr e e m e n t , t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n wa s n ot i n c l ud e d
i n t h i s book. A f o u r t h p a r t i c i p a n t wa s d e e me d t oo n e w t o t he f i e l d t o
q u a l i t y a s a n e x p e r t .
Ea c h p o t e n t i a l i n t e r v i e we e wa s i n i t i a l l y c on t a c t e d b y t e l e p hon e , l e t -
t e r , or e l e c t r on i c m a i l . A l e t t e r wa s s e n t c o n f i r m i n g t he i n t e r v i e we e s '
wi l l i n gn e s s t o p a r t i c i p a t e , a n d , whe n r e q ue s t e d , a copy of t he i n t e r v i e w
questi ons wa s sent a s wel l . We a l so a s s ur e d a n o n y m i t y i n t he f i n a l wr i t -
ten p r od uc t. Because we wi s hed to pr eser ve the r e a l i t y ol our i n t e r vi e we e s
a n d thei r t hought f ul r esponses t o our q ue s t i on s , we d ec i d ed t o r e t a i n t he
i n t egr i t y of t he i r spoken wor d s b ut ga ve t he m p s eud on y ms . I n Ap p e n d i x
A, we ha ve gi ven b r i e f d e s c r i p t i on s of each i n t e r vi e we e , a l on g wi t h hi s
or her r especti ve p s e ud on y m. I n or d er f or the r e a d e r to b e a b l e to d i s t i n -
gui sh between p e r f or me r s a n d c on s ul t a n t s , we ha ve used t he c on ven -
ti on of i n d i c a t i n g the p e r f or me r s b y a p s e ud on y m f i r s t n a me on l y ; the
c onsul ta nts were gi ven f i c t i t i ous f i r s t a n d l a st n a me s a l on g wi t h t he i r
hon or i f i c t i t l e.
Interview Process
23
We devel oped a s e m i s t r uc t ur e d i n t e r v i e w pr otoc ol , ba sed on the q ue s -
ti ons of concer n. We a sk ed the sa me q ue s t i on s of p er f or mer s and con-
sul t a n t s a b out the k ey el emen t s of p r e p a r a t i on a n d p er f or ma n c e, a s wel l
a s cr i ti cal i n f or ma t i on i n t he i r p a r t i c u l a r f i e l d a n d c on s ul t a n t c ha r a c t er i s -
tics. Questi ons a b out p e r f or ma n c e str ess wer e d i r ec t ed to p er f or mer s onl y.
Questi ons a b out aspects of t r a i n i n g a n d c ompetenc e wer e r est r i c t ed to
the c on s ul t a n t s . I n a d d i t i on to the op e n - e n d e d q ue s t i on s , we p r ep a r ed a
checkl i st of ser vi ces a n d s k i l l s t ha t a r e c ommon l y of f e r e d b y p er f or ma n c e
c on s ul t a n t s wor k i n g wi t h a t hl e t e s . At t he c on c l us i on of t he op e n - e n d e d
i nter vi ew, both p e r f or me r s a n d c on s ul t a n t s wer e gi ven t he c hec k l i s t a n d
asked to i n d i c a t e whi c h s k i l l s or ser vi c es m i ght b e h e l p f u l f or a p er f or -
ma nc e c on s ul t a n t to p r ovi d e .
After the questi ons had been d evel op ed , each of the a ut hor s con-
duc ted two p i l ot i n t er vi ews , on e wi t h a p e r f or m e r a n d on e wi t h a con-
s ul t a n t . T he q ue s t i on s were f u r t h e r r e f i n e d f or c l a r i t y . T he f i n a l i n t e r -
vi ew q uest i on s a r e a va i l a b l e a s A p p e n d i x B ( P e r f or m e r s ) a n d Ap p e n d i x
C ( C on s ul t a n t s ) .
The a c t ua l i n t er vi ews wer e c on d uc t e d p r i m a r i l y b y t el ep hon e; some
i nter vi ews were c on d uc ted a t ei t her the p a r t i c i p a n t ' s home or of f i c e or
the i nter vi ewer ' s of f i c e i f t ha t wa s c on s i d er ed mor e c on ve n i e n t f or a n d
p r ef er r ed b y t he p a r t i c i p a n t . P r i or s t ud i e s us i n g s i mi l a r t e c hn i q ue s i n d i -
cate n o d i f f e r e n c e between i n t e r vi e ws c on d uc t ed b y t el ep hon e a n d those
ma de t a c e- t o- f a c e ( Wei n b er g, B ut t , & Kn i ght , 2 0 0 1 ) . Al l i n t e r vi e ws wer e
ta pe- r ec or ded a n d s ub s e q ue n t l y p r of e s s i on a l l y t r a n s c r i b e d . T r a n s c r i p t i on s
were r evi ewed a n d cor r ected f or a c c ur a c y b y the or i gi n a l i n t er vi ewer
p r i or to a n a l y si s. The i n t e r vi e ws wer e c on d uc t ed a s c on ver sa ti on , us i n g
the q uesti on s a s gui d e r a t he r t ha n spec i fi c s e q ue n t i a l pr otocol . I n some
i nstances, t hi s r esul ted i n extensi ve f ol l ow- up q ue s t i on i n g on c er ta i n i tems
24 S E T T I N G T H I- S T A G E
or a s p ec t s ol t he c on v e r s a t i on . I n c e r t a i n i n t e r v i e w s , n ot a l l q u e s t i o n s
wer e a s k e d , e i t h e r b e c a us e t h e y seemed i r r e l e v a n t t o t he c on v e r s a t i on or
a l r e a d y ha d been c ove r e d i n some o t h e r wa y .
Ea c h i n t e r v i e w l a s t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 to 1 1 / 2 hour s . A l ew wer e a
b i t s hor t e r , a n d a f e w s om e wha t l on ge r . M os t wer e c on d uc t e d i n on e
s i t t i n g or p hon e c o n v e r s a t i o n , a l t h o u g h b e c a us e ol p e r s on a l t i m e c on -
s t r a i n t s , a l e w ha d t o b e c on d uc t e d i n t wo sessi on s.
Interview Analysis
We c on s i d e r e d a n u m b e r ol m e t hod s ol i n t e r v i e w a n a l y s i s . We k e p t i n
m i n d o u r u l t i m a t e goa l s ha r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n d e r i ve d f r om t hes e i n t e r -
vi e ws a n d our u l t i m a t e a u d i e n c e p r a c t i t i o n e r s wi t h a n i n t e r e s t i n p er -
f o r m a n c e c o n s u l t i n g . We wi s he d t o d e ve l op a q u a l i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s t h a t
woul d r e t a i n t he m e a n i n g a n d i n t e n t i o n ot t he i n t e r v i e ws t he m s e l ve s .
Va r i ous n u m e r i c m e t hod s of i n f o r m a t i o n a n a l y s i s wer e n ot used b e c a us e
t he y r e q ui r e d a n o m i n a l or o r d i n a l pr oc ess t h a t wa s n ot p r e s e n t i n t he
d a t a a n d t h e r e f o r e wo u l d n ot c a p t u r e t he m e a n i n g of p a r t i c i p a n t s ' c om-
m e n t s .
T he e v e n t u a l m e t hod of a n a l y s i s wa s t he s i mp l e s t a n d most d i r e c t :
F ol l owi n g a n i n i t i a l j o i n t r e vi e w p r oc e d ur e f or t wo t r a n s c r i p t s t o e n s ur e
s i m i l a r m e t hod s ol a n a l y s i s , ea c h t r a n s c r i p t wa s s e p a r a t e l y r ea d a n d coded
t or " m e a n i n g u n i t s , " t he s m a l l e s t u n i t ol a n a l y s i s ( L i n c ol n & G u b a , 1 9 8 5) .
F or e x a m p l e , F a i t h , a p r o f e s s i o n a l s i n ge r , d es c r i b ed he r pr ocess of l e a r n -
i n g a n d m e m o r i / i n g m us i c : " I vi e w t h i n g s f r om t he i n s i d e of m y he a d . I f
I ' m s i n g i n g f r o m m e m or y , t he p a ge i s mor e or l ess t he r e , t he son g i s l a i d
out . " T hi s p e r f or m e r ' s pr oc ess wa s c a t e gor i z e d a s imagery.
We s u b s e q u e n t l y j o i n t l y gr oup e d m e a n i n g u n i t s i n t o l ower a n d hi ghe r
or d er t he me s ( C on r oy , P oc / wa r d ows k i , & He n s c he n , 2 0 0 1 ; G oul d , E k l u n d ,
& J a c k s on , 1 9 9 3 ) . T hi s c l a s s i f i c a t i on of t h e m e s a n d c a t e gor i e s wa s d e ve l -
oped i n i t i a l l y w i t h t he p e r f or m e r s ' t r a n s c r i p t s . An a l y s e s of c o n s u l t a n t s '
t r a n s c r i p t s wer e t he n f i t t o t he p e r f or m e r s ' c l us t e r s , wi t h a d d i t i o n a l c a t -
egor i es a d d e d a s n e e d e d .
T he i n i t i a l t r a n s c r i p t a n a l y s i s wa s d on e b y t he i n v e s t i ga t or who ha d
n ot c on d uc t e d t he i n t e r v i e w. T hi s p r oc e d ur e a l l owe d op t i m a l f r e s hn e s s
of a n a l y s i s . T he sec on d r es ea r c her , t he on e who ha d a c t u a l l y i n t e r v i e we d
t he i n d i v i d u a l , t h e n r evi ewed t he i n i t i a l a n a l y s i s , c o n d u c t i n g a " s t u d y
a u d i t " ( P a t t o n , 1 9 9 0 ) . I f t he r e wa s a d i s c r e p a n c y i n t he a n a l y s i s , i t e m s
wer e d i s c us s e d a t l e n gt h i n or d e r t o a r r i v e a t a c on s e n s us . I I a c on s e n s us
c oul d n ot b e r ea d i ed , t he p e r c e p t i on s of t he a c t u a l i n t e r v i e we r \ ve r e gi ven
p r e f e r e n c e i n d e t e r m i n i n g m e a n i n g u n i t s .
A f u r t h e r me a n s of e n s ur i n g a c c ur a c y of a n a l y s i s i n vol ved " memb er
c hec k i n g" ( P a t t on , 1 9 9 0 ) . Ea c h i n t e r vi e we e wa s sent a copy of the a n a l y -
si s of t he i r i n t er vi ew, wi t h a r eq uest t ha t he or she i n d i c a t e e i t he r accep-
t a n c e of the a n a l y s i s a s r e p r e s e n t i n g t he i r per spec ti ve, m od i f i c a t i on s of
t he a n a l y s i s t ha t t he y woul d sti ggest, or p r ef er en c e f or r e vi e wi n g t he
e n t i r e m a n us c r i p t . Wi t h the ex c ep t i on of the i n ter vi ewees who chose to
w i t h d r a w f r o m t he p r oc ess a t t hi s p oi n t , a s m e n t i o n e d a b ove, a l l
i n t er vi ewees a c c epted t he a n a l y s e s or ma d e mi n or mod i f i c a t i on s .
The c hec k l i s t of p ot e n t i a l ser vi ces wa s a n a l y z ed b y c a l c ul a t i n g the
p er c en t a ge of r es p on d en t s who en d or s ed each i tem as d es i r a b l e for a
c on s ul t a n t to of f e r . These p er c en ta ges wer e al so b r ok en down a c c or d i n g
t o ma j or p e r f or ma n c e d oma i n : b us i n e s s , hi gh- r i s k , a n d p e r f or m i n g a r ts.
25
Unique A s
t h e B us ines s
s ec t s o f
D o m a in
Al wa ys remember t h a t you are compl et el y u n i q u e . . . exact l y l i ke
everyone else.
Anony mous
he c o ns u l t a nt i nt eres t ed in performa nce psychol ogy faces a dil emma: To
wha t ext ent s h oul d one be a genera l i s e t o wha t ext ent , a specialist? Is it
i mpo rt a nt to have s k i l l s appl i cabl e to a wi de range of performers , or shoul d
one u nder s t a nd deepl y a cert a i n s ubs et of performers ? Our answer is:
bot h. For t he most part , we di s cus s el ement s common t o bot h areas of
emphasis. In our i nt ervi ews , however, especial l y t hose with performers ,
we became a wa re of di ffer enc es pa r t i c u l a r t o each doma i n. Accordingl y,
before we l ook at t he common fea t ures , we focus on some of t he essen-
t i a l aspects t h a t s et t hese doma i ns a pa r t .
We recognize t h a t our des cri pt i ons of di ffer en c es are pai nt ed with
broad st rokes and risk f a l l i n g i nt o st ereot ypes. There are exceptions t o al l
cases. In fa ct , even wi t hi n t he same doma i n, no t wo cons ul t i ng s i t ua -
tions are exa ct l y a l i k e. Each busi ness, t roupe, orchest ra, or uni t has a
u ni qu e hi st ory, a di s t i nc t i ve set of va l ues , and an i di os yncra t i c i nt erac-
t i on of pers ona l i t i es .
In part II, we addres s t he cha ra ct eri s t i cs t ha t are essential wit hin each
doma i n but di f f e r bet ween doma i ns . In s ubs equent pa rt s of t he book, we
fo c u s more on i s s ues common t o al l aspect s of performa nce.
We a s k ed our expert s (bot h perfo rmers and cons ul t a nt s ) what t hey
considered u n i q u e a bo u t t h ei r p a r t i c u l a r doma i n a nd what i nforma t i on
a bout t h a t p er fo r ma n c e s et t i ng woul d be cri t i cal for a cons ul t a nt t o know.
We have organi zed t h ei r responses i nt o fi ve cat egories. Milieu charact er-
ist ics describe t he genera l cont ext of t he doma i n, i nc l u di ng such aspects
29
30 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C I N F O R M A T I O N
_ , a s t he rol e or c o mp e t i t i o n , s y s t emi c i s -
Every performance, however broa dl y w e , , , , . . . .
s ues , t h e r o l e o l s u b j e c t i v i t y , t i me a n d
defi ne t hat , i s a n attempt t o t r a di t i o n , ge n de r i s s u es , s t res s es u n i q u e
communi ca t e a nd t o pu bl i s h a pri vat e o r
t o t n
j
s
d o ma i n , a nd c o n t e mp o r a r y
i n di vi du a l vi ewpoi nt , i f that's a l awyer c h a n ges i n t he do ma i n . Role function per -
present i ng a case or i f that's a dancer t a i n s t o t he v a r i o u s e x p e c t a t i o n s bey o n d
da n c i n g a bal l et , t ha t t o me i s t he
l h e
i mme di a t e p e r f o r ma n c e , i n c l u di n g
, ^ , , , . , ^ . . a t t e n t i o n to bu s i n es s a s pec t s s u c h as
el ement of performance. I don t t h i n k
f
ma r k e t i n g a n d r u n n i n g a p r o f i t a b l e e n -
dance is u n i q u e in t hat way. . . . , . . , _. ,. .,, M
' t er p n s e, ma i n t a i n i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h
J erry (dancer)
t nt
' P
L I O
' '
C ( ) r
" p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e , " a n d
dea l i n g wi t h rel a t i ons h i ps w i t h i n a group
or t ea m. Characteristics of performers wi t h i n
t h e do ma i n r e l a t e s t o p e r s o n a l i t y t y pes a n d a t t i t u de s t h a t a r e t y p i c a l l y
f o u n d i n t h e do ma i n . We a c k n o w l edge t h e da n ger o f s u c c u mbi n g t o s t e-
reot ypes; t h er e a r e a l wa y s except i ons t o a ny des c r i pt i o n o f t h i s k i n d.
No n e t h e l e s s , r es ea r c h i n c a r eer de ve l o p me n t a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l success
s ugges t s t h a t c e r t a i n p e r s o n a l i t y t y pes t en d t o gr a vi t a t e t o wa r d a nd t o be
mo r e s u c c e s s f u l i n c e r t a i n o c c u p a t i o n s ( Ha mi l t o n & Ha mi l t o n , 1 99f ;
Ha mi l t o n , Ha mi l t o n , & Mel t zer, 1989; Ma r c h a nt -Ha y c o x & Wi l s o n, 1992).
A wel l -p r ep a r ed c o n s u l t a n t i s a wa r e of t h es e t y p i c a l c h a r a c t er i s t i c s wh i l e
b e i n g open t o t he ex c ep t i o n s . The nature of performance l ook s at di me n -
s i o ns s u c h a s t h e r o l e o f me mo r i za t i o n , t h e rol e o f emo t i o ns , p h y s i c a l
dema n ds , a n d i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t h e a u di e n c e . In c l u ded i n t h i s c a t ego r y
i s a di s c u s s i o n of w h a t i s " a t r i s k " du r i n g a p e r fo r ma n c e . For ex a mp l e,
s ome ma y be r i s k i n g t h e i r r e p u t a t i o n , p r i de , o r p u bl i c e mba r r a s s me n t ;
f o r o t h e r s , t h e c o n s eq u en c e o f f a i l u r e ma y mea n de a t h i t s e l f . Un de r -
s t a n di n g t h e emp h a s es o f t hese v a r i o u s di me n s i o n s h el ps a c o n s u l t a n t
a p p r e c i a t e t h e di f f e r e n c e s bet ween t h e p e r f o r ma n c e do ma i n s . Fi n a l l y ,
we di s c u s s t he familiarity with consultants w i t h i n t he s pec i fi c p e r fo r ma n c e
do ma i n . Co n s u l t a n t s e n t e r i n g a f i e l d t h a t r e a di l y accept s p e r fo r ma n c e
c o n s u l t a t i o n c o n f r o n t di f f e r e n t i s s u es f r o m t hos e f o r gi n g i n t o " vi r gi n t er-
r i t o r y . "
A l t h o u gh mos t o f t h e p e r f o r me r s we i n t e r vi e w e d per c ei ved t h e i r
p a r t i c u l a r do ma i n a s u n i q u e , a few di d no t . A r t h u r said t h a t t h e r e wa s
l i t t l e t h a t wa s s i n gu l a r a b o u t l h e pra ct i ce o f l aw. Ha r o l d ( c o n du c t o r ) a l s o
q u es t i o n ed w h e t h e r t h e mu s i c do ma i n w a s u n i q u e , p o i n t i n g o u t t h a t
w h e t h e r a pers o n i s a mu s i c i a n or a t h l e t e , a n y o n e who ha s t o compet e
o r p e r fo r m n eeds c er t a i n k ey s k i l l s : t o be a bl e t o fo c u s , r e l a x , a nd p r ep a r e
t h o r o u gh l y . We h o pe t o de mo n s t r a t e t h a t t h e s i t u a t i o n i s a " bo t h / a n d. "
Th e k ey s k i l l s Ha r o l d des c r i bed a r e i n de e d gen er i c , bu t each p e r fo r ma n c e
do ma i n c o n t a i n s s p e c i f i c c r i t i c a l e l e me n t s . We begi n w i t h a di s c u s s i o n o f
t h e bu s i n e s s do ma i n .
Unique Aspects of the Business Domain
31
The Business Domain
Wh a t does i t mea n t o " p er fo r m" i n t he bu s i nes s do ma i n? In gener a l ,
bus i nes s i nvol ves commerci a l or mer c a n t i l e a c t i vi t i es , t he p r o du c t i o n of
commodi t i es, a n d f i n a n c i a l t r a n s a c t i o n s . Int er vi ews wi t h p er fo r mer s a n d
c o ns u l t a nt s wo r k i ng i n or wi t h t h e fi e l ds of law, i n s u r a n c e, ba n k i n g, a nd
rnHmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm a dve r t i s i n g were cons i dered r epr es ent a -
t i ve of t h i s do ma i n . A l t h o u gh one ca n
ma k e di s t i n c t i o n s bet ween t hes e p r o fes -
sions, several common cha ra ct eri s t i cs can
be c l ea r l y i de n t i f i e d by bot h p er fo r mer s
a n d c o n s u l t a n t s enga ged i n bu s i n e s s .
These a re a ddr es s ed i n det a i l bel ow.
What is happening now is when a lot of
folks go to apply for a job, there is a
psychological contract. There is
something in the air in the room that
you are interviewing in, but it is not the
actual business contract. The person that
is conducting the interview is thinking to
themselves as they are interviewing you:
"We will use you here as long as we
need your skill, but as soon as we don't
need your skill we are going to show you
the door." The person being interviewed
is thinking: "What skills am I going to
learn by coming to work for your
company that will make me employable
elsewhere? Because I know there is no
security in companies any more."
Dr. Barbara Benton,
(consultant, business)
MILIEU
A p r i ma r y fe a t u r e i de n t i f i e d w i t h i n t h e
bu s i nes s do ma i n wa s t h e e x t r a o r di n a r -
i l y r a pi d pace of ch a nge. Technol ogi ca l
a dva n c emen t s i n c o mmu ni c a t i o n h a ve
va s t l y e x p a n de d o r removed p h y s i c a l
bo u n da r i e s fo r ma n y bus i nes s es . Com-
p a n y pers onnel no l onger need t o be l o-
cat ed wi t h i n t he same phys i ca l space, and
o r ga n i za t i o n s no w ex i s t w i t h i n a n ex-
p a n di n g gl oba l ma r k et pl a c e. More t h a n
20 y ea rs ago, J oh n Na i s bi t t (1982) pre-
dict ed a n u mb e r of " mega t r en ds , " s uch
a s t he i nc r ea s ed va l u e of a p o s t i n du s t r i a l
i n f o r ma t i o n s o c i et y , a gl o ba l ma r k e t -
pl ace, dec en t r a l i za t i o n , a nd net wo r k i ng.
One of t he peopl e we i n t er vi ewed, w o r l d-r en o w n ed c o n s u l t a n t Dr. An-
drew Ada ms , des cri bed t h e a c t u a l i za t i o n of t h i s process:
Th ey ' r e al l goi ng i nt o a new economy wi t h a vo r t ex of s ei s mi c
s ea cha nges . The gl o ba l i za t i o n of ma r k et s a nd t ec h no l o gy i s
ch a ngi ng ever y t h i n g. It's c r ea t i n g a fr ee a gency ma r k et i n
wh i ch t op t a l e n t goes t o t h e h i gh es t bi dder . In t el l ec t u a l c a pi t a l
i s r epl a c i ng f i n a n c i a l c a pi t a l a s t h e ma i n s ource of wea l t h . How
do you ma na ge k nowl edge work ers ? It 's a t o t a l l y di f f e r e n t
approach a nd it 's ca u s i ng t r emen do u s i ns ecuri t y , fea r, a nd
u n c er t a i n t y everywhere.
3 2 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C I N F O R M A T I O N
I n t h i s w o r l d o f a c q u i s i t i o n s , b u y o u t s , a n d do w n s i z i n g, o u r
i n t er vi ewees suggest t h a t c o mp a n y l o y a l t y i s no l o nger a r e l e va n t va l u e .
Co n s u l t a n t Dr . Al i c e A u s t i n e x p l a i n e d:
It 's a very crowded ma r k et p l a c e, a nd more t h a n ever i t 's
mo vi n g ver y f a s t . Peopl e a r e a l wa y s t h i n k i n g a bo u t w h a t t h e y
wi l l l ea ve wi t h wh en t h ey go. Wi t h t h e ma j o r i t y of t h e peopl e
t h a t I coach, devel o p i n g a n ex i t s t r a t egy i s most i mp o r t a n t .
They do n ' t expect t o s t a y i n a po s i t i o n. And t h i s i s di f f e r e n t
fr o m j ob h o ppi ng as peopl e ha ve done i n t he pas t . It's a br a n d
new era , a nd for me, i t 's a p r e t t y f r i gh t e n i n g one i n t er ms of i t s
pot ent i a l da ma ge t o t he psyche.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"^* Co mp et i t i o n i s common t o al l per-
Over t he past t wo months, t hi ngs have fo r mer s , but a u n i q u e fa c t o r i n t he bu s i -
been so hectic t hat I go t o meeting aft er ness worl d is t he r a p i di t y wi t h wh i c h t he
meet i ng after meeting and there is no
en t i r e SC()
P
e of
c o mpet i t i o n can ch a nge.
buffer zone, no t i me t o t h i n k a nd pl an
Wi t h i n t h e
i n s u r a n c e i n du s t r y , for ex-
a mpl e, Ca r l comment ed a bo u t t h e com-
and really even to find what success . . , , . . . .
p et i t i ven es s of t h e o r ga n i za t i o n a l , r a t h e r
looks l i ke. As a consequence, t here have
t h a n
i nt er per s o na l , c l i ma t e. Wh en Ca r l
been t imes over t he past t wo weeks s t a rt ed in t he bu s i nes s , it was s i mpl e: In-
when people have come to my off ice s u r a nc e pol ices were sold by i n s u r a n c e
and honest t o God, I t hought , "I can't compa ni es . Wi t h recent cha nges in fed-
remember why we are meet i ng. I have
era l
r egu l a t i o n s , i n s u r a n c e pol i ci es can
. , . . . be p u r c h a s e d t h r o u gh a ny n u mb e r of
no idea why they are here. You just , , .
i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d o r ga n i za t i o n s , r e s u l t i n g
k i nd of have to let t hem t al k and try to
m fl dr a ma t i c s h i ft i n l he i n s u r a n c e a r ena
.
remember. It is embarrassing. '
Tm i n a
r el a t i vel y c o mpet i t i ve bu s i nes s
, , . , . . t h a t ' s s ervi ce o r i en t ed, and n o w a da y s
B a rry (advertising executive) . , , . . .
ever y bo dy i n t he worl d wa n t s t o be i n i t .
B a n k s a re i n i t now i n t h e Un i t e d St a t es ,
[ a s wel l a s ] t h e CPA f i r ms , a nd st ock brok era ge f i r ms . "
In c o nt r a s t t o t he r a p i d pace of most fa c et s of t he bu s i n es s wo r l d,
l o ng-t er m i n ve s t me n t o ffer s i t s own br a n d of st ress. As Da vi d, a gl o ba l
i n ve s t me n t ba n k er , e x p l a i n e d:
We're not worri ed a bo u t wh a t t h e s t ock ma r k e t does t h i s week
or t h i s mo nt h or f r a n k l y , t h i s year. We're l o o k i n g a t bu s i nes s es
t h a t we t h i n k s h o u l d do wel l over a t h r ee- t o s even -y ea r t i me
peri od. Ea rl i er t oda y I was sel l ing some shares in a p u bl i c
c o mpa ny t h a t we own a nd we've been s el l i n g j u s t a l i t t l e bi t .
We were a bl e t o sel l a f a i r l y l a rge n u mbe r of s h a r es t o da y a t
w h a t we t h i n k a r e p r et t y good pri ces . B u t y et , I do n ' t k now.
Tomorrow s o mebo dy ma y a n n o u n c e t h e y a r e a c q u i r i n g t h e
company at 30% higher. So now I feel good t oday but you
al ways don't k now if t h a t was a good decision. The very l ong-
t erm na t u r e of our work is very, very di ffer en t fr o m most of t he
rest of t hi s i ns t i t ut i on. Almost every ot her pa rt is short t erm. It
may be h o u r t o hour, day t o day, on up t o qu a r t er t o quart er,
but not hi ng beyond qua rt er t o qua rt er as far as mea s uri ng
performa nce ana resul t s. The l ong-t erm na t urei t kind of eats
at you as t o wh et h er y o u ' r e doi ng wel l .
The ent i cement of ra pi d monet a ry riches creat es a special stress in
t he busi ness worl d. Inst ead of a gr a du a l , predi ct abl e a ccumul a t i on of sav-
ings, fo r t u nes can be gai ned and lost in a ma t t er of moment s . David
(ba nk er) described the worl d of commerce as "a very compet it ive but
di ffi c u l t envi ronment wit h high st akes. " In t hi s envi ronment , several
cons ul t a nt s discussed t he chal l enge of work i ng wi t h businesspeopl e t o
mai nt ai n a sense of perspect ive t h a t i ncorporat es a work-l ife balance. As
Dr. Aus t i n expl a i ned, "It's very easy to lose sight of ot her t hi ngs of val ue,
of i mport ance. And t hat 's why I can feel qui t e at a loss against t he l ure of:
'If I can j u s t hang on, if we can j u s t do t hi s one more t hi ng, t hen I'll cash
out . Then I can t u r n my a t t ent i on t o my fa mi l y , my heal t h, my exercise
program,' and so on."
The i mport a nce of ba l a nci ng work and fa mi l y is recognized by hi ghl y
s k i l l ed performers . El i t e at hl et es recognize t h a t havi ng a sense of i dent i t y
out s i de t hei r area of performa nce is a crit ical fact or in prevent i ng burn-
o u t a nd h a s been f o u n d t o a c t u a l l y enh a nc e per fo r ma nc e (Da ni s h ,
Petitpas, & Hal e, 1993; Go u l d, Udry, Tuffey , & Loehr, 1996; Miller & Kerr,
2002). Most of t he bus i nes s peopl e we i nt ervi ewed considered t hi s work-
fa mi l y bal ance i mport a nt t o t hei r own success. As Davi d (ba n k er ) ex-
pl ained, however, t hi s is not neces s ari l y t he norm: "There are pl ent y of
people who don't ha ve t hat a t t i t u de. They're j u s t so dri ven. They t hink
t hey've got to do it, and t hey've got to do it now, and t hat t h ey 'l l event u-
al l y t a k e t i me out for t hei r fa mi l y. What t hey haven't fi gured out i s t he
fa mi l y is going t o grow up and be gone. "
REPORTED CHARACTERISTICS OF PERFORMERS
Successful performers in ba nk i ng were described as having drive, det er-
mi nat i on, a bit of greed, competitiveness, and a fea r of fa i l u r e. In the
fi el d of i ns urance, Ca rl said, "Most guys in my bus i nes s are controlling
t ype of guys, and t hey don't want to let go of a nyt hi ng. " Crea t i vi t y is
requi red for success in advert ising. Our advert i s i ng execut ive, Barry, noted
t h a t creat i ve peopl e are oft en mot i va t ed by i deal i s m and may be arro-
gant . A reasonabl e degree of i nt el l i gence is considered a prerequi s i t e in
al l areas of bus i nes s .
33
More ge n e r a l i za b l e i n f o r ma t i o n a ppea r s t o ex i s t a b o u t l a wy er s t h a n
a n y o f t h e o t h e r s u bgr o u p s . Ou r p e r s o n a l ex p er i en c e w o r k i n g w i t h l a w -
y er s i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h A r t h u r ' s de s c r i p t i o n . He c o mmen t ed t h a t a t t o r -
n ey s " do n' t h a ve a l ot of p a t i e n c e " a nd des c r i bed t h em a s h a vi n g a s h o r t
a t t e n t i o n s p a n , be i n g s k e p t i c a l , a n d t h i n k i n g t h e y ' r e u n i q u e . A n n a , a l s o
a n a t t o r n e y , a dde d t h a t peopl e i n h e r p r o fes s i o n o ft en feel u n c e r t a i n a n d
i n s e c u r e bu t a r e t y p i c a l l y a bl e t o h i de t h es e emo t i o n s b e h i n d a "good
f r o n t . "
A n n a me n t i o n e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f l a wy er s a n d t h e l ega l p r o fes s i o n
t h a t w e h a ve f r e q u e n t l y o bs er ved i n o u r p r a c t i c es : Th e gr u e l i n g h o u r s ,
c o n s t a n t c o mp e t i t i o n , a n d a dv e r s a r i a l n a t u r e o f t h e p r o fes s i o n t a k e a
t ol l . A n n a des cri bed t h e e mo t i o n a l f a l l o u t t h a t ma y ens ue:
A l o t o f l a w y e r s a r e de s p e r a t e l y u n h a p p y . Wh i l e my dec i s i o n t o
l ea ve p r i v a t e p r a c t i c e w a s n ' t a c a r eer c h a n ge, i t wa s a bi g
c h a n ge i n t e r ms o f t y p e o f p r a c t i c e . One o f t h e most depr es s i ng
t h i n gs a b o u t my dec i s i o n wa s t h e n u mb e r o f peopl e wh o j u s t
ca me i n t o my o f f i c e , cl osed t h e do o r a nd s a i d, " Oh my god,
h ow do I get out of h er e? How di d y ou do t h i s ?" Even wors e
wa s t h e n u mb e r o l men wh o s a i d " 1 wi s h I c o u l d a f f o r d t o do
t h i s , " b u t w h o j u s t f e l t t h a i ma k i n g mo n ey w a s t h e i r r a i s o n
d
, / > ,
etre.
Thes e o b s e r v a t i o n s echo c o n c er n s ex p r es s ed t h r o u gh o u t t h e l ega l
pr o fes s i o n ( B e n j a mi n , Sales, & Da r l i n g, 1992). An es t i ma t ed 40% of y o u n g
a t t o r n e y s a r e di s s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e i r j o bs , r e s u l t i n g i n more dr o p o u t s f r o m
l a w t h a n f r o m a n y o t h e r p r o fes s i o n ( Dr o gi n , 1991) . A s t u dy by t h e A me r i -
c a n B a r A s s o c i a t i o n n o t ed t h a t mos t l a w y er s percei ve t h e i r wo r k e n v i -
r o n me n t a s t h e ma j o r s ource of di s s a t i s fa c t i o n ( B e n j a mi n , Da r l i n g, & Sales,
1 990). Ni n e t y - s e v e n p er c en t o f t h e s e n i o r l a wy er s s u r vey ed h a d c h a n ged
j o bs t h r e e o r mo r e t i me s i n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e i r ca reers . I n c r e a s i n g n u m-
ber s o f di s i l l u s i o n e d l a wy er s a r e r e a l i zi n g t h a t " t h e y were never s u i t e d t o
l egal pra ct i ce i n t he f i r s t pl a ce" (Dr o gi n , 1991, p. 1 19) a nd a re s eek i ng
c a r eer s el s ewh er e. La w y e r s s u f f e r c l i n i c a l depr es s i o n a t f o u r t i mes t h e
r a t e o f t h e ge n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n ( B e n j a m i n et a l . , 1990). A r a n do m s a mp l e
o f a t t o r n e y s i n t h e s t a t e o f Wa s h i n gt o n i n 1987 ( N = 802) i n di c a t e d t h a t
a p p r o x i ma t e l y o n e t h i r d o f t h e l a w y er s r es p o n di n g s u f f e r e d fr o m c l i n i c a l
de p r e s s i o n , p r o bl e m dr i n k i n g, o r c o c a i ne a bu s e ( B e n j a mi n e t a l . , 1990).
Di s c o n t e n t i s r a mp a n t w i t h i n t h e p r o f e s s i o n . La w y e r s s t r u ggl e w i t h a
s ens e o f de c l i n i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m a s t h e r e i s i n c r e a s i n g e mp h a s i s o n
n u mb e r o f b i l l a b l e h o u r s a n d dec r ea s i ng a t t e n t i o n t o per s o na l r el a t i o n -
s h i p s w i t h c l i e n t s .
On e o f t h e bu s i n e s s c o n s u l t a n t s , Dr . B e n t o n , ma de t wo o bs e r va t i o n s
c o mp a r i n g a t h l e t e s a n d peopl e i n t h e b u s i n e s s wo r l d. A l t h o u gh t h es e
p o i n t s a r e a n ec do t a l , t h e y h a ve a l s o been observed i n o u r o wn pra ct i ces
and are wort h not i ng. Fi rs t , bus i nes s peopl e t end t o be recept i ve t o t ech-
ni ques used by a t hl et es , especi al l y t he use of i magery. However, i ma gery
i s used di ffer en t l y i n t he t wo do ma i ns :
Athletes will do imagery before the performance;
busi nesspeopl e use more i ma ger y after t he per fo r ma nc e. The
busi nessperson wi l l do very l i t t l e preppi ng, but when he gets in
t he t r a i n on hi s way home, he goes back t h r o u gh and repl a ys
t he t ea m meet i ng or hi s pres ent a t i on i n hi s mi nd. Dependi ng
on hi s t h i n k i n g, he ei t her bea t s h i ms el f up or compl i ment s
hi ms el f.
The second obs erva t i on i s t h a t
at hl et es who are t r y i n g t o be cons i s t ent t op performers real l y
do know t he power of us i ng t hese ment a l t r a i ni ng t echni ques
both i n t hei r sport and a wa y fr o m t he Ol ympi c a rena . They
real i ze t he onl y way t hese t ec h ni qu es work i s when t hey can
be on a u t o ma t i c pil ot . And t he way t o get on a u t o ma t i c pi l ot is
lots and lots of practice in different arenas . Businesspeopl e do
not get t h a t yet . They seem t o t h i n k t h a t t h ei r bus i nes s st resses
are s eparat e fr o m t hei r l i fe st resses. They do not u n der s t a n d
t hat t here is s uch a correl a t i on in t erms of how one i mpact s t he
ot her.
ROLE FUNCTIONS
The pri ma ry or ul t i ma t e purpos e of bus i nes s peopl e i s fi n a n c i a l profi t a bi l -
ity. Davi d's comment h i gh l i gh t ed t h i s pers pect i ve a nd provi ded cont ra s t
t o t he perfo rmers i n t he ot her doma i ns : " Greed, wi t h i n bo u nds , i s very
good. It is a necessi t y in bus i nes s . " Our a dver t i s i ng execu t i ve, however,
not ed occasional di ffi c u l t i e s wi t h y o u ng, i dea l i s t i c t a l ent wh o s omet i mes
st ruggl e wi t h t he pragmat i cs of t he bus i nes s . " Crea t i ve people t end t o be
mot i vat ed by i dea l i s m. When it becomes a p r i ma r y mot i va t or, it 's a very
di ffi c u l t ma na gement chal l enge. [They t h i n k ] we s houl d h a ndl e t hi s bus i -
ness pro bono becaus e it's t he r i gh t t h i n g t o do. Well, we j u s t l a i d off 24%
of t he work force and we don't ha ve t he money. Who cares if it 's t he
ri ght t hi ng t o do?"
Vi rt ua l l y al l of t he bus i nes s per fo r mer s emphasi zed t he c ent r a l i t y of
work rel a t i ons hi ps t o o pt i ma l fu n c t i o n i n g. B arry, i n a dvert i s i ng, sai d:
" Everyt hi ng comes down t o r el a t i o ns h i ps i n our bus i nes s . It's oft en not
what you know, it 's who you know. It's pol i t i ca l . " In t he fi el d of i ns ur-
ance sales, Carl described t he process as es s ent i al l y "sel l ing a rel a t i on-
ship. " Davi d (ba n k er ) emphas i zed t he i mport a nce of t r u s t and respect i n
al l bus i nes s u nder t a k i ngs .
35
Ou r c o n s u l t a n t s were even more e mp h a t i c a b o u t t h e v a l u e o f r e l a -
t i o n s h i p s a n d a wo r k e n v i r o n me n t t h a t n u r t u r e s exc el l enc e. Wh er ea s
e x e c u t i ve c o a c h i n g o f t e n fo c u s es o n t h e needs o f a n i n d i v i d u a l , n u me r -
o u s c o n s u l t a n t p r o gr a ms e mp h a s i ze c h a n gi n g t h e e n t i r e c u l t u r e a n d e n -
v i r o n me n t o f a n o r ga n i za t i o n (Co ve y , 1989; Covey, Me r r i l l , & Me r r i l l ,
1994; J o nes , 2002). In t h e pa s t s ever a l y ea r s , ma n y bu s i n e s s p e o p l e h a ve
[ l a i d i n c r ea s ed a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i mp o r t a n c e o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d t h e emo-
t i o n a l a s pect s o f bu s i n e s s , u s i n g t h e concept o f e mo t i o n a l i n t e l l i ge n c e
( Go l e ma n , 1 995 ) .
A mo n g o u r i n t e r vi e w e e s , t h e a t t o r n e y s r ep o r t ed l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y b e -
i n g p r ep a r ed fo r t h e t e c h n i c a l a s pec t s o f p r a c t i c i n g l a w. Ho wever , t h e y
r epo r t ed be i n g n o t a s wel l p r ep a r ed fo r t h e r e q u i r e me n t s o f ma n a gi n g
r e l a t i o n s h i p s , bo t h w i t h i n t h e f i r m a n d w i t h c l i e n t s . A n n a c o mme n t e d
t h a t l a wy er s need t o possess a n e a r l y i mp o s s i b l e a r r a y o f t e c h n i c a l k n o w l -
edge, s a l e s ma n s h i p , a n d peopl e s k i l l s .
Yo u h a ve t o h a ve a n i n c r e di b l e c o mb i n a t i o n o f t e c h n i c a l s k i l l s ;
y o u h a ve t o k n o w y o u r p r o fe s s i o n ; y o u h a ve t o k n o w w h a t
y o u ' r e do i n g; a n d y o u h a ve t o s el l t h a t t o y o u r c l i e n t . Yo u h a ve
t o h a ve t h e p e r s o n a l i t y t o b r i n g i n bu s i n e s s a n d t o m a i n t a i n
t h o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s , a n d a t t h e s a me t i me , de a l w i t h y o u r
p a r t n e r s a n d get y o u r s h a r e o f t h e pi e. Th er e a r e peopl e i n l a w
s chool w h o a r e Nu mb e r On e i n t h e c l a s s , h a ve f a b u l o u s l ega l
s k i l l s , a n d t h e n ge t o u t i n t h e r ea l w o r l d a n d c a n ' t do a n y t h i n g
w i t h i t . Co n ve r s e l y , t h e r e a r e l a w y e r s w h o h a ve a l l t h e peopl e
s k i l l s b u t do n ' t h a ve t h e t e c h n i c a l s k i l l s .
A r t h u r , a f o r me r ma n a gi n g p a r t n e r o f a ma j o r n a t i o n a l l a w f i r m, s a i d
t h a t t ea m b u i l di n g i s d i f f i c u l t w i t h l a wy er s , des c r i bi n g t h e proces s a s be -
i n g a k i n t o " h e r di n g s n a k es . "
Ou r i n t e r vi e w s s u gges t ed t h a t c l i e n t s ma y pl a ce u n i q u e de ma n ds o n
t h e i r a t t o r n e y s . Th e Fr en c h t e r m fo r l a w y e r , avocat, i s t a k e n l i t e r a l l y by
s ome l ega l c l i e n t s . Th ey expec t t h e i r a t t o r n e y n o t o n l y t o r e p r e s e n t t h e m
but a l s o t o be t h e i r advocate a t a l l cost , s o met i mes i n a wa y no mer e mo r -
t a l c a n a c c o mp l i s h . Th e s o ber i n g t r u t h i s t h a t , i n t h e a dv e r s a r i a l c o n t e x t
i n w h i c h t h e ma j o r i t y o f l a w i s p r a c t i c ed, i n e v i t a b l y o n e s i de h a s t o l os e.
THE NATURE OF PERFORMANCE
Wh i l e bu s i n e s s p e r f o r me r s mu s t h a ve a l a r ge a mo u n t o f t e c h n i c a l k n o w l -
edge, me mo r i za t i o n i s n o t t y p i c a l l y r e q u i r e d fo r p e r f o r ma n c e i n t h i s do -
ma i n . Emo t i o n s a r e t y p i c a l l y mi n i mi ze d d u r i n g p e r f o r ma n c e , a n a b i l i t y
t h a t o u r b a n k i n g e x e c u t i ve , Da vi d, t a l k e d a b o u t w i t h p r i de : " Th e s t y l e 1
p r e f e r i s o n e t h a t h a s ve r y mo de r a t e e mo t i o n i n vo l ve d i n i t . I t ' s bu s i n e s s .
It 's not a bo u t p er s o n a l i t y ; it 's not a bo u t emo t i o ns at a l l . That i s one of my
s t r en gt h s . "
A l t h o u gh dec i s i o n s i n bu s i n es s a re best ma de on t he ba s i s of logic
r a t h er t h a n emo t i o n , emo t i o n s a r e a n i mp o r t a n t el ement i n ma na gi ng
t he gr o u p process t o s u c c e s s f u l l y a c c o mpl i s h a t a s k . For a t r i a l a t t o r ney ,
t h i s may i n vo l ve a dr a ma t i c show of emo t i o n t o el i ci t a cert a i n response
f r o m j u r o r s . Or t h e p er fo r ma n c es t h a t a r e p l a y ed o u t i n boa rdrooms ma y
r eq u i r e a l ea der s h i p s t y l e t h a t dr a ws on t h e emo t i o ns of t h e pa rt i ci pa nt s .
For ex a mp l e, A r t h u r (l a w y e r ) des cri bed one of h i s most memora bl e ex-
peri ences : He was fa c ed w i t h a de a dl i n e on a c r i t i c a l case i n whi ch al l t he
pa r t i es h a d s t ruggl ed u n t i l t h e wee h o u r s of t h e mo r n i n g. They were a t a
s t a l ema t e, bu t h e r efu s ed t o l et t h em l ea ve.
I j u s t ba s i c a l l y s a i d, " It 's t wo o'cl ock a nd i f y ou l eave we wi l l
never get t h i s done. So we are goi ng t o st ay here u n t i l fi ve
o'cl ock, a nd we w i l l ei t h er ma k e t h i s h a ppen or we won't , but
we a re not go i ng t o wa l k a wa y j u s t beca us e we a re t i r ed. "
Somehow, I wa s a bl e t o ca j ol e ever y bo dy i n t o s t a y i ng.
Ever y bo dy h a d t o be t h er e. If a n y bo dy h a d l e ft , t h e whol e
t h i n g wo u l d h a ve f a l l e n t h r o u gh . And we di d i t . We fi n i s h ed
a bo u t seven o'cl ock a nd t h e n we a l l went o u t t o br e a k fa s t .
Pe r fo r ma n c e i n bu s i n es s i s t y p i c a l l y more de ma n di n g a t a ment a l
t h a n ph y s i c a l l evel . Yet t h e r e a r e s u b t l e ph y s i c a l dema nds . Ar t h u r ' s a n-
ecdot e r efl ec t s t he aspect of p er fo r ma n c e t h a t i s most l i k e l y t o t a k e a toll
o n one's body: w o r k i n g l ong h o u r s u n de r h i gh s t res s c o ndi t i o ns .
In most s i t u a t i o n s , t he s t a k es of p er fo r ma n c e i n bu s i nes s a re pri de,
ego, a nd mo n ey a t t i mes va s t a mo u n t s of money. On most occas i ons ,
f a i l u r e i s n o t ex per i enc ed p u b l i c l y . Th e i n c r ea s i n g medi a a t t en t i o n fo -
c u s ed o n p u b l i c t r i a l s , h o wever , a f f e c t s t r i a l l a w y e r s ' vi s i b i l i t y . Th e
a t t o r ney ' s a ct i ons , ma n n e r i s ms , a nd even a t t i r e ma y become s ubj ect t o
pu bl i c s c r u t i n y . In a l i mi t e d n u mb e r of s i t u a t i o n s , t he ri s k of poor perfor-
ma nce i s l i t e r a l l y a ma t t e r of l i f e or de a t h . A poor per fo r ma nc e by a t r i a l
l a wy er ca n r es u l t i n a n i n n o c en t pers on bei ng put t o dea t h ; a poor per-
fo r ma nc e by a pr o s ecu t o r can mea n t h a t a c r i mi n a l i s rel ea s ed, perha ps
t o mol es t , a bu s e, o r k i l l a ga i n .
FAMILIARITY WITH CONSULTANTS
Wi t h t he pos s i bl e except i o n of t he mi l i t a r y , i t i s h a r d t o i ma gi ne a doma i n
t h a t h a s more experi ence wi t h c o n s u l t a n t s t h a n bus i nes s . Wh en social
ps ychol ogy f i r s t bega n t o emerge du r i n g t h e 1930s, bu s i n es s a nd i n du s -
t r y became a ppl i ed l a bo r a t o r i es i n t h e effo r t t o bet t er u n de r s t a n d h u ma n
beh a vi o r a n d mo t i va t i o n (Ma y o , 1933). In t h e mi d-1940s , Ku r t Lewi n
co ndu ct ed f i e l d res ea rch . The mo vi e Pajama Game was report edl y based
37
38 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C I N F O R M A T 1 O N
o n a c o l l a b o r a t e e e f f o r t bet w een Levvi n a n d A l fr ed Morrow t o i ncrea s e
p r o d u c t i v i t y i n a p a j a ma f a c t o r y ( Le o n a r d & Fr eedma n , 2000). In t h e
195 0s , c o mp a n i e s s u c h a s Esso, Pr o c t o r & Ga mbl e, a nd Gen er a l Mi l l s
wo r k ed w i t h c o n s u l t a n t s t o i mp r o ve o r ga n i za t i o n a l c l i ma t es a n d gr o u p
f u n c t i o n i n g ( Le o n a r d b Fr e e dma n , 2000; McGregor, 1960). Th e a p p l i ed
f o c u s br o a de n e d i n t h e 1960s t o i n c l u de bo t h i n du s t r i a l a n d o r ga n i za -
t i o n a l fa c t o r s , s p a w n i n g t h e i n c r ea s ed v i s i b i l i t y a n d u t i l i t y o f i n du s t r i a l -
o r ga n i / a t i o n a l p s y c h o l o gy . Team de ve l o p me n t bega n t a k i n g cent er s t age
w i t h i n i n d u s t r y d u r i n g t h e 1980s. Th e t o t a l q u a l i t y ma n a gemen t model
( Do mi n g, 1982) ga i n e d r e c o gn i t i o n a n d a c c ept a nc e i n s evera l i n du s t r i e s ,
a s A me r i c a n s c o mp et ed w i t h J a p a n es e bu s i n es s es . Th e 1990s wi t nes s ed
a gr o w i n g i n t e r e s t i n t h e u s e o f i n d i v i d u a l c o n s u l t a n t s o r coaches t o assi st
e x e c u t i v e s a n d mi ddl e ma n a ge r s i n h o n i n g s k i l l s a n d c o pi ng wi t h a ra p-
i d l y c h a n gi n g wo r l d o f bu s i n e s s . A de ma n d h a s devel o ped fo r o r ga n i za -
t i o n a l c o n s u l t a n t s w h o c a n f o c u s o n c r e a t i n g a n d devel o p i n g e n vi r o n -
me n t s f o r f o s t e r i n g e x c e l l e n c e .
Th e w i de s p r e a d u s e o f c o n s u l t a n t s c a n be bo t h a n asset a nd a l i a b i l -
i t y . G a i n i n g e n t r y i n t o o r ga n i za t i o n s f a mi l i a r w i t h c o n s u l t a n t s i s l i k e l y t o
be mu c h ea s i er t h a n i n do ma i n s n o t a s a c c u s t o med t o t h e m. However,
w i t h t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f c o n s u l t a n t s i n a n y f i e l d, t h ere ma y be mu c h
mo r e c o mp e t i t i o n a mo n g c o n s u l t a n t s o r e x e c u t i ve coa ches . Sk i l l s a n d
k n o w l e dge ma y va r y w i de l y . A r t h u r , a f o r me r ma n a gi n g p a r t n e r o f a
l a r ge l a w f i r m , a r t i c u l a t e d t h e do wn s i de: " One ba d c o n s u l t a n t wi l l r u i n i t
fo r t h e n e x t t h r e e good ones . "
Recommendations
to Consultants
Co n s u l t a n t s wo r k i n g i n bu s i n es s mu s t be mi n df u l of t h e ra pi d pace
o f c h a n ge w i t h i n t h e e n t i r e do ma i n . Adva n c es i n t ech nol ogy a n d
c o mmu n i c a t i o n , a n d t h e gl o ba l i za t i o n o f ma r k et s , h a ve crea t ed
c o n di t i o n s i n w h i c h dr a s t i c c h a nges c a n occur i n a n ext remel y s hort
s p a n o f t i me .
Wi t h t h e s e r a p i d c h a n ges h a s come a c o r r es p o n di n g s h i f t i n t h e
t i e s a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s c o n c er n i n g emp l o y men t : Now, bot h ma n -
a ge me n t a nd emp l o y ees s ee t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p a s t emp o r a r y . It i s
i n c r e a s i n gl y i mp o r t a n t fo r i n di v i du a l s t o ha ve " exi t s t rat egi es " i n
mi n d, even a s t h e y a s s u me a new p o s i t i o n .
Greed i s o f t e n a n as s et fo r p e r f o r me r s i n t h i s en vi r o n men t .
Th e e n t i c e me n t o f f i n a n c i a l ga i n poses a ch a l l enge fo r p er fo r mer s
i n e s t a bl i s h i n g a ba l a nc e bet ween work a nd pers onal l i fe.
A l t h o u gh t h e p r i ma r y goa l o f p er fo r mer s i n t h i s do ma i n i s f i n a n -
ci a l p r o f i t a b i l i t y , t h e ma n a ge me n t o f emo t i o ns a nd r el a t i o n s h i p s i s
c r u c i a l t o l o n g- t e r m s ucces s . Re l a t i o n s h i p s k i l l s a re l i k el y t o be a
ma j o r fo c u s o f a ny c o n s u l t a t i o n i n t h es e do ma i n s .
Ef f e c t i v e p e r f o r ma n c e i n t h es e a rea s t y p i c a l l y r eq u i r es a cert a i n
a mo u n t o f de l i b e r a t i o n , even i f i n s t a n t a n e o u s : a t t e n t i o n t o va r i -
o u s fa c t o r s , e v a l u a t i o n o f s i t u a t i o n s , a n d t h en s el ect i on fr o m a n
a r r a y o f a l t e r n a t i v e s . In ge n e r a l , p e r fo r me r s report ma k i n g t h e best
deci s i ons wh en t h e y r el y on l ogi c, o f t e n wi t h a c o r r es po ndi ngl y
c a l m e mo t i o n a l s t a t e. Emo t i o n s ma y l a t e r be us ed, beh a vi ora l l y , a s
one a s pect of a p e r f o r ma n c e s t r a t egy .
Me n t a l s k i l l s a r e t y p i c a l l y more c r i t i c a l t h a n ph y s i ca l a bi l i t i es fo r
s u c c es s fu l p e r f o r ma n c e i n t h es e a rea s .
In mos t c i r c u ms t a n c es , money , p r i de, and ego may be at ri s k when
p e r fo r mi n g. In s ome l ega l cases, t he s t a k es ma y be grea t er.
There i s a s u b s t a n t i a l a mo u n t o f da t a i n di c a t i n g t h a t t h e preva i l i ng
st ress on l a wy er s r e s u l t s i n h i gh e r ra t es of depres s i on, a l cohol i s m,
a n d s u bs t a n c e a bu s e. Co n s u l t a n t s w o r k i n g i n t h i s do ma i n mu s t
h a ve k n o wl edge c o n c e r n i n g t h e di a gno s i s a nd t r ea t men t o f t hes e
c o n di t i o n s . Th ey s h o u l d be a w a r e of a ppr o pr i a t e c o mmu n i t y re-
s ources . In a s s es s i ng t h es e a r ea s , t h e y ma y wa n t t o cons i der a
c h a nge i n ca reer a s a vi a bl e o pt i o n for u n h a p p y a t t orney s . These
ri s k fa c t o r s a l s o s ugges t t h a t p e r fo r ma n c e c o ns u l t a t i o n ma y be pa r-
t i c u l a r l y b e n e f i c i a l fo r i n di v i du a l s i n t h i s do ma i n .
B us i nes s peopl e, es peci a l l y bu s i n es s men , a re es peci al l y recept i ve
t o c o n s u l t a n t s ' a n a l o gi e s a nd compa ri s ons bet ween sport s a nd t h e
worl d of bu s i n es s .
Of t h e t h r e e do ma i n s we di s c u s s , peopl e i n t h e bu s i nes s doma i n
a re most f a mi l i a r w i t h t h e concept of per fo r ma nc e coa chi ng a nd
a r e most c o mf o r t a bl e w i t h u s i n g c o n s u l t a n t s o r ex ec u t i ve coaches.
Th ey a re a l s o l i k e l y t o h a ve t h e mea ns t o pa y wel l for s uch ser-
vices.
39
Unique A s
H ig h - R is k P r o f es s io ns
s ec t s o f
The stress of some oper at i ons is not the t ec hni c a l exerci se. We coul d do a
t e c hni c a l l y per f ec t oper at i on t i me and t i me agai n wi t h some types of
pr ohl ems and s t i l l end up wi t h a 2-3% st r oke r a t e. I t ' s not because of any
f act or t ha t y ou have cont r ol over; i t ' s j u s t t he n a t u r e of t he di sease y ou
ar e t r e a t i n g .
Er i c ( neur os ur geon)
e have i ncl uded a broad and di verse r ange of per f or mer s in the category
high-risk professions, d e f i n i n g t he domai n by what i s at ri sk d u r i n g t he
per for mance: h u ma n l i f e . Wher eas a t hl et es or per f or mi ng ar t i st s may
comfort t hemsel ves about an appr oachi ng event by say i ng, "It' s not l i ke
t hi s i s a ma t t er or l i f e or deat h, " for t hese per f or mer s t her e i s no such
r eassur ance. A h u ma n l i f e may i ndeed hi nge on one's per f or mance. In
t hi s gr oupi ng we have i ncl uded those whose per f or mance i nvol ves sav-
i ng l i fe and per f or mer s who pl ace t hei r own l i ves at risk. We have also
i ncl uded those whose per f or mance not onl y i nvol ves r i sk t o t hemsel ves
but may also i nvol ve t he risk of t a ki ng a not he r person' s l i f e.
One coul d ar gue t hat al l phy s i ci ans f a l l wi t h i n t he f i r s t category, "per-
f or mi ng to save a l i fe. " However, as not ed ear l i er , t hr oughout t hi s book
we f ocus on per f or mance i n s i t ua t i ons wi t h a component of t emporal
urgency, i n whi ch a bi l i t i es are br ought i nt o act i on at a gi ven poi nt i n
time. Thi s def i ni t i on directed us t owar d sur geons, emergency room phy-
sicians, and mi l i t a r y medics. Our sel ect i ons of t hose who r i s k t hei r l i ves
i n per f or mance were g u i d e d i n par t by domai ns t hat have s hown grow-
i ng i nt erest i n per f or ma nc e c ons ul t a t i on. These areas i ncl uded publ i c
safet y workers (e.g., f i r e f i g ht e r s and pol i ce) , race car dr i ver s and t hei r
teams, and nuc l ea r react or per sonnel . We recogni ze t hat people i n t hi s
l at t er gr oup per f or m i n i sol at i on ari d operat e i n much mor e cont rol l ed
envi r onment s t ha n ot her per f or mer s i n t hi s domai n; however t he conse-
quence of poor per f or mance s i mi l a r l y i nvol ves di r ect risk of loss of t hei r
own as well as ot her people' s l i ves. The cl us t er of pr ofessi ons t ha t t r ai ns
41
42 D O M A I N - s P i
:
c i r i < : I N F O R M A T I O N
r e c r u i t s t o a c i u a l h l a k e a per s on' s i i i e i n c l u d e s t he mi l i t a r y a nd cer t ai n
p ol i c e s p e e i a h v u n i i s , M i c h , a s SWAT t e a ms a n d s ni per s .
The High-Risk Domain
M I LI E U
h a d ! i n d i x i d i i a l < i r e a i n ' h i s d o ma i n i s u n i q u e a n d deserves speci al a t t e n -
t i o n , y e i i h e a r e a ^ a r e s i mi l a r i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e i n t e n s i t y o f st ress: D ea t h
BHBHIHHHHHBIWH>HHIM HHH
^^
H
^
HH
wa i t s i n t he wi ngs f or t hese per f or mer s .
i ! hover s . I t i s omni pr e s e nt . F or some
t hos e t r a i n e d i n t he mi l i t a r y t h e deat h
of a n ot he r may even cl i max a successful
p e r f o r ma n c e . As u n s e t t l i n g as some may
f i n d t he p r of e s s i on , pol i ce sni per s mu s l
h a v e e x t r a o r d i n a r y me n t a l s k i l l s . As
George c omment ed, " You' r e not p u l l i n g
t he t r i g g e r i n a r eact i ve way. It' s a proac-
t i v e t h i n g . I t ' s a pl anned shot . You ar e
t he l a s t r esor t f or t he police depar t ment
and l aw enf or c ement . So t her e' s t i me t o
t h i n k a b o u t i t . "
To t h o s e u n f a mi l i a r w i t h N o r t h
A me r i c a n S t o c k C a r A u t o R a c i n g
( N A S C A R ) , i t ma y seem u n u s u a l t o i n -
c l u d e t h i s d o ma i n a s pa r t of our s t udy .
Our dec i s i on t o i n c l u d e i t was gui ded by
t h r e e f a c t or s : F i r s t , a l t h o u g h we person-
a l l y vi ew a u t o r aci ng as a spor t , i t has
not been i n c l u d e d i n t r a d i t i on a l s t udi es
of a t h l e t e s a n d a t h l e t i c p e r f o r ma n c e .
Second, t h i s i s a per f or mance area where
a mi s t a k e may cost a per son' s l i f e . Thi r d,
i n r ecent y ear s, per f or mer s i n t hi s do-
ma i n ha ve s hown a gr owi ng i nt er es t i n
c o n s u l t a t i o n on t he me n t a l aspect s of
p e r f o r ma n c e .
D r . Gor d on Ga t e s , who ha s exper i enc e wi t h bot h Ol y mpi c t eams a nd
N A S C A R l e a r n s , ha d n o d o u b t t h a t t hes e a r e el i t e per f or mer s :
I h e v a r e p a s s i o n a t e . Th e y a r e a t h l e t i c . When t h e y j u mp over
i h e w a l l a s O I K - o f i h e p i t c r e w o r c l i mb i n t o t h e cockpi t , t hey
I was i n H ai t i wh e n a Fr e n c h po li c e
o f f i c e r was s h o t by a s n ipe r . I we n t alo n g
wi t h my t e am t o g o af t e r t h e s n i pe r an d
t ak e c ar e o f t h e i n ju r e d par t i e s . Th i s was
at n ig h t an d an i n t e r pr e t e r t r i e d t o be
h e lpf u l by g i vi n g me mo r e li g h t . H e
ac t u ally pu t me in s e r i o u s dan g e r by
bac k - li g h t i n g me , g i vi n g a s h o t a s i g h t
pi c t u r e t o a po s s i ble s n i pe r o u t t h e r e .
A s s o o n as h e lit me u p I h ad an
adr e n ali n e du mp. My f i n e mo t o r s k i l l s
we n t ; I h ad au di t o r y e xc lu s i o n , t u n n e l
vi s i o n ; I c o u ldn 't f i n d t h i n g s i n my ai d
bag i t h as be e n ar r an g e d t h e s ame way
e ve r s i n c e I be c ame a me di c . I ju s t
c o u ldn 't f i n d an yt h i n g . I lo s t i t f o r abo u t
a min u t e . I f i n ally t o o k s o me de e p
br e at h s an d g o t it t o g e t h e r . Th e g u y was
me d- e vac u at e d i n t o P o r t - au - P r i n c e and,
f o r t u n at e ly, li ve d.
Ge o r g e (me di c - s n i pe r )
Unique Aspects ofHiij/i-R'sk Professions 43
need t o be conf i dent . They appr oach i t l i k e an a t h l e t i c event .
They ar e not a b u n c h of mechani cs j u s t c h a n g i n g t i r es . They
ar e a hi gh- per f or ma nc e t ea m. They ar e a t hl e t e s , and you need
t o t r eat t hem l i ke t h a t .
The ment al dema nds of t h i s s por t ar e e x t r e me l y h i g h and e x t r e me l y
danger ous. To have some a p p r e c i a t i on of t he d i f f i c u l t y , one need o n l y t o
t hi nk of t he c onc ent r a t i on r e qu i r e d t o n a v i g a t e b u s y f r e e wa y t r a f f i c bus -
t l i ng along at 6 0 mi l es an hour . N ow i ma g i n e goi ng t h r e e t i mes t h a t f a s t
while ma i nt a i ni ng a hi gh l evel of i n t e n s i t y , c o n c e n t r a t i o n , and c ompet i -
tiveness, t hr oughout a f o u r - h o u r per i od. D u r i n g t he f ew stops, t he pi t
crew must work with fl awl ess preci si on to service the car in under 18
seconds. A hal f second slower may mea n d r op p i n g si x places i n t he s t a n d -
ings.
These hi g h- r i s k areas ar e p r e d o mi n a t e l y composed of ma l e p e r f o r m-
ers, high i n t r a d i t i o n , wi t h r i gi d hi e r a r c hi e s a n d , t y p i c a l l y , a mi l i t a r i s t i c
ment al i t y. The mi l i t a r y met a phor was used by t he p hy s i c i a n s we i nt er -
vi ewed. Eric, a neur os ur geon who received hi s t r a i n i n g i n bot h t he Un i t e d
States and abroad, said t ha t "t he t r a d i t i o n of s u r g e r y i s ki nd of mi l i t a r i s -
tic; t he t r a i ni ng t r a d i t i o n a l l y i s ver y mi l i t a r i s t i c . The p hi l os op hy was i f
y ou were t ough enough t o do i t , t h e n y ou di d not need a n y t h i n g , t he
st and-al one and t ake care of t hi ngs y ou r s e l f phi l os ophy . " Emer genc y room
physi ci an F r eder i ck comment ed t h a t
t he camar ader i e t h a t devel ops amongs t hous e o f f i c e r s i s ve r y
much aki n t o t he camar ader i e of people i n t he mi l i t a r y
together, i n combat t oget her . Thi s pl a y s i n t o a ma c ho- i s m
associated wi t h phy s i cal st ress: "I j u s t put i n a 1 1 0 - h o u r week. "
I n addi t i on t o t he macho a t t i t u d e , one i s l i k e l y t o e n c o u n t e r a sexi st
stance wi t hi n these ar eas. Thi s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e i n t he wor l d of stock
car raci ng, as descri bed by c on s u l t a n t D r. Gat es :
The ol d motor oi l cal endar wi t h t he gal who i s qu i t e wel l -
endowed and wea r i ng s ome t hi n g l ow cut embodi es t he
pr evai l i ng a t t i t u d e t owar d women. Women ar e s e x u a l obj ect s
i n t he sport. It' s even endor s ed and p e r p e t u a t e d by t he women
involved i n t he sport. The s ecr et ar i es al l wear mi n i - s k i r t s and
f l i r t with t he guy s. I may be o v e r - g e n e r a l i z i n g a l i t t l e , but t he y
t hi nk it' s nor mal f or guy s t o wh i s t l e a t y o u , a nd k i n d of l i k e i t .
The stresses of d e a l i n g wi t h d e a t h ar e c o n s t a n t , but r a r e l y di scussed
i n these gr oups ( K a t z , 1999; Le Sc a nf f & Taugi s , 20 0 2) . Gi v e n t he oppor-
t u n i t y t o t a l k one- on- one, our p e r f or me r s i n each of t he s e ar eas a d mi t -
t ed wr es t l i ng wi t h t he s pect er of d e a t h . E me r g e n c y r oom p h y s i c i a n
F rederi ck conf i ded,
Many, many years ago, I interviewed a
cop in Kansas City. Although he had only
been on the job 15 years, he told me he
was retiring in a week. Usually, you'd go
for 20 or 25 years to get a full pension.
He explained, "Well, a couple of months
ago I was sitting in my squad car and a
black guy came up and asked me for
directions to a particular area. I leaned
over the glove compartment to pull out
the map, and when I turned around he
had a gun in my face. He pulled the
trigger and it misfired. He ran off. We
got him, and it turned out that he had
an old grievance because of something
that had happened to his brother. You
know, he was just drunk or high on
drugs or something, and this is the way
he was acting out. The issue is that from
now on every black man who
approaches me, I'm going to have my
hand on my gun because I'm scared. I'm
not afraid they're going to kill me, I'm
afraid I'm going to kill them."
Dr. Irving Ingram (consultant,
public service)
N obody ever t a l k s a bout ma k i n g
a mi s t a k e and a p a t i e n t di es. If
y ou t a l k t o peopl e i n medi c i ne,
y ou t a l k about mi st akes. I t t her e
i s a bad out come, t he y say, " I ' m
goi ng t o get s ued. " You don' t
wa n t t o t h i n k a bout ha v i n g
caus ed a d e a t h, whi ch we' ve al l
done; but i f y ou c a n t r a n s f e r i t
and s ay "Wel l , t he d a mn l awy er s
are goi ng t o get al l over me, "
you can pus h i t asi de.
N e u r os u r g e on E r i c r ema r ked on t he
r i ppl e e f f e c t of pa t i e nt d e a t h :
D e a l i n g wi t h a n unexpec t ed
c ompl i c a t i on l i k e dea t h can be
r e a l l y de va s t a t i ng t o t he
p h y s i c i a n . Un f o r t u n a t e l y , i t ' s t he
n a t u r e of what we do. Ther e ar e
goi ng to be a n u mb e r of people
t h a t we wi l l ma i m or i n j u r e i n
some way. That i s t he hor r or of
wha t we do. That ' s wha t we t ry
t o get a wa y f r om. I t may not be
a p p a r e n t t o t he p a t i e n t , but t o
us, we k n ow i t was not an
expect ed out come. Tha t can be
i n c r e d i b l y I ms t r a t i n g , a n d t a ke s
i t s t ol ! on f a mi l y a nd ot her
r e l a t i on s hi p s .
F ear of l i t i g a t i o n i s a gr owi ng pres-
s ur e exper i enced by p e r f or me r s i n al l of t he ar eas of t h i s d oma i n . M a l -
pr act i ce i n s u r a n c e p r e mi u ms a r e s k y r oc k e t i n g t o t he poi nt t h a t ma n y
p h y s i c i a n s qu e s t i o n t he f i n a n c i a l f e a s i b i l i t y of pr act i ce ( J ohns on, 20 0 3) .
F r eder i ck r o u t i n e l y l aced t h i s i s s ue wi t h r es i dent s r o t a t i n g t h r o u g h t he
emer gency room:
Ther e i s t h i s c ons t a nt f e a r of ma k i n g mi s t a k e s i n t he medi c a l
wor l d. A lot of i ncr edi bl y i n e f f i c i e n t medi ci ne is pract i ced
because of t h a t t ear . We over or der l ab t est s; we over di agnos e
people. I ' m f or ever t e l l i n g our r es i dent s , "D on' t us e mal pr act i ce
as a c r u t c h and an excuse for or d e r i n g a l ab t est . You are a
doctor. You are pr of es s i onal l y t r ai ned. You' ve got t o l ear n how
Unique Aspects of High-Risk Professions
to take chances and play the odds. And medicine is a game of
odds, absol ut el y a game of odds. You are going to miss things
because ultimately, you have to get down to pl ayi ng the odds."
P hysicians are also f r ust r at ed by havi ng to make decisions dr i ven by
the "business of medicine. " They oft en entered the fi el d because of a
sense of calling and a desire to help people. N ow, they st ruggl e with the
increased emphasis on r unni ng a profi t abl e busi ness. Time management ,
cost management, the l aby r i nt h of i nsur ance demandsal l are fact ors
that can create a dehumanizing experience for both patient and performer
(physi ci an) in today' s medical cul t ure.
K nowing t hat one can debrief aft er critical instances is important for
mai nt ai ni ng the abi l i t y to isolate emotions dur i ng performance. F or sur-
geons, discussion may occur wi t h a t r us t ed col l eague who has been
through a similar si t uat i on. F or others, special personnel are brought in
for this process. As described by George:
The real concern for me is what happens af t er I t ake the shot.
M any times a sniper is the only one who sees what he could
see. So he has to make t hat l i f e or death decision [alone]. And
later, he t hi nks about the person he shot. Even t hough t hat
person could be the biggest di r t bag in the world, there' s
probably somebody who loves hi m. And you' r e t aki ng t hat
human being away from the other person who loves him.
F rederick provided t el l i ng insights concerning the emergency room
physician. In this setting, both speed and effi ci ency are essential. "One of
the things you can measur e in emergency physicians is how f as t they
are; you don' t necessarily meas ur e how good t hey are," he expl ai ned.
However, success in this area of per for mance r equi r es more t han techni-
cal expertise, speed, or effi ci ency. The most i mport ant ski l l , F rederick
suggested, is the abi l i t y to develop rapport r api dl y with a patient and the
patient's family. He t hi nks of the patient as part of a larger system, at-
tending not only to the physical symptoms t hat are present, but t aki ng
into consideration the relationships in the pat i ent ' s l i fe as well.
I do two quick reads when I walk into any room. N umber one
is, how sick is the pat i ent . The other t hi ng t hat is i mport ant is
to absol ut el y f i gur e out the dynami cs of the huma n beings in
the room. It is absol ut el y cri t i cal . What you have to do is f i nd
out what it is t hat you t hi nk is wrong with t hem [the pat i ent ]
and treat t hat . But t hat is secondary to f i ndi ng out what they
think is wrong with them and t reat i ng t hat . You have to treat
both.
45
4 6 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C I N F ( ) R M A T 1 C) N
He gi ves t he f o l l o wi n g e x a mp l e of " d i a g n os i n g " t he r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d
d y n a mi c s of t hos e a c c o mp a n y i n g t he p a t i e n t .
Say y ou wa l k i n t o a room and t h e r e i s a y o u n g woma n and an
ol der ma n . You say, " Hi . How a r e y ou ? " You s h a k e h a n d s w i t h
t he ol d ma n a n d t he f i r s t per s on t o open t h e i r mo u t h i s t he
y ou n g g i r l a nd she' s c a r r y i n g on t he c on v e r s a t i on . And y ou say,
" D o y ou l i ve t og e t he r ? " and s he says, "N o, t h i s i s my
g r a n d f a t h e r a n d I ' m v i s i t i n g f r o m s omewher e else. " An d t h e n
y ou have t h i s i n s t a n t r ead wher e, okay , her e we have g u i l t y
g r a n d d a u g h t e r wi t h g r a n d f a t h e r who comes i n a nd ha s
s o me t h i n g wr ong a nd t h e r e i s t h i s d y n a mi c . How a r e y ou goi ng
t o a ddr es s t he d y n a mi c .
M edi cal p r a c t i t i o n e r s ha v e i n c r e a s i n g l y e mpha s i z e d t he i n f l u e n c e of
ps y chol ogi cal a n d s oci al f a c t o r s i n t he h e a l t h c a r e s e t t i n g on h e a l t h c a r e
out comes ( Ca s s e l l , 1985; Q u i l l , 1983; Wi l l i a ms , F r a nkel , Ca mp he l i , 8- D eci,
20 0 0 ) . Thi s per s pec t i ve i s f r e q u e n t l y r e f e r r e d t o as a biopsvcliosotial model
of medicine ( E n g e l , 1 9 7 7 ) , a l oc us t h a t i s not l i mi t e d t o bi ol ogi cal e x p l a n a -
t i o n s a nd t r e a t me n t of di sease ( Gl a s s , 19 9 6 ) . Those who s u b s c r i b e t o t h i s
br oader per s pect i ve ar e o f t e n sai d t o pr a c t i c e " p a t i e n t - c e n t e r e d " or " r e l a -
t i o n s h i p - c e n t e r e d " medi c i ne, i n c o n t r a s t t o " p h y s i c i a n - c e n t e r e d " me di -
ci ne. "The r e l a t i o n s h i p - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h i nvol ve s p h y s i c i a n s u n d e r -
s t a n d i n g t he p a t i e n t s ' p e r s p e c t i v e s , b e i n g r es pons i ve t o t he needs of
p a t i e n t s ( a n d i n s ome cases t h e i r f a mi l i e s ' ) , a n d s h a r i n g t r e a t me n t -
r e l e v a n t power w i t h p a t i e n t s a n d t h e i r f a mi l i e s " ( Wi l l i a ms e t a h , 2000,
p. 80) .
E l a b o r a t i n g a n d u n d e r s c o r i n g t h i s p o i n t , F r e d e r i c k r a n k or de r e d t h e
s k i l l s necessar y f or hi s wor k:
I n emer gency me d i c i n e , l i k e a n y t h i n g el se, t h e most i mp o r t a n t
t ool t h a t y ou u s e i n y o u r j ob i s y o u r i n t e r p e r s o n a l s k i l l s . The
second most i mp o r t a n t t h i n g i s t i me ma na gement and i n our
wor l d, i n my wor l d , t r u l y , t h e t h i r d most i mp o r t a n t t h i n g i s
me d i c a l k n o wl e d g e t h i r d pl ace.
Sever a l s t u d i e s ha v e e s t a b l i s he d a c l e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p bet ween t h i s
c ol l a b or a t i v e a ppr oa c h a n d p a t i e n t s ' s a t i s f a c t i o n wi t h t h e i r h e a l t h car e
( Wi l l i a ms et a!., 20 0 0 ) . P r i ma r y care p h y s i c i a n s who a r e c o l l a b o r a t i v e
a nd r e l a t i o n s h i p - c e n t e r e d a r e f a r less l i k e l y t o be sued by t h e i r p a t i e n t s
( Le v i n s o n , R ot er , M u l l o o l y , D u l l , 8 F r a n k e l , 19 9 7 ) . C o l l a b o r a t i o n may,
however , be a f u n c t i o n i n pa r t of t he me di c a l s pec i a l t y . Thi s s ame r e-
search i n d i c a t e s no c or r e l a t i on bet ween a s ur geon' s a t t i t u d e and t he pr ob-
a b i l i t y of l egal a c t i on . Thi s di s cr epancy may be e x p l a i n e d by p a t i e n t s '
e x p e c t a t i on s t or t he s p e c i f i c t a s k a t h a n d . P a t i e n t s t y p i c a l l y wa n t t o b e -
l i e ve t h a t t h e i r s u r g e on h a s e x t r a o r d i n a r y s k i l l s a n d j u d g me n t i f t he y a r e
faci ng an operat i on, and t hus , more r eadi l y accept a phy s i ci an- cent er ed
r el at i onshi p. F or deal i ng wi t h da y - t o- da y heal t hcar e mat t er s and general
illness, t hey pr ef er and expect a more col l abor at i ve r el a t i ons hi p.
Even t hough emergency room phy s i c i a ns were not speci f i cal l y s t u d -
ied in the research described above, F r eder i ck u n d e r s t a n d s the power of
t he r el at i onshi p- cent er ed appr oach: "I am no more compet ent t ha n any
of t he ot her physi ci ans i n t he emergency room, but al l of my pat i ent s l i ke
meeven the ones I hat e. And I' m not going to get sued."
The most pr eval ent stresses experi enced by police workers oft en in-
volve or gani zat i onal and pol i t i cal f act or s ( Al exa nder , Walker, Innes, &
Irving, 1993; Biggam, P wer, M acD onal d, Carcary, & M oodie, 1997; J. M .
Brown & Campbell, 1990, 1994; Le S c a nf f & Taugi s, 2002) . Or gani za-
tional stresses i ncl ude l ack of a dequa t e f u n d i n g and resources, t i me pres-
sures, and work overl oads. In t he i r s t udy of stress encount er ed by t he
F rench Special F orces police, Le Sc a nf f and Taugi s ( 20 0 2) report ed t hat
of f i cer s f e l t pressured t o over l ook c er t a i n c r i mi n a l act s d u r i n g el ect i on
periods. They were expect ed to ma i n t a i n a desi red " p u b l i c image, " even
t hough some of f i cer s f el t t hi s i mage di r ect l y i nt er f er ed wi t h t hei r act ual
j ob funct i on.
The cur r ent l i t i gi ous at mos pher e a f f e c t s per f or mer s i n al l of these
hi gh- r i s k areas. As not ed ear l i er , p hy s i c i a n s of t e n or der t est s and al t er
their practice solely to prot ect t hemsel ves or to o f f e r good def ens e in the
case of a l aws ui t ; as a Speci al F orces medi c and police sni per, George
fears losing hi s hous e and f i n a n c e s i f he makes a bad deci si on; and publ i c
safet y offi cers are cons t ant l y awar e of r i s ks t o t h e i r l i ves as wel l as pot en-
tial legal repercussi ons t o al l of t he i r e f f or t s .
CHARACTERISTICS OF PERFORMERS
The people who are dr awn to these professions t y pi cal l y mus t be reason-
ably bri ght and phy s i cal l y f i t . They f r e qu e n t l y have a sense of "cal l i ng. "
Consul t ant D r. K i ng described t he sense of purpose for those p u r s u i n g
mi l i t ar y careers: "They are mot i vat ed to pr eser ve a way of l i f e , to protect
fr eedom, t hei r count r yt hose k i n d s of t hi ngs . They are not mot i vat ed t o
put money i n t hei r bank account . " They of t en have a pr ef er ence for ad-
vent ur e. The macho " he- man, " however, i s not necessar i l y t he person
who wi l l excel in the mi l i t ar y . Typi cal l y, out of a class of 120 who s t ar t
t he N avy SEALs program, onl y 1 5 wi l l ma ke i t t hr ough. One of our con-
sul t ant s, D r . Li ndsay, has been i nvol ved i n i d e n t i f y i n g t he f act or s t ha t
predict successful compl et i on of t he pr ogr am. S u r p r i s i n g l y ,
t he person who had t hi s R am bo i mage of t he N avy SEALs j u s t
di dn' t make it. We f ound the key f act or to be when the
motivation an i ndi vi dua l had was t i ed t o s omet hi ng of hi gh
47
48 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C I N F O R M A T 1 O N
7
pe r s ona l i mp or t a n c e . Sever al of t hes e r e c r u i t s , f or e xa mpl e , had
not excel l ed i n school , but came I r om hi gh a c hi e v i n g f a mi l i e s .
Thi s was a chance t o pr ove t he ms e l v e s t o somebody, a
s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r l i k e t h e i r mo t h e r or l a t h e r . Those were t he
ones who made i t t h r o u g h .
ROLE FUNCTION
One i nt er vi ewee, George, wa s u n i q u e i n t h a t he per f or med i n t wo do-
ma i ns : He was bot h a Speci al F orces medi c and a sni per for a speci al
pol i ce u n i t . These r ol es may seem at odds wi t h one a n ot he r ; y et l or hi m,
bot h ar e about s a v i n g l i ves: "The way I l ook at i t , i n bot h cases I ' m s a vi ng
somebody. 1 may be s h o o t i n g t o k i l l somebody, but I ' m d oi n g i t t o save an
i nnoc ent person. Tha t ' s wh a t keeps me mo t i v a t e d i n my t r a i n i n g f or s n i p -
i ng: s avi ng a n i n n o c e n t per s on. "
These per f or mer s mu s t achi eve a hi gh level of t echni cal pr of i ci ency
t h a t of t en i n c l u d e s p r e p a r a t i o n f or ever y concei vabl e v a r i a t i o n of p e r f o r -
mance. Er i c , a n e u r o s u r g e o n , e x p l a i n e d how t he exc i t ement and c h a l -
l enge of v a r i e t y i s p a r t of t he appeal a b ou t hi s s pec i a l t y :
Ther e i s an a t t r a c t i o n f or peopl e who go i n t o t h i s p r of e s s i on
[ n e u r o s u r g e r y j , because i t i s i n c r e d i b l y v a r i e d . Ther e a r e ver y
f ew s u r g i c a l s pe c i a l t i e s wher e y ou can oper at e f r o m t he head t o
t he f eet a whol e r ange of d i f f e r e n t s t r u c t u r e s a l l i n t he same
week. The b r e a d t h i s p r e t t y hu g e . One of t he t h i n g s t ha t
s t eer ed me a wa y f r om c a r d i a c s u r g e r y was i t was t he same
o p e r a t i o n ever y day . Ther e was no v a r i e t y . You di d t he same
t h i n g . I t i s ver y i n t e n s e whe n y ou d o i t , b u t t h e r e i s n o v a r i e t y .
I n r e me mb e r i n g some c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h my p a r t n e r s , one of
t he common t r a i t s seems t o be t h a t peopl e ar e a t t r a c t e d by t he
i n t e n s i t y a n d t he v a r i e t y .
V i r t u a l l y al l member s of a N AS C AR pi t crew have d u a l rol es: Each
person i s expect ed t o ha ve t he t e c h n i c a l exper t i s e t o work on t he car i n a
s peci al i zed c a pa c i t y ; but each al so has a s pec i a l i z ed rol e wi t h i n t he e l i t e
t e a m t h a t goes "over t he wa l l . " Whe n a car p u l l s i n f or a pi t s t op d u r i n g
a race, on l y seven peopl e ar e a l l owed t o cross t he r e s t r a i n i n g b a r r i e r or
" wa l l " t o s er vi ce t he car. Wi t h i n 18 seconds, a good t e a m i s abl e t o change
a l l l o u r t i r e s , r e f u e l t he c a r wi t h 2 2 g a l l on s of g a s ( wi t h o u t s p i l l i n g a n y ) ,
and ma k e a d j u s t me n t s t o t he s us pens i on of t he vehi cl e. D r . Gat es , con-
s u l t a n t t o a N AS C AR t e a m, e x p l a i n e d : " I t i s c ompl i c a t ed because i f t hey
ar e a pi t crew, most of t he m have a n o t h e r j ob. They ar e t i n d e r a n ot he r
car, g e t t i n g i t r eady, and al l of a s u d d e n , t he y ' v e got t o r un out and ser-
vi ce t he c a r t h a t i s r a c i ng. "
Worki ng a s hi f t i n t he emergency room i nvol ves per pet ual changes
of role in rel at i on to pat i ent s: bei ng a consol i ng comfor t er wi t h a f a mi l y
t hat has j u s t lost a loved one, an opt i mi st i c pur vey or of hope to a person
wai t i ng for test r esul t s, and a j ovi a l and ent er t a i ni ng exami ner as one
di st r act s a 5 - year - ol d chi l d who i s bei ng s ut ur ed. "Havi ng t o change pace
and t o change y our per s onal i t y not y our per s ona l i t y but t he way you
are r el at i ng t o pat i ent sover and over agai n, over and over agai n, over
and over agai ni t j us t makes me real l y t i r ed, " reflected F rederick, our
emergency room phy s i ci an.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In each of the hi g h- r i s k doma i ns ,
t eamwor k is essent i al . As F rederi ck de-
Everybody knows me and I am in a scr i bed, "The abs ol ut e key to my e f f i -
posltion of power. N obody argues with ciency is everybody else's ef f i ci ency . The
me. They don't say "Why are you cat l i ng key is to mobi l i ze y our t eam. The key is
me?!" They say "Thank you very much"
t o make
the people a r ound you oper at e
and they take care of things. If lam
as
e f f i c i e n t l y as possible, and t hen you
... , . . . wi l l operate as ef f i c i ent l y as possible."
t al ki ng t o somebody i n t h e Emergency * . , . , . ,
Teams i n hi gh- r i s k pr ofessi ons de-
D epartment I have this air of being in
ydop fl dear hi erarchi cal order for mak
.
control and people become much more
i ng
decisions. Wi l l i am N olen ( 19 7 0 ) , a
efficient when they work with me. It is sur geon, descri bed t hi s in his aut obi og-
all team. There is no question what r a phy : "I wasn' t God by a long shot, but
everybody's role is and it never deviates.
as tar as
power was concerned, I was
closer t o Hi m t han any one else at ha nd"
F rederick (emergency room physician) (p. 27 2) . Wi t hi n the fi el d of medi ci ne,
t her e is even a hi er ar chy among the var i -
ous subspeci al t i es. Eri c, t he neur os ur -
geon, comment ed: "We [neur osur geons] are k i n d of known as the b u l -
l i es i n surgery. N or ma l l y when we have t o do s omet hi ng, we have t o do
it then and everyone else has to get out of the way." On any given day,
one's role and i nput may var y accor di ng t o t he t eam composi t i on. F or
exampl e, two sur geons may work t oget her on a case, but "no mat t er
what , the relief guy will never have the same stress responsi bi l i t i es as the
guy who st art s. You are al way s going t o feel l i ke i t i s your case because
you st art ed t he case and you are t he one responsible for i t whi ch you
are, t echni cal l y. There is a d i f f e r e n t l evel of pr epar edness if you are the
as s i s t ant compared wi t h t he guy who st art s i t . "
In addi t i on to technical knowledge, typically the physical demands in
t hi s domai n are ext r eme. One c ons ul t a nt , D r. Leo Li ndsay, who has
worked wi t h both t he N avy SEALs and el i t e at hl et es, mar vel ed at t he
physi cal r equi r ement s of t he mi l i t a r y program.
49
Wha t t hey were engagi ng i n was mor e physi cal l y dema ndi ng
and s t r es s f ul t ha n wha t most people experi ence i n a l i f et i me. I
am not d e n i g r a t i n g t he t r emendous t r a i n i n g t hat at hl et es go
t hr ough, but t hey don' t have t o go t hr ough a week wi t h t hree
hour s of sleep whi l e at t he same t i me p u t t i n g up wi t h ment al
abus e and huge phy s i cal stress.
^mmmmmmmanmamtmrnmmmwamm xj-,
e
physical demands are not l i mi t ed
In athletics, vi rt ual l y all the variables that to the mi l i t ary, police, or fi refi ght ers. Some
we're t al ki ng about are under your surgeries can last eight to ten hour s. Emer-
control. in gymnastics, the "horse" is ^
nc
V
room
P ersonnel and nucl ear reac-
, . . . tor moni t ors typically have rot at i ng shi ft s
always going to be exactly the same , . , . , , . , ,
t ha t pl ay havoc wi t h t hei r sleep cycle.
height from the floor. The marathon is Accordi ng to emergency room physician
always 26.2 miles. It ain't changing. The F rederi ck, "Emergency medicine is unl i ke
unpredi ct abi l i t y in publ i c service comes any other par t of medicine. It is sort of
from the fact that there are so many assembl y l i ne shi ft work. You work two
variables out of your control. The
d a
V
s
'
t wo
eveni ngs, two nights, and t hen
..^ u ,n.u t- uo. *.\~ you are off. You recycle."
envi ronment that the fi refi ght er or the
7 7
The mar gi n of error in t hese per for -
pollce officer is in is incredibly malleable, _ n -i T-U t
^
3
mances is vi r t ua l l y ni l . These per t or m-
volatile, changing.
er s
p
r e
p
ar e
by over l ear ni ng and rehears-
_ . . . ,
lj t
^ ing in a mu l t i t u d e of adverse si t uat i ons,
D r. Irvi ng I ngr am (consultant,
&
al l geared t oward ma i nt a i ni ng t he abi l -
publ i c service) -. <_
t
* *- ^ t r
i t y t o f ocus, concent rat e, and per f or m
u n d e r a ny ci r cumst ance. N eur osur geon
Eric expl ai ned t hat he "focuses more on pr epar i ng for the worst-case sce-
nari o, knowi ng what could possibly go wrong and t hen hopi ng t hat i f you
prepare for the worst, it won' t happen. " George, a Special F orces medic,
prepared by cr eat i ng pract i ce condi t i ons t o t ax both hi s ment al and hi s
phy s i cal abi l i t i es. By cont r ol l i ng hi s stress response dur i ng practice, he has
f ou n d i t easier t o manage hi s reactions i n act ual combat si t uat i ons.
F or per f or mer s whose work ent ai l s ri sk t o l i f et hei r own or ot h-
er scamar ader i e, t eamwor k, and l oy a l t y ar e essent i al . F ear of l et t i ng
down t he t eam i s exper i enced as bei ng even more cri t i cal t ha n f ear of
losing one's own l i f e. As George (medic-sniper) described it:
M y great est f ea r as a medi c i s l et t i ng my t eammat es down. It
coul d be one of my f r i e n d s on my t ea m t hat I can' t save. I' ve
got to be able to face my t eammat es and say I did ever yt hi ng I
c oul d, I di d t hi ngs r i g ht . I' ve got t o be abl e t o l i ve wi t h mysel f i f
I coul dn' t save t ha t person.
This camar ader i e also breeds a uni que, oft en i rreverent , sense of hu-
mor as a means of coping wi t h stress. This t ype of gallows humor f or med
the basis of the movie and subsequent TV show, M.A.S.H. Interviewee
F rederi ck advi sed: " Cons ul t a nt s wor ki ng wi t h emer gency room phy s i -
ci ans woul d need t o know wha t t he e n v i r o n me n t was l i k e . They woul d
need t o know t he pl ace of h u mo r i n our e n v i r on me n t and why we ar e
cons t ant l y t el l i ng bi zar r e j okes t o each ot her . "
Teamwork i s essent i al i n t hese domai ns , yet at t he same t i me, each
per f or mer mus t be able t o f u n c t i o n i n d e p e n d e n t l y . D es cr i bi ng pr act i t i o-
ners i n hi s f i e l d , Er i c sai d, "M ost neur os ur geons ar e f i er cel y i n d e p e n d e n t
people who t end t o be r a t her nonc onf or mi s t i n t hei r t hi n k i n g . They may
be f ai r l y formal in their behavior, but how they get from A to Z is probably
widely di f f er ent . " In a hi gh- s t akes professi on, the person at the top is oft en
lonely. The ri gi d hi er ar chy wi t hi n t hese ar eas and t he taboo concer ni ng
admi ssi on of doubt oft en create a sense of i sol at i on for these per f or mer s ,
one t hat they must l earn t o accept and i nt egr at e i nt o t hei r l i ves.
In marked cont r ast t o t he per f or mi ng ar t s , i n whi ch conveyi ng emo-
tion is cent r al to peak per f or ma nc e, the suppr essi on of emot i ons is essen-
t i al for per f or mance i n t he hi gh- r i s k d o ma i n . I n t he mi dst of per f or mance,
there i s no pl ace for s el f - doubt . Ta ki ng an ant hr opol ogi cal perspect i ve on
t he worl d of medi ci ne, K at z ( 19 9 9 ) vi ewed t hi s emot i onal di s t a nc i ng as
essent i al t o surgeons' ef f ec t i ve devel opment . Anes t hes i a has onl y been
avai l abl e f or s l i ght l y more t h a n 10 0 years; pr i or t o t h a t al l sur ger i es t y pi -
cally i nvol ved e x c r u c i a t i n g pa i n. The emot i ona l "coldness and i n s e n s i t i v -
i t y t o pa t i ent s were l i kel y t o have been necessary t o enabl e t hem t o di s-
tance t hemsel ves s u f f i c i e n t l y t o t ake necessary r i s ks wi t h f r i ght ened
pat i ent s " ( K a t z , 1999, p. v i i i ) . The c u l t u r e of s ur ger y i n t he pr esent day
st i l l cont r i but es t o t hi s e mot i on a l d i s t a n c i n g . The medi cal c u l t u r e i n -
c l udi ng pat i ent expect at i ons per pet uat es sur geons as mod e r n - d a y ac-
t i on heroes. A p a t i e n t f a c i n g an oper at i on does not wa nt a sur geon wi t h
doubt s , ner vousness, or hesi t ancy. P a t i ent s wa nt t he i r doct or t o ha ve
"t he r i ght s t u f f , " expl ai ns Eri c, t he emergency room phy si ci an. This t erm
r ef er r i ng t o t he v a l i a n t and d a r i n g me n t a l i t y of t he f i r s t U.S. a s t r ona ut s
depi ct ed in Tom Wolfe' s novel ( 19 7 9 ) encaps ul at es the macho, det er-
mi ned, and certain style presumed necessary by physi ci ans who r egu-
l a r l y encount er hi gh- r i s k s i t ua t i ons . S i mi l a r l y , a common mot t o a mong
sur geons i s "Somet i mes wrong; never i n doubt " ( Ga wa nde, 2002, p. 5 4).
Le Scanf f and Taugi s' s ( 20 0 2) wor k wi t h t he F rench P olice Speci al F orces
corroborat es t he expect at i on t ha t pol i ce of f i c e r s act " wi t hou t expr es s i ng
doubt or f eel i ng, bl ocki ng any emot i onal r eact i ons" ( p. 331) . The abi l i t y
t o car r y out an act i on and i n f l i c t pai n or s u f f e r i n g on a n ot he r person f or
the purpose of r ees t a bl i s hi ng order or d omi n a t i on is r ef er r ed to as virility.
Le Scanff al so noted how v i r i l i t y and t he suppressi on of a n x i e t y or doubt
ar e cr i t i cal f or ef f ec t i ve per f or ma nc e i n t hi s doma i n. George' s ( pol i ce
sni per ) el abor at i on on t he bur den of " t aki ng t he shot" demonst r at es t he
i mpor t ance of not havi ng doubt s .
51
It' s a decision. You can' t make a mi s t ake, you know, not even
t a l ki ng about the l i abi l i t yt he l egal aspects. Hell, I could lose
my house. I could lose my f ami l y . I could end up in j a i l the rest
of my l i fe if I made a bad deci si on.
Those per f or mer s who successful l y isolate emotions i n order t o com-
pl et e t hei r r equi r ed t asks may st ruggl e wi t h cut t i ng off al l emot i onal ex-
periences in t hei r l i ves. The total suppressi on of emotion can t ake a tre-
mendous toll on i nt er per s onal and pr of es s i onal f unct i oni ng. "Even i f
emotions are repressed t hey st i l l exist and can ari se and t hr eat en profes-
si onal effi cacy if a probl em occurs, especially as most police offi cers are
not ready to cope wi t h stress" (Le Scanf f & Taugis, 2002, p. 332). George
(sni per and medi c) demonst r at ed one met hod for dealing with this di -
lemma: By acknowl edgi ng his emotions, he was able to put them asi de
l ong enough t o complete t he t ask.
The f i r s t t hi ng t hat I had to do in usi ng any of t hi s [ment al
skills t rai ni ng] was to acknowledge that I am an emotional
being and t hat I could not deny t hat , no mat t er what. In our
pr ofessi onal c ul t ur e, we tend to be very stoic and qui et . And
that' s f i ne, in t er ms of professi onal beari ng; but in terms of
bei ng abl e t o deal wi t h t he emotions and how t hey t ransl at e
i nt o physiology, I had to acknowledge what I am. This is what I
am. Okay; now I have to deal with it. I see a lot of guys j us t
r ef us e to acknowl edge it because maybe it's not how they t hi nk
a man shoul d be.
The suppressi on of emotions is echoed by F rederick' s description of
the i deal emergency room physi ci an: "You may lose control of the envi -
r onment , but you shoul d not lose s el f - cont r ol . When t he Hells Angel s
dr i ve t hei r mot orcycl es i nt o the lobby of y our emergency room, chaos
ensues; but you mus t absol ut el y never lose y our temper."
In his consul t at i ve work wi t h a pr ofessi onal race car dri ver, one of
D r. Gates's goals involved assi st i ng his client in suppressing emotions.
Basi cal l y, t hi s was a guy whose wi fe had l eft hi m. He was r eal l y
messed up. He went to a couple of cl i ni ci ansas he probabl y
shoul d have done. When t hey [the t eam] asked me to consul t ,
I said, "I am not a cl i ni ci an, " and t hey told me t hey di dn' t want
one. He owned the team and he had to dri ve. They wanted
somebody who could help him focus. He had good people
ar ound hi m. They t hought he wa< , goi ng to get killed because
he was t hi nki ng about his wi fe at 180 miles an hour . I di dn' t
have any i l l usi ons. We weren' t solving the problem; we were
doi ng t r i ageBand- Ai ds. But in the bigger scheme of t hi ngs,
f i r s t we needed him not to ki l l hi msel f or anybody else. And it
Unique Aspects ofHigh-Risk Professions
53
It's acting for me, it really is. There is a
certain way you are expected to behave
and will behave to carry on that
professional demeanor. You do it. Part of
it comes from the fact that you deal with
such a large number of highly unlikable
people, people that there is no objective
reason on this planet that you would
want to be with. Not just patients, but
staff and colleagues tooyou get some
real asshole general surgeons. You just
have to have your professional mask.
You undoubtedly have some patients
that you despise. When you think about
a person as they ought to be, they just
are not there. You've got to deal with
them. So you put on your professional
mask. And when I put on my
professional mask, I just don't get mad.
was put t i ng Band-Ai ds on an art ery
that is bleeding. But sometimes
Band-Aids are pretty damn
i mport ant .
FAMILIARITY WITH
CONSULTANTS
-Frederick (emergency room physician)
The relationship between performance
consulting and this domain of high-risk
performers provides an interesting para-
dox. It is visible particularly in relation
to mi l i t ary personnel. On the one hand,
these i ndi vi dual s and the organizations
in which they work have a long history
of studying the practices of "top perform-
ers." The Art of War, wri t t en by Chinese
st rat egi st Sun Tzu in 100 BC (Cl avel l ,
1983), i s st andar d r eadi ng for young
mi l i t ary offi cers. It is both a resource on
tactical strategies and guidance in lead-
ing troops and gaining their loyalty. As
mentioned, the origins of modern day
performance enhancement can be traced
back to World War II, when social and
behavioral scientists were recruited to st udy and improve leadership and
team f unct i oni ng.
On the other hand, t hese same per for mer s view consul t ant s with
marked skepticism. With lives at stake, they are particularly reluctant to
accept i nput fr om an i ndi vi dual who has not "walked the walk" and
directly experienced similar l i fe- t hr eat eni ng situations. F or example, con-
sul t ant D r. Irving Ingram has gained credibility with the rank and file of
fi refi ght ers and police with whom he works t hr ough spending countless
hours "hangi ng out" with t hem. He has traveled in police pat rol cars,
ridden to fires, and spent time wi t h offi cer s in the aft er mat h of disasters.
D r. K enneth K ing described a combination of life experiences as crucial
to his being accepted as a credible resource to the mi l i t ary: havi ng grown
up in a r ur al area in which he was comfort abl e with the use of fi rearms,
dur i ng an era supportive of the military, and then having been involved
in the mi l i t ary hi msel f.
Our consul t ant s in high-risk areas suggest t hat having fi rst hand ex-
perience in the area in which they are consulting is ideal. Even without
direct experience, consultants can st i l l be accepted if they show respect,
can demonst r at e t h a t t hey of f er s omet hi ng of val ue, and acknowl edge
t h a t t he y know t h e i r l i mi t a t i o n s .
I t h i n k you do need t o know y o u r own weaknesses and
l i mi t a t i o n s . You have t o he s ens i t i ve t o t ha t . You don' t have t o
apol ogi ze f or t h e m, but you have t o be awar e of t hem. You
have t o own t he m i f you ar e t o es t abl i s h some k i n d of
c r e d i b i l i t y wi t h peopl e. ( D r . K e n n e t h K i n g , mi l i t a r y c o n s u l t a n t )
N o ot her ar eas of p e r f or ma n c e evoke such i nt ens e emot i ons i n both
c ons ul t a nt s and t he gener al publ i c as those t hat i nvol ve t he t aki ng of
a not her person' s l i f e . I t i s c r i t i c a l t ha t a c ons ul t a nt be prepared for hi s or
her own emot i ona l r eact i on and t ha t of ot hers. In t he words of mi l i t a r y
c on s u l t a n t D r . K i n g :
If you can' t i d e n t i f y wi t h t hei r missions, i f you can' t i n your
own mi n d f i n d y ou r s e l f bel i evi ng a nd f e e l i n g t ha t t her e a r e
t h i n g s t h a t y ou woul d f i g h t f or t ha t at t i mes, wha t t hey do i s
neces s ar y t hen you ar e goi ng t o have a har d t i me wor ki ng
wi t h t hem, bot h f r om a c r e d i b i l i t y s t a n d p oi n t and j u s t f r om
s t a y i n g f ocused on t r y i n g t o hel p t hem wi t h what t hey do. I do
bel i eve t h a t t he r e are a l ot of psychol ogi st s who are so a n t i - wa r ,
a n t i - g u n s , a n t i - v i ol e n c e , a mi - wha t e v e r else t h a t t he hypocr i sy
t he y woul d f eel i n t h a t s i t u a t i o n woul d ei t her a f f ec t t hem or be
pi cked up by t he c l i e n t .
P er haps wi t h t he except i on of t he phy s i ci ans , t hese per f or mer s "don' t
wa n t t heori es; t hey want t o k n ow i t wor ks " ( D r . K e n n e t h K i n g , c ons ul t -
a n t ) . Our own c o n s u l t i n g exper i ence i n wo r k i n g wi t h phy s i c i a ns i s con-
s i s t e n t wi t h t he f e e dba c k f r o m t he doct or s t h a t we i n t e r v i e we d . These
pe r f or me r s ar e best a ppr oa c hed by o f f e r i n g suggest i ons i n a c a f e t e r i a - l i k e
f a s h i o n , wher e t he c o n s u l t a n t woul d "gi ve opt i ons and make t hem feel
l i k e t hey a r e di r e c t i ng i t t hems el ves " ( E r i c , ne ur os ur ge on) . Al t hou g h t h i s
i s a good g u i d e l i n e for e f f e c t i v e c on s u l t a t i on i n general , i t i s speci al l y t r u e
i n wor k i n g wi t h sur geons. Si mpl y p u t , most peopl e don' t l i k e t o be t ol d
wha t t o do. E x t r e me l y b r i g ht , t a l ent ed, s ur geons who ar e accust omed t o
bei ng i n char ge of ma k i n g l i f e - a n d - d e a t h deci s i ons on a d a i l y basi s really
don' t l i ke t o be t ol d wha t t o do. When c ons ul t a nt s br i ng t h e i r knowl edge
t o t he t a bl e i n a c ol l a bor a t i ve f a s hi on , s ur geons can choose f or t h e m-
selves wha t has t he best chance of success.
As N AS CAR has evol ved i nt o a mu l t i mi l l i o n dol l ar i n d u s t r y , i t has
exper i enced a d r a ma t i c s h i f t f r om i t s or i gi ns i n whi ch "good ol ' boys"
honed t h e i r d r i v i n g s k i l l s b y i l l e g a l l y h a u l i n g moons hi ne ( home ma d e
whi s k e y ) across t he r u r a l roads of t he s out her n Un i t e d St at es . R a c i ng
t eams ar e an i n t e r e s t i n g c u l t u r e of h i g h l y s ki l l ed c r a f t s men, hi gh- t ech
e qu i p me n t and resources, and bus i nes s ent r epr eneur s . A gr owi ng n u m-
her of t eams have i ncorporat ed programs to addr ess both the physi cal
and t he ment al r equi r ement s of per f or mance. It i s common for a t eam t o
have s t a t e- of - t he- a r t exercise f a c i l i t i es . The use of per f or mance consul t -
ant s is growi ng, but these act i vi t i es t end to be a closely guar ded secret
and kept hi ghl y c onf i de nt i a l , for a number of reasons. F or one, wi t h so
much at st ake, every t eam is l ooki ng tor "an edge" and does not want a
competitor t o know what t hey are doi ng. Second, N ASCAR i s t he f as t es t
growi ng spect at or sport i n t he Un i t e d St at es ( Gener a l M otors, 1998).
D r i ver s become over ni ght cel ebr i t i es and f u n c t i on i n hi gh- pr of i l e s i t ua -
tions. "Whet her we l i ke i t or not , i n a u t o r aci ng t her e i s s t i l l a st i gma t o
wor ki ng wi t h [per for mance c on s u l t a n t s ) , " comment ed D r. Gates. A con-
s ul t a nt ent er i ng t h i s ar ena mu s t be p a r t i c u l a r l y s ens i t i ve t o t he i nt ense
compet i t i on bet ween t eams, t he i mpor t ance of c on f i d e n t i a l i t y i n t hi s
cul t ur e, and t he soci al pr essur es t hat go wi t h r api d ascensi on t o cel ebri t y
st at us.
F rom al l t he emphas i s on " r i ght s t u f f , " vi r i l i t y , and macho ment al i t y ,
one woul d expect t ha t i t woul d be d i f f i c u l t for a woman t o be accepted as
a cons ul t ant i n t hese domai ns. I nt er est i ngl y , anecdot al evidence suggests
t he opposite. Our c ons ul t a nt wi t h t he N avy SEALs super vi sed sever al
i ndi vi dua l s who pr ovi ded psychol ogi cal services for t he sol di ers. He re-
ported t hat the most s ucces s f ul super vi see was a woman. Le Scanf f dem-
onstrated her effect i veness i n wor ki ng wi t h police Special F orces (Le Scanff
& Taugis, 2002) and candi dat es for space mi ssi ons (Le Scanf f , Bachel ar d,
Gazes, R osnet , & R i vol i er , 1997 ). In each of t hese s i t ua t i ons , pa r t i c i pa nt s
were specifically addressi ng issues of stress, ft may be t hat when the con-
sul t ant is a woman, it is act ual l y easier for a mal e per f or mer f r om these
domai ns t o dr op hi s emot i onal bar r i er s and di scuss v u l n e r a b i l i t i e s and
fear s. Thi s i s a t opi c t ha t deserves f u r t h e r i nve s t i ga t i on.
Recommendations
to Consultants
55
The work of hi gh- r i s k performers consists of per for mances in whi ch
hu ma n l i f e i s at st ake. Wi t h l i t t l e mar gi n for error, per for mer s pr e-
pare by over l ear ni ng and t hr ough ext ens i ve pr epar at i on for per-
formance under adverse si t uat i ons. Consul t ant s working i n these
domai ns mus t be wel l - gr ounded in t heori es and t echni ques of con-
cent r at i on, at t ent i on, and focus.
Successful per f or mance t y pi cal l y r equi r es t he suppr essi on of emo-
t i ons and t he ma i nt ena nc e of a cal m, det ached ment al st at e i n
whi ch deci si ons can be made and act i ons i mpl ement ed. Af t er com-
5 6 D O M A I N - S P E C I F 1 C I N F O R M A T I O N
par t ment al i zi ng and det achi ng from emotions dur i ng per for mance,
per f or mer s of t en st r uggl e t o i nt egr at e emot i ons i n nonper f or mance
s i t uat i ons ( e i t he r a f t er t he per f or mance or i n i nt er per s ona l r el a-
t i ons hi ps ) .
Succes s f ul per f or mance i n many ar eas of t hi s doma i n r equi r es ex-
t r emel y hi gh levels of phy s i cal f i t nes s , i n addi t i on t o a r easonabl e
degree of i nt el l i gence. P rospective c ons ul t a nt s s houl d be k n owl -
edgeabl e a bout a wi de r ange of phy s i ol ogi cal f act or s t h a t a f f e c t
performance (e.g., n u t r i t i on , sleep, exercise, and recovery) and may
r equi r e a ddi t i ona l t r a i ni ng t o gai n t hi s knowl edge.
Teamwork i s essent i al for success i n these areas; p e r f or mi n g u n d e r
hi gh- r i s k ci r cumst ances breeds a st r ong sense of camar ader i e and
l oyal t y. These t eams ar e hi er ar chi cal i n na t ur e. C o n s u l t a n t s ar e
advi sed not onl y t o have exper t i se i n gr oup dy nami cs but t o be
knowl edgeabl e and c omf or t a bl e wor ki ng wi t h hi er ar chi cal gr oups.
There i s per s uas i ve evi dence t hat wi t hi n t he medi cal domai n, a
physi ci an' s i nt er per s onal r el a t i ons hi p s ki l l s ar e cr i t i cal t o per f or -
mance success. This is an area in whi ch a per f or mance c on s u l t a n t
may be p a r t i c u l a r l y u s e f u l .
I n d i v i d u a l s of t en have st r ong opi ni ons and i nt ens e emot i ons about
per for mance i n whi ch hu ma n l i f e may be t aken. Cons ul t a nt s whose
personal va l ues are at odds wi t h t he per for mer ' s r equi r ed role are
not l i kel y to be of assistance. These pr of essi onal s s houl d r e f r a i n
fr om a t t empt i ng t o consul t i n such s i t ua t i ons .
P er f or mer s i n these domai ns are skept i cal of cons ul t ant s who have
not had di r ect per f or mance exper i ence i n si mi l ar hi gh- r i s k ci r cum-
stances. It i s cr uci al t hat a c ons ul t a nt know and acknowl edge hi s
or her l i mi t a t i ons .
Theory i s of t en of l i t t l e v a l u e t o hi gh- r i s k per f or mer s ; t hey ar e
more i nt erest ed i n pr act i cal i t y and effect i veness: D oes i t work?
A col l abor at i ve appr oach i s of t en most hel pf ul for hi gh- r i s k per-
for mer s who r o u t i n e l y make l i f e - a n d - d e a t h deci si ons. A c ons ul t -
ant i s advi sed t o of f e r suggest i ons i n a c a f et er i a - l i ke " menu" r a t her
t ha n a t t empt i ng t o t el l t he person wha t t o do.
The c u l t u r e of t hese domai ns i s t y pi cal l y ma l e- domi na t ed, hi e r a r -
chi cal , mi l i t ar i s t i c, hi gh i n t r a di t i on, and sexi st , one i n whi ch "ma-
cho" mal e behavi or i s accepted and of t en encour aged.
Al t hough t he c u l t u r e i s gener al l y sexi st and ma l e- domi na t ed, t her e
i s evi dence suggest i ng t hat f emal e cons ul t ant s may be ef f ec t i ve,
especially when t he goal of cons ul t at i on i nvol ves deal i ng wi t h emo-
t i ons and stress.
Unique A s p e c t s o f t h e
P er f o r m ing A r t s
I f you are going to be out there on television, the radio, or the stage, you
expose yoursel f . Whether it is spoken or unspoken, you open yoursel f up
to a certain amount of criticism. People are looking at you and they are
j udgi ng you f or what they see. I f you knew what they real l y thought,
many times you would not be able to f unct i on, so you have to thi nk of
yourself as being something other than what you real l y are in order to
get through.
I an (actor and broadcaster)
n describing the experience of being an actor, whether on the stage or
behind a radio microphone, I an captured the sense of vulnerability of
the perf ormi ng arti st. The arti st has nothi ng to rely on or hide behind.
The perf ormance may be physical or cerebral; it may involve the dancer's
body or the percussionist' s drums; it may be an audition or the routine
iteration of a long-learned part. Yet it always involves j udgment by an
audience, an engagement t hat determines whether the perf ormer is good
enough.
I n the sections that f ollow, we look at both the similarities and di f f er-
ences within the domain of perf orming arts, as well as some contrasts
with the other major domains. We also consider the milieu, reported
characteristics of perf ormers, role f uncti ons, nature and risks of perf or-
mance, and the f ami l i ari t y of perf ormi ng arti sts with consultants and
their role.
The Performing Arts Domain
MILIEU
As with the business and hi gh-ri sk domains, there are particular charac-
teristics to the milieu of the perf orming arts. We highlight those charac-
57
58 [) () M A I N - S P H C 1 F I C I N F O R M A T I O N
t c r i s t i c s t h a t pe r t a i n t o t he rol e ol c ompe t i t i on a n d t r a d i t i o n i n s ha pi n g
and ma i n t a i n i n g pe r f o r mi n g a r t i s t s , as wel l as i s s ues ol gender and t he
stresses t ha t ar e es pec i al l y n ot a bl e i n t hi s d o ma i n . We al s o descri be some
ol t he cont empor ar y changes i n t he mi l i e u.
The c ompe t i t i v e mi l i e u ol t he pe r f o r mi n g a r t s i s s omet i mes unr ec og-
n i z ed , over l ooked, or mi n i mi z e d . We t e n d t o t h i n k of sport s as c ompet i -
t i v e but pe r f o r mi n g a r t s as l y r i c a l . Yet c ompe t i t i on i s endemi c t o t he per-
f or mi n g ar t s . Each area of per f or mi ng ar t s has a l abel ed hi er ar c hy: There
i s t he f i r s t c ha i r ol a n or c he s t r a l s ec t i on, t he pr i n c i pa l dancer , t he " t a l e n t "
of br oa d c a s t i n g , and t he l ead rol e i n a c t i n g . Wher e t her e i s a s t ar , t her e
ar e al s o l esser l i g ht s .
The compet i t i ve exper i ence begi ns at t he ear l i es t l evel s and c o n t i n -
ues t hr o u g ho u t t he pe r f o r mi n g a r t i s t ' s career. Some pe r f o r mi n g a r t i s t s ,
s uch as act ors and ma n y mus i c i a n s , ear n t he i r l i vel i hood by f r e e l a n c i n g ,
c ompet i ng f or rol es as t he y occur. B a l l e t danc er s are par t of a company,
but t hey compet e f or pa r t i c u l a r rol es or s t a t u s .
The l evel of c o mpe t i t i v e n e s s i s of t en r e l a t e d t o t he pa r t i c u l a r ar t f or m
a n d t he rol es a v a i l a b l e wi t hi n i t . For exampl e, v i ol i n i s t s a n d c el l i s t s t ypi -
c a l l y t r a i n wi t h t he e xpe c t a t i on t ha t t he y wi l l have a solo career. V i ol a
and doubl e bass pl ayer s , on t he ot her han d , us ua l l y ant i c i pat e pe r f or m-
i ng i n en s embl e s e t t i n g s . As an or c hes t r al v i ol i n i s t , Di ane descri bed t he
d ev el opmen t al exper i en c e of c ompet i t i on among vi ol i ni s t s :
E veryone was a chi l d prodigy. I t' s a very dog eat dog ki nd of
t hi n g . You have t o be r eal l y t a l e n t e d t o even get a ha l f wa y
pa yi n g j ob; you have t o be t he " bi g deal " k i d . Al l those bi g deal
k i d s ' par en t s ha d t ol d t he m t he y were t he next Hei f et z [ f a mo u s
v i o l i n i s t ) , and now t hey' r e l uc k y i l t hey get an orchestra j ob.
They come i n t o an or c he s t r a an d f i n d t hems el ves j u s t n ot
g e t t i n g t he k i n d of a t t e n t i o n t he y an t i c i pat ed .
Wi t hi n any one ar ea of pe r f o r mi n g ar t s , compari s on and c ompet i t i on
can occur al on g a n u mb e r of di mens i ons . Dr . Mar t i n ( c o n s u l t a n t , mus i c )
poi n t e d out t ha t mu s i c i a n s may be r a n k e d not on l y by t he q u a l i t y of t he
mus i c t he y pr oduc e, hut al s o by t he a b i l i t y t o s i ght - r ead mus i c. These
t ypes of e v a l u a t i o n s occur es peci al l y i n t he process of a ud i t i on i n g a
u n i q u e , r e g u l a r l y exper i enced aspect of compet i t i on f or pe r f or mi n g a r t -
i s t s . The J u i l l i a r d School i n New York s t a n d s as t he epi t ome of and sym-
bol f or t he hi g hes t l evel of mus i c a l t r a i n i n g . D i ane comment ed, wi t ho u t
e xa g g e r a t i on , t ha t " k i d s at J u i l l i a r d c ommi t s ui c i de f rom t he pr es s ur e. " A
j u r y pa n e l i s t at J u i l l i a r d r emar ked: " I hat e a u d i t i o n t i me at J u i l l i a r d . The
whol e b u i l d i n g s hakes " ( K o g a n , 1989, p. 1 4 ) .
The need t o prove onesel f over and over ag ai n , i n d i v i d u a l l y and agai ns t
ot her s , i s a f r e q u e n t and c hal l en g i n g aspect of ac t i n g i n pa r t i c u l a r . A u d i -
t i o n i n g i s a f a c t of l i f e f or act or s . The e mot i on a l t ol l t ha t i t t akes was
Unique Aspects of the Performing Arts
described by Keith: " Audi ti oni ng is huge. That's 90% of our lives, and it's
always so di f f er ent and it's al ways so bad. I t hi nk it's i mport ant to under-
stand perf ormers i n t hat context. "
The audi t i on process is also st ressf ul because perf ormers typi cal l y re-
ceive little f eedback f r om those conduct i ng the audi t i on ( Kogan, 2002) .
Furthermore, j udgment may be ent i rel y subjective, and to t hat extent,
arbi trary and unpredi ct abl e. Among the many unst abl e elements of the
perf ormi ng arts mi l i eu, one's success in competi ti on does not in and of
itself ensure the l i near progression of one' s career. " Unl i ke the busi ness
world, the amount of ef f ort and ti me put in to master your craf t in the
arts does not pay of f wi th predi ct abl e success" ( D unkel , 1989, p. 51) .
Keith commented on the general unc er t ai nt y t hat actors experience. I n-
stead of a stable path i nvol vi ng clear steps, speci f i c goals, constructive
f eedback, and accompl i shment s t ha t bui l d on one another, cul mi nat i ng
in a def inite, successf ul outcome, actors experience their careers as a lot-
tery, dependent ul t i mat el y on l uck. As a cons ul t ant , Dr. Osborne notes
that this sense of randomness has been codi f i ed among actors. They rec-
ogniz e t hat they are l i kel y to do wel l if t hey experience two out of three:
l uck, tal ent, or perseverance.
The mi l i eu of per f or mi ng ar t i s t s also i nvol ves the heavy wei ght of
t radi t i on, whet her t hey are ad apt i n g to i t or rebel l i ng agai ns t i t. I n con-
trast to vi s ual arti sts, pl aywri ght s , composers, or choreographers, per-
f ormi ng arti sts are noted f or t hei r i nt er pr et i ve r at her t han creati ve s ki l l
( Kogan, 2002) . Cl assi cal mus i c i ans work f r om a s t andar d repertoi re,
wi th t r adi t i ons encompassi ng the composer, styles of perf ormance prac-
tice, and a ready catal og of recordi ngs of other mus i c i ans ' i nt erpret a-
ti ons. This sense of t r adi t i on can have var i ous ef f ect s on perf ormers .
Di ane, f or exampl e, consi dered the uni ver s al i t y of musi c perf ormance
to have a t r ans f or mat i ve, s pi r i t ual q ual i t y. At the same t i me, the wei ght
of t radi t i on can hang heavy on the perf ormer. As a pi ani st , I lene noted
the compl exi ty of t echni cal chal l enges and expectati on; musi c, she sai d,
involves an
interplay of vi sual readi ng skills ( r eadi ng musi c) that have to
combine wi th the physi cal ski l l s (of pl ayi ng the i ns t r ument )
that then have to combine with the whole body of
i nterpretati ve t r adi t i on. As a pi ani st , when you' re pl ayi ng the
standard l i t erat ure, there' s j us t so much background to it and
so many years of perf ormances and ways it " must be done."
B allet, like classical music, is rooted in a long, specif ic t r adi t i on. Dance
critic Deborah J owitt spoke about the hi erarchi cal , at ti mes " di ctatori al , "
cul ture of bal l et t r ai ni ng ( 2001) . There i s paradoxi cal complexity i n t hat
a bal l et s t udent looks f or the teacher to criticiz e, or make "corrections,"
59
60 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C I NF O R M A T I () N
as a si gn t ha t t he s t u d e n t i s wor t hy of a t t e n t i o n . K ar en Ra i n ( 1 9 9 4 ) ,
pr i ma b a l l e r i n a i n Ca n a d a t or ma n y years, descri bed t he rol e of " correc-
t i ons " i n her a ut obi og r a phy:
I n t he per f ect i oni s t world of dance, t eachi ng t r ad i t i on al l y
emphas i z es " correct i ons. " [ K a i n ' s t eac her ] si ngl ed me out ,
g i v i n g me a doz en correct i ons every cl ass, whi l e ever ybody else
got t wo or t hr ee. Nobody t ho u g ht f or a mi n u t e t ha t t hes e
f r e q u e n t cor r ect i ons meant I was ma k i n g more mi s t akes t ha n
a n yon e else; i n t he el i t e worl d of dance, on l y t hose who have
pr omi s e ar e gi ven t hese a t t e n t i on s , ( pp. 1 1 , 1 5 )
For man y s er i ous young dance s t ud e n t s , t he stress of ear l y t r a i n i n g
encompasses not onl y t he ri gors and i n t e n s i t y of bal l et , but t he c hal l enge
of l eavi ng home i n t he i r earl y t eens and boar d i n g i n a d i s t a n t ci ty. I n t hi s ,
young dancers ar e not u n l i k e youn g and t al ent ed hockey pl ayers or gym-
nast s, who al so may need t o rel ocat e t o obt ai n opt i mal t r a i n i n g .
Tr a d i t i on wi t hi n bal l et al so s us t a i n s r i gi d expect at i ons wi t h regard t o
t hi nnes s , body pr opor t i on, and f l e xi b i l i t y . The research l i t e r a t u r e and our
i nt er vi ewees , bot h per f or mer s and c ons ul t ant s , were u n i f o r m i n as s ert -
i ng t hi s f ac t of dance l i f e .
The q ues t f or phys i c al pe r f e c t i on . . . i mposes a pu n i s hi n g e t hi c
on danc er s who f a i l t o c on f or m t o c u l t u r a l expect at i ons f or
t hi n n es s . B a l l e t i s anaer obi c; t hu s , dancer s mus t be n a t u r a l l y
t hi n , because a l ow wei ght c annot be achi eved t hr oug h
danc i ng al one. ( Ha mi l t o n , Ha mi l t on , Warren, K el l er , & Mol nar ,
1997, p. 1 3 1 )
Regar dl es s of a bal l et dancer' s l evel of t a l e n t or a mo u n t of work, i f
her body does not meet t r a d i t i o n a l aes t het i c and t ec hni c al s t a n d a r d s , s he
wi l l not succeed i n t hi s pr of es s i on. ( We have d el i ber at el y used t he f e-
mal e pr on oun here because of t he c o n j u n c t i o n of bal l et a e s t he t i c and
s oci ocul t ural nor ms i n regard to women and wei ght . ) " Anat omy i s des-
t i n y , " c omment ed dance c on s ul t a n t D r . D es mond. " You' r e a t t r a c t e d t o
t he f i el d f r om a ver y ear l y age, somet i mes as ear l y as age 2. B ut i f you
don' t have t he t u r n - o u t or t he f eet or t he ext ens i on, i t' s not goi ng t o
happen . "
The rol e of t r a d i t i o n can al so a f f e c t t he ways i n whi ch a pot en t i al
c on s ul t a n t may be percei ved by pe r f or mi n g ar t i s t s . I f you are not par t of
the domai n, you may be viewed as " other, " f orei gn, an out s i der . Con-
s u l t a n t s who work wi t h mus i c i a n s , actors, and bal l et danc er s al l spoke of
t he ways i n whi ch ma n y ar t s or g an i z at i on s ma i n t a i n a n ar r ow and s el f -
pr ot ect i ve s t ance. For exampl e, D r . Nor r i s descri bed t he mus i c bus i n es s
as a closed system, i n whi ch f ew out s i de c on s ul t a n t s get hi r ed. Dr. Osborne
c omment ed t ha t c on s ul t an t s wor ki ng wi t h act ors " have t o know t he work
61
One soloist, a wonderful dancer, is just
below principal, but she wants to be a
principal. Although she has done some
principal roles and she's done them really
well, she's suited to a certain kind of
role. Usually it's a dramatic role where
she's a bit of an oddball, a character. She
has a beautiful face, she's intelligent,
she's musical, she's a worker. But as
beautiful a dancer as this girl is, she just
wasn't born with the legs and the feet
and the physique to do the real ballerina
type roles.
"It's so hard for someone like her, a
dancer who has everything inside but
doesn't have everything from God. No
matter how hard she works, she's never
going to be able to dance like the ones
that just were born right. Now she's 27,
and each time the casting has gone up
all year she's cried because it wasn't
what she'd hoped she was going to get."
cont ext . They have to know the real
worl d and what it' s l i ke to be in t hat
wor l d. " Dr. Desmond r ef er r ed to the
worl d of ballet as hi erarchi cal and mili-
t ari st i c. She described it as
very cloistered in some ways. I f
you don' t speak thei r language,
they will of ten wri te you of f . I f
a sport psychologist tries to go
i nt o a bal l et classroom and
appl y the same t echni q ues, not
under s t andi ng how a classroom
works, they woul dn' t be
i nterested. You' d have to know
how the system works. They
have been t rai ni ng dancers the
same way f or a hundred years.
You coul dn' t start saying, "Well
try t hi s or try t hat , " they' re not
open to t r yi ng this or that.
They do it their way, and you
have to work t hei r way.
Charlotte (dancer)
Al t hough issues of gender and other
demographi c characteristics are relevant
in all domai ns, our interviewees in the
per f or mi ng arts commented specif ically
on gender more than did interviewees in
other areas. B ecause of our limited sample
size and composition, we cannot make comparative conclusions. How-
ever, gender i neq ual i t i es are experienced or noticed t hroughout the per-
f ormi ng arts. We heard comments in regard to ballet, theatre, and classical
music. We share them as anecdotes rat her t han f ul l y documented truths.
B al l et at t ract s a s i gni f i c ant l y l arger number of f emal e t han male stu-
dents. Onl y recent l y have bal l et schools begun to address the di f f erent i al
expectations of mal e and f emal e dancers within ballet cul t ure and spe-
ci f i c school envi ronment s (Wootten, 2001) . I n part because of the dis-
proporti onate number of women in ballet and the l i mi ted number of
roles, greater competi ti on is l i kel y to exist between the women t han the
men. One of the ef f ect s, Charl ot t e suggested, is t hat the women who are
selected t end to have more di sci pl i ne and to concentrate f or longer peri-
ods of t i me t han the men.
Si mi l arl y, L ar r y noted the ef f ec t of di sproport i onat e i nvol vement of
men and women in t heat re: "There are more women in the busi ness and
f ewer parts f or women. I general l y f i n d t hat if you take 20 actresses and
20 actors, there wi l l be more better actors among the women t han among
the men." I n his consul ti ng work, Dr. Osborne has seen the challenges
t hat occur f or women as t hey age: Unless f emal e actors are well-estab-
lished and excepti onal l y tal ented, the roles avai l abl e to them are l i mi ted.
Despite vari ous attempts at ref orm and change, the social at t i t udes of the
general culture, especially with regard to women and minorities, con-
tinue to be ref lected wi t hi n the f ilm i ndustry (Abramowitz , 2000; hooks,
1996; Nul l , 1993).
Among musi ci ans, the orchestral violinist' s observations on gender
ref l ect certai n socializ ed norms of i nteracti on. Di ane commented t hat
men in an orchestra are general l y less cooperative than women: "They' re
not as good ensemble pl ayers as women." Other f emale musicians noted,
however, that at ti mes women personaliz e interactions to such an extent
that thei r react i vi t y can i nt er f er e with the smooth f unct i oni ng of the
group.
Three part i cul ar stressors may af f ect perf ormi ng artists more than
other types of perf ormers: the longevity of thei r prof essional l i f e, f i nan-
cial issues, and the use of illegal or prescribed substances. Career longev-
ity in the perf ormi ng arts can be determined by a number of f actors, such
as the amount of physi cal wear and t ear exacted by the prof ession, work
availability, and f i nanc i al stability. Of the perf ormi ng arts, ballet, like pro-
f essional sports, by its very nat ure has temporal limits. B allet has been
described by Anna Marie Holmes, the f ormer artistic director of the B os-
ton B allet, as "the but t erf l y prof essi on. Dancers have a short-lived time
of real beauty, and then you go" (Kaye, 1998, p. AR1) . Af t er an i ntensi ve
period of prof essi onal perf ormance, most bal l et dancers retire when they
are in their 30s to 40s (Kogan, 2002) . I ntensel y involved with and iso-
lated by their art, ballet dancers rarel y pl an f or thei r postcareer f ut ur e ,
even though they acknowledge its importance. The challenges of career
transition f r om ballet are augmented by a cul ture in which it is atypi cal
f or dancers to be college graduates; in f act, up to a q uart er may have
dropped out of high school. Ret i rement f rom dance may " usher in a se-
ries of losses that encompass income, workplace, communi ty, and most
important, loss of i denti ty" ( Hami l t on & Hami l ton, 1991, p. 4 3). At the
same time, it is important to recognize the potential advantage of early
retirement f rom one's f i rst career: Dancers may be young enough when
they retire f rom dance to successf ul l y change vocations (Greben, 1999).
When they do engage academically, in part because of the discipline honed
by years of rigorous prof essi onal engagement, their level of academi c
achievement is of ten remarkabl y high ( Si di mus , 1998).
Perf ormers in modern dance may experience more career f l exi bi l i t y
than bal l et dancers, in t hat a number of them move into thei r career
f ollowing academic trai ni ng in dance and potenti al l y can mai nt ai n a some-
Unique Aspects of the Performing Arts 63
what longer dancing career. Other perf orming artists, whose prof essional
lives are less dependent on total body strength and endurance, may still
experience career limits in relation to the ef f ects of their art on their
physical being. Common, and sometimes career-ending, injuries among
musicians include repetitive strain i nj uri es and loss of hearing.
I n contrast to dancers, whose lives duri ng their perf orming years may
be prof essionally f i l l ed to overload, actors spend a considerable amount
of their time not perf ormi ng. Actors are notoriously unemployed or un-
deremployed. Kogan ( 2002) noted that at any one point in time, 95% of
New York stage actors are not engaged in their craf t.
Al though superstars in the perf ormi ng arts, like those in sports, may
have immense amounts of disposable income, the vast majority of per-
f ormi ng artists tend to be markedl y more f inancially circumscribed. The
romanticism of the " starving arti st in a garret" remains a cultural attitude
at some levels. Arti sts are of ten underpai d, in part because of an
unarti cul ated assumption t hat their art should be enough to sustain them
(Sidimus, 1998). The stresses of i nsuf f i ci ent f inances, underemployment,
or unempl oyment may be chronic, not merely acute.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ As in prof essi onal sports ( Car r &
Murphy, 1995), but perhaps unantici-
pated f or those not in this f ield, alcohol
and other substances are intertwined in
the f ield of music. Reviewing nearly 200
years of drug use in the arts, Lanchester
recently ref lected on the central role of
drugs especially in relation to popular
music, most particularly jaz z . "The his-
tory of dope-f iend jaz z musicians is the
history of jaz z " (Lanchester, 2003, p. 84).
B oth legal and illegal substances are used
by some musicians to alter perception
and at times to cope with stress. The use
of mind-altering substances especially f or
stress management in other perf ormance
popul a t i on s has al so been not ed
( A b r a mo wi t z , 2000; Hami l t on &
Hamilton, 1991).
Some percentage of perf ormers un-
doubt edl y use medication as a method
to cope with stress, yet very f ew spoke
with us about medication. Within the
musician community, the nonselective
bet a- bl ocker I nderal (propranol ol ) is
used with such f req uency to manage per-
I only know one guy who will admit that
he takes Inderal, but you hear rumors
about it. Virtually every French horn
player in the world takes it, yet they
don't want people to know. They really
don't want people to know. There are
some classical music email fists, and there
are discussion boards for various
instruments. I was scrolling through the
French horn board, and there were
several threads about Inderal and how
much to take, like: "I took 20 mg. for the
audition in Houston and it was too much
because . . . , " Right down to discussing
fine-tuning the dosage. If you take too
much your performance will be really
flat, and if you take too little it won't do
anything for you.
Diane
(musician)
i or mance anxi et y t ha t i t has been descri bed as t he mus i c i a n ' s un d e r -
ground drug ( D un k e l , 1989). I n our i nt er vi ew, Fai t h ( s i n g e r ) comment ed:
I have a s t ud en t who used t o s u f f e r j u s t hor r i bl y f r om stage
f r i g ht . She woul d j us t get up and be ama/ . ed at how s ha k y s he
was. She was n ' t e xpe c t i n g t o be s ha k y and she' d be so mad t ha t
she was s ha k i n g . She di d t ry a beta bl ocker wi t h great success.
She got c hur c h solo wor k, and j u s t f e l t l i k e: " I ' m goi ng t o get
t hese bet a- bl ocker s so I don' t f a l l a pa r t . I ' m not worri ed about
i t . I know my mus i c ; I k n ow wha t I ' m supposed t o be doi ng. "
The mi l i eu of pe r f or mi n g a r t s al so changes over ti me. Cur r e n t l y, young
bal l et dancers have f ewer dance oppor t un i t i e s t ha n used t o be a v a i l a bl e .
Char l ot t e observed t ha t t hi s f ac t or has ma j o r conseq uences f or c omf or t
wi t h per f or mance: Fewer per f or man c e oppor t un i t i e s mean f ewer oppor-
t uni t i es f or practi ce, repeti ti on, and general ease wi th bei ng on stage.
Char l ot t e el abor at ed:
We used t o go on t o u r s f or mon t hs and mon t hs and mon t hs ,
and I ' d do a rol e over and over and over. I n some ways you get
more obsessi ve a bout every d e t a i l , but you get t o a poi nt wher e
you can go on stage i n a cal m man n er , n or mal and f u l l y
consci ous, and not j u s t " Oh my God t here' s a l i g ht i n t ha t wi ng
t hat ' s r i ght i n my eyes, and I ' m t r yi n g t o do t hi s step. I had no
i dea t her e woul d be t ha t , " t ha t sort of hor r i bl e di s cover y t ha t
you get when you a r e n ' t i n t he f i r s t cast, and you' r e on stage
f or t he f i r s t t i me l or y o u r f i r s t show.
Young dancer s t oday don' t get n e a r l y t he same n umbe r of
per f or manc es . Us u a l l y t hey have t wo shot s at s omet hi ng: The
f i r s t one i s l i ke a dress rehearsal . At the end of i t, t hey don' t
know what t he y di d, because t he y' r e copi ng f or t he f i r s t t i me
wi t h sets and cos t umes and l i ght s and al l t hat . They j us t s t ar t t o
get t he ha n g of i t wi t h t he second one. And t hen t hey don' t do
i t agai n l or t hr ee or f o u r years. I t' s r e a l l y c r uel . B ut t ha t ' s j us t
a c t ua l l y t he r eal i t y of t he per f or mi ng a r t s t hes e days .
For br oadcas t er s , Grace not ed t ha t ni c he mar k et i n g i s now c r i t i c al l y
i mpor t ant . Suppl y and demand have changed wi t hi n t he i n d u s t r y :
You bet t er have s omet hi ng u n i q u e t hat i s c ont ent - or i ent ed,
because hav i n g a gr eat voi ce i s not goi ng to be enough
anymor e. Tha n k s t o der egul at i on un d e r Pr es i dent Reagan, we
have a r a pi d l y gr owi ng monopol y of broadcast compani es .
Fewer and f ewer compani es own al l of t he broadcast out l et s i n
radi o and TV . Manpower is very expensi ve. Oppor t uni t i es are
severel y l i mi t e d . They ar e s wi t c hi n g t o a ut oma t i on , because
human beings are notoriously unreliable. They are runni ng
satel l i te mus i c services and sat el l i t e pr ogr ammi ng and repl aci ng
huma n bei ngs wi t h dat a comi ng out of out er space. They are so
bl oated wi th debt t hat t hey have t o i ncrease t hei r operati ng
pr of i t s . I n a uni ver s e t hat is not l i mi t l es s pr of i t , you have to cut
expense i n order to keep growi ng t hat pr of i t l i ne.
REPORTED CHARACTERISTICS OF PERFORMERS
As wi th ot her domai ns , charact er general i z at i ons have l i mi t at i ons and
excepti ons, and t hi s i s t r ue among perf ormi ng art i st s as well. I t i s us e f ul
f or a cons ul t ant to have a sense of char act er i s t i cs or at t r i but es t hat appl y
general l y t o al l perf ormers but t hen approach each i n d i v i d ua l and s i t ua-
t i on as un i q ue.
Among our c ons ul t ant s , Dr. Osborne was especially ent husi ast i c about
wor ki ng wi th per f or mi ng art i s t s , descri bi ng t hem as " wonder f ul people
to work wi t h. As a group, t hey have r eal l y f aced themselves, t hey know
t hi ngs about t hemsel ves, and t hey' r e wi l l i ng to go places which most
people don' t r eadi l y go to." We have f ound t hat per f or mi ng art i s t s , per-
haps especially actors, are pa r t i c ul a r l y i nt erest ed i n underst andi ng t hem-
selves, seeing t hi s s el f - expl or at i on as us ef ul to t hei r ar t . One of the ac-
tors, Larry, described actors as "more mercuri al t han most people." B ecause
of the constant demand f or actors to t ake on d i f f e r e n t roles, he suggested
t hat actors are especi al l y adapt abl e and have changeabl e personal i t i es.
The t ask of an act or is to t a k e on a pers onal i t y f or a par t i c ul ar role,
" becoming" someone else, al bei t f or a l i mi t ed period of ti me. Thi s can
l eave the actor less s ur e of his or her own personhood and personal i ty. I n
working with one such actor recently, we encouraged him to notice and
keep track of moment s when he was most " hi ms el f , " al most as if he were
expl ori ng and c r eat i ng a new role,, so t hat he could devel op a cl earer
i dent i t y.
B ei ng an actor r eq ui r es some f l ui d i t y of personal i t y, and thi s may be
ref l ect ed in a c er t ai n t ent at i venes s and f r a g i l i t y of ego. Some actors, Larry
suggested, use cyni ci s m to protect how much t hey care about the prof es-
si on. I an, wi t h experi ence i n both t heat r e and broadcasti ng, describes
people i n bot h ar enas as di spl ayi ng " enormous egos" to mask an under -
l yi ng f r agi l i t y.
I used to go to these broadcast convent i ons when we were still
pl ayi ng phonograph records. I woul d be on the escalator f r om
one f l oor to the next and I woul d be hear i ng al l these people
t al k about how great t hei r number s were or "this great new
f or mat " and " I have a hit record here, " and I t hought , "This is
al l bul l s hi t . This i s j u s t radi o. You are pl ayi n g records. Al l these
65
DJ .s with these enormous egos. You are j us t playing records.
Who do you t hi nk you are?" and it was because that is how
they got t hrough thei r day. That is how they get the courage to
be in f ront of other people and wal k that high wire.
Al t hough it may be more of a " right" than " lef t" brai n acti vi ty, musi c
is hi ghl y cerebral. There is the f r eq uent l y noted connection between music
and mathemati cs. We also have noticed t hat musicians of ten l i ke to play
with language in ways that would be more expected among l i ngui sts. At
times it seems as if there' s a direct correl ati on between the obscurity of
the music played and the use of puns and doubl e entendres. Havi ng
worked with musi ci ans in a vari ety of genres, Dr. Norris observed t hat
there seems to be a match between personal i t y and type of musi c, as well
as the kind of issues l i kel y to occur. For example, j az z musicians, whose
musi c may be improvised, enjoy extempori z i ng and engaging in the cre-
ative process, even t hough they may need assistance in underst andi ng
when to lead and when to f ollow. Orchestral musicians, whose roles are
supportive and whose musi c is prescribed, may be more passive and may
need assistance in usi ng the power or i nf l uence available to them.
Sport psychologists recently have been applying research on adap-
tive and mal adapt i ve perf ecti oni sm to athletes ( Goul d, Di ef f enbach, &
Mof f ett, 2002) . B roader consi derati on of the dimensions of perf ecti on-
ism has also begun with regard to perf ormi ng arti sts ( Goul d & Pennisi,
2002; Hamilton, 2002; Hays, 2003; Krasnow, Mai nwari ng, & Kerr, 1999).
Among our consul tants, Dr. Marti n characteriz ed musicians as pri mari l y
desiring perf ecti on and f eari ng maki ng mi stakes. Perf ectionism is also
highly characteri sti c of dancers, especially in ballet. Dr. Desmond con-
trasted dancers wi t h actors, describing the f ormer as perf ectionists and
i ntroverted and the l atter as "laid back, everythi ng is j ust sort of out there,
and they' re more extroverted t han dancers tend to be."
Hesitant to generaliz e, f ormer dancer Charl otte commented:
I don' t know if this is j us t in danceit probably isn' t. I ' m sure
in the acting prof ession it's ki nd of rampant too. B ecause of the
ki nd of world it is, there are huge issues of insecurity and lack
of conf idence, and it's a very tricky balance to remain humbl e
and open and to have conf idence in yoursel f at the same time.
You seem to get one extreme or another: the ones who t hi nk
t hey know it all and the others who are like little baby birds in
the nest, always so needy that you constantly have to tell them
they did well.
Musi ci ans may be less l i kel y t han other perf ormers to be aware of
the mind-body connection in relation to thei r art, and conseq uently they
may be less likely to care f or their bodies. Dr. Marti n commented that
many musicians are physically " under par," not paying attention to the
importance and value of muscular, physical, or kinesthetic training. Simi-
larly, they may not understand the impact of nutritional intake on their
musicianship. An orchestral musician with whom we worked presented
with borderline anorexia. As she began to eat more nutritious f ood and
increased her caloric intake, she pleasantly discovered that she had more
energy f or the long hours of rehearsal and perf ormance.
Our experience and interviewees' comments suggest that as a group,
actors are more attuned to physical tension in their bodies and of ten
have learned the importance of breathing techniq ues to help adjust physi-
cal tension. I nstruction in basic relaxation and imagery techniq ues is com-
mon in actors' training. A consultant working within this domain can
of ten build these f oundati onal skills f or application in broader areas, such
as dealing with tension while auditioning or improving relationships with
co-workers.
ROLE FUNCTION
As noted earlier, role f uncti on addresses the various expectations be-
yond the immediate perf ormance, such as technical expectations, attend-
ing to business aspects including marketing and running a prof itable en-
terprise, maintaining relationships wi th the public or "political structure,"
and dealing with relationships within a group or troupe of perf ormers.
The technical aspects of perf ormance di f f er between the various types
of perf ormers within this domain. A number of the perf ormers com-
mented that al though a consultant need not actually know the technical
specif ics, it is important to know what the technical issues are and whether
they are being appropriately addressed.
Each of the instrumental and vocal musicians spoke about specif ic
elements of the technical aspects of being a musician. B ecause the musi-
cian either is the i nstrument or is using her or his body in conjunction
with the i nstrument f or perf ormance, it is important to know about vari -
ous practical, technical, and physical issues. For example, Faith pointed
to the additional physical demands experienced by singers when they
are req uired to use their f ul l vocal range as compared with working within
their comf ortable or nat ural range. This physiological stressor may stem
f rom the specif ic composition, the perf ormer's interpretation, or others'
demands (conductor, audience, or current f ashion). Diane also described
some of the technical challenges of specif ic instruments: "Most brass and
wind playersespecially brass playersf ind it's very, very di f f i cul t to play
to age 65 because their 'chops' go." With age and overuse, the muscles
around their f ace and their mouth may stop f unctioning ef f ectively. Other
musicians may be subject to repetitive strain injuries or hearing problems
related to the bombardment of loud musicwhether their own or others'.
67
Rol e f u n c t i o n s al so var y d e pe n d i n g on whet her pe r f or ma n c e can
pot en t i al l y i mpr ove or occurs on l y i n t he pres ent moment . Grace spoke
of t he evanescence of t a l k r adi o. " Talk r adi o i s l i ve and it' s i mme d i a t e . I t' s
i n t i ma t e . Once you s ay i t , i t ' s out t her e and i t ' s gone. I n l i ve t a l k radi o,
you can' t do over. There i s no f i l t e r i n bet ween your words and t he i r
ears. I t' s out t her e. That i s what makes i t exc i t i ng. " Her comment s are
al so rel evant t o l i ve per f or man c e i n mus i c , dance, and t heat r e, i n con-
t r as t t o recordi ngs, f i l m, and vi deo pr od uc t i on s .
Not u n l i k e ps yc hot her api s t s ' e n t r e pr e n e ur i a l knowl edge, pe r f o r m-
er s gener al l y l ear n about t he bus i nes s of pe r f o r mi n g as t he y exper i enc e
t he prof essi on, r at her t ha n d u r i n g t he i r t r a i n i n g . The ext ent t o whi c h t he
bus i nes s of the prof es s i on i s c e n t r a l to the per f or mer ' s role i s i n par t a
f un c t i on of t he pa r t i c ul a r per f or man c e area and one' s rol e wi t hi n i t . To
mar ket t hemsel ves, act ors and mus i c i a n s mus t know how t o make dem-
ons t r at i on vi deos and CDs. As a c onduc t or , t he bus i nes s aspect of hi s
prof essi on occupi es a l ar ge pr opor t i on of Ha r ol d ' s t i me and energy. The
d eman d s are bot h compl ex and c en t r al t o hi s role: "The ma n a g e me n t of
people and programs and bud g et s and al l of t he sort of n on mus i c a l t hi n g s
t ha t never get covered i n school ends up bei ng pr obabl y 75 t o 80% of my
j ob. "
Si mi l ar l y, a ba l l e t danc er who i s a member of a c ompany has ver y
d i f f e r e n t bus i nes s r es pons i bi l i t i es t han a danc er wi t h a d mi n i s t r a t i v e r e-
s pons i bi l i t i es . Char l ot t e, a ret i red dancer , i s now an ar t s a d mi n i s t r a t or .
She compared t he bus i nes s worl d of dance t o an or ches t r a f u l l of t a l -
ent ed, s t r ong- wi l l ed mus i c i ans i n whi c h
there' s one person ( t he c on d uc t or ) who' s appoi nt ed because of
hi s expert i se t o make deci si ons, and each one has t o f a l l i n l i n e
behi nd t he l eader; ot herwi se, i t' s chaos. And t hat ' s sort of how
a bal l et company i s. You have al l these strong per s onal i t i es who
work very har d and have ver y d e f i n i t e i deas about how t he y
want to dance and how t hey see a role. And t hen you have
somebody whose j ob i t i s to oversee t ha t , s t yl i s t i c al l y, t here' s a
cohesi ve pr oduc t i on, and t hat t hi n g s ar e al l i n t he same l i n e of
t houg ht .
I f everybody does what t hey t hi n k t hey s houl d do wi t h
t he i r own par t , you have a pr od uc t i on t ha t has no
cohesi veness. Ar t i s t i c di rect ors are more t ha n j u s t t he CE O of a
company. They have to get ever ybody on board to be
appr oac hi ng d i f f e r e n t pr oduct i ons wi t h t he same k i n d of
t hr oug h l i n e. E ver yone put s t he i r own s t amp on what t hey do,
but t o have a s a t i s f yi n g a r t i s t i c exper i ence f r om an aud i en c e' s
poi nt of vi ewi t ' s l i k e a di rect or wi t h a bun c h of actors: Actors
al l t hi n k t ha t t hey' r e experts on every cl assi c pl ay t hat ' s ever
f eeling. Mine was that I was adopted and I didn' t know till I
was 26. And certainly f or other actors, there was some kind of
problem in the begi nni ng and they have to f i nd ways of coping,
so their sensors became extra t uned, extra f i ne, in order to
perceive what was happening, to avoid pain, to survive.
I n many of the perf ormi ng arts, an interesting paradox relates to the
simultaneous need f or connection among a group of artists, yet an im-
plicit or explicit hierarchy of power. "Remember," commented a f ilm pro-
ducer recently, "f ilm is a monarchy, not a democracy" (Abramowitz , 2000).
Although conducting has been described as "this prof oundl y undemo-
cratic activity" (Littler, 2003, p. E4), musical conductors are entirely de-
pendent on the singers or i nstrumental i sts f or their success; as such, they
are especially conscious of group dynamics. Michael elaborated: " Con-
ducting is a uniq ue prof ession within the world of music, because you
have others work maki ng music f or you. And theref ore the at t i t ude one
has, the viewpoint one has towards t hat rel ati onshi p is probably the heart
of the whole thing." He spoke of the types of rel ati onshi p that can exist
between conductor and members. The master and slave relationship of a
dictatorship"Do what I say or you' re deadsolves all sorts of prob-
lems. You don't have to worry about anythi ng because it's decided: you' re
right and they' re wrong and that' s that. " Al though that rel ati onshi p has,
historically, prevai l ed,
if you actually care about the wel f are of those who are working
with you and adopt a more democratic style, it becomes
inf initely more complicated, and much harder to achi eve the
same kind of results, the same ki nd of perf ecti on that was
attained sometimes under those other [di ctatori al ] conditions.
The conductor using a more democratic system struggl es with a vari -
ety of q uestions:
How do you get the respect of your pl ayers, f reely, willingly
without f orce or enf orcement, instead of puni shment ? How do
you gain control over the essential character of music you' re
doing with them? How do you create a f r ame and many of the
details and achieve the organic uni ty that the work might
have? Or put it all together in a certain direction wi thout
totally sq uelching the musi cal i ni t i at i ve of those that you are
working with?
Michael concluded that it is not possible to make this shi f t entirely,
"because in the end, the positions are controlled in many ways by your
point of view, your atti tude, personal i ty, tempo selection and so on." The
conductor's responsibility is also ref lected in and rei nf orced by the audi-
been wr i t t en , how t hey see i t and how t hey woul d do each
rol e. A di rect or i s hi red t o har nes s al l t hat energy and f ocus i t .
I n br oadcas t i ng, t he bus i n es s of r u n n i n g t he bus i nes s i s pa r t i c u l a r l y
compl ex. I n pan, t hi s i s because t he i n d u s t r y at t r ac t s young people and
gi ves t he appear ance of hi gh ener gy and l i vel i nes s . Grace expl ai ned t ha t
because i t ' s a f un bus i nes s , peopl e ent er i t young and
i nexper i enc ed. They may not f oc us on i n d u s t r y changes and
d e a l i n g wi t h t he r eal i t i es of t he bus i nes s worl d. My bus i nes s
a t t r a c t s a l ot of peopl e who are: " D ude, you rock!" and t ha t i s
s uper good, except when you have t o negot i at e a cont ract .
Si mi l a r l y, I an noted wi t h some bi t t er nes s t he power d i f f e r e n t i a l and
a n t a g on i s m bet ween ma n a g e me n t and per f or mer s i n broadcast i ng:
The pr og r a mmi n g aspect of a commer ci al r adi o s t at i on or a
commer ci al TV s t a t i o n i s evi l . Pr og r ammi n g i s seen as j u s t bei ng
t here t o f i l l t he t i me bet ween t he commer ci al s . The
commer ci al s br i n g i n t he money; t he t a l e n t s pends i t . So you
are a necessary e v i l . They wa n t t o ma xi mi z e t he pr of i t . They
wa n t t o ma xi mi z e what t he y get f r om you. They wi l l dr i ve you
u n t i l vou ar e dead.
69
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Most a r t i s t s f un c t i on wi t hi n an en-
sembl e at l eas t some of t he t i me, and
There are so many intangibles, because , , . , . y 3
t hus , g r oup r el at i on s hi ps are an i mpor -
talk radi o i s an i nvi si bl e product. You
l ant f
g
c t or v v j t hi n t he
pe r f or mi n g art s .
need to know oceans of stuf f about the For exampl e, even mus i c i ans who are
populationdemographics and known as sol oi sts of t en pl ay or si ng wi t h
psychographics. You need to have an g r oups of v a r y i n g si z es. S i mi l a r l y , al -
understanding of what radi o is: We f i l l
t hl ) U
8
h
a u d i t i o n i n g is a solo ent erpri se,
among act ors the cast t hat gets assembl ed
space between commercials. That i s what . . . . . . , . , , ,
i s i n t e n s e l y, even i f br i e f l y, connected
we do. We're an advertising vehicle.
WJ l h ( ) nc anot hen
other actors are mem-
-Grace (broadcaster)
bers of a r t
* Pert ory company, c ha n g i n g
roles f r om one pl ay t o anot her , but es-
s e n t i a l l y wor ki ng wi t h t he same people.
These same v a r i a t i on s of g r oup i n v ol v e me n t occur among dancers .
L a r r y suggest ed t ha t act ors ar e pa r t i c u l a r l y a t t un e d t o nuanc es of
i n t e r a c t i on , and provi ded a devel opment al e xpl a n a t i o n f or hi s s t at ement :
Act ors hav e a pa r t i c u l a r s e n s i t i v i t y t o t he react i ons of ot her
peopl e. Ge n e r a l l y f or act or s , t her e' s been some k i n d of
br eakdown or some k i n d of probl em i n c hi l dhood, some k i n d
of d i s r u pt i v e pat t er n i n t he r e l a t i on s hi p wi t h t he i r f a mi l y t hat
t he n makes t hem more awar e of what people are t hi n k i n g and
ences' expectations and perceptions: "How of ten do you hear the crowd
go, 'B oy, look at what that conductor gets out of that orchestra/ instead
of , 'Wow! Look at that orchestra play, look at that orchestra play/"
Relationships are essential to theatri cal perf ormance, whether live or
on camera. Larry, an actor, commented that actors tend to cloister, talk
shop, and f eel separate f rom the rest of society. As a consultant in this
f i el d, Dr. Osborne noted the rhythm of connection and engagement:
The group process that happens in theatre is very intense. At
the same time, it's surprisingly temporary. What happens is that
a group of peopleactors, directors, sometimes the writer
work together in a very concentrated way f or a very limited
amount of time. I t's not j ust about getting the show up; it's
really about the whole process of creating or re-creating the
piece. People bond incredibly; they really become very involved
with one another. And then the show is over. They strike the
set, they have a cast party, and two weeks later, they can't
remember each other' s names.
Aside f rom the setting (mi l i eu and role f unct i ons) and the individual, as
discussed above, the nat ure of perf ormance in the perf orming arts in-
volves memoriz ation,, the use of emotions, various physical demands,
and, by def i ni ti on, an interaction with an audience.
Memoriz ation f orms a crucial aspect of many types of artistic perf or-
mances. One has not only to perf orm but also to know the perf ormance
exactly bef orehand (and then, at the time of perf ormance, be able to
deviate f rom it if necessary). Memoriz ation is a task and skill in itself , and
f or many it is a stressor. "The symbol system specif ic to the particular art
f orm will determine what is rememberednotes f or musicians, words
f or actors, movements f or dancers, notes and words f or singers" (Kogan,
2002, p. 3). Although the perf ormer must be adept at rote memoriz ation,
a perf ormance t hat can be considered art must also be transf ormed f rom
mere technical mastery into physical, emotional, and expressive memory.
Each art f orm di f f ers to some degree in terms of memory req uire-
ments and the manner in which it is reproduced in perf ormance. An
actor perf ormi ng Shakespeare deals with arcane language but may f ind
the known structure of the play easier to handle than the seeming lack of
connection in Harold Pinter' s dialogue. These experiences, in turn, are
entirely di f f erent f rom those of a group conducting improvisational the-
atre.
Certain conventions in music dictate whether music should be memo-
riz ed f or perf ormance, as well as how challenging that task is. A solo
71
r eci t al , f or exampl e, i nvol ves t he great est a mo u n t of memor i z at i on wi t h-
out t he benef i t of vi si bl e or me a n i n g f u l cues. I n cont rast , even t houg h
memor i z at i on i s needed when pe r f or mi n g opera, t he story l i n e can serve
as s i gnal or anchor, used by the si nger to hol d the memory. When per-
f or mi ng as part of a chamber mus i c group, ot hers have r es pons i bi l i t y f or
part of t he program, t hus t a k i n g t he un r e mi t t i n g s pot l i ght of f any one
perf ormer. This l i g ht en s t he bur den, even i f t he mus i c i s memori z ed ( and
of t en i t i s n ot ) .
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ As a pi an i s t , I l ene f o u n d the memo-
r i z at i on f o r a solo reci tal s t r es s f ul , because
of t he t i me i nvol ved and t he concern
about r emember i ng.
I learn a piece of music bit by bit. If I'm
learning a song I've never sung before,
the very first thing I do is look at the
language, look at the meaning of the
text. First of all, I see if I like the text,
because then it can go into the
emotional part of my brain, and it's
much easier to learn. I always pick a text
that I can understand and one that I'm
willing to portray. Tunes are very easy to
learnthey go into your head, the third
time around probably you've got the
tune memorized, depending on the
complexity of the rhythm. If it's a really
modern piece, it may not ever really be
memorized, but assuming it's something
that I can memorize, I write out the text,
particularly if it's in a foreign language. I
may write those songs out ten times,
each one of them. So I'm learning them
minutely, every curve of each letter as I
write longhand, and I carry them with
me.
I just carry the words in my pocket
when I go to run laps at the gym or in
my neighborhood, and usually, I can
memorize a song in half an hour, if the
tune is already there at some level.
Faith (singer)
I t' s bas i c al l y a bi g c ommi t men t
to s t ud yi n g . The way I
memori z e i s away f r om t he
pi an o. I ' m j us t l ooki ng at t he
score a l ot and t r yi ng to t hi n k
t hr oug h t he mus i c a l ot . And
t hen I al so have to pract i ce so
t ha t my f i nger s move. So i t ' s
j us t a huge t i me c ommi t men t .
And t hen I ' m al ways worri ed
t hat i t ' s not goi ng to work.
Wi t h chamber mus i c, I ' m
u s u a l l y not ever wor r i ed t hat
i t ' s not goi ng to work because I
don' t have t ha t memory
hur d l e .
B ecaus e i t i s i mpr ov i s a t i on a l , j az z
mi ght appear to be ent i r el y spont aneous.
I nst ead, i t i s based on cert ai n s t r uc t ur a l
el ement s: The es s ent i al ar c hi t ec t ur e of
j az z f or m i s known by t he per f or mer and
t he mus i c i an memori z es t he f u n d a me n -
tal s t r u c t u r a l el ement s of a s peci f i c piece
of mus i c . The r e s u l t i n g opennes s and
i mpr ov i s a t i on have t he i r own gener al
desi gn. Thi s same mi x of essent i al s t r uc-
t u r a l el ement s an d f l e xi b i l i t y wi t hi n t he
mome n t occur s wi t h i mpr o v i s a t i o n a l
t heat r e.
The appropri ate use of emoti on is a
d e f i n i n g c har ac t er i s t i c of t he per f or mi ng
arts. I t is one of the ways in which perf ormance moves f rom technical
accuracy to f u l l engagement of the audi ence. Us i ng the i mage of Mar y
Shelley' s monster, Fr ankens t ei n, a mus i ci an wi th whom we worked re-
f ers to mus i c wi t hout emoti on as Frankenmusic. The notes are there, i t i s
t echni cal l y al i ve, arid i t per f or ms the dut i es of the pr i nt ed mus i cbut it' s
not the real t hi ng. Si mi l arl y, actors someti mes descri be a per f or mance i n
which t hey' re not engaged as " phoni ng i n" the per f or manc e. "The art i st ' s
emoti onal sel f - expressi on mus t evoke the ki nd of emot i onal response i n
t he audi ence t hat convinces i t of t he per f or mer ' s a ut he n t i c ar t i s t i c t a l -
ent" ( Kogan, 2002, p. 4).
Charl ot t e ( danc er ) descri bed t he chal l enge and t he beaut y of t he way
i n whi ch dancers br i ng t hei r ent i r e emot i onal v u l n e r a b i l i t y t o t he dance.
I n di scussi ng what i s going on ment al l y as dancers are per f or mi ng, Hel -
ena commented: "Some people l i t er al l y don' t t hi nk as t hey' r e per f or m-
ing. Their emotions are dri vi ng them or the musi c is dr i vi ng them. "
Part i cul ar art f orms place d i f f er en t physi cal demands on t he perf ormer.
Some musi ci ans may be near l y stati c d ur i n g perf ormance; i n cont r as t ,
the physi cal stresses on a dancer' s body may be compared wi t h t hose
placed on at hl et es in contact sports ( Ha mi l t on & Hami l t on , 19 9 4 ).
Actors can be subj ect to hi gher ri sk of i n j ur y t ha n one mi ght expect .
They are of t en cal l ed on to use a var i et y of s ki l l s f or whi ch t hey may have
mi ni mal t r ai ni ng. Singing, danci ng, or pl ayi n g a mus i cal i n s t r ume n t may
all be i nt egral to per f or mi ng a par t i c ul ar role. Yet if t hey lack t r ai n i n g in
these areas, t hei r risk of i n j ur y may be i ncreased ( B r andf onbr ener , 19 9 9 ).
Kei t h recogniz ed t hat " acti ng can be hi g hl y phys i c al l y demandi ng and
some actors get i nj ur ed and are debi l i t at ed f or mont hs and mont hs and
months bef ore t hey can work. "
Anot her def i ni ng f eat ur e of the per f or mi n g art s i s the presence of an
audience. Actors speak of " the f our t h wal l , " an i magi nar y wal l separat -
i ng those on the stage f rom those i n the audi ence. The per f or mer s i mul -
taneousl y acts as i f the stage i s the real worl d and mai n t ai n s ut t er awar e-
ness of the audi ence, the impact of his or her perf ormance on the audi ence,
and even, at some l evel s, the i nt eract i on wi t h the audi ence. We di scuss
this aspect i n greater det ai l i n chapter 11.
Perf ormi ng arti sts do not ri sk people' s l i ves wi t h t he i r per f or manc e.
I n f act , perf ormers at t i mes use t hi s l ack of a c t ua l risk as a way to de-
crease t hei r an xi et y about per f or mance. Sel f - t al k , such as " Thi s i s not l i f e
and deat h, " can hel p d i mi n i s h the f ear s associated wi t h bei ng "on." At
t he same ti me, per f or mi ng ar t i s t s are among those wi t h t he most publ i c
vul ner abi l i t y. Li ke prof essi onal at hl et es , t he bet t er known t hey are, t he
less pri vacy t hey have, wi t h f ewer oppor t un i t i es t o be t hei r pr i vat e selves.
" When I was on t el evi si on, " comment ed I an ( now a r adi o t a l k show
host), "I woul dn' t go to the grocery store unl ess I had shaved or combed
my hair. I had to be nice all the t i me. "
73
Actors and broadcasters are especi al l y aware of the publ i c nat ur e of
t hei r perf ormanceand themselves. For exampl e, Larry commented t hat ,
in contrast to a number of ot her prof essi ons, actors' f ai l ur es and mi stakes
are public. Grace, a broadcaster, spoke of the ways in which a publicly
known person ends up f e e l i n g i nsecure about how she is perceived. She
wonders whether people are reacti ng to her or to her persona. "I t's a
hor r i bl e t hi ng to go to a part y where you don' t know anybody. I t's an
awkward thing to go to a party and not be able to start at ground zero
and mi ngl e. "
FAMILIARITY WITH CONSULTANTS
On the s urf ace, i t mi ght seem t hat per f or mi ng art i st s woul d be more
receptive to cons ul t at i on t han per f or mer s i n other domai ns. Unl i ke sports,
f or exampl e, wher e at hl et es may view psychotherapy, psychologists, and
counselors wi th a certain degree of wariness (e.g., V an Raalte, 1998), a
l ong t radi t i on, dat i ng back at least to Freud, connects psychoanal ysi s and
ps yc hod yn ami c ps yc hot her apy wi t h t he per f or mi ng ar t s and ar t i s t s
(Obrecht & Telson, 1992; Ostwal d, 19 9 2). Recent research suggests t hat
ballet dancers may f eel comf ortabl e with the idea of psychotherapy in
whi ch per f or manc e i ssues are di scussed ( Schoen & E s t anol - J ohns on,
2001) . Thi s s t r ai ght f or war d acceptance is more complex t han it appears,
however. These same bal l et dancers may be hesi t ant to seek " perf ormance
enhancement t rai ni ng. " They may interpret these words as i mpl yi ng t hat
t hei r per f or mance or abi l i t i es are l acki ng (Schoen & Est anol - J ohnson,
2001) .
More general l y, the level of comf ort wi t h and sense of l egi t i macy
about psychot herapy can lead pot ent i al cl i ents to make some i naccurat e
as s umpt i ons t hat a c ons ul t ant must address. For exampl e, per f or mi ng
ar t i s t s may assume t hat any " ment al work" i s psychotherapy, t hat i t i s
l ong- t erm, and t ha t a bri ef i nt er vent i on woul d not be l egi t i mat e or rel-
evant to cent ral issues of concern. For these reasons, even t hough seem-
i ngl y less s kept i cal t han some at hl et es , potenti al clients among arti sts
may need as muc h, al bei t d i f f e r e n t , educat i on concerni ng psychological
ski l l s t r ai n i n g . To f ac i l i t at e t hi s s hi f t in perspective, a cons ul t ant might
provi de i nf or mat i on concerni ng perf ormance enhancement as compared
wi th pat hol ogy- f ocus ed approaches, the ef f i cacy of ment al s ki l l s t r ai n-
ing, the ut i l i t y of br i ef er t r eat ment s , and a present or present - f ut ure f o-
cus.
D i aphr agmat i c br eat hi ng is a commonl y prescribed ment al ski l l used
to decrease perf ormance t ens i on. Most musi ci ans, whether i ns t r ument al
or vocal, have received ext ensi ve t r ai n i n g i n di aphragmat i c breathi ng.
Of t en, however, t hey have l earned br eat hi ng i n rel at i on to sound pro-
duct i on. They may be ent i rel y unaware of the arousal management or
anxi ol yti c ( anxi et y- r educi ng) capabi l i t i es of t hi s f or m of breat hi ng. Fur-
thermore, i n the per f or mance moment , i f t hey do not make i nt ent i onal
use of this method, per f or mance anxi et y may over r i de what t hey have
learned and t hey may revert to s hal l ow t horaci c br eat hi n g .
With t he increased popul ar i t y of ment al ski l l s t r ai n i n g , many per-
f ormers are f ami l i ar wi th var i ous t echni q ues . Yet even i f t hey know about
such techni q ues, they may not have l earned how to use them, t hey may
have learned them i n ways t hat are not us ef ul or ef f ect i ve, or t hey may
not have trul y understood t hei r use or appl i cabi l i t y. For exampl e, as noted
earlier, actors are of ten t rai ned i n var i ous pre- peri ormance r out i nes i n
acting school. Al t houg h they have obt ai ned t hi s t r ai ni ng, they may not
use t he routi nes t hey l earned, or t hey may haphaz ar dl y and s upers t i -
t i ousl y try one and t hen anot her. They may not have settl ed on specif ic
methods that are expressl y us e f ul f or t hei r own needs.
Recommendations
to Consultants
75
The per f or mi ng arts domai n i s a hi g hl y compet i t i ve envi r onment
i n whi ch perf ormers are r out i n el y j udged and eval uat ed, t hr ough
the process of a ud i t i on i n g . Thi s process is a maj or source of stress
f or many perf ormers, and one t hat a c ons ul t ant s houl d be pre-
pared to address.
Many perf ormers i n t hi s group begi n t hei r t r a i n i n g at a very young
age. This i s especi al l y the case i n bal l et , where ear l y exercise and
stretchi ng i s cri t i cal t o devel opi ng t he f or m and f l e xi bi l i t y neces-
sary f or l at er success.
The l arge number of per f or mer s vyi ng f or a r el at i vel y smal l n um-
ber of payi ng posi t i ons r es ul t s i n ext reme compet i t i on, of ten f or
low pay. A perf ormer s eri ous about a career in these areas of t en
must be prepared to f i n d s uppl ement al means of support.
Perf ormi ng ar t i s t s may have l i mi t ed f i n an c i al means. Cons ul t ant s
interested i n worki ng wi th per f or mer s i n t hi s domai n may need to
develop creative strategi es f or get t i ng pai d f or such work.
Trai ni ng i n these areas i s heavi l y i n f l uen c ed by t r adi t i on, of t en
wi t hi n a rigid hi er ar c hi c al cont ext . A cons ul t ant s houl d be aware
of the t r adi t i ons , customs, s t r uc t ur e, and s t andar ds of a par t i c ul ar
perf ormance area and be prepared to work wi t hi n i ts f r amewor k.
The pot ent i al "closed" n a t ur e of many or gani z at i ons and "us-them"
ment al i t y of i n d i v i d ua l s i n t he per f or mi n g art s suggests t hat con-
sul t ant s also mus t l egi t i mi z e t he i r knowl edge and experi ence i n
76 D O M A I N - S P E C I F I C 1 N F O R M A T I O N
these areas. I n some areas, such as f i l m, c ons ul t ant access to ar t i s t s
may be l i mi t e d bv l a y e r s ot pr ot ec t i v e per s onnel .
E mo t i o n a l v u l n e r a b i l i t y an d p u b l i c expos ur e ar e a c ent r al concern
f o r pe r l o r mi n g a r t i s t s . S i g n i f i c a n t success a n d r ec og n i t i on of t e n
occur s d u r i n g t he i r f o r ma t i v e years. However, e a r l y success ma y
be f o l l o we d bv l a t e r d i s a ppo i n t me n t s and r ej ect i ons , whi c h may-
prove p a r t i c u l a r l y d i f f i c u l t f or some per f or mer s . Con s ul t a n t s i n these
d o ma i n s s ho u l d be t r a i n e d t o deal wi t h a wi de range of e mot i on a l
i s s ues an d e xpr e s s i v i t v , es pec i al l y' t hos e r el at ed t o t he per f or mer ' s
ego. c onc er ns a l x M. i t r e j e c t i o n , an d mu l t i p l e s ymbol i c or r eal losses.
To e s t a b l i s h r e a l i s t i c g oal s wi t h a pe r f o r mi n g a r t i s t , a c r ed i bl e as -
s es s ment may need t o d i s t i n g u i s h bet ween a per f or mer ' s c a pa bi l i -
t i e s i n t he i r a n a n d t h e i r me n t a l o r ps yc hol ogi c al s k i l l s r eg ar d i n g
pe r f o r ma n c e . T hi s d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n ma v r e q u i r e c ol l abor at i on wi t h
o i l i e r pr o f e s s i o n a l * - u ho a r e q u a l i f i e d t o e v a l u a t e t a l e n t .
i V l e mo r i / a i i mi i s < i k r y s k i l l j n r success i n < he s e areas. Co n s u l t a n t s
s ho u l d haw a ba s i c g r a s p o! l e a r n i n g t he or y and t ec hn i q ues .
Success i n t he p e H o n n i n g a r t s i s n o t o n l y c on t i n g e n t o n t a l e n t a n d
pe r s e v e r a n c e - ; o f t e n l u c k or c i r c u ms t a n c e pl ays a ma j or rol e. Con-
s u l t a n t s s ho u ! d he . - m, - > r < ; oi t he u n c e r t a i n t y i n he r e n t i n t hese a r -
e a s a n d t h e i . mpa u . > ' t h a t u n c e r t a i n l y o n a l l a s pe c t s o f t h e
pe r f o r me r ' s l i t e .
The c mpha s ^on t he ^ha pe , f o r m, an d t hi n n e s s of one' s body cre-
at es s pec i al ^t r e ^s c ^ i o r women p e r f o r mi n g i n b a l l e t . C o n s u l t a n t s
' n t h i s ar ea a r e a d v i s e d t o be we l l - t r a i n e d i n t he as s es s ment a n d
t r e a t me n t oi e a t i n g d i s or d e r s . They ar e al s o advi s ed t o hav e a net -
wor k o! as s oci at ed pr of e s s i on a l s i n n u t r i t i o n and he a l t h care wi t h
whom t h e y c a n pr o v i d e c o o r d i n a t e d s er vi ces .
The ma n a g e me n t oi pe r f e c t i o n i s m, i n j u r y , an d career t r a n s i t i o n
may al s o be j r . ar ea i n whi c h c o n s u l t a n t s wo r k i n g wi t h pe r f o r m-
i n g a r t i s t s need e x p e r t i - > e ,
Whe r e a s pe r f o r me r s i n t hes e a r e a s may be r ec ept i ve t o psycho-
t he r a py ' , a c o n s u l t a n t may e n c o u n t e r r e l uc t a n c e t o addr es s s pec i f i c
pe r f o r ma n c e i s s ue s or engage i n a n y process ot her t ha n l on g - t e r m
t he r a py . P e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t s s ho u l d a n t i c i pa t e t hes e i s s ues
a n d be pr e pa r e d t o e d u c a t e pe r f o r me r s a n d i n d i v i d u a l s wi t hi n t hi s
d o ma i n a s t o t he n a t u r e , process, a n d b e n e f i t s of pe r f or ma n c e con-
s u l t a t i o n .
T he a b i l i i v t o i n t e r a c t wi t h ot he r s a n d f u n c t i o n e f f e c t i v e l y wi t hi n
g r o u p s e l l i n g s
;
s c e n t r a l t o success i n t he pe r f o r mi n g a r t s . Con s ul t -
a n t s s ho u l d be we l l vers ed i n g r o u p d y n a mi c s , an d s houl d ha v e a
r e pe r t oi r e o! me t ho d s t o f a c i l i t a t e e f f e c t i v e i n t e r pe r s on a l i n t e r a c -
t i o n , i f wo r k i n g wi t h pe r f or me r s who ha v e l e a d e r s hi p roles, s uc h
a s mu s i c a l c o n d u c t o r s , t he c o n s u l t a n t s houl d al s o be f a mi l i a r wi t h
the literature and techniq ues of motivation, leadership, and ef f ec-
tive team f unct i oni ng.
V ari ous aspects of the connection between mind and body are cen-
tral to the perf ormi ng arts:
I Perf ormance i n many perf ormi ng arts req ui res f i nel y t uned
physical f unct i oni ng. Accordingly, the consul tant should have
t rai ni ng in addressing the physiological f actors that af f ect perf or-
mance. The more physically demandi ng the perf ormance me-
di um, the more i mportant this knowledge becomes.
I B ecause some aspects of perf ormance do not req ui re active
physical movement and may be more cerebral, the importance
of physical activity to mental well-being and perf ormance may
need to be emphasiz ed or rei t erat ed.
I Some areas of perf ormance, such as ballet, are act ual l y anaero-
bic, even though they involve considerable physical activity.
Thus, perf ormers may need to underst and the importance and
val ue of ensuri ng aerobic exercise to thei r general f unct i oni ng
and well-being, as well as to t hei r art.
Perf ormers in these areas may have t rai ni ng in many of the tech-
ni q ues common to perf ormance enhancement; however, they may
not appl y these t echni q ues in the most ef f i ci ent or ef f ecti ve f ash-
ion. For instance, actors are t radi t i onal l y well trai ned in rel axati on
techniq ues, but they may not t r ans f er those skills to cope with the
anxi ety of audi ti oni ng. Musi ci ans may be well trai ned in di aphrag-
matic breathi ng but not apply the t echni q ue to aid in rel axat i on. A
consul tant is advi sed to i dent i f y these ski l l s t hat a perf ormer may
have and to broaden and bui l d on them.
There are several suggestions of gender i neq ui t i es wi t hi n the per-
f ormi ng arts domai n. Consul tants should be aware of prevailing
at t i t udes wi t hi n a specif ic area and take them into consideration
when deciding i nt ervent i on options.
The use and abuse of alcohol, prescri pti on drugs, and illegal drugs
are f r eq uent l y encount ered in thi s domai n. Consul tants must be
q ual i f i ed to discern the presence and to assess the impact of such
substances and to ensure t hat appropri at e t reat ment i s obtai ned.
77
T h e F o u n d a tio n s o f
E x c e lle n t P e r f o r m a n c e
There's p l e n t y o f sml T t ha i c a n d r i v e y o u run s, b u t t her e a re t i l i n g s t ha t
a r e w i t hi n y o u r c o n t ro l t h a t a r e d e f i n i t e l y w o r t h i t . To me, i t j u s t ma kes
sense t o t a ke ca re of m y s el f .
F a i t h ( si n g er
ha t a re t he key el emen t s t o p er f o r ma n c e? The p erf o rmers we i n t erv i ewed
i d en t i f i ed a n u mb er of t hem, whi c h we t hen grouped i n a mi xed devel -
op men t a l - c hron ol og i c a l seq uen c e, r ep r esen t i n g t he st ages a n d processes
of peak p er f o r ma n c e. These el em en t s can he \abe\edfoundation, pr.parti-
tion, and performance. I n t hi s sect i on of t he hook, we expl ore t he el ement s
more f u l l y . We p resen t t hi s i n f o r m a t i o n i n a l i n ea r a n d st a t i c f a shi o n ,
even t ho u g h we recogni ze t he es s en t i a l l y i n t er a c t i v e a n d o v erl a p p i n g
n a t u r e of t hi s process.
Go u l d devel oped a u n i f y i n g mod el ol p sy c hol og i c a l p rep a ra t i o n f or
pea k p erf o rma n c e i n whi c h he r ef er r ed t o t he base of p ea k p erf o rma n c e
f o r a t hl et es a s f u n d a m e n t a l f o u n d a t i o n a t t r i b u t e s . 'These f a c t ors a re i m-
p o r t a n t beca use t hey i n f l u e n c e e v e r y t h i n g t he p er f o r m er does whi ch i n
t u r n , ei t her d i r ec t l y o r i n d i r ec t l y , i n f l u e n c e s t he degree t o whi ch t he a t h-
l et e a chi eves t he d esi red t a s k- s p ec i f i c i d ea l p erf o rma n c e st at e" ( H a r d y et
al . , 1996, p . 2 4 1 ) . Amo n g t hese f u n d a m e n t a l a t t r i b u t e s , Goul d i n c l u d ed
p er so n a l i t y c ha r a c t er i st i c s, m o t i v a t i o n a l o r i en t a t i o n s, v a l u es, a n d p hi l o -
sophi ca l b el i ef s.
From o u r i n t er v i ew s, t hr ee u n d e r l y i n g f a c t o rs emerg ed a s essent i a l
f or peak p erf o rma n c e. These rel a t e t o basi c a b i l i t i es, such a s i nt el l i gence
and mot or f u n c t i o n i n g , a c o heren t sense of sel f , and a t t en t i o n t o sel f -
care.
81
82 K E Y F A C T O R S IN P E R F O R M A N C E
Basic Abilities
A ba si c l ev el of i n he r i t e d a b i l i t i e s or c ha r a c t er i st i c s i s g en era l l y consi d-
ered n ec essa ry l or ex c el l en c e i n each d o ma i n of p erf orma n c e. Goul d ' s
i n v est i g a t i o n of Ol y m p i c c ha mp i o n s ( G o u l d et al . , 2 002 ) , f or exampl e,
i n d i c a t es t ha t g en et i c a t t r i b u t e s p l a y a s i g n i f i c a n t rol e i n a c hi ev i n g excel -
l ence. Su c c es s f u l Ol y mp i c a t hl et es ha v e t o work d i l i g en t l y t o ma ke t he
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm most of t hese n a t u r a l g i f t s. The v a ri o u s
I f i rst showed t he desi re t o become a st u d i es and p rog ra ms on g i f t ed n ess or
musi ci a n when I was 2. My f a t her was a
l a l en t su
^
esl t ha t n a t u r e as wel1 as nm
"-
. . . . . . t u r e i s i n t r i n s i c t o o p t i ma l l y ski l l ed per-
public school music teacher his whole
f o r m a n c e.
professi onal l i f e, and whenever classical
As p sy c ho l o g i sl s> we c on si d er t ha t
musi c was played, I used t o dance t,
asi c
a b i l i t i e s are necessary, especi a l l y i n
around and wave my arms. That's how I l a y i n g t he g r o u n d wo r k f or ot her f act ors.
got started. My f a t her was my fi rst H owever, i t i s wort h n o t i n g t ha t few per-
pri vat e teacher on t he v i o l i n and f o r mer s or c o n su l t a n t s ref erred t o t hi s
. . a rea d i r ec t l y . Perha p s t hey c on si d ered
ba si c a b i l i t i es t o be so obv i ous as not t o
Mi cha el (conductor) r eq u i r e men t i o n .
One p erf o rmer who ref erred t o t hese
" o b v i o u s" b a si c a b i l i t i es ( D a v i d ) com-
men t ed t ha t w i t hi n t he b u si n ess wo rl d , o n e mu st have a " rea sona bl e"
l ev el of i n t el l i g en c e. H e q u a l i f i e d even t hi s st a t emen t : " Everybody doesn't
need l o be a member of MENSAI d o n ' t by any mea n s t hi n k t ha t t he
sma r t est p eop l e i n t he worl d a re t he most su c c essf u l i n busi ness. "
Grace, a su c c essf u l ra d i o p erso n a l i t y , descri bed her i n t el l ec t u a l a b i l i -
t i es as essen t i a l t o her a c hi ev emen t . She c ha ra c t eri z ed hersel f as a v ora -
c i o u s rea d er, w i t h st ro n g c o mp rehen si o n a n d ret en t i o n . At on e t i me her
sha rp r ema r ks were p ro b l ema t i c but t hi s same st yl e n ow st a n d s her i n
good st ea d:
Yo t i a l wa y s w a n t t he " cl oser" where t her e i s n o comeback. It's
a l w a y s been t hi s wa y f o r me, b u t i t ' s o n l y recent l y t ha t I ' ve
been g et t i n g p a i d f or i t . I n school, i t got me i n t o a l ot of t ro u b l e,
bec a use I a l w a y s had a sn a p p y comeback f or t he t eacher.
H er ed i t y i s more c r i t i c a l t o some p er f o r ma n c e d o ma i n s t ha n ot hers.
Phy si c a l r eq u i r em en t s a re set o u t f o r m a n y hi g h- r i sk p erf o rmers. F o r
ex a mp l e, t he U. S. m i l i t a r y ha s broad m i n i m u m sp ec i f i c a t i on s: Men mu st
be 60-80" t a l l and wei g h 100-255 p o u n d s; women mu st be 58-80" and
wei g h 90-227 p o u n d s ( U . S. Army , 2 0 0 2 ) . To be a U. S. a st ro n a u t , t he
r eq u i r em en t s a re s l i g ht l y more rest ri c t i v e: a person mu st be 64-76", wi t h
v i si o n no worse t h a n 20-70, c orrec t a bl e t o 20-20.
The Foundations of Excellent Performance
Still, these are f a i rl y broad paramet ers i n perha ps al l of t he domains,
wi t h the exception of bal l et . As not ed in chapt er 5, rigid physical st an-
dards wi t hi n bal l et are ent i rel y based on body type: t he l engt h of t he
torso and neck, t he shape of t he legs and feet , t he dancer's weight, and
t he ever- el usi ve "line. " As dance consul t a nt and f ormer bal l et dancer D r.
D esmond poi nt ed out , despite bei ng i ncredi bl y dedi cat ed and t al ent ed,
some bal l et dancers' careers are l i mi t ed by the st ruc t ure of t hei r bodies.
Children fi rst become aware of the di fferences between ability, ef-
f ort , and l uck a ro u n d age 10 ( Ni chol l s, 1992) . Short l y t herea f t er, adol es-
cents begi n to drop out of sports in whi ch t hey percei ve t hemsel ves as
havi ng low abi l i t y. This is l i kel y to be the case wi t h perf ormers in areas
ot her t han sports. As we note in the n ex t chapt er, the combi nat i on of
i nnat e abi l i t y and pract i ce ul t i ma t el y allows f or opt i mal perf ormance.
83
Coherent Sense of Self
A perf ormer bri ngs hi s or her f u n d a men t a l i d en t i t y t o every t ask. Excel -
lent performers exhi bi t ed a coherent sense of i dent i t y. They showed con-
f i dence in t hei r abi l i t i es and expressed a sense of purpose and di rect i on,
sel f-knowl edge, a clear sense of i dent i t y, and, for some, even a sense of
destiny.
In recent years, sport psychol ogi st s have pai d more a t t ent i on to the
i mport ance of a coherent sel f - i d en t i t y ( Mi l l er & Kerr, 2002) . At times,
the emphasis on perf orma nce excellence in at hl et es has seemed to be at
odds with the t ypi cal devel opment al t asks of adolescence. For example,
an at hl et e mi ght show a st rong i dent i t y as a performer but have no sense
of self or sel f - wort h out of the competition arena ( Bai l l i e & D ani sh, 1992) .
Wi t hi n sport psychology, a recent shi f t in phi l osophy proposes t hat an
at hl et e should i deal l y devel op a sense of personal excellencea strong
personal i dent i t y wi t h clear moral s and charact ersi mul t aneousl y with
perf ormance excel l ence. At hl et es wi t h bot h personal excel l ence and per-
f ormance excellence are bet t er prepared t o deal with chal l enges t hrough-
out t he performance l i f e cycle, i ncl udi ng i nevi t abl e ret i rement f rom sport.
In sport psychology research, personal confi dence is described, de-
pendi ng on t he speci fi c t heoret i cal f ra me, as perceived abi l i t y, sel f - ef f i -
cacy, or confi dence ( D ud a , 1992) . Conf i dence in oneself was mentioned
by perf ormers i n al l cat egori es as vi t al for p erf orma n c e excellence. Con-
si st ent wi t h Bandura' s ( 1986) t heori es of sel f - ef f i cacy, each perf ormer
noted confi dence as a product of t horough preparat i on and cumul a t i ve
experi ence.
As a conduct or, H arol d f oun d t hat conf i dence deri ves f rom a combi-
nat i on of adequat e st udy and experi ence:
84 KEY F A C T O R S I N P E R F ( ) R M A N C E
Whether I am talking about a great high
school baseball game or a particularly
successful meeting, I would chalk up the
truly successful experience to three
things. First was a very strong belief that
I could do it. Going into a baseball game,
I knew after throwing the first pitch that
the ice was broken. Similarly, if I felt
intimidated going into a meeting, two
minutes into the presentation when
things were falling smoothly, I knew I
had their attention. Before you know it,
ten minutes have gone by and you just
believe in yourself.
Second, you go in with a feeling of
obligation, a sense that it's up to you. In
the baseball game, I was in the starting
rotation and it was my obligation to do a
great job. With the company, I was a
newly appointed president, the top
person. I had to be good.
Third, you feel like you have a right to
do well. You own that 15 inches of plate.
If anybody gets too close, they are in
your territory. That's yours and you are
willing to defend it. Walking into that
room, I had the feeling that I had the
right to be there. I had the right to tell
them what was right or wrong by virtue
of the fact that I felt that I had more
experience than anybody else in the
room.
Barry (advertising executive)
1 ca n c o n d u c t a n y t hi n g ,
v i r t u a l l y a n y t hi n g , t ha t I ' ve
s t u d i ed . I can go on st age and I
wi l l n o t s u f f e r f r o m a n y st age
f r i g h t . Non e. Z i ppo. I ' m ex c i t ed
f or t he mo men t . I c a n ha r d l y
wa i t t o do t hi s. When I get on
st age and I ' m c on d uc t i n g , I
kn o w wha t I ' m d oi n g , a n d a s
t i me goes on and I get more
ex p eri en c e, t here' s more
c o n f i d en c e t ha t I wi l l be a b l e t o
d ea l wi t h a n y t hi n g t ha t comes
my wa y.
F o r m u s i c i a n D i a n e, t he i n t e r t w i n -
i n g o f p r ep a r a t i o n , p ra c t i c e, a n d p erf o r-
ma n c e r ei n f o r c ed sel f - kn o wl ed g e:
[ When y o u ' re p er f o r m i n g ] y o u
kn o w i f y o u j u s t set t l e down
a nd do wha t you kn o w how t o
d o, n i n e t i mes out of t en i t
comes o u t r i g ht , bec a use y o u r
body kn o ws wha t t o do. You
d i d n ' t s t a r t d o i n g t hi s y est erd a y .
A l ot of i t i s j u s t t r u st i n g t ha t
y o u kn o w wha t y o u ' re d o i n g .
A n d t ha t ' s [ t he resu l t o f )
p r ep a r a t i o n a n d p ra c t i c e. B u t i t
does hel p t o r emi n d y o u r sel f
how l o n g y o u ' v e been d o i n g
so met hi n g , a n d how wel l y ou
kn o w how t o do i t .
I n a d d i t i o n t o ex p eri en c e a n d p rep a -
r a t i o n , an ov era l l sense of purpose hel ps
s o l i d i f y one's sense of sel f - c o n f i d en c e, i n
a n i n t er a c t i v e l oop. Co n d u c t o r Mi c ha el
st a t ed t he f o l l o wi n g :
I kn o w wha t I ' m a b o u t , I kn o w
why I ' m out t here. As l on g as 1
f eel a r ea so n a b l e ex p ec t a t i o n t ha t I ' l l b e a bl e t o f u l f i l l my
mi ssi o n , I d o n ' t ha v e a n y a n x i e t y a b o u t w a l ki n g o u t o n st a ge i n
f r o n t o f t he p u b l i c . Thi s i n v o l v es bec omi n g more a n d more
c e r t a i n a s a n a r t i s t a s t o why i t i s t h a t I ' m a n a r t i s t , a n d w ha t
I ' m t ry i n g t o accompl i sh, kn o wi n g wi t ho u t any doubt what
t ha t i s, and t hen wo rki n g t oward bei ng abl e t o accompl i sh i t . I t
sort of goes ha n d i n ha n d . When you see yoursel f
a ccompl i shi ng a purpose, i t gi ves you conf i dence and you can
j u st do i t a nd i n f a ct you j u st do i t .
Ad v ert i si n g ex ec ut i v e Ba rry al so not ed t he i mport ance of a sense of
purpose, even a sense of destiny. He charact eri zed his peak performances
as experi ences i n whi ch he had an u n sha ka b l e bel i ef i n hi s abi l i t i es. Be-
yond t hat , he f el t a sense of obl i ga t i on and a sense of provi dence t hat
support ed hi m i n ri si n g t o t he chal l enge bef ore hi m: "I know i t i s goi ng t o
sound corny, but you are real l y kn owi n g i t . It i s a f eel i ng of dest i ny; it's
my day. Nobody i s goi ng t o be t hi s on at t hi s moment t he way I am. "
Ot her a t t ri but es t ha t spoke to a coherent sense of self covered a wi de
range of el ement s. For exampl e, in his role as police sniper, George de-
scribed hi s a bi l i t y t o ma i n t a i n an i n t ern a l l ocus of cont rol and vi gi l ance,
regardl ess of t he l evel of t hrea t . D a v i d comment ed t ha t as a banker, "It
t akes dri ve, d et ermi n a t i o n , f ea r of f a i l u r e, compet i t i veness, and greed f or
t he weal t h i t wi l l creat e for you and what you wa nt t o do wi t h i t . When
hi ri n g , I look for somebody who has excelled i n somet hi ngI ha rd l y
care what . [ Thi s] shows t hey ' re compet i t i ve and can excel and t ha t t hey
have some dri ve. "
Physi ci ans and a t t orneys ro u t i n el y cite bei ng drawn t o t hei r chosen
prof essi ons because of the desi re to hel p ot hers, a sense of purpose t ha t is
somet i mes f ru st ra t ed by ha v i n g al so t o ma n a g e t he en t rep ren euri a l as-
pects of t hei r prof essi ons. George, t he police sniper, percei ved "savi ng an
i nnocent person" as t he very f o u n d a t i o n of hi s commi t ment t o hi s work.
Larry' s descri pt i on of the act or's sense of self was more n ebul ous and less
i nci si ve t ha n t ha t of t he busi nessmen and t he hi g h- ri sk performer. Larry
t ho u g ht t hat much of t he sense of sel f
is i n t u i t i v e. In the area t ha t we are as perf ormers, we live in the
real m of emot i ons. We live in the observat i on of people; we use
body l anguage, vocal i n f l ec t i on , dress, what ever- col ored hair,
eyes, t he genera l look. We're const ant l y observi ng. I t hi nk it's
t he same as a good p sy c hi a t ri st or psychol ogi st , you' re looking
at everyt hi ng. You' re l ooki ng at t he t ot al package, wha t t he
person i s sayi ng and more i mp ort a n t l y , wha t t hey' re not
sayi ng. You l earn t o i n t u i t .
85
Self-Care
The perf ormers we i n t erv i ewed were al l prof essi onal s, ea rni ng t hei r l i v-
i ng by provi di ng consi st ent l y hi g h- q u a l i t y perf ormances on a rout i ne basis.
Thei r met hods of sel f - ca re were t ypi ca l l y t ai l ored t o t he u n i q u e demands
86 KEY F A C T O R S IN P E R F O R M A N C E
of t hei r speci f i c p erf orma n c e doma i n. I n t he busi ness areas, perf ormers
count on t hei r ment al ski l l s; i n t he hi g h- ri sk areas, t here i s a hi gh degree
of rel i ance on tools and a ppa ra t us; and for perf ormi ng a rt i st s, t he body i s
t he device most cent ra l t o perf ormance. Because p erf ormi n g a rt i st s must
be abl e t o depend on t hei r physi cal a bi l i t i es, sel f - care i s a n ot her c en t ra l
el ement t hat f o rms t he g ro u n d wo rk t o perf orma nce.
For i n d i v i d ua l s whose bodies produce t he sounds, gest ures, and move-
ment s of p erf orma n c e, t hi s i s essent i a l l y "care of t he i n st rumen t . " D ance
critic D eborah Jowi t t ( 2 0 0 1 ) used t he met a p hor of " i nst rument " t o de-
scribe dancers' "own peri sha bl e bodi es. " She remarked t ha t "dancers'
i nst rument s are oft en compromi sed by i n a d eq ua t e nut ri t i on, lack of sleep,
and perf ormi ng whi l e i n j u red " ( p. 4) . As an agi ng dancer, sel f - care f or
Jerry i nvol ved l i mi t i ng the a mo u n t of physi cal rehearsal : "As I got older,
I di d less prepa ra t i on, because I rea l i z ed t ha t t he f a t i g u e t ha t I was b u i l d -
i ng up t hrough over- prepa ri ng i n ef f ect was probabl y t he l argest f a ct or
prevent i ng me f ro m doi ng everyt hi ng t ha t I want ed to."
Musi ci ans, more t han any ot her group of perf ormi ng art i st s wi t h
whom we spoke, seemed p a rt i c u l a rl y a t t u n ed t o t hi s el ement as cent ral
t o perf orma nce excel l ence. Singers, whose i n st rumen t s are i nt erna l , are
part i cul arl y consci ous of t he need for di sci pl i ned sel f - care. Fai t h described
her own l i fe:
I real l y do a lot of sel f - prot ect i on, and I'm very di sci pl i ned
about t hat . It's not wort h it to me not to sing well. Ev ery t hi n g
t hat I do i s i n f l uen c ed by t ha t , whet her it's being out l at e at
night, or maki ng a decision not to have wine, whi ch I of t en do
because it's too dryi ng, too d ehy d ra t i n g . If I have a choice to
t ake care of my sel f , it's not rea l l y a very hard choi ce.
I don't l i ke to have a lot of stress in ot her aspects of my l i f e. It's
i mport ant to make good deci si ons in t a ki n g care of mysel f
ment al l y and emot i onal l y. I l i ke to f eel more or less organi zed,
keeping up with what I need t o do at home. That means, for
example, t hat f i n a n c i a l l y I' m a ct i ng wi t hi n reason. H a vi ng a
good rel at i onshi p is ext remel y i mport a nt to bei ng able to be
t rust i ng and at ease and cal m, not havi ng any ext ra emot i ona l
stresses going on. Those t hi ngs a f f ec t my emot i ons.
D i ane compared musi c i a n s t o at hl et es i n regard t o t he i mport ance of
physi cal wel l -bei ng:
Things have t o work. You need t o be i n good physi cal condi t i on
and have your muscl es and y o u r nervous syst em i n good
worki ng order. You need t o make sure t ha t you never d ri n k or
do recreat i onal d rug s and t ha t you get enough sl eep. We're
at hl et esi n a way we're at hl et esand as such we have to t ake
care of oursel ves.
Some el ement s of sel f - care for perf ormi ng artists are specific to one's
role. Conduct ors are u n i q u e among musi ci ans i n t hat they are physically
act i ve t hro u g ho u t perf ormance; broadcast ers with earl y morning shows
st ruct ure t hei r lives to accommodate t hei r working hours; and aging danc-
ers need to regul a t e t hei r a mount of activity. Michael considers two types
of exercise i mport ant , both general exercise and specific warm- ups be-
f ore rehearsal :
Nowadays, I do Pi l at es which is a real l y great regimen for
t oni ng the muscles and al i gni ng the muscles with the spine. It's
not a good idea for me to conduct wi t hout having warmed up.
I usua l l y st ret ch for about half an hour before I run any
rehearsal . It's easy to pul l your neck or hurt your shoulder
muscl es if you' re not loose before you conduct .
Musi ci ans emphasi zed physical sel f-care, mental stability, and rela-
t i onal calm. Gra nt ed, these respondent s were all in their 40s or 50s, and
t hey were classical rat her t ha n popul ar art i st s (among whom risky be-
havi ors may be more the norm) . Nonetheless, this prosaic recognition of
the val ue and i mport ance of ordi nary care belies the image of the artist
l i vi ng on the edge.
Observations by our consultant to musicians, D r. Norris, suggest that
our sample was not representative of the music industry as a whole, how-
ever. He noted t hat substance abuse is widespread in the music business.
He i ncl uded pop and count ry musi ci ans among those who may use alco-
hol, ma ri j ua na , and other recreat i onal drugs and classical musicians who
rely on beta-blockers and prescription medications to calm their nerves
pri or to performance. Professional musicians who play in traveling bands
are part i cul arl y susceptible to drug use as a diversion from boredom.
Whereas the range of drugs may vary, D r. Norris i dent i fi ed one in
part i cul ar as si gni fi cant l y problematic: "The substance of choice is going
to depend on what ever is 'hot,' whet her t hey're dope smoking every day
or whether t hey're doing cocaine, or whet her they're speeding, or whether
t hey' re doi ng heroi nbut alcohol is the one that has destroyed more
musi cal careers in a wide range of genres t han any other drug." The
musi c i ndust ry recognizes t hi s problem. At the Grammy Awards ceremo-
nies, for example, a room wi t hout alcohol is designated as a special "safe
room." The i ndust ry is aware of far too many situations like that of the
d rummer f rom a "top, top, top perf ormi ng band" who stood up at one of
D r. Norri s's conference present at i ons and shared, "You know, I started
pl ayi ng gigs at 16, where alcohol was always on the stage. And then I
woke up a f ul l - bl own alcoholic at age 28."
87
88 KEY F A C T O R S I N P E R F O R M A N C E
The p hy s i c a l d ema n d s o n d a n c er' s
bod i es mea n s t ha t t hey need t o enga ge
i n t he sa me t y p es of p hy si c a l sel l - c a r e a s
a t hl et es . A f u r t h e r p a r a l l el rel a t es t o i s-
sues of wei g ht . J u st a s a t hl et es i n some
sp ort s need t o " ma ke wei g ht / ' d a n c ers,
i n b a l l et i n p a r t i c u l a r , need t o meet spe-
c i f i c wei g ht r eq u i r emen t s . The q u est f o r
p er f ec t i o n o f body a n d f o rm ma kes d a n c -
ers p a r t i c u l a r l y susc ep t i bl e t o ea t i n g d i s-
o rd ers. No t i n f r e q u e n t l y , d a n c er s a l so
smoke c i g a ret t es f or t he a p p et i t e sup p res-
sa n t q u a l i t i e s o f n i c o t i n e. D r. D esmo n d ,
h e r s e l f a f o r m e r p r o f e s s i o n a l b a l l e t
d a n c er , sees i ssues of bod y i ma g e a nd
d i s o r d er ed ea t i n g a s i n e v i t a b l y i n t e r -
t wi n ed w i t h t he q uest f o r p er f o r ma n c e
ex c el l en c e a mo n g d a n c ers.
Se l f - c a r e ca n be a c ha l l e n g e f or a
b r o a d c a st er w i t h a m o r n i n g d r i v e p ro-
g r a m. Al o n g w i t h p ro p er n u t r i t i o n , i n -
c l u d i n g a p r o t ei n b r ea k f a s t t h a t t y p i c a l l y
c o n t a i n e d f i s h , G r a c e em p ha s i z ed t he
need l or sl eep: "Sl eep i s t he si n g l e b i g -
gest t ool t h a t I ha v e. I need n i n e ho u r s
of sl eep a n i g h t . Ni n e w i l l g et i t . I g et up
a t 4:00 a . m. I t a k e a n a p ev ery a f t e r n o o n
and I go t o bed ea r l y . On weeken d s, I l og
t en ho u r s i f I c a n . "
F o r t ho se w i t h r o t a t i n g sc hed u l es,
su c h a s F r ed er i c k, t he emerg en c y room
p hy s i c i a n , s el f - c a r e mea n s p l a n n i n g hi s
s c hed u l e i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h c i r c a d i a n
cycl es a n d sl eep p a t t er n s. Neu r o s t i r g eo n Er i c emp ha si z ed t he i mp o r t a n c e
of good sl eep a n d d i et i n p r ep a r i n g f or c omp l ex su r g er i es. For medi c-
sn i p er, George, c o n st a n t p hy si c a l t r a i n i n g i s r eq u i r ed t o b e p rep a red f o r
p er f o r ma n c e d ema n d s.
Somewha t w hi ms i c a l l y , y et semi - ser i o u sl y , b a n k e r D a v i d r ef l ec t ed
o n t he b a l a n c e bet ween men t a l a n d p hy si c a l a c t i v i t i es:
Our b u si n ess i s k i n d of t he opposi t e of t he a t hl et e: They sp en d
a t l ea st 9 5% of t hei r t i m e a n d ef f o r t on t he p hy si c a l si d e of
t hi n g s a n d t hen f o r t he ki c k t hey n eed , t he 5% i s t he m en t a l . I f
we spend 9 5% o n t he m en t a l , w ha t d i f f e r e n c e wo u l d i t ma ke i f
Substance use and abuse is a major issue
within the music industry, whether with
classical players, pop, rock, or C&W.
Alcohol is a part of the music industry. If
you go to Symphony Hall, you're going
to have alcohol available at
intermissions. And if you go down to the
club level, to the big pavilions, the
shedsalcohol is a part of that. Or
you're playing in a bar and so you're
working in a highly hazardous
occupation. You can't work in the
business without exposure to alcohol.
When you think about it, for a
musiciana traveling musician, a full
time musicianit's an hour or two of
playing and a great deal of boredom.
And so what do you do during this
boredom time? Between the time that
you pull into a bar and set up your stuff
and do your sound check at 6 or 7, and
go on at 11 or 12, what do you do? Well
you sit around and wait. And it's a set up
for "Oh hell, let's smoke a joint or drink
a beer."
Dr. Nick Norris (consultant, music)
everybody were i n t op p hy si c a l shape a n d d i d n ' t ha v e t ha t
dra ggi ng on t hem? Sho u l d we ha ve a t hl et i c t r a i n er s ma ki n g
sure we're p hy si c a l l y f i t ? I n t he l ast t ew years, I ' ve been i n
bet t er physi ca l shape t ha n i n t he p rev i ous f ew years. I d o n ' t
kn o w whet her t he physi ca l ha s hel ped me, but t he men t a l
sense of f eel i n g i n bet t er shape has hel ped me. When you f eel
l i ke you ha v e more energy, t hen you ha v e more energy.
Recommendations
to Consultants
89
H ered i t y p rov i d es a basi c l evel of a b i l i t y t ha t i s necessary t o be-
come an " el i t e" p erf ormer. Ski l l ed p erf o rmers may f oc us less on
t hei r n a t u r a l g i f t s a n d more on t he work i nvol ved i n a chi evi ng
excel l ence.
Opt i ma l p erf orma n c e a nd o p t i ma l sat i sf act i on occur when p erf orm-
ers have a sense of purpose (at t i mes descri bed as one's " dream" ;
Newburg et a!., 2 002 ) and i d en t i t y .
A sense of c on f i d en c e or sel f - c o n f i d en c e i n p erf orma n c e i s b u i l t on
a f o u n d a t i o n of t horoug h p rep a ra t i o n and c u mu l a t i v e experi ence.
Physi cal sel f - c a re i s necessary f or op t i ma l perf orma nce. Al t houg h
t hi s observat i on may seem obvi ous, bot h p erf ormers and consul t -
a n t s may be more accust omed t o op era t i n g f rom a " Ca rt esi a n "
f ra mewo rk t ha t sepa ra t es body a n d mi n d .
Co n su l t a n t s worki n g wi t h p erf o rmers mu st be a wa re of t he norms
a nd ha z a rd s p ert a i n i n g t o sel f - c a re i n p a r t i c u l a r doma i ns a nd a r-
eas of p erf orma n c e.
Co n su l t i n g i n cert a i n perf orma nce areas req u i re knowl edge of cl i ni -
cal , as wel l as p erf o rma n c e t ec hn i q ues. For exampl e, c on sul t a n t s
worki n g wi t h da ncers shoul d be knowl edgea bl e a b o u t ea t i n g di s-
orders so as t o screen and ref er a f f ect ed people t o a ppropri a t e t rea t -
ment resources. Con sul t a n t s i n t he musi c i ndust ry shoul d be knowl -
edgeabl e a b o u t a l c ohol a b u se and ot her subst a nces i n order t o
ensure t he a v a i l a b i l i t y of t rea t men t opt i ons.
Getting It Right:
Preparation
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle
n excellent performance is like the tip of an iceberg. What is seen is only
a fraction of the underlying process. Although some propose that hered-
ity is a foundation of excellence, innate talent is of limited value unless it
is coupled with extensive preparation.
The relative importance of innate ability as compared with learned
skill has been extensively debated. Focus on talent detection and talent
selection within sports in the 1970s proved frustratingl y elusive (Durand-
Bush & Salmela, 2001). A swing in the opposite direction, toward pure
practice, has more recently dominated the field of expertise develop-
ment.
Bloom (1985) was one of the first to study exceptional performers in
a wide variety of domains. He concluded that talent development in-
volves three stages: the early years or Romance phase, during which the
child develops a love for the activity through play and exploration; the
middle or Precision phase, during which the child typically works with
coaches or teachers to achieve technical mastery; and the Integration
phase, in which the person works with "master" coaches or teachers to
blend technical excellence into exceptional performance.
For centuries, practice has been recognized as essential for develop-
ing excellence. Scientific verification of this precept has only occurred
within the past ten years. K. Anders Ericsson (1996b; Ericsson, Krampe,
& Tesch-Romer, 1993) has been a leading researcher and proponent of
this perspective. He presented a compelling argument that years of "de-
liberate practice," rather than any innate ability, are critical in leading to
91
9 2 K E Y F A C T O R S I N P E R F O R M A N C E
excel l ence i n per f or mance. Del i berate practi ce d i f f e r s f rom f un and pl ay
i n that i t i s not i n her en t l y mot i v at i n g or enj oyabl e. I t d i f f e r s f r om work
i n that i t al l ows "f or repeated experiences i n which the i n d i v i d u a l can
attend to the c r i t i c al aspects of the s i t u a t i o n and i n c r emen t al l y i mprove
her or his per f or mance in response to knowl edge of resul ts, f eedback, or
both f rom a teacher" ( Eri csson et al . , 1993, p. 368). From his extensi ve
i n v es t i g at i on s of exc ept i onal p er f or mer s , i n d omai n s as di verse as t yp-
i sts who pr oduc e more t ha n 14 7 words per mi n ut e , G r an d Master chess
pl ayers, v i ol i n i s t s , p hy s i c i an s , and ba l l e t dancers, Eri csson ( 1 9 9 6 a) con-
c l uded t hat " el i te p er f or man c e i s a t t a i n e d g r a d u a l l y and ar oun d t en
years of i nt ensi ve p r ep ar at i on ar e necessary to a t t a i n i n t e r n a t i on a l - l e v e l
p er f or man c e" ( p. 1 2 ) . These ten years, or 10,000 hour s, are appl i ed to a
" wel l - def i ned t ask wi t h an ap p r op r i at e d i f f i c u l t y l evel f or t he p ar t i c ul ar
i n d i v i d u a l , i n f o r ma t i v e f eed bac k , an d op p or t un i t i es f or r ep et i t i on an d
correcti ons of errors" ( Er i c s s on , 1996a, pp. 20- 21) . The f eedbac k and
expl i c i t i n s t r uc t i on s of q u a l i f i e d t eac her s ar e essent i al , because they l ead
to "more and bet t er or gani zed knowl edge" ( Er i c sson et al . , 1993, p.
397) .
Ericsson of f ered one concession to the popul ar bel i ef i n the i mpor-
tance of i n n at e abi l i t i es. He acknowl edged t hat geneti cs may be a f ac t or
i n a person' s a b i l i t y to engage i n the har d work ( del i ber ate pr acti ce) t hat
is req uired to achieve excel l ence.
We take a somewhat more i n t er ac t i on i s t perspective, recogni zi ng the
mul t i p l e, compl ement ar y, an d i n t e r we a v i n g f un c t i on s of ( mi n i ma l l y )
heredi ty, systemic supports, and practi ce t ha t al l ow f or the f u l l devel op-
ment of i n d i v i d ua l s ' c apabi l i t i es ( e. g. , C s i k s z e n t mi ha l y i , R a t hu n d e , &
Whal en , 1993; Du r a n d - B u s h & Sal mel a, 2001; Kogan, 2002; Wi nner ,
1996). C s i k s z en t mi hal y i and col l eagues, f or exampl e, suggested t hat tal -
ent consists essent i al l y of
i n d i v i d u a l t r ai t s , whi ch ar e p ar t l y i n her i t ed and p ar t l y
devel oped as a person grows up; c u l t u r a l domai ns, whi c h r ef er
to systems of r ul es t ha t d ef i n e c er t ai n ranges of per f or mance as
me a n i n g f ul and val uabl e; and social f i el ds, made up of people
and i n s t i t ut i on s whose t ask is to decide whet her a certai n
per f or manc e is to be considered v a l ua bl e or not. ( 1993, p. 23)
O ur p ar t i c i p an t s noted f o u r essent i al el ements i n pr epar i ng l or peak
perf ormance: knowl edge, acti ve i n t e n t i on a l l ear n i n g , practice, and the
pur pos ef ul devel opment of men t al s k i l l s . Al l f our el ement s ar e consis-
t ent wi t h Ericsson' s f i n d i n g s . I n t hi s c hapt er we discuss the f i r s t three
el ements. The f ol l owi n g c hapt er is devoted to discussion of the devel op-
ment of ment al ski l l s.
Getting It Right: Preparation 93
Knowledge
As noted above, Ericsson and col l eagues ( 1993) postulated that expert
perf ormers are di sti ngui shed by more and better organized knowledge.
It is parti cul arl y critical that a perf ormer know the most effective strate-
gies and methods for perf ormi ng a given task. Prochaska and DiC l emente
(1983) suggested that in al tering habits, one needs knowledge of both
what needs to change and the process of how to approach change. In
Stephen C ovey' s ( 198 9) best sel l i ng book, The Seven Habits of Highly E ffec -
tive People, knowl edge of what to do and why to do it is also recognized as
essential to devel oping excel l ence. Jackson and C si kszentmi hal yi (1999)
emphasized clear knowl edge of one' s goals as a necessary component of
achieving flow.
Our interviews, as well as our own professional experience, attest
t hat knowledge is a f oundat i on of preparation. Essentially, one needs to
know what the "givens" are before embarki ng on l earning or practicing
for a specific perf ormance. All groups recognized the val ue of this aware-
ness; musi ci ans spoke in especial l y great detai l on its importance. We
considered three broad categories of knowledge: knowl edge of the prod-
uct, the audience, and onesel f.
The f i r st category, knowl edge of the product, refers to what one is
attempti ng to produce thr ough perf ormance. It incl udes cl arity about
the overal l goal as well as comprehensi on of the technical skills, tech-
ni q ues, and i n f or mat i on necessary to achieve that goal. For a surgeon or
hi gh- ri sk perf ormer, f oun d at i on al knowl edge entail s al l the inf ormation
associated with assessing a given si t uat i on as well as the technical skil l s
to deal with it. In the worl d of busi ness, knowl edge of the l iteral "prod-
uct" has al ways been considered essential to ef f ecti ve sales and market-
ing. For Barry, the adver t i si ng executi ve, there is no doubt regarding the
i mportance of such i nf or mat i on: "From a business standpoint, you have
to have more knowl edge than anybody. You have to have a memory for
t hat and the abi l i ty to use i t. "
Our conductors were el oq uent in conveying the complexities of know-
ing a piece of musi c. Much of a conductor' s preparation involves steep-
ing himself or herself in the music well ahead of any actual rehearsal.
Harol d described his i n i t i al process:
For a conductor, everythi ng is in the head. The conducting end
of thi ngs is all about anal ysi s. Bef or e I program a new piece of
music, I wil l have studi ed the piece for a year and lived with it
and f ound out whether I have somethi ng to say or not. One
anal yzes the score, reads about the history of the piece, reviews
the di f f erent movements, key structure, and orchestration. I
live with it and then when I' m vi r t ual l y ready to go on stage,
that' s the point at which I put it i nto maybe what we' re going
to do the next year.
Michael started a bit d i f f er en t l y :
The first thing I usual l y doespecially if it' s a piece that' s new
to meis to get lots of recordings and listen to them al l . I' m
interested in what the great conductors of the past and present
have done and are doing with these works. Then I begin my
own study process of the works. Once that' s done in a general
sense, I get involved with maki ng the notes themsel ves more
personal. In other words, then I start digesting them
thoroughly, by repetition and by si ngi ng and by pl aying the
piano. Or sitting on the dock at the l ake in the sun, l ooki ng at
the score.
Once I' ve decided basic issues about things l i ke the speed,
the tempo, and what' s si gni f i cant about the music itself in
terms of the details of it and what' s expressing moods and
concepts and ideas, then if it' s a new piece I ' l l do some physi cal
work with it, getting my arms moving and communi cati ng
things with my hands. With works I' ve done many ti mes before
I don' t do very much of that. Beyond that, I' ll give some
thought to the seq uence of rehearsal s. Depending on the
rehearsal process and the f l ow of events at rehearsal , I ' l l give
some thought to how much t i me I have to rehearse each work
I' m conducting.
Both radio show hosts spoke of the immense amount of background
reading that they do. Ian emphasized the importance of suf f i c i ent prepa-
ration for each show. Thorough preparation al l owed him to rel ax and be
free-wheel ing:
A lot of people don' t need specific preparati on. Larry Ki ng does
not do any homework at al l . He does not even want to know
much more than the guest' s titl e. But I have to feel
comfortabl e. I have to feel l ike I have a f oundat i on to stand on.
I do a lot of homework. I do a lot of readi ng. I want to know
everything I can about the subj ect. Partly it is my own
insecurity. It's like wal king a tight wire. I don' t par t i cul ar l y
want a saf ety net whil e I am out there; but I want to know that
I don' t need the safety net because I' m going to be okay. I want
to be clear that I am going to be abl e to p ul l it off no matter
what happens. That is part of the chal l enge.
Getting It Right: Preparation
, . . , , , . , Most performances involve a process
Y ou can't just simply throw something of u u u u j
*
r
' * in which the actions are either perceived
great co mplexity to a pu bHc that is
or received by one or more
individuals.
u nprepared to receive it That's no t we have labeled these individuals the
good, The au dience feels stu pid, they audienc e. As peak performance in music,
feel like they didn't get the message, theatre, and dance is often intertwined
they get angry about it, the ticket sales
with
audience interaction (discussed
. . . , , , , , more ful l y i n chap. 11, this volume), un-
drop, the whole organization suffers fo r , , , , . /
r
derstandmg the characteristics and pref-
it. The way to do it is to prepare your
erence$of a giyen audience becomes an
au dience f o r it, and gradu ally educate important aspect in the choice of what is
them and bring them alo ng to increasing to be presented.
levels o f appreciatio n and u nderstanding Knowing one's audience is essential
o f the po ssibilities inherent in
to
effective business presentations. For
contemporary music
decades
'
the a
PP
lied knowled
g
e
B
ained
from social psychologists' study of the
Michael (conductor) science of persuasion has guided the ac-
tions of persons in sales and business
( Aronson, 1994; Aronson, Wilson &
Alpert, 1994; Mandel, 1993).
In the world of business, market research is a critical component of
any company' s success. Vast amounts of money are devoted to under-
standing consumer demographics. For radio host Grace, attending to the
psychological characteristics of her audience takes on greater importance
than the more obvious demographics of income and education: "You' ve
got to figure out who your target audience is and how to talk to that
person. Psychographics versus demographics. What does the 18-24-year-
old woman who eats, drives, lives herewhat does she care about?"
For a trial attorney, successful performance often hinges on knowl-
edge of the audience. Trial litigation is one of the few performance do-
mains in which a person has input regarding "audience" participants.
During the j ury selection process, attorneys have the right to interview
prospective j urors and "strike" or dismiss individuals from the pool of
applicants. Many attorneys believe that this selection process is the most
important part of any trial (Stapp, 1996), and this has in turn given rise
to an entire field of consultants who specialize in the j ury selection pro-
cess. How vital is it to know and even choose the audience? A recent
study indicated that when a j ur y consultant was used, a death sentence
was recommended in only 33.3% of cases; without a consultant, the
death sentence r ecommendat i on occurred in 61. 1% of the cases
(Horowitz, 1980).
In our paradigm, knowledge of oneself dif f ers from a coherent sense
of self. As we described in the last chapter, a coherent sense of self refers
to a gestalt about oneself, a general sense of identity. Knowledge of one-
95
sel f, on the other hand, per t ai ns to per-
Find your uniq ue ability, what it is that , .
x
. , , ,
f ormance- speci hc data, such as knowi ng
you do best, and delegate everything
the emotions
associated wi th an i deal
else. Find competent people to delegate per f or manc e state and the specifics of
to, and then do what you do best. how an i n d i v i d ua l best achi eves t hat
state. I t also i nvol ves knowing expl i c i t l y
-Charles (insurance broker)
one
,
s sl rengths and
weaknesses, whi ch
i s c r i t i c al i n devi si ng ef f ec t i v e per f or -
mance strategi es.
George, a Special Forces medic, poi nted out the i mportance of hav-
ing both techni cal knowl edge and knowl edge of onesel f. In an emer-
gency medical si t uat i on, a medi c needs di agnosti c and treatment ski l l s.
Eq ual l y i mportant, he needs to know how he is l i kel y to react in such a
si t uat i on, so t hat he wi l l be abl e to per f or m his task opti mal l y. He is aware
of the importance of r eg ul at i n g his l evel of arousal and the di recti on of
hi s attenti on ( N i def f er , 1976) :
You need to be abl e to look at signs and symptoms [in the
pat i ent ] and recognize what you have and t hen go ahead and
t r eat i t. I f you can' t recognize [ the si gns] , then you' re not
t r eat i ng the person properl y. For mysel f , I know it is very
i mpor t ant for me to be abl e to keep my heart rate down so I
can t hi n k clearly. I al so need to have an awareness of the
si tuati on ar oun d me. If I' m bei ng shot at or thi ngs are
happeni ng ar oun d me, I can' t j us t stay f ocused on t hi s pat i ent
or else I become a casual ty.
As a musi c i an, Fai t h poi nts to the i mpor tance of knowi ng one' s own
capabi l i ti es and pref erences, " mak i n g sure, vocally, t hat you' ve chosen
musi c that' s ap p r op r i at e f or y our s k i l l s , y our range. It' s very har d to si ng
t hi ngs you don' t l i k e. It' s j us t hard to l earn it, to get beyond."
Knowi ng how to go about pr epar i ngknowi ng how to rehearse and
al l the f acets t hat are i nvol vedcan be considered a general s k i l l t hat is
l earned by the perf ormer over time. N or man ( mus i c i an ) commented:
The strength of your t ec hni q ue rests on the f act that you know
how to prepare. And I f eel t hat about mysel f . I feel l i ke 1 know
how to prepare, I know how to get ready to go on stage, and I
k n ow how to sit in my chair, regardl ess of other f actors in the
moment .
N orman' s perception of himsel f supported Ericsson' s research: He had
a worl d- cl ass r eput at i on, which he at t r i but ed to practice r at her t han n at u-
ral tal ent:
I don' t feel mysel f to be an overl y t al ent ed pl ayer. If I have
success, it' s due to my practice habi ts. I spend a certai n amoun t
of time doing rudi mentary exercises every day. Some people
say "rudi ments are the key" and some people say, "I never
practice rudi ments. I don' t even care about q uar t er notes. I
don' t care about scales and circle of f i f t hs and seventh chords."
And I say "Well, that' s all I care about. "
At the same time, N orman suggested that there is a specific rel ation-
ship between each piece of musi c and each arti st. This in t ur n af f ec t s
how one practices a par t i c ul ar piece of music:
Pl aying every piece of music is specific, so you have to see
[practice behaviors] as specific behavior to each i n d i v i d ual
person and each i n d i v i d ual piece. One thi ng that I f eel is of
extreme importance among per f or mi ng musi ci ans is this: What
is the materi al , and how does the perf ormer rel ate to the
material ? Is it new, is it old, is it par t i al l y improvised, is it not
improvised? What is the exact n at ur e of the task: Is it a solo
piece, is it an ensemble, is it a concerto wi th orchestra? These
are often the determi ni ng f actors as to why thi ngs go a certai n
way.
97
Ac tive Intentional Learning
Ericsson argued t hat del iberate practicethe process by which a person
engages in a hi ghl y structured acti vi ty with the expl i ci t goal of i mprovi ng
performanceis the very f oundat i on of perf ormance excel l ence. As we
have indicated, thi s process invol ves del i berate, i n t en t i on al practice, with
gradual i mprovement "in response to knowl edge of r esul t s, f eedback or
both" (Ericsson et al ., f 993, p. 9).
A number of perf ormers f rom var i ous domai ns described techni cal
preparation as i mportant both in and of i t sel f and as a key el ement in
bol s t e r i n g s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e . C ha r l o t t e used o v e r l e a r n i n g a n d
overpreparation to cope wi th low sel f - conf i dence. She also del i beratel y
tired herself out through extensive practice. "If I danced all day, I woul d
be too tired and too nervous to destroy my own perf ormance. "
Technical preparati on for actors invol ves l ear ni ng and memori zi ng a
script. Ian commented, "You have to know y our l i nes and where you are
supposed to be." Brenda observed that "some people are sort of casual
about rehearsal , counting on some great spark of somethi ng or other to
hit them when they get out there. That' s a very dangerous way to pro-
ceed." As a veteran actor, Brenda remarked, "I don' t even bel ieve in act-
ing. I believe in being, you become the character, t hat ' s al l . " Being, how-
ever, takes work: "You rehearse un t i l you know what you' re doi ng. "
In dance, Jerry described the thorough preparation that was essen-
tial for his peak perf ormance. The more that he knew about his body in
dance, the more he could pl an the perf ormance:
C ertai nl y, the more you repeat something correctly, the more
l i kel y it is to be correct the next time. I' ve seen people who
never, never had a 100% correct r un- t hr ough in the studi o and
yet they woul d wal k on stage l ike, "Okay, curtai n' s up, time to
do it, let' s go." I personally would be more nervous if I hadn' t
gone f rom the begi nni ng to the end wi thout missing a l i f t. N ot
that it was ever 100% correct, but I woul d want to have done
that before I went on stage.
This knowl edge about hi msel f and the parti cul ar dance was impor-
tant not j ust in terms of sel f - ef f i cacy, but also for appropriate pl anni ng:
I wanted to know how ti red I was going to be. I wanted to
know where I was going to have troubl e f ocusi ng. I wanted to
know what it was going to feel l ike. The d i f f i c ul t thi ng for me
about prepari ng for bal l et was al ways that the tool I used, the
body, f el t so d i f f e r e n t f rom mi n ut e to mi nut e. And physi cal l y
f i n d i n g a way to prepare the body to be readythat was al ways
the t r i c ky bi t.
N orman ( mus i c i an ) emphasized the i mportance of practi ci ng in such
a way that the musi c becomes one' s own. Varyi ng what one does, in
terms of speed and i mprovi sati on, brings the musi c into onesel f:
It real l y comes down to the speed of your refl exes to hear and
respond. I try to c ul t i vat e t hat by practi ci ng slow and practicing
f ast . You pl ay l oud, you pl ay soft, you pl ay fast, you play slow.
I sprinkl e a lot of my practice ti me with improvisation. The
di f f erence between pl ayi ng cl assical music and i mprovi si ng is
whether you' re p l ay i n g notes that are your own. With classical
music, you make the notes your own thr ough practice.
This same k i n d of pattern var i at i on is described by Michael ( conduc-
t or ) :
I don' t l i ke to become too r out i n e in the rehearsal process. For
exampl e, if I have f our rehearsal s and they' re al l two and a hal f
hour s l ong wi th a break in the mi ddl e, I don' t necessaril y go to
the wire. If I' m happy wi th what I' ve accompl ished for the day
and it' s 20 mi nut es bef ore a rehearsal is supposed to end, I j ust
end it. I also mix it up: I may have a day where I' m j ust real l y
f ussy and I' m stopping the rehearsal a lot. I' m saying "Do this,
do that, do this, do that, I want it thi s way, I want it that way,
shorter longer l ouder softer, more trombone." What I' ll do,
though, is the next time or the next moment or maybe af t er
the break, I' ll let ' em run, j us t let ' em r un. I ' l l open the corral
and let the horses r un. Take a piece, let them go wi thout
stopping. I do it for several reasons. One is because being
stopped a lot is a tedi ous thi ng. You' ve got to do it sometimes,
but I try to bal ance that off by giving t hem a chance j us t to be
expressive for a whil e and not be stopped. But I also do it for
variety at rehearsals, so that every day doesn' t seem to be the
same for the players.
Diane compared and contrasted the physical sensations of pl aying
the violin with pl ayi ng gol f.
[If you make an error] a lot of the ti me you know i mmedi atel y
what went wrong. It's weird. You know exactly, for instance,
that your hand di dn' t feel q ui t e ri ght. It' s l i ke with a golf swing:
When you step up to the bal l , you can sense whether your
stance is right. If you don' t feel perfect, you don' t swing. You
should put your club down, step back, and wal k back up to it,
because you know you' re not going to do it ri ght. It' s hard,
though, to get yoursel f to step away f rom the bal l . When
you' re perf orming, you don' t have a whol e lot of opportuni ty
to re-set up, so you know you' ve got to be practiced enough to
remember what it f eel s l i ke in the f i r st place.
Suf f i ci ent rehearsal has a constant and i nteracti ve rel ati onshi p wi t h
the prevention or management of per f or manc e anxi et y. Even Fai th
( singer) who describes herself as not experi enci ng stage f r i g ht , says: "The
only time I have been nervous is if I feel a piece is under- rehearsed. "
Thorough preparation al l ows the perf ormance to become suf f i c i ent l y
part of oneself such that the response becomes aut omat i c , regardless of
what happens. One does not have t i me to t hi n k ; one simpl y does that
which they have trained thei r body and mi nd to do. This type of over-
learning is also stressed by coaches who work with athl etes ( G oul d et al.,
1993; Hardy, 1990; Har dy et al . , 1996). For those perf ormi ng in hi gh- r i sk
situations, overl earning is especially critical in t hat it prevents "perfor-
mance from being di srupted by anxi et y and pressure" and can keep one' s
"timing sharp even when you are i n j ur ed " ( N i def f er , 1985, p. 83). For
the perf orming arti st, the overl earni ng al l ows musi c or dance to become
suf f i ci entl y part of oneself to make possible the emoti onal c ommuni c a-
tion that is essential to art.
Thorough preparation becomes a key el ement for crisis management
as well. Harold commented: "You c annot prepare enough. There is no
such thing as over- preparati on. Every per f or mi ng arti st who real l y knows
99
100 K E Y F A C T O R S I N P E R F O R M A N C E
what t hey arc doi ng over- prepares. I f
somet hi ng [ negati ve] happens, your sub-
consci ous j us t wi l l take over."
In ad d i t i on to active l ear ni ng focused
on t e c hn i c a l pr epar at i on, some of our
p ar t i c i p an t s al so commented on the i m-
portance of t i me between l ear n i n g and
per f or manc e. C r eat i n g a break between
practi ce and per f or manc e al l ows a c r i t i -
cal , but of t en overl ooked, aspect of the
l e a r n i n g process, f or two separate rea-
sons: ( a) p er f or mer s r eq ui r e an oppor-
t u n i t y f or recovery and rest, and ( b) t he
i n t er v al is a k i n d of " i n c ubat i on " peri od.
The i n t e n s i t y of c on c en t r at i on f or
pr ac t i c e i s such t ha t i t c an n ot be sus-
t ai ned f or l ong periods of t i me ( Eri csson
et al . , 1993) . Seashore ( 1 9 6 7 ) , a pioneer
i n musi c psychology, concl uded t hat "the
c ommand to rest is f u l l y as i mp or t an t as
to work in ef f ec t i ve l ear ni ng" ( pp. 154-
1 5 5 ) . M e n t a l and physi cal recovery ar e
v i t a l .
When per f or mer s q uest per f ec t i on,
the ri sk of ov er t r ai n i n g increases. I f prac-
ti ce i mpr oves per f or manc e, more prac-
tice, one woul d t hi n k , i mproves per f or -
ma n c e ev en mor e . Howe v e r ,
p er f or man c e decrementspsychosoci al
as wel l as physi cal begi n to occur wi t h
too muc h t r a i n i n g ( Ra g l i n , 1993) . I n a
recent s t ud y that compared at hl et es who
exceeded expec t at i ons wi th those who
di d not per f or m up to expectati ons i n the
A t l a n t a a n d N ag an o O l y mp i c Games,
overtrai ni ng was i dent i f i ed as a key f ac-
tor associated wi t h negati ve perf ormance
( G r e e n l e a f , G oul d, & Di ef f en bac h, 2001) .
Some r emedi es t o o v e r t r a i n i n g i n spor t s have been i d e n t i f i e d , i n-
c l u d i n g t a k i n g br eaks, c r os s - t r a i n i n g i n an ot her sport, an d a l l owi n g t i me
l or per sonal and soci al r e l a t i on s hi p s ( G r een l eaf et al . , 2001; Mc C an n ,
1995 ) . The best a n t i d ot e s ar e those t ha t i n v ol v e p r ev en t i on . J us t as i n
sports p er f or man c e, " t a p e r i n g " ot a c t i v i t i e s may be r ec ommended p r i or
There are the kinds of moments where
something horrendous happens, and
your instinct has to take over. I know my
way around the podium. I know where
the edge is. Once, in the midst of
conducting "Messiah," when I stepped,
the platform wasn't there. I lurched
forward, trying to save myself. I pushed
into the music stand that my score sits
on. The stand went crashing towards the
harpsichord. I retained my balance. An
orchestra member got the music stand.
My score hit the floor. It got handed
back to meupside down. I didn't know
until the end of the movement, because I
just switched into conducting from
memory. And I didn't lose a beat.
It's a critical moment. Your mind
totally shuts, you go into shock, and that
triggers you to go into a different level
of reacting. The conscious is cut off and
you go into subconscious. Suddenly,
survival is the important thing. Not
interrupting the performance was the
first thing on my mind. I was also really
concerned about the music stand doing
damage to the instruments. There were
violins and violas and cellos right there
whose value was higher than my house.
Harold (conductor)
to a maj or event. In music and dance, performers may "mark" their
performance, thus decreasing the physical stress on their bodies. A singer
minimizes vocal strain by singing more q uietl y; a dancer may learn some
dance patterns by moving her hands to represent the physical place-
ment and movements of her legs or reserve energy by not dancing " f ul l -
out."
For some performers, rest involves a physical respite to allow muscle
recovery. For others, rest allows for a period of "incubation," a time dur-
ing which performance memory sinks in more deeply and becomes more
thoroughl y absorbed.
A violinist, Diane, described this important f uncti on:
Preparation is mental as much as physical, and so if you sort of
have the piece rolling around in your head, I find that that
really helps. I' ve actual l y thought of solutions for technical
problems j ust from doing that. I' ve heard other performers say
that there' s always some music in their head, no matter what.
There' s always something there. We always say that it's good to
live with a piece. That means if you' re going to perform it
Wednesday it' s not a good idea to f i rst see it only on Monday.
As a banker, David also val ued the opportunity to let ideas percolate.
Thinking issues through out loud with others was another means to more
complete and effective pl anning and decision making:
I like to have some time so that I can work on something and
put it aside, be it a presentation or a memo. I might think about
it when I' m [doing household proj ects] and have a great idea
or I might notbut then I l ike to come back to it and see what
I think of it, as opposed to j ust whipping something out and
then going and doing it. I try to allow time to make a f i rst cut at
something and then put it aside. And then, I love to talk to
people about things, to bounce ideas off of people. I love to get
input. We' ve got a philosophy around here that we don' t have
a corner on brains and that we love other people' s opinions
and we love to think through our own ideas out l oud. A lot of
staff come in who want to tell me about a deal . They will tell
me about it and j ust by tal ki ng about it, and before I can even
give them my thoughts, they' ve reached some conclusions. I
think that it' s hel pf ul to have the time and opportuni ty to do
that on things. That' s actual l y the way we reach investment
decisionsa lot of conversations over a period of weeks. Small
groups, or one on one, j ust tal king about issues and about deals
and reaching conclusions.
101
1 0 2 K E Y F A C T O R S I N P E R F O R M A N C E
Prac tic e the Delivery
Knowing oneself, one' s audi ence, and the product one is del ivering is
critical , as is technical preparation. In addition, the process needs to be
rehearsed in conditions that replicate the actual performance context as
closely as possible. One needs to attend to both the broad sweep and the
details of a perf ormance or an event. A classic example of practicing the
del ivery was relayed by Dr. Martin (consul tant, music):
This is the best exampl e I know of, of f ul l pre-performance
preparation: I tzak Perl man was preparing for a C arnegie Hall
recital, and he was nervous about how he was going to get on
and off stage, because of needing to use crutches. The recital
date was May 1. In his mind, he set his recital date for March
15. He told his f amil y "It's not j ust a little thing like I' m going to
run through the recital in the l iving room. I' m going to prepare
for it and present the recital, in the l iving room and alone." He
needed to have an i magi nary audiencethe audience was
going to be his C arnegi e Hall audience.
He started worki ng toward this goal, and the closer he got
to it, the more he had to consider things like his weight and
eati ng and sleep and getting to bed earl ier at night. He cut
down his social l i f e. He did all this in this way coming right into
this mock perf ormance event. A couple of days before it, he
t ur n s his wi f e and son out of the house, because he wants to be
absol utel y al one.
The day of the "recital , " he puts on the new tux, the whole
thing. The recital is at 8 p.m., let' s say, and so he needs to factor
in when he has to be at C arnegie. He gets dressed and goes
downstairs in the elevator, out on the street on C entral Park
West. He t ur ns around and he wal ks back into his apartment
bui l di ng. He goes upstai rs in the elevator, and now in his mind
this is C arnegi e Hal l . The l iving room was the performance
place, and the den was the green room. He goes into the green
room and starts to warm up. He imagines the stage manager
sayi ng: ten mi nutes, f i ve mi nutes. He even imagined the stage
manager saying: "We' re going to wait a couple of minutes," as
they of ten do, especially in N ew York. So you' re primed for
8:00 p.m. and there you are and they hold you.
Then he goes out and he starts the recital. He comes out
and he bows, in the l i vi ng room, he plays the first piece, he
leaves the stage. C omes back for the second piecethree big
piecesintermission. He sti l l does not eval uate, he j ust does
what he's going to do. He drinks some water, sits back,
whatever. He goes out and plays the second half of the
program, he bows, does a couple of encores, and leaves. And
then he takes off his tie. It's over. He's done his C arnegie Hall
recital. He sits there and he reviews the whole recital: What
could have been better, what did he need, and so on. N ow he
has a chance to appraise directly.
Sport psychology consultants know the importance of preparing for
the first few minutes of competition, as this time often sets the tone for
one's entire performance. Attorney Anna became systematic in rehears-
ing for these crucial moments. "I would make a list of every conceivable
q uestion the court might ask, and thi nk about what my answer would
be. I would then practice my oral argumentexcessively probablyover
and over. For me typically it' s getting through the first three minutes,
two minutes even. If I am off to a good start, then I' m fine."
Advertising executive Barry, provided an exampl e of overlearning
during in vivo rehearsal in business settings: "I have been most successful
when I have taken the time to use the knowledge I have and the prepa-
ration and j ust practice until it becomes kind of second nature. " He uses
the natural opportunities for "audience" and feedback that occur while
developing a project: "There is working with the team to develop the
actual work for the pitch. There is overseeing the team as they go through
their rehearsals and offering feedback to them and having the guts to
rehearse in front of them and making sure you get their feedback."
Eq ually important, Barry learned to generalize, understanding the
ways in which many aspects of his l i f e could be designated "performance"
and therefore became opportunities for practice:
There is some solo preparation and practice and then there is
some group-oriented stuf f , but alsoI must be getting old or
somethingthere are so many opportunities to practice during
the course of the day. Every interaction is like a little bit of a
sales pitch. It's not that I am constantly trying to sell, but every
interaction is a learning opportunity. When you are having a
meeting with three people in your office, you have to be
knowledgeable and you have to be prepared. You have to come
off very polished and very professional so that they will believe
you and so that they will follow you.
In medicine, the importance of practice is reflected in the growing
body of research documenting the increased success rates of surgeons
who routinely perform specific procedures over those who only occa-
sionally perform the same surgery. One study estimated that "up to 13
103
out of every 100 surgi cal deaths coul d have been prevented in the hands
of hi gh- vol ume surgeons" ( Mi s hr a, 2003, p. A l ) .
We end t hi s chapter wi th the classic perf ormance story: A man was
wal ki ng down the street in N ew York when a stranger stopped him and
asked, "How do I get to C arnegi e Hal l ?"
His repl y: "Practice, practice, practice."
Rec ommendations
to Consultants
Perf ormance c onsul t ant s must under st and the central rol e t hat
practice pl ays i n devel opi ng and mai n t ai n i n g competence and con-
f i dence.
Perf ormers need to have d i f f e r e n t types of knowl edgeknowl -
edge of t hei r pr oduct , audi ence, and selves. These types of i nf or -
mat i on and under st andi ng of ten i nter act with each other.
Knowl edge of what to do is d i f f e r e n t f rom practicing what needs
to be done. Both are vi t al .
Whenever possible, per f or mer s are encouraged to make practice
condi ti ons repl i cate those of act ual perf ormance. This process fa-
ci l i t at es comf or t with and competence i n perf ormi ng un d er those
same condi ti ons.
O ver l ear ni ng i nvol ves knowi ng the material t hor oughl ydi f f er -
ent per f or mance areas r eq ui r e di f f er ent types of overl earni ng. It is
i mp or t an t to d i f f er en t i at e overl earni ng from overtrai ni ng or over-
use. The l at t er i nvol ves worki ng on the materi al to such an extent
t hat physiol ogical and psychol ogical decrements occur.
Overl earni ng is critical in order not onl y to thoroughl y know one' s
product but also (a) to be able to shi f t into an automati c mode at
times of hi gh stress, such as when one encounters unexpected cir-
cumstances in perf ormance and (b) to develop and incorporate
the level of emotion and emoti onal expression appropri ate to that
perf ormance.
Attenti on to the need for rest is i mportant for (a) i n c ubat i on of
mat er i al , ( b) recovery f rom the i ntensi ty of t r ai ni ng, and ( c) pre-
vent i on of overtrai ni ng or overuse.
Keeping Y o u r Head:
Mental S k ills
I i I were able t o do i t t he way I wo u l d l i k e t o, I wo u l d be loek ed i n my
d res s i n g room an d I wo u l d be j u s t rel a x i n g , s i t t i n g d o wn , eyes closed, as i f
I were g et t i n g read y t o go i n t o m ed i t a t i o n .
Haro l d ( c o n d u c t o r)
port ps y c h o l o gi s t s wo rk i n g wi t h at h l et es h av e d evel o ped a n u mber o f
c l as s i f i c at i o n s ys t ems t o d es c ri be t h e m en t a l s k i l l s necessary f o r peak per-
f o rman c e. F o r ex amp l e, N i d ef f er ( 1 9 8 5 ) rec o mmen d ed t h at at h l et es d e-
velop ex p ert i s e i n c o n c en t rat i o n , m en t a l reh ears al ( i m a g ery ) , rel ax at i o n
( t en s i o n c o n t ro l ) , t h e man ag emen t o f d i s t rac t i n g an d n eg at i v e t h o u g h t s ,
an d t h e reg u l at i o n o f at t en t i o n an d f o c u s . Orl i c k ' s ( 1 9 8 6 ) model emp h a-
si zed goal s et t i n g , reg u l at i n g t en s i o n t h ro u g h rel ax at i o n , s el f - t al k , h av -
i n g clear p l an s f o r c o mp et i t i o n , p rec o mp et i t i o n p l an s f o r ac h i ev i n g t h e
i d eal st at e o f p rep arat i o n , ref o c u s i n g p l an s , an d ef f ec t i v e c o m m u n i c at i o n
wi t h coach an d t eammat es . W i l l i a m s an d Kran e ( f 9 9 7 ) c l u s t ered seven
k ey men t al s k i l l s t h at d i s t i n g u i s h s u c c es s f u l el i t e at hlet es : goal s et t i ng,
i magery, man ag i n g p h y s i c al ac t i v at i o n o r t en s i o n , t h o u g h t man ag emen t
t ec h n i q u es , wel l - d evel o ped p erf o rman c e p l an s , wel l - d ev el o p ed copi ng
s t rat egi es ( c o n t i n g en c y p l a n n i n g ) , an d p re- p erf o rman c e men t al read y -
i n g pl an s . These men t al s k i l l s need t o be i n t en t i o n a l l y l earn ed an d prac -
t i ced i n o rd er t o be ef f ec t i v e and av ai l abl e t o t he p erf o rmer.
Al t h o u g h t he m a j o ri t y of t he p erf o rmers t h at we i n t erv i ewed had no
f o rmal t rai n i n g i n men t al s k i l l s , t h ey c o n s i s t en t l y d emo n s t rat ed t h e i n -
t erweav i n g o f t hes e v ari o u s s k i l l s i n t h ei r p erf o rman c e p rep arat i o n . Us -
i n g t h e i n f o rmat i o n av ai l abl e f ro m t h e s port psychology l i t erat u re, we
clus t ered t h e responses i n t o t h e f o l l o wi n g ps y c h o l o gi c al s k i l l s t r a i n i n g
cat egori es: ( a) goal s et t i n g , ( b) ac t i v at i o n man ag emen t , ( c ) i magery, ( d )
t h o u g h t man ag emen t , ( e) at t en t i o n man ag emen t , ( f ) p re- p erf o rman c e
men t al p rep arat i o n p l an s , ( g ) wel l - d ev el o p ed p erf o rman c e f o c u s plans ,
105
an d ( h ) rei o c u s i n g o r c o n t i n g en c y p l an s . I n t h i s c h apt er we look at each
o f t h es e s k i l l s an d t h e way s i n wh i c h i t c o n t ri bu t es t o peak p erf o rman c e.
Goal Setting
On e may n o t t y p i c a l l y t h i n k o f goal s et t i n g as a men t al s k i l l ; however, i t
i s o f t en t h e f i r s t s t ep t o ward p erf o rm a n c e exc el l en c e. A goal i s es s en t i al l y
" wh at an i n d i v i d u a l i s t r y i n g t o ac c o mp l i s h ; i t i s t h e obj ect o r ai m o f an
ac t i o n " ( L o c k e, Sh aw, Sa a ri , & L a t h a m , 1 9 8 1 , p . 1 2 6 ) . Res earc h by i n -
d u s t r i a l - o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p s y c h o l o g i s t s h as d o c u men t ed t h at ef f ec t i v e an d
e f f i c i e n t goal s et t i n g h as a s i g n i f i c a n t i mp ac t o n mo t i v at i o n ( L oc k e &
L at h am, 1 9 9 0) . Goals are c ri t i c al t o p erf o rman c e i n t h at t hey di rect a
pers on' s a t t en t i o n , i n f l u en c e ef f o rt an d perseverance, an d serve as s t i mu l u s
f o r d ev el o p i n g n ew l ea r n i n g an d p erf o rman c e s t rat egi es . W h et h er o n e
ac c o mp l i s h es h i s o r h er g o al s h as a t remen d o u s i mp ac t o n s el f - c o n f i -
dence an d ef f i c a c y ( B a n d u r a , 1 9 7 7 ) .
Ap p l i ed s p o rt p s y c h o l o g i s t s ( B u r t o n , 1989; Hard y et al. , 1 9 9 6) h ave
d i s t i n g u i s h ed amo n g t h r ee t y p es o f goals: o ut c o me, p erf o rman c e, an d
process. An ourcome goal c o mpares one' s p erf o rman c e wi t h t h at of an-
o t h er p ers o n . Fo r ex amp l e, a r u n n er may wan t t o beat al l ot hers an d wi n
a race; an ac t o r may wa n t t o wi n an a u d i t i o n ; or a bus i nes s person may
wan t t o wi n a c o n t rac t . Ou t c o me goal s can h ave a great mo t i v at i o n al
ef f ec t on p erf o rmers ; however, f o c u s i n g s olely on out come goals can ac-
t u a l l y h i n d er p erf o rman c e. Res earch wi t h at h l et es h as i n d i c at ed t h at ex -
c l u s i v e l o c us o n o u t c o me g o al s i n c reas es a n x i et y d u ri n g p erf o rman c e
( B u r t o n , 1 9 8 9 ) . Rel y i n g s olely on o u t c o me as a ref l ec t i o n of a perf ormer' s
a b i l i t i es c an n eed l es s l y s h at t er one' s c o n f i d en c e. I n a c o mp et i t i v e s i t u a-
t i o n , i n d i v i d u a l s may c o mp l et e t h e best p erf o rman c e o f t h ei r careers ,
o n l y t o lose t o s omeone who h ap p en s t o p erf o rm even bet t er. N u mero u s
f ac t o rs i n t h i s case, t h e beh av i o r o f an o t h er pers onare en t i rel y t ot ally
bey o n d t h e p erf o rmer' s c o n t ro l . Th u s , even u n d er seemi ngly pos i t i ve ci r-
c u ms t an c es , s eri o u s d i s a p p o i n t m en t c an res u l t i f t h e p erf o rmer f ocus es
o n l y o n t h e o u t c o me.
Performance goals meas u re one' s p erf o rman c e by a c ert ai n s t an d ard ,
i n d ep en d en t of o t h er p erf o rmers . For ex amp l e, a r u n n er may wan t t o
c o mp l et e a race i n a s p ec i f i ed t i me; a d an c er may wan t t o s u c c es s f u l l y
ex ec u t e a c o mp l ex and d em an d i n g move; a bu s i n es s man may want t o
h av e a c er t a i n v o l u m e of sales d u r i n g a year; a mu s i c i an may want t o
mas t er a p a r t i c u l a r solo pi ece. These goals are t y p i c al l y more ef f i c i en t
t h a n o u t c o me goals , as goal ac h i ev emen t i s u n d er t he cont rol of t he per-
f o rmer. A maj o r p i t f a l l wi t h p erf o rman c e goals, however, i nvolves set -
Keeping Your Head: Mental Skills 107
,, , , ,, , . t i ng perf ect i on as the s t an d ard . When
I f they want to show off, t hen forget i t ,. , ,, . . .
U1 3
t hi s occurs, the perf ormer i s i nevi t ably
J f they're competitive, forget i t. All these doomed to f al l short of the goal. Perf orm-
are destructive. The one t hi ng you learn
e
rs' st ruggles i n regard to perf ect i on seek -
i n t he theatre . . . i f you don't work i ng are woven t h ro u g h o u t t h i s book ,
together, you've got nothi ng at all. n o t abl y i n regard to st ress and s t res s
management , as well as perf ormance i t -
B renda (actor)
s e
l f .
Process goals ref er to moment - t o- mo-
men t goals d u ri n g one' s perf o rman c e.
For example, t he ru n n er may at t en d t o l en g t h en i n g hi s or her st ri de; a
musi ci an may f o c us on art i c u l at i n g a s of t , but clear ent rance; a dancer
mi ght focus on a part i cular t u rn of the hand; and a surgeon may focus on
k eepi ng hi s shoulders relaxed. These goals are ext remely ef f i c i en t : I f pro-
cess goals are achi eved, one wi ll have done t he very best possi ble for a
gi ven s i t uat i on. Our i nt ervi ews cons i s t ent ly i n d i c at ed t hat f o c u s on t he
i mmedi at e process of t he moment ( i . e. , process goals) was cent ral t o per-
f ormance excellence.
Goal set t i ng i s ref lect ed i n t he way each perf ormer approaches act i ve
i nt ent i onal learni ng ( di scussed i n chap. 7 , t hi s vo l ume) . Acqui ri ng k nowl-
edge, mast eri ng t ec h n i que, and pract i ci ng t he deli very are all examples
of clear, ef f i ci ent goals t h at prepare one f or t he moment of perf ormance.
I n t he f ollowi ng sect i on we share examples of t he ways i n whi ch our
performers used the sk i ll of goal set t i ng i n t hei r quest for excellence.
Goal set t i ng was a cent ral concern and f ramewo rk f or Mi chael ( con-
duct or) , an i ssue t o whi ch he c o n t i n u al l y ret urn ed . Th ro ugh o ut t he i n-
tervi ew, i t was apparent t h at clari t y of purpose gui d ed hi s approach t o
musi c. Mi chael i n q u i red :
What i s your purpose for doi ng what are you doi ng? I f you
haven' t deci ded t he phi losophy, t he reason, t he mi ssi on when
you walk out on st age, of course y o u' re goi ng to be i n a very
unst able condi t i on, and t h at i tself i s cause t o be nervous.
People have all k i nds of reasons why t hey do what t hey do.
Some [reasons] are based on soci al concerns; some [people! are
more concerned for t hemselves. I f y o u r purpose i s to get a
stamp of approval f ro m somebody else, i f y o ur purpose i s to be
perf ect , i f y o u r purpos e i s to get a good revi ew or to be t h o ugh t
of as bei ng more g i f t ed t h an somebody else, i f t hat ' s what
you' re all abo ut , y o u' re goi ng t o be a mess y o u r whole l i f e.
You' re never goi ng t o h ave a moment ' s peace.
And i t wi ll all be s u f f eri n g f or you one way or t he ot her,
because I t h i n k you' re not really f u l f i l l i n g t he purpose of art
anyway. I t hi nk the mai n purpose of art i s to be dramat i c.
Th at ' s i t . To be d r a m a t i c an d t h en bey o n d t h at , t o s t i m u l at e
people' s t h o u g h t processes an d emo t i o n s an d g et t h ei r i d eas
g o i n g , t o mak e t h em f eel u l t i m a t el y mu c h more i n love wi t h
l i t e bec au s e o f h a v i n g c o n t ac t ed wh at ev er i t i s y o u ' v e i n t en d ed
f o r t h em .
I t h i n k t h a t , over t i m e, art h as been o n e o f t h e maj o r
c i v i l i z i n g i n f l u en c es t h at we h av e. I h av e a bel i ef t h at art
d o es n ' t ex i s t i n a v a c u u m . I t ex i s t s t o serve h u m a n i t y . I t ' s
f u n d a m e n t a l t o ex i s t en c e.
F o r man y , l i f e i n t h e art s d o es n ' t f o l l o w a s t r a i g h t - l i n e t raj ec t o ry t h a t
t h e t erm goal s et t i n g m i g h t i mp l y . " U n l i k e t h e bu s i n es s wo rl d , t h e a m o u n t
o f ef f o r t an d t i m e p u t i n t o mas t er y o u r c r a f t i n t h e art s does n o t p ay o f f
wi t h p red i c t a bl e success" ( D u n k el , 1 9 8 9 , p . 5 1 ) . A m o n g ac t ors i n par-
t i c u l ar, l o n g - t erm goal s et t i n g i s c h al l en g i n g , i f not i mpossi ble. Kei t h com-
m en t ed :
W e t en d t o get lost i n t he i n c remen t s of success i n t h i s
p ro f es s i o n . So m a n y people s k i p t h e q u eu ea n d i n wei rd
ways. A k i d can pack hi s s ui t cas e and go t o L . A. and be doi ng a
$ 2 0 m i l l i o n mo v i e i n s i x mo n t h s . Ot h er people work i n t h e
i n d u s t r y f o r 2 5 y ears an d t h en s u d d en l y t h ey ' re i n every o t h er
t el ev i s i o n s eri es . W e al l h av e s ort o f a l o t t ery f eel i n g abo u t i t ,
t h e L a n a - Tu r n er - i n - t h e- d r u g - s t o r e i mage. B u t i t ' s n o t l i k e t h a t
f or 9 9 .9 % of t i s .
At any one time, 85% of actors are
unemployed. Almost nobody really can
be told with any assurance that they are
going to work, but some people
obviously have fewer chances than
others. In the acting world, a very wise
thing that I heard said was that there are
three things that can make your career.
One is luck, one is talent, and one is
perseverance. If you have two out of
three, you have a good chance at
making it.
Dr. Owen Osborne
(consultant, theatre)
K ei t h c o n t ras t ed l o n g - an d s h o rt -
t erm p l a n n i n g :
I n a lot of ways, t here' s no s u c h
t h i n g as p l a n n i n g a career i n
ac t i n g , u n l es s y o u ' re i n d epen -
d en t l y weal t h y an d wi l l i n g t o s i t
on y o u r beh i n d f or a l o n g t i m e
and j u s t wai t f or what you' re
wa n t i n g t o come up. Very o f t en
y o u h av e t o t ak e wh at work
arri v es , s o you f i n d y o u rs el f i n a
c i rc u i t o u s ro ut e t h at was n' t
real l y p l an n ed . B u t y o u c an
look a s t ep ah ead rat h er t h a n 20
st eps ah ead and set a goal and
reach i t or revi s e i t .
As a d an c er, J erry d i f f er en t i a t ed be-
t ween t h e v a l u e o f s p ec i f i c ex t er n a l goal-
Keeping Your Head: Mental Skills
set t i ng relevant i n some f i el d s and t he appropri at enes s of personally
f ramed goals i n ot hers. He di st i ngui shed between at hlet e and arti st, ex-
t ernal and i n t ern al bu t descri bed process goals i n ei t her i nstance:
I f we' re t al k i n g about a ru n n er, i n some stages of the t rai ni ng i t
mi ght be u s ef u l to say "t oday all I care about i s shavi ng a t ent h
of a second off the t i me. " B ut for an art i s t , the only goals t hat I
would really be c omf ort abl e wi t h t ryi ng t o achi eve would be
t hi ngs li k e: "Today I ' m goi ng to li st en to my body, t hat ' s my
goal"; "Today I ' m not goi ng to f i g h t somebody else's
expect at i ons. " I t's i mport ant t hat you have t hat k i nd of
i n t ern al l y measured goal, t h at you get t o say whet her i t
happened or not. I t's up t o you t o k now what your ment al
state was when you di d a cert ai n act i on.
Havi ng t ak en a mot i vat i onal course, L arry t hought t hat goal clari f i -
cat i on would be u s ef u l for act ors. He underst ood the ways i n whi ch "i t
allowed me t o unders t and t hat i f you have obj ecti ves, you can work
t oward y o u r obj ect i ves and reali ze what t he out come i s, both negati ve
and posi ti ve."
N ot surpri si ngly, busi nesspeople are very comf ort able wi th goal set-
t i ng. Charles ( i ns uranc e brok er) descri bed t he i mportance of di f f erent i -
at i ng between two pri mary mot i vat ors or goals i n busi ness: "Ei ther you
want to mak e more money or you want more t i me o f f . " He was also well
versed i n break i ng goals down i nt o small, achi evable steps and bei ng
account able to someone for those goals. As an example, he descri bed a
long-t erm i n s uran c e case t hat requi red cont i nual adj us t ment of goals:
I j u s t k ept f o c u s i n g on t h at case: W hat do I need to do to move
i t f orward? W hat ' s t he next st ep? Where are we roadblock ed?
How can we get aro un d the roadblock ? What are the
i mpedi ment s ? How can I get aro u n d t hem? What do I see as
t he next i mpedi ment , and how can I get around t hat one?
For D avi d ( ban k er) :
I hat e the phrase "wi n-wi n" but I don' t have a bet t er one. I
t h i n k you are t ry i n g t o create "wi n-wi n" si t uat i ons. B usi ness i s
not a contest to see i f you can beat down the ot her guy. I t's
pref erable t h at you don' t j u s t crush somebody. Maybe i t's j u s t
t he heart of negot i at i ng t h at you t ry t o f i g u re out what' s
i mport ant and not i mport ant f or you and what ' s i mport ant and
not i mport ant to t hem, and see how t hose mat ch up. You see i f
you can accommodat e t hem on some t hi ngs f i rs t of all t hat
aren' t i mport ant t o you, t h at are easy. And you t ry t o do t hat
try to do t h at as opposed to bei ng wi lli ng toso t hat you can
109
come out wi t h some ben ef i t . Obvi o us l y bef ore you do
anyt hi ng, you f i g u re out who' s got t he negot i at i ng leverage and
who' s si t t i ng i n t he hi gher c h ai rf i g u rat i v el y and not
l i t eral l y t h o s e k i n d of games.
D avi d concluded by emp h as i z i n g p erf o rman c e rat h er t h an out come
goals: "You worry most ly about y o u rs el f . You don' t get caught up i n how
well t hi s person i s goi ng t o do, wh at t hey deserve, what t h ey ' re get t i n g.
You worry about yours elf and don' t worry abo u t t he ot her guy. "
Eri c descri bed clear process goals f or a s ucces s f ul p erf o rman c e i n t he
emergency room. He s u mmed t hem up:
The most i mpo rt an t t h i n g i s to see the pat i en t s as soon as
possi ble af t er t h ey come i n t he door. Second, when p at i en t s are
ready t o go, di s charge t hem and k eep t he f low goi ng. And
above all you mus t al way s mai n t ai n self control; you can
abs o l ut el y never lose y o u r t emper.
Activation Management
Act i vat i on ref ers t o "a complex mu l t i - d i men s i o n al st at e whi ch ref lect s t he
organi sm' s ant i ci pat ory readi ness t o respond" ( Hardy et al. , 1996, p. 1 35 ) .
Act i vat i on i ncludes both physi ologi cal and psychologi cal f act ors and ranges
along a c o n t i n u u m f rom a comatose low to a f renz i ed peak . The physi cal
hallmark s of hi gh act i vat i on i n c l ud e rapi d heart rate, i ncreased blood pres-
sure, qui c k en ed breat hi ng, and s weat i ngall physi cal s ympt oms associ -
at ed wi th t he act i vat i on of t he s ympat het i c nervous system and t he release
of adrenali ne. The psychologi cal component s of hi gh act i vat i on t ypi cally
i nclude f eeli ngs of nervousness, worry, and anxi et y. At hi gher levels of
act i vat i on, f i ne motor sk i lls t end t o s u f f er and a person has d i f f i c u l t y wi t h
memory, concentrati on, and t he abi li t y t o s hi f t at t en t i o n .
For each i n d i v i d u al , t here i s an o p t i mal level of aro u s al f or p erf o rm-
i ng a gi ven t as k ( Han i n , 2000) . I f aro u s al i s t oo low, t he p erf o rman c e or
ef f o rt i s " f l at " ; i f i t i s t oo h i gh , a person "chok es" or experi ences pani c.
The abi li t y t o regulat e one' s level of ac t i vat i ont o ei t her "psych up" or
"chi ll out "i s a sk i ll associ at ed wi t h perf ormance excellence.
George, t he Speci al Forces medi c, used t rad i t i o n al rel ax at i o n t ech-
ni ques , such as slowi ng hi s breat h i n g and relaxi ng un n ec es s ary muscle
t ensi on, t o consci ously lower hi s heart rat e i n combat s i t u at i o n s . Ot her
perf o rmers used creat i ve t echni ques f or ac t i vat i on management . Fai t h
( s i nger) t ypi c ally mark ed her mus i c i n speci f i c ways:
I wri t e some posi t i ve cues aro u n d d i f f i c u l t passages i n t he
mu s i c . The mus i c u s u al l y becomes easi er t he more you do i t .
Over ti me, I erase these remi nders. B ut I mi ght j ust wri te [my
h us ban d ' s n ame] i n t here i f I need to t hi nk of somethi ng really
posi ti ve i n a p art i c u l arl y d i f f i c u l t secti on. I f you get too ti ed up
worryi ng abo u t spots, t hen an xi et y st art s to creep i n earli er and
earli er i n a pi ece, so I try to mak e sure I really separate them
out . Maybe t h ree- f o u rt h s of the pi ece i s really comfort able and
easy and one bar i s hard. I try to mak e sure I color t hat secti on
u n i q u el y only i n i ts own place so t h at tensi on doesn' t start at
the very begi nni ng of the pi ece. Us ually I try to go wi th the
emot i on of the t ext , but i f i t's a repet i t i ve pi eceand by t hat
poi nt you' re si mply si ngi ng t he musi cI wi ll do somethi ng
t hat ' s t ot ally abst ract , t hi nk of roses or eat i ng or shoppi ng or
somet hi ng. I ' ll j u s t put some crazy word i n t here to catch my
mi nd and t ri ck i t a bi t to not t hi nk only t echni cal tensi on.
N orman spok e of the dynami c balance t hat a musi ci an needs: to be
t ot ally aware yet not overreact . "What you really have to do i s practi ce
the f eeli ng t hat you are not goi ng to respond or react to what you per-
cei ve you di d, alt hough of course half of the bat t le i s bei ng able to hear
yours elf . "
Someti mes perf o rmers do not need to change t hei r level of physi -
ologi cal act i vat i on. As we di scuss more f u l l y i n chapter 1 0, the perf ormer
can achi eve a great er sense of calm by alt eri ng the i nt erpret at i on of the
experi ence. Physi ci an Eri c ref ramed an xi et y as at t ent i veness i n surgery:
The more compli cat ed the procedure, the more f earf u l I am of
the proc edure and the ri sk s of i t when I ' m st art i ng out. I f ocus
on what I need to do and how I am goi ng to do i t. You don' t
f i n d a lot of people who are c as ual l y relaxed i n some of these
procedures. There i s a li ttle more anxi et y but you can control i t
and j u s t convert i t i nt o more at t ent i veness rat her t han anxi ety.
Imagery
1 1 1
I magery i s the t ec hni que most commonly associ ated wi t h ment al ski lls
t rai n i n g for at hlet es ( Goul d, Tammen, Murphy, & May, 1989). I n addi -
ti on to us i ng i magery for men t al rehearsal of a perf ormance, i t can be
used t o develop new sk i lls, pract i ce copi ng st rat egi es, bui ld confi dence,
control emoti ons, and regulat e physi cal and emoti onal response to st ressful
s i t uat i ons . Ef f ec t i ve i magery i s more i nclusi ve t han mere vi suali zati on;
as a ment al experi ence, any or all the senses and emoti ons can be i n-
volved. Perf ormers i n each of the domai ns descri bed the use of i magery
i n t hei r own f i el d .
Th e mu l t i p l e an d f req u en t o p p o rt u n i t i es f o r i magery are i ncorpo-
rat ed i nt o all aspect s of ad v ert i s i n g ex ec u t i v e B arry' s l i f e:
For me, i t i s i n f ro n t of t he bat h ro o m mi rro r i n t he morni ng; i t' s
t h e whole mo rn i n g bef o re t h e pi t c h . Yo u are reh ears i n g i n y o u r
h ead , v i s u al i z i n g wh at success wi l l look l i k e, and you are
v i s u al i z i n g what f a i l u re mi g h t look l i k e an d t ry i n g t o p rev en t i t .
Anna ( l awy er) descri bed preparat i o n f or a t ri al p res en t at i o n :
I f I was goi ng t o be s ay i n g s o met h i n g t h at I f el t h es i t an t abo ut , I
would t ry t o i mag i n e s omebody who I ad mi red s ayi ng what I
was p l an n i n g on s ay i n g . I f i t seemed reas onable i n my head
t hat t h i s person mi g h t say t h i s , t hen I was ok ay wi t h i t . I wo u l d
t ry i t out t h ro u g h t h i s o t h er person' s speech. I would i mag i n e i f
h e were s t a n d i n g up an d s ay i n g t h i s an d i t was al mo s t al way s
a man , because t here were almos t no women f at t o rn ey s ] who
were older t h an mehow wo u l d i t s ound? W ould i t be a
reasonable argument , or a reasonable st at ement ? Frank ly, I can
never t h i n k of a t i me when I d i d n ' t t h i n k t h at i t was o k ay ; but
i t j u s t was a way t o t est i t o u t .
Usi ng a s i mi l ar process, i n s u ran c e s ales man Ch arl es des cri bed i mag -
ery i n hi s wo rk :
A lot of t i mes wh en I ' m goi ng to go out on a call, I v i s u al i z e
what ' s goi ng t o h ap p en . I v i s u al i z e wh ere people are goi ng t o
si t . I v i s u al i z e wh at t h ey ' re go i n g t o say, I v i s u al i z e wh at I ' m
goi ng to say. I v i s u al i z e what the obj ect i ons are goi ng to be. I t
real l y has helped. W h en I d o n ' t v i s u a l i z e i t and go on an
ap p o i n t men t , i t ' s l i k e I s h o u l d n ' t even be t h ere.
Mu s i c i an s commonly us e v ari o u s f o rms of men t al reh ears al and re-
vi ew. D i an e spok e of i mages ro l l i n g a r o u n d i n her h ead , mu s i c t h at i s
present t h ro u g h o u t . F ai t h memo ri z ed t h e t ex t o f songs wh i l e wo rk i n g
o ut : exerci se deepened t h e l earn i n g an d associ at ed i mages .
B y c o n t ras t , Haro l d ( c o n d u c t o r) us ed i magery t o rehears e t empos f or
h i ms el f but ref rai n ed f ro m s ugges t i n g i mages t o ot hers . He was a d a m a n t
about t he abs t rac t n a t u re of mus i c and consi dered i t i mpo rt an t f or hi m as
a conduct or not t o i n t erf ere wi t h hi s mu s i c i an s ' own i n t erp ret at i o n :
Mus i c i s abs t ract c o mmu n i c at i o n an d i magery i n t erf eres wh en
y o u ' re t ry i n g t o express t he abs t rac t . I t h i n k i magery wo u l d be
c o u n t erp ro d u c t i v e, an d i n f ac t wo u l d mak e t h e person less
creat i ve. At my best , I ' m a l ead er i n some ways; but wh at I l i k e
t o hear and wh at I l i k e t o do i s gi ve all t he mu s i c i an s t h a t are
on t he s t agean d I ' m t h i n k i n g most s p ec i f i c al l y of my
i n s t ru men t al i s t s and my soloi st sas much room t o express
t h ei r m u s i c al i t y an d t h ei r u n d ers t a n d i n g as possi ble, rat h er
t h a n i mpos e my u n d ers t a n d i n g or my i n t erp ret at i o n on t hem.
On t he o t h er h an d , i f someone i s i n an opera, f or exampl e,
may be i mag ery i s ben ef i c i a l f o r go i n g i n t o charact er. B u t n o t
lor me as a c o n d u c t o r.
As an a d m i n i s t r a t o r an d emergen c y room p h y s i c i an , Fred eri c k d e-
s c ri bed hi s us e of t wo d i f f er en t k i n d s of i magery , one ret rospect i ve and
t h e o t h er pros pect i ve:
W h en I ' ve had a n eg at i v e en c o u n t er, 1 do ret rospect i ve f an t as y
ro l e- p l ay i n g . I go back t o wh at I ref er t o as " t he Co u n t of
Mo n t e Cri s t o f an t as y . " Th e Co u n t o f Mont e Cri s t o was deeply
wro n ged , bas hed on, t reat ed l i k e s h i t by bad, bad people and he
came back and got t h em. So I t h i n k : "You h av e real l y done
s o met h i n g t h a t i s o d i o u s . Yo u h av e h armed me; y o u h av e
st abbed me i n t he back , you s c um. " I abs t ract t he f an t as y and I
ex ag g erat e wh at t h ey d i d s o t h at i t i s abs o l u t el y bl at an t l y
o bv i o u s t h at i t was t o t a l l y wrong, as black and whi t e as you can
get i t . Th en , at t he end, I come back and c o n quer. I work
t h ro u g h al l t h at a n x i et y an d work t h ro u g h al l o f t h at
meannes s . W h en I a c t u a l l y h ave my second en c o u n t er wi t h
t h i s pers on, al l o f t h a t i s g o n eu n l es s t h ey f u l f i l l my f an t as y ,
u n l es s t hey come o ut an d d o t h e worst possi ble t h i n g t h ey
c o u l d do, wh i c h t h ey v i r t u a l l y never do. I ' m ok ay. I h ave role-
pl ay ed t h at o u t .
I do t he same t h i n g every mo rn i n g . I wak e up at abo u t 4 a. m. ,
and I get out of bed at 6 a. m. My wi f e says, "You have an
amaz i n g clock i n y o u r mi n d becaus e you get out of bed at
ex ac t l y t he same t i me every mo rn i n g . " B ut t h a t i s becaus e I
h av e been s t ari n g at t he clock and wh en i t t u rn s 6 a. m. , I get
o ut o f bed. I ' ve been awak e an d al l t h a t t i me, i f I ' m goi ng t o
g i v e a l ec t u re, I ' ve been reh ears i n g t he l ec t u re. I f I ' m goi ng t o
h av e some meet i n g wi t h somebody, I go over t h at . Rev i ewi n g
ev ery t h i n g a l l a y s my an x i et y .
Some p erf o rmers us e i mag ery t o c o n t ro l t h ei r level of aro u s al . T' ai
c h i i s a f o rm o f m a rt i a l art s t h at , u n l i k e f i g h t i n g st yles t h at ac c en t u at e
speed and p h y s i c al s t ren g t h , emphas i zes a "cent ered calmnes s " and move-
men t s t h at are slow an d f l o wi n g i n n a t u r e. Speci al Forces med i c George
h as appl i ed t h e p h i l o s o p h y an d s t yle o f t ' ai c h i t o h i s p rep arat i o n f o r
c o mbat s i t u at i o n s . He c al l s hi s own process "medi c t ' ai chi " :
113
I h ave a f r i en d wh o i s a j u m p mas t er. He' s t h e g u y wh o r u n s
t h r o u g h al l t h e p a r a c h u t e i n s p ec t i o n s bef o re we j u m p . I ' d s ee
h i m s i t t i n g over t h er e, reh ears i n g , g o i n g t h r o u g h t h e i n s p ec t i o n
wi t h h i s eyes closed an d bi s h a n d s mo v i n g . He c al l s t h i s process
" j u mp mas t er t ' a i c h i . " I ad o p t ed t h a i f o r my s el f as a med i c :
W h en ev er I h ad a m o m en t an d was j u s t t h i n k i n g abo u t my
role as a med i c , I wo u l d t ry t o s i t d o wn an d g et i n t o a v ery
relaxed s t at e an d t h en ru n t h ro u g h t h es e t h i n g s . I ' m bas i c al l y
d o i n g " med i c t ' a i c h i . "
Si m i l a r l y , ra d i o c el eb r i t y Grac e d es c ri bed a p a r t i c u l a r i mag e t h a t s h e
d evel o ped an d us ed o v er t i i e y ears f o r a c t i v a t i o n m a n a g em en t : " W h en
I ' m d eal i n g wi t h u n p l ea s a n t t h i n g s t h a t i n t er f er e wi t h bei n g abl e t o per-
f o rm, I breat h e, r el a x , an d i m a g i n e a g reen h a n d i - wi p e p as s i n g across my
f ace a n d b r a i n , s i m p l y wi p i n g t h e u n p l ea s a n t t h i n g away . "
Thought Management
There i s a m p l e ev i d en c e t h a t n eg a t i v e, s el f - d ef ea t i n g s t a t em en t s a n d
t h o u g h t s h av e a n eg a t i v e ef f ec t o n p er f o r m a n c e ( H a r d y et al . , 1 9 9 6 ) .
B ei n g abl e t o s t op n o n p r o d u c t i v e t h o u g h t s an d d ev el o p an i n t er n a l d i a-
logue, i n v o l v i n g p o s i t i v e c o u n t er s t o n eg a t i v e t h o u g h t , h as been rep eat -
ed l y d emo n s t rat ed t o i m p r o v e p erf o rm a n c e ( Ma h o n ey & Av en er, 1 9 7 7 ;
Van Raal t c , B rewer, Ri v er a , f t Pet i p as , 1 9 9 4) .
J erry ( d a n c er ) s p el l ed o u t t h e way s i n wh i c h t h r o u g h s el f - t a l k , o r a
men t al c o n v ers a t i o n , h e p ra c t i c ed t h o u g h t m a n a g em en t :
I ' ve al way s f o u n d f o r my s el l t h a t once t h e p ro bl em i s
i d en t i f i ed , t h e s o l u t i o n i s o bv i o u s . F o r i n s t an c e, I was n erv o u s ,
an d I t h o u g h t t h i s was j u s t a p art o f my mak eu p . B u t I j u s t
real i z ed t h a t I d i d n ' t h av e t o be t h i s n erv o u s ; t h a t I r ea l l y
was n ' t h el p i n g m y s el f . I as k ed m y s el f : " W h a t d o I wan t t o d o ?
W h at d o I h av e t o d o n ex t t o i m p r o v e?" An d t h e res po n s e was :
"You h av e t o d o o n s t ag e wh a t y o u d o i n t h e s t u d i o . " Th e n ex t
q u es t i o n was : " W h y d o n ' t y o u d o o n s t age wh a t y o u d o i n t h e
s t u d i o ?" " B ec au s e I ' m n erv o u s an d I ' m n o t wel l f o c u s ed , an d I
proj ect t h i n g s t h a t m i g h t g o wro n g . " " So c h an g e t h a t . "
I t c ert ai n l y d i d n ' t s t op me bei n g n erv o u s , bu t i t s t opped
bei n g i n ev i t abl e; i t s lopped bei n g d es t r u c t i v e. Th e f i r s t s y mp t o m
wo u l d ap p ear, bu t t h e rest wo u l d n ' t . 1 wo u l d n ' t g o f ro m f eel i n g
n erv o u s i n my s t o mac h t o t h r o wi n g u p . i wo u l d g o f ro m
f eel i n g n er v o u s i n my s t o mac h t o f eel i n g " oh, n o w 1 f eel
n aus eo us ; t h i s i s part of get t i ng ready to go. Let's not throw
away however man y h o u rs of reh ears al on i n d u l g i n g t he f act
t h at I ' m n erv o u s . " I t s o u n d s l i k e i t was some k i n d of men t al
d i s c i p l i n e, but i t was n' t , i t was j u s t bei ng aware of i t , j u s t
p u t t i n g a n ame t o i t .
Thi s k i n d of s el f - t al k , i n wh i c h t he person act i vely ref rames negat i ve
t h o u g h t s i nt o c o n s t ru c t i v e al t ern at i v es , was used by si nger Fai t h. She
ref lect ed on her pas t experi enc e t o gi ve her conf i dence i n t he present :
"I ' ve never wal k ed of t st age. [Rememberi n g t h at ] always bui l d s y o u r
c o n f i d en c e. I t ' s li k e, ' L ook , t h i s may seem scary, but y o u' ve never f allen
ap art , y o u ' re n o t goi ng t o f a l l ap art now.'
115
Attention Management
I n ad d i t i o n t o man ag i n g one' s i n t ern al d i al o gue t h ro ugh t hought man-
agement , a c ri t i c al men t al element i nvolves t he cont rol of one's at t en-
t i on, t o en h an c e c o n c en t rat i o n and f o c u s . At t en t i o n management ad-
dresses p ro bl ems of bo t h c o n c en t rat i o n and at t en t i o n . Concent rat i on i s
t he abi l i t y t o f o c u s " t h e mi n d on one source of i n f o rmat i o n , of t en t o t he
exc l us i o n of o t h ers " ( H a rd y et al. , 1 9 9 6, p. 1 7 4) . However, concent rat i on
al o n e i s not s u f f i c i en t . The p erf o rm er may f ocus on aspects t hat could
h i n d er p erf o rman c e, s uc h as f ear, a mi s t ak e t h at has been made i n t he
recent past , or f u t u r e ev en t s , s uch as t he ev en t u al out come of t he perf or-
man c e. I deal at t en t i o n man ag emen t en t ai l s t he abi li t y t o f ocus on ele-
men t s or " cues" t h at are rel ev an t t o p erf o rman c e whi le i gnori ng nones-
s en t i al f ac t o rs . Res earch h as i n d i c at ed t h a t t h e abi l i t y t o manage at t ent i on
i n t h i s f a s h i o n i s one of t he f eat u res d i s t i n g u i s h i n g s uc c es s f ul at hlet es
f ro m t hose less s u c c es s f u l ( G o u l d et al . , 2002; Go u l d , Wei ss & Wei nberg,
1 9 8 1 ; Mahoney, Gabri el , & Perk i ns , 1987; W i lli ams & Kran e, 1 9 9 7 ) .
The i d eal f o c u s of at t en t i o n may s h i f t as c i rc ums t anc es change d ur-
i ng t he course of an ev en t or p erf o rman c e. One can di rect at t ent i on ei -
t h er ex t ern al l y t o event s and c i rc ums t an c es i n t he envi ronment or i nt er-
n al l y t o event s and experi enc es wi t h i n o n es el f . Focus can be broad t o
encompass a wi d e ran g e of i n f o rm at i o n , or very narrow, di rect ed t o an
i s olat ed event ( N i d ef f er, 1 9 8 5 ) . For example, a phys i ci an may need t o
pay broad at t en t i o n t o ex t ern al mat t ers d u r i n g t he i n i t i al assessment of a
p at i en t c o mi n g i n t o t he emergency room. The phys i c i an may t hen di rect
broad at t en t i o n i n ward l y , rec o g n i z i n g mu s c l e t ens i on an d f eeli ngs o f
u n eas e i n an t i c i p at i o n of p erf o rmi n g s d i f f i c u l t procedure. He or she may
t h en d i rec t at t en t i o n n arro wl y an d i n t ern al l y , t ak i ng slow deep breat hs
1 1 6 KEY F A C T O R S I N P E R F O R M A N C E
t o gai n a sense oi c al m, and t h en d i rec t a t t en t i o n ex t er n a l l y i n a n arro w
loc us , as t h e f i r s t i n c i s i o n i s mad e.
A l l p er f o r m er s n o t ed t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f l o c u s d u r i n g p er f o r m a n c e.
As we i n d i c a t e i n s u bs eq u en t s ec t i o n s , t h e p r i m a r y o bj ec t i v e o f p l a n n i n g
a n d p r ep a r a t i o n i s t o f a c i l i t a t e p ro p er l o c u s a n d a t t e n t i o n d u r i n g p erf o r-
man c e. Co n c en t r a t i o n a n d l o c u s , h o wev er, a re n o t a u t o m a t i c by - p r o d -
u c t s o f p rac t i c e. Th ey are s k i l l s i n an d o f t h em s el v es . Sev eral p er l o r m er s ,
n o t abl y t h e d an c ers a n d m u s i c i a n s i n t er v i ewed , s eemed p a r t i c u l a r l y a t -
t u n ed t o p ra c t i c i n g a n d d ev el o p i n g t h es e s k i l l s .
I n h er role as bo t h a m u s i c i a n an d a c o n d u c t o r, El l en c o m m en t ed o n
h er res p o n s i bi l i t i es :
I t h i n k t h e way reh ea rs a l s are i s t h e way c o n c ert s are. As t h e
pers o n wh o l ead s t h e reh ea rs a l s , I h a v e t o m a k e s u r e t h a t
t h ere' s a good, c o n g en i a l wo r k i n g a t m o s p h ere, bu t al s o o n e
wh ere a t t en t i o n i s v ery c o n c en t r a t ed . I f y o u ' r e n o t
c o n c en t r a t i n g a n d people' s m i n d s a re wa n d er i n g i n r eh ea r s a l s ,
y o u c an ' t expec t t h em t o be f o c u s ed i n t h e c o n c ert i t wo n ' t
h ap p en .
I l en e al s o h ad a d u a l f o c u s . D u r i n g m u c h o f h er wo r k d a y , s h e was an
a r t s a d m i n i s t r a t o r . Sh e us ed h er m u s i c s k i l l s i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n , a n d ( h i s i n
t u r n rei n f o rc ed h er ap p ro ac h t o m u s i c p l a y i n g :
My j o b i s ba s i c a l l y a bu s i n es s j ob. I m a n a g e s t a l l , an d I f u n d
rai s e, an d I d o bu d g et s , an d I t a l k o n t h e p h o n e. W h en I ' m
d o i n g m y [ a d m i n i s t r a t i v e ] j o b wel l , wh a t I ' m t a k i n g f r o m m y
mu s i c i s t h a t k i n d o f i n t en s e l o c u s o f t h e m o m en t an d h o l d i n g
t h e l i n e al l t h e way t h r o u g h t h e 30 m i n u t e s . To me i t ' s al l a b o u t
f o c us .
I l en e c u l t i v a t ed t h e s k i l l t h r o u g h p rac t i c e a n d i n t e n t i o n a l l ea r n i n g :
Even wh en I ' m g o i n g t o be rea d i n g t h e m u s i c i n a c h a m ber
mu s i c s i t u a t i o n , I d o a l o t o f j u s t t r y i n g t o s i t al o n e, s t i l l , t h i n k
t h e mu s i c t h r o u g h f ro m b eg i n n i n g t o en d , an d c o n c en t rat e. I
t ry t o p ay a t t en t i o n t o wh et h er I ' v e h ad a m en t a l br ea k d o wn i n
t i me, wh et h er I h ad a d i s t r a c t ed m o m en t t h a t mad e me break
t h e l i n e. I f I were t o p l a y a solo rec i t a l now, I wo u l d s p en d a l o t
o f t i m e o n t h e c o uc h j u s t s eei n g i f I c o u l d m en t a l l y p l a y t h e
pi ece an d n o t break my c o n c en t r a t i o n , ev en i f i t was 30
m i n u t es l o n g .
Ch a r l o t t e ( d a n c er ) des cri bed t h e i n t er a c t i o n o f t en s i o n m a n a g em en t
an d f o c u s , as wel l as t h e c o n s c i o u s d ev el o p men t o f h er s k i l l s o f c o n c en -
t r a t i o n :
One of the most i mport ant ment al element s i s the abi li t y to
concent rat e. I t s ounds so obvi ous, but t here are so many people
who when t hey really get down to the moment of pressure,
can' t f ocus t hei r mi nd on t he t ask at hand and block out all t he
di s t ract i ons aro u n d t hem. Each person i s d i f f eren t , but I
learned over the years t h at i f I could get myself relaxed, I could
f ocus. I f I was tense, t h i n k i n g I was bei ng really seri ous and
really concentrated but wi th tensi on, I couldn' t really achi eve
i t. I n rehearsals, I was relaxed because I k new t hat I could try
somet hi ng agai n i f i t di dn' t work . B ut I would also use the
rehearsal t o f i n d t h at i nner pi npoi nt of concent rat i on, t o be
able to do cert ai n t hi ngs and to creat e an atmosphere around
me. I would f i n d t hat at mosphere i n a rehearsal, f i nd t hat
concent rat i on, and t hen recreate i t for myself . That meant t hat
I could be relaxed i n the wi ngs, laugh and be open to
comment s f ro m people and k i nd of easy about i t . B ut then
when the musi c for my ent rance st art ed to come, I could
i mmedi at ely go i nto t hat concent rat i on and t hat place.
117
Pre-Performance Mental
Preparation Plan
Wi lli ams and Krane ( 1 9 9 7 ) report ed t hat successf ul at hlet es achi eve an
opt i mal ment al state j u s t pri or t o begi nni ng an at hlet i c perf ormance. Thi s
i s of t en accompli shed t hrough a combi nat i on of ri t uals or predi ct able
pre- perf ormanc e rout i nes . Hani n ( 2000) emphasi zed t hat t hi s i nvolves
more t han physi cal preparat i on. He suggest ed t hat every at hlet e has an
I n d i v i d u al Zone of Opt i mal Funct i oni ng ( I ZOF) t hat i ncludes a uni que
reci pe of emot i ons leadi ng to peak perf ormance. For one person, an i deal
perf ormance st at e mi ght i nvolve a combi nat i on of feeli ng relaxed, thri lled,
and a bi t apprehens i ve. Anot her mi ght perf o rm best when angry, de-
t ermi ned, and i n vi go rat ed . A popular mi sconcept i on and mi si nt erpre-
t at i on suggests t h at bei ng t ot ally relaxed i s t he i deal perf ormance st at e.
Al t h o ugh i t i s t ru e t h at man y at h l et es p erf o rm worse i f t hey become
overact i vat ed, some p erf o rmers do t hei r best work when t hey f eel ner-
vous , j i t t ery, angry, or annoyed. For example, one of us ( CB ) k new a
pro f es s i o n al bas k et ball player who conf essed t o bei ng nervous bef ore
every game. I f he was n ' t nervous , he t ended t o be " f lat " and have an of f
ni ght . Some y ears ago, t elevi si on host D avi d Frost i nt ervi ewed com-
poser- conduct or L eonard B ern s t ei n . Frost had t o become i ci ly calm
bef ore i n t ervi ewi n g people; B ern s t ei n ha d t o t h ro w up i n o rd er t o f eel
read y t o p erf o rm.
The perf o rmers we i n t erv i ewed als o us e s p ec i f i c ph y s i c al , men t al , or
emot i onal rout i nes t o ef f ec t a c ert ai n s t at e of bei ng. These ac t i v i t i es are
desi gned t o as s i s t i n accessi ng an o p t i mal s t at e of f u n c t i o n i n g f or t he
perf ormance. Some perf o rmers f o c u s on t he ro u t i n e, some on t he st at e
i t s el f . Part i ci pant s f ro m each of t he d o mai n s c o mmen t ed on t h i s aspect of
perf ormanc e.
As si nger Fai t h st at ed:
I t' s those moment s bef o re you go out t h ere t h at can be n erv e-
wrac k i ng. One of my c olleagues says, abo u t f i v e mi n u t es bef ore
t i me t o go on i s wh en t he s h i t h i t s t he f a n . That ' s when t he
adrenali ne u s u al l y k i c k s ri g h t i n an d y o u have t hose f i v e
mi n u t es t o get y o u rs el f o rg an i z ed , go t o t he bat h ro o m one
more t i me, and breat h e d eepl y i f you need t o. I f you need t o
concent rat e, y o u ' l l go away. Some of t he s t u f f I do wi t h
colleagues i s t h at we j u s t t el l j ok es bef ore we go o ut ; t h a t i s part
of our s i lli nes s and u s u a l l y we go on st age l au g h i n g or s mi l i n g .
Perf ormers appear t o ac h i ev e t h ei r o p t i mal p re- p erf o rman c e st at e i n
a way s i mi lar t o t h at of at h l et es . They f o c u s on t he k ey f ac t ors of p red i c t -
abi li t y, ri t u al , or ro u t i n e. The s pec i f i c man ag emen t of i n t erac t i o n wi t h
ot hers i s one element of t h i s process. N eu ro s u rg eo n Eri c gave a classi c
example of t he act i ve process he uses i n t he f i v e mi n u t es bef o re begi n-
n i n g t o operat e:
Typi cally what you do i s po s i t i o n t he p at i en t , prep t he wo u n d ,
look at t h e an g i o g ram f i l ms t h e d y e s t u d y t h at shows t h e
an eury s m an d t h e an at o my a r o u n d i t an d k i n d o f i m p ri n t
t hem i n y o u r mi n d . An d t h en j u s t go o ut i n t o t h e s crub s i n k
where you are by y o u rs el f . Yo u ' v e got f i v e m i n u t es t here. All
y o u' re doi ng i s j u s t s c ru bbi n g y o u r h an d s . I t ' s j u s t a t i me of rote
act i vi t y. You are not real l y t a l k i n g t o an y bo d y ; y o u ' re not doi ng
anyt hi ng d i f f eren t except j u s t s t an d i n g t here. That ' s t h e t i me I ' l l
t ry t o pi ece t oget her t he an at o my wi t h wh at I am abo u t t o do. I
t ry t o pi ct ure what I am goi ng t o see wh en I get t here, becaus e
t he x- rays are t ak en at a couple of f i x ed angles s t rai g h t on or
f rom t he si de and we are comi ng i n at a 20 angle t o t h at . We
don' t have any way t o v i s u al i z e pre- operat i vely wh at we are
goi ng t o see when we get t here. I t ' s t h i s t wo - d i men s i o n al vi ew
f rom st rai ght up or t he si de and i t ' s up t o us t o k i n d of f i g u re out
how t o t ran s f er i t t o t hree. We t ry t o t ran s po s e t hose t wo vi ews
i n t wo di mensi ons t o mak e i t t h ree- d i men s i o n al and rot at e i n t o
t he vi ew t h at y o u ' l l be l o o k i n g at wh en you come down.
Physi ci an Frederi ck descri bed emergency medi ci ne as s hi f t work :
The ri t u al i s t hat you set a peri od of t i me when you st art bei ng
an xi o us . Ot herwi se, you ru i n too much of your day. You say,
"Ok ay, I ' m goi ng to st art t h i n k i n g about goi ng to work two or
three hours bef ore I go to work . " And t hen you t ak e a shower.
You met hodi cally get dressed and you remember to t ak e thi s
and t ak e t hat and t hen you get i n your car. I t i s real si mple.
I try to mak e i t absolut ely rout i ne. Get i n the car at the
same t i me. Get t here the same ten mi nut es early. I go around
t o all t he d i f f eren t part s of t he emergency depart ment t o f i gure
out j us t how bad i t i s, how good i t i s, and then I go i nt o one of
two modes. Ei t her t hi ngs are caught up and you can move
f orward, or you j u s t plug along and plug along and k eep one
f oot i n f ro n t of the ot her and try to be as ef f i ci ent as possi ble
when you k now you are goi ng to be so far behi nd, you wi ll
never catch up.
As a lawyer meeti ng wi th people, Art h u r approaches hi s performance
t hrough gent le physi cal act i vi t y and qui et ti me t o hi mself:
I li k e to be relat i vely clearheaded. I f the weather i s half way
decent when I commut e, I ' ll walk . That's li k e 35 mi nut es of not
f ocusi ng on an y t h i n g i n part i cular. I t hi nk i t helps overcome
the n at ural i ncli nat i on to go i n and t alk . I call i t "havi ng two
ant ennas . " Cleari ng my mi nd allows me to be a li t t le more
open to walk i n and be half balanced about i t, really li steni ng
and wat chi ng, as opposed to walk i ng i n and thi nk i ng, "I am
goi ng to do f i ve t hi ngs and I am goi ng to st art ri ght now!"
I f I were prepari ng a present at i on to a j u ry or t hat sort of
t hi ng, t hat would be more of a perf ormance. I would prepare
d i f f eren t l y . I would have to k now what I was goi ng to say and
be ready to go.
Advert i si ng execut i ve B arry si mi larly used t i me and soli t ude as a tool
f or opt i mal perf ormance:
At my best, I always leave about a 15-30 mi nut e bu f f er
between meeti ngs. I try to t ak e about 1 5 mi nut es bef ore every
meet i ng to t hi nk about who I arn meet i ng wi th; why am I
meet i ng wi t h them; what wi ll mak e t hi s a successf ul meeti ng;
and what are the one, two, or t hree t hi ngs I need to gai n f rom
thi s. I need t hat t i me t o become f u l l y focused and at t ent i ve.
L i k e many athletes, B arry also deli berat ely used musi c to set an opti -
mal level of act i vat i on for any speci f i c perf ormance:
1 1 9
I l i k e s o l i t u d e bef o reh an d . I f i t ' s a bi g pres en t at i o n , I l i k e t o get
abo ut an h o u r o f q u i et t i me o r al o n e t i me bef o reh an d . I mi g h t
play J i mi Hen d ri x t o get my h eart goi ng and t o get exci t ed
about i t . Cru s ad er songs wi l l j u s t t ak e me t o a d i f f er en t place. I t
i s very rel axi n g. I h ave Pearl J am on t h ere wh en t h i n g s are at
t h ei r hardes t . I l i k e t o s t art out wi t h a real l y h i g h level of
energy an d c o n f i d en c e, wi t h my h eart p o u n d i n g an d t h en k i n d
o f set t le i n t o a groove . . . . I t j u s t h ei g h t en s ev ery t h i n g ,
especi ally, f or wh at ev er reason, my sense of h u mo r.
D ancer Helena d et ai l ed t h e i n d i v i d u al d i f f eren c es i n h eren t i n pre-
p erf o rman c e p rep arat i o n , as well as t he ef f ec t s of bo t h t i me ( p ers o n al
d evel o pmen t ) and v ary i n g c i rc ums t anc es ( d an c i n g wi t h ot hers i n a com-
p an y vs . solo wo rk ) . She i d en t i f i ed ri t u al , cent eri ng, and s o l i t u d e as k ey
element s:
I n a company s i t u a t i o n , I had one or t wo l i t t l e ri t u al s t h at I
would al way s do: I ' d go o n t o t he s t age bef o re t he c u r t a i n went
up and do a deep p l i e [k n ee ben d ] on t he st age. Th at was my
one l i t t l e t al i s man t h i n g . I al way s had t o do t h at . And i n my
mak eu p case, I al way s had one of t hose t i n y l i t t l e bot t les of
Met axa bran d y , and I al way s had a si p of Met axa bef ore, j u s t
one si p. I d i d n ' t wan t t o h av e t he whole bot t leI mean we' re
t al k i n g abo ut one of t hose l i t t l e mi n i bot t les. Those t wo l i t t l e
act i ons, one si p of bran d y and one deep p l i e on t he st age bef ore
t he c u rt ai n went up.
Some people need rock mu s i c an d ad ren al i n e p u mp i n g an d
t h at k i n d of en ergy bef o re t he p erf o rman c e. And some people
need a more i n t eri o r f o c u s . For me, i f t h ere was a choi ce
bet ween t wo dressi ng rooms, and one had a W al k man p l ay i n g
rock mu s i c and t he o t h er d i d n ' t h ave any mus i c , I l i k ed t o be i n
t he qui et one.
W hen I ' ve prepared solos or d u et s , i t i s u s u a l l y i mp o rt an t
f or me t o get mys elf t o a very calm and very cent ered s t at e.
Us u al l y I t ry and f i n d a space where I can be alone. I put on my
m a k eu p an d I t ry an d l i s t en t o t h e mu s i c f o r t h e p erf o rman c e,
ei t h er l i t eral l y i f I h av e a l i t t l e cas s et t e wi t h me, or j u s t s i n g i t
t h ro u g h i n my h ead . I ' l l ei t h er go t h ro u g h t he d an c e i f I h av e a
space t o mark t h ro u g h i t or j u s t do i t i n my h ead .
I almost have t o put myself i nt o a med i t at i ve st at e, wh ere I
can close myself away f rom any d i s t rac t i n g people or noi ses. I t ry
to go to the place i n myself where I am most gro un d ed , I ' m most
at peace, am most my s el f . I ' m most able t o speak f ro m t h at
cent er. I f I can get i n t ouch wi t h t h at center, t h at ' s t he place I
need t o s t art f rom t o speak i n t erms of p erf o rmi n g as a dancer.
D ancer J erry emphas i zed t he p h y s i c al warm- u p , t he sense of rou-
t i n e, an d c o mmu n i t y :
I always di d a barre [pract i ce ro u t i n e] bef ore p erf o rman c e, h al f
an h o u r or 40 mi n u t es of rep et i t i v e p h y s i c al ac t i v i t y i n a
pred i c t abl e s equence. And t here were some ot hers who al way s
di d t h at as well, so you had t i me f or a l i t t l e c o mmu n i t y of
people who prepared t h at way.
L i k ewi se, Ch arl o t t e ( d an c er) spok e about her own p re- p erf o rman c e
met hods t hat changed d ev el o p men t al l y as a f u n c t i o n of age and i n t en -
t i on. Ult i mat ely, l earn i n g t o mak e ad j u s t men t s and t o f o c u s on t he present
were k ey element s i n s us t ai n i n g a hi gh and s at i s f y i n g level of p erf o r-
mance:
W hen I was t oo f res h and t oo nervous , I would do
p erf o rman c es and have no i dea wh at I had done. I ' d come of f
stage and I ' d t ry t o run t he f i l m back . I k n ew I h ad n ' t done
anyt hi ng h o rren d o u s because I wo ul d have remembered i f I ' d
f al l en down, but I had no i dea what I had done. I was t o t al l y
unc ons c i ous [of my own ac t i o n s ], because t here was so muc h
ad ren al i n e s u rg i n g t h ro u g h me. I was so revved up, I ' d f eel l i k e
somebody who' s j u s t shot out of a cannon and goes t h ro u g h
t he mot i ons i n s uper hi gh speed. Somet i mes when you h av e
t oo muc h ad ren al i n e you j u s t look mani c; you look li k e y o u ' re
on speed or s omet hi ng, and t h at ' s how I d an c ed . F o rt u n at el y I
had good i ns t i nct s and I was t al en t ed en o u g h t o get away wi t h
t h at f or a wh i l e.
Of course, t h at was s omet hi ng t h at people loved abo ut my
danci ng. That was ex h i l arat i n g f o r t h e au d i en c e, i t was n ' t
bori ng f or t h em, but u l t i mat el y i t became k i n d of u n s at i s f y i n g
f or me.
I t work ed when I was 21 , 22, 23, but t h en I s t art ed t o wan t
to be i n cont rol of myself a l i t t l e bet t er. As I became more
mat u re, t hat was n' t t he k i n d of p erf o rman c e I want ed t o do. I
had done all t h i s work i n t he s t u d i o and I had no i dea i f I had
accompli shed an y t h i n g t h at I had set out t o ac c o mpl i s h . I
want ed t o be consci ous, not u n c o n s c i o u s . You wan t t o grow;
you want t o be doi ng t he sort of perf o rman c e t h at y o u ' v e
developed, an d y o u ' re wan t i n g t o p u t i t f o rward i n an
i n t el l i gen t way, rat h er t h an j u s t wi ld crazy.
I reali zed t h at one of t he ways t h at I could cont rol t h at was
t o be t i red t i red p h y s i c al l y and very, very, very warm. W h en I
was t i red, I d i d n ' t have t he ex t ra energy t o be so n erv o u s , and I
could cont rol my react i ons muc h bet t er.
121
The i n t eg rat i o n of ac t i ve i n t en t i o n al
J ust before the performance, it's almost , . " . , . , ., ,
l earn i n g an d i n c u bat i o n , des cri bed ear-
li k e you're ent eri ng i nto a t i me of
Hei
.
was i mp o rt an t t o
Harold' s ( c o n d u c -
medi tati on. You are really f ocusi ng so t o r) ac h i ev emen t of an o p t i mal p erf o r-
t hat you li ve ent i rely i n t he moment. You man c e st at e. Feeli ng f u l l y prepared , he
shut out everythi ng else, you shut out c o u l d t h en i n t er p r et t he p r e- p er f o r -
everythi ng t hat i s extraneous. You
man c e
i n c reas ed a d r en a l i n e as ex c i t e-
. . . , , ^ .
A
ment rat h er t h an stage f ri g h t .
become superbly focused on your task at
hand. And there's only one task and that Tens i on i s necessary, bec aus e
i s perf ormi ng t he work that eveni ng. t ens i on can ac t u al l y mak e a
p erf o rman c e, i f i t' s good. That ' s
Harold (conductor) one of t hose t h i n g s t h at you
wo rk at f or a l i f et i m e. W h at i s
good lor someone i s n ' t
n ec es s ari l y good f or a n o t h er pers on. Some of my c olleagues
are p ro c ras t i n at o rs , an d s omehow t h ey f i n d t h at energy, t h a t
c ri s i s energy, i n v i g o ra t i n g . F o r me, i t ' s a n y t h i n g bu t
i n v i g o rat i n g . I f i n d i t o v erwh el mi n g , an d I c an' t deal wi t h i t . I
l earn ed , f o r t u n a t el y f a i r l y earl y o n , t h a t wh at was goi ng t o
mak e f o r a c o mf o rt abl e p erf o rm i n g s i t u a t i o n f o r me i n v o l v ed
ad eq u at e an d earl y p rep arat i o n .
F o r L arry ( a c t o r ) , an o p t i mal p re- p erf o rman c e s t at e c o u l d be d ev el -
oped t h r o u g h r el a x ed b r ea t h i n g a n d a f f i r m a t i o n s . H e rec o g n i z ed ,
" There' s a d u a l i t y t o t h a t mo men t . I ' m s t i l l an ac t o r an d y et I ' m a l wa y s
t r y i n g t o lose my s el f i n t h e c h arac t er. " He h as d ev el o p ed a c o n s i s t en t
r o u t i n e.
There u s u a l l y are some p h y s i c al warm- u p s , j u s t s h ak i n g t h e
l i mbs , l y i n g o n t h e f l o o r, yoga p o s i t i o n s . B rea t h i n g exerc i s es are
v ery i m p o r t a n t . W h en y o u breat h e, y o u become c alm. Th e o n e
t h i n g I u s u a l l y d o , es p ec i al l y bef o re a d i f f i c u l t show, i s s i mp l y
say " I can do i t . I am d o i n g i t . I wi l l do i t . " I ' m s i g n al i n g t o
my s el f t h a t I c an h a n d l e i t , t h at I wi l l d eal . Th e rep et i t i o n o f t h e
wo rd s i s als o i m p o r t a n t . And i t f eel s n a t u r a l . I t creat es a
st i llness, a rei nf orc ed posi t i veness, t h at allows me t o achi eve
f u l l peace.
F ai t h used s y s t emat i c breat h i n g , as well, t o reg u l at e t he a m o u n t of
t en s i o n s he ex p eri en c es bef o re goi ng on st age t o s i n g .
I ' ve n ever h ad n erves t h a t h av e t a k en me an y wh ere I d i d n ' t
wan t t o go. The a d r en a l i n e i s real i mp o rt an t g et t i n g ex c i t ed
an d real l y f eel i n g l i k e y o u ' v e g o t t h a t power, t h at l i t t l e ex t ra
en ergy t o t ak e o n t o t h e s t age, but I ' ve n ev er h ad i t be o ut o f
control. B reathi ng i s extremely i mportant. I take i n some deep
breaths, and i f I feel at all li ke the adrenali ne i s goi ng crazy, or
i f I 'm wai ti ng longer t han I was hopi ng to wai t, then I j us t tak e
deep breat hs and mak e sure my abdomen i s really extended.
It's a f ai rly basi c thi ng. I f for any reason I ' ve gotten a li ttle more
exci ted than I want to be, I j us t mak e my heart slow down.
I lene ref ocused at t ent i on f ro m herself to the musi c:
When you can be consci ous of the musi c and not consci ous of
yourself , a lot of the perf ormance anxi ety problems go away.
What playi ng new musi c has t aught me i s t hat you need to
look at all musi c as i f i t's f res hly composed.
Radi o personali ty Grace used the early morni ng dri ve i nto work as a
ti me for transi ti on to her show. Talk show host I an f ound i t i mportant
not to have contact wi th hi s guests bef ore the show:
I don't go to the studi o unt i l the very last possi ble mi nut e. I
don't want to talk to the guests. I don' t want to meet them. I
don' t want to chi tchat wi th them bef ore the show, because i t
mak es the conversati on on the ai r stale or i t allows an
opport uni t y for a dynami c to be set up where I am not i n
control, I am not the Supreme B ei ng. I don' t want to be i n a
si tuati on where t hey could say somethi ng to me that would
t ak e me down a peg or k nock my self - conf i dence. I do my best
to put them at ease, because i t i s not a good show i f t hey are
not at ease, but i t's my f o rum and my plat f orm.
Alt hough most of the perf ormers wi th whom we spoke had settled
on a rout i ne t hat work ed for them, Kei th was still struggli ng 10 years
af t er he began hi s acti ng career, to f i nd the best way to prepare hi mself
mentally, especi ally for audi t i ons:
Someti mes, I 'll get to an audi t i on and I 'll si t qui et ly and j us t try
and breat he slowly, try and get my body relaxed and allevi ate
some tensi on. Other ti mes, I 'll j us t be really acti ve and I 'll
t hi nk , "Thi s i s feeli ng good, i t's k eepi ng me loose, i t's not
allowi ng the ri gi di ty to set i nto my body." And thi s i s i t: There's
no consi stency, i t's sort of a crapshoot. One ti me I 'll try to
prepare my materi al, t hen I ' m ready to go i n and anot her ti me
I 'll t hi nk , "Well, maybe you' ll j us t be better i f you don' t even
open the book, i f you t hi nk to yourself : I 've already worked on
i t enough, so don' t even look at the scri pt whi le I 'm here i n the
wai ti ng room, look at the pai nti ngs on the wall" and then my
name wi ll get called and I 'll j us t launch i nto i t.
123
Performance Focus Plan
Several s t udi es i ndi cat e t h at s ucces s f ul eli t e at hlet es have well- developed
p l an s an d s t rat eg i es f o r p erf o rm a n c e ( H a r d y et al . , 1996; Orl i c k &
Part i n gt o n , 1987; W i l l i ams & Kran e, 1 9 9 7 ) . These p l an s are g en eral l y
" desi gned t o f ac i l i t at e at t en t i o n al f o c u s on t he process of p erf o rman c e as
opposed t o f act ors over whi ch t hey had no di rect cont rol, such as ot her
compet i t ors o r o ut c o me . . . . These compet i t i on p l an s u s u al l y have pro-
cess- ori ent ed goals as t h ei r c en t ral f eat u re" ( H a r d y et al. , 1996, pp. 191-
1 9 2 ) .
Our i n t erv i ews an d o ur o wn c o n s ul t i n g experi ences suggest t h at suc-
c es s f u l p erf o rmers i n all d o mai n s are aware of t he i mport ance of mai n -
t a i n i n g mo men t - t o - mo men t f ocus on process goals. A recent cli ent who
h ad i ncorporat ed men t al s k i l l s t r a i n i n g i n t o h i s role as p ri n c i p al p l ay er
wi t h a maj o r o rc h es t ra provi ded an el o q u en t descri pt i on of hi s p erf o r-
mance f o c u s : "There' s a great f eel i n g of bei ng ali ve where ri s k i n g f u l l y
an d c o mmi t t i n g f u l l y meet; here ev ery t h i n g i s at st ak e an d ev ery t h i n g
s t an d s t o be won. I f eel d ri v en t o seek t h i s s t at e. I want t h i s t o be my
' t rad emark ' . "
A s u c c es s f u l p erf o rman c e p l an i n vo l ves achi evi ng t he o p t i mal per-
f o rman c e s t at e, a n t i c i p a t i n g wh at one wi l l en c o un t er, and bei ng clear as
t o t he rel evan t cues and poi nt s of f o c u s t h at one has t o m a i n t a i n . N ot all
p erf o rmers a rt i c u l a t e an expl i c i t p erf o rman c e plan, but t he plan can be
i n f erred f ro m t he i mages t h ey rehears e, t he process goals t h ey descri be,
and t he i mp o rt an c e t h ey at t ri bu t e t o f o c u s and c onc ent rat i on. W e d i s -
cuss t h i s i n great er d et ai l i n c h ap t er 1 1 .
D r. N i c k N orri s ( c o n s u l t an t , mu s i c ) proposed t hat t h e i d eal perf o r-
man c e p l an f or a mu s i c i an i s not di rect ed t oward t he t echni cal aspects of
perf o rman c e. I nst ead i t i s desi gned t o emphas i ze wh at t he mu s i c i an wan t s
t o c o mmu n i c at e t h ro u g h hi s or her mus i c : "They need t o convey, ' I have
s o met h i n g t o say, and I h av e c o n f i d en c e i n what I ' m s ayi ng' . "
For Helena ( d an c er) , i t was t he physi cal d eman d of long perf o rman c es
t h at nec es s i t at ed p erf o rman c e p l an n i n g :
Thi s f oc us i ng on and t ryi ng to draw on all of my resources and
my s t ren g t h p ro babl y [began] when I st art ed t o do solo
p erf o rman c es . I real l y h ad t o bu i l d up my s t ami n a men t al l y an d
p h y s i c al l y f or t h i s experi ence because i t i n v o l v ed t wo h o u rs of
p erf o rman c e on st age. I was on st age t h ro u g h t he whole show.
I had v ari o u s gues t s d o i n g d u et s wi t h me, but bas i cally I was
d an c i n g f or t wo h o u rs . And t h at was a whole ot her d i men s i o n
t o p erf o rmi n g f ro m wh at I had been d o i n g wi t h c o mp an i es
u n t i l t h en .
In many respects the neurosurgeon, the
thoracic surgeon, and the automobile
mechanic are very similar. They can't see
what they're working on, so they need
to visualize it. The auto mechanic
reaches behind your engine, looking for
a particular shape. It might be a five-
sided bolt, or a half-inch as opposed to
an inch-and-a-quarter bolt. It may be
something with a little tube coming out
of it, like a fuel pump. He knows what
he's looking for, he's visualizing. Once he
gets there, he's essentially performing
the operation in his head, because he
can't see it.
By and large, neurosurgeons or
thoracic surgeons are doing many of the
same kinds of things. They have to have
a very clear image in their mind of what
the ideal version of something looks like,
whether it's the cortex or the left
ventricle. They need to know where
there is a vein or an artery that they're
liable to nick, because they can't see it.
So, when a surgeon says he prepares
himself, he focuses, he gets grounded,
he gets centered. One of the things he's
doing is reproducing some figures that
came from a neuroanatomy text or
autopsies or other things that he's done.
And that's what he learned from another
neurosurgeon: Before you get in there,
make sure you remember where the
"fuel pump" is and remember where the
"gas gauge" is,
Dr. Irving Ingram (consultant, high-risk)
Refocusing Plan
I n a d d i t i o n t o h a v i n g s t r a t eg i es f o r
ac h i ev i n g t h e i d eal p erf o rman c e s t at e
and plans f or mai n t ai n i n g f ocus and at -
t en t i o n d u r i n g perf o rman c e, s uc c es s f ul
at h l et es h av e d et ai l ed plans an d st rat e-
gi es lor m a i n t a i n i n g f oc us i n t he f ace of
d i s t rac t i o n s and d i s ru p t i o n s ( W i l l i ams &
Kran e, 1 9 9 7 ). B y pract i ci ng f or si t uat i ons
t h at d ev i at e f ro m t he i deal, an at hlet e
develops t he s k i ll of ref o c us i n g t o mai n -
t ai n t he i d eal perf o rman c e s t at e. The i m-
p o rt an c e of c o n t i n g en c y p l an n i n g and
p r ep a r a t i o n f o r t h e u n ex p ec t ed was
n o t ed by p erf o rmers i n all of t he do-
mai n s . Those i n t he h i g h - ri s k areas were
p a r t i c u l a r l y expli c i t i n t h ei r p rep arat i o n s
f o r m a i n t a i n i n g f o c u s .
Co pi n g i magery, i n whi ch t he per-
f o rmer m en t a l l y c o n s t ru c t s a d i f f i c u l t
scene an d t h en d evel o ps met hods f o r
h a n d l i n g t he s i t u at i o n , may be used as
an act i ve aspect of cont i ngency planni ng.
Geo rg e ( med i c - s n i p er) u s ed i mag ery
al o n g wi t h rel axed breat h i n g t o pract i ce
men t al l y how he would respond t o t rau -
mat i c s i t u at i o n s . Rat h er t h an passi vely
h o p i n g t h at a t h reat en i n g or unexpect ed
even t wo u l d n ' t happen, he act i vely an-
t i ci pat ed v ari o u s pos s i bi li t i es :
As a poli ce o f f i c er as well as a
medi c, I t ry t o prepare mys elf
wi t h t he at t i t u d e t h at i t i s goi ng
t o h appen t o me, not t h at i t
h ap p en s t o t he o t h er g u y s .
That ' s a ment al t rap. I ' l l be
p erf ec t l y happy i f I go t h ro u g h
my en t i re poli ce and
pro f es s i o n al s o l d i er careers not
h av i n g f i red a shot , not ever
get t i ng shot . I ' m not out t o get a Pu rp l e Heart . B ut I wan t t o be
men t al l y prepared t o t ak e on wh at ever i s di shed o u t .
I ac t u al l y close my eyes and wo rk my h an d s as I wo u l d f or
s pec i f i c i n j u ri es or ai l men t s . I need t o real l y s t ay rel ax ed wh en
i t comes t o t he med i c al s cenari o. I do deep breat h i n g and c reat e
a t ac t i c al s cenari o wh ere bad t h i n g s are h ap p en i n g aro u n d me.
I t ry t o bri n g i n all my o t h er senses, l i k e t he s mell of blood,
screami ng. Thi ngs l i k e t h at , t h at really can j u s t overwhelm a
pers on.
I t ry t o t ak e care of t he " what i t s " i n my t rai n i n g , so t h a t
when I see s omet hi ng i n ac t u al i t y , i t [wo n ' t be] a shock t o me,
because I ' ve seen i t i n my mi n d several t i mes bef ore. I f I get
shot and I ' m t he c as u al t y , am I j u s t goi ng t o s i t t here and s t are
at my wo u n d , or am I goi ng t o t reat my s el f and t ak e care of t he
pro bl em?
I des i gn my t r a i n i n g p l an so I ' m d o i n g as man y t h i n g s as I
can f oresee t h at I wo u l d be d o i n g on a real o p erat i o n , so i t ' s not
new t o me. I d o n ' t wan t t o get i n t o a t rap where I ' m j u s t g o i n g
o u t o n t h e ran ge d o i n g m a rk s m a n s h i p t ra i n i n g an d p ac k i n g i t
i n. I t ry t o put my s el f u n d er p h y s i c al and emo t i o n al st ress on
t he range t h ro u g h a v ari et y of exerci ses t h a t wi l l el i c i t st ress
responses. N o w t h at ' s d i f f i c u l t t o d o wh en y o u ' re j u s t s h o o t i n g
p ap er or m a n n eq u i n s , so I t ry t o creat e st ress by s et t i n g t i me
l i mi t at i o n s , by h av i n g people t ry i n g t o break my c o n c en t rat i o n ,
y el l i n g at me, t h ro wi n g t h i n g s , s p ray i n g me wi t h wat er,
wh at ev er t h ey wan t t o come up wi t h . Trai n i n g mi g h t i n v o l v e
ru n n i n g , s o my h eart rat e gets up and I h av e t o recover q u i c k l y .
Perf o rmi n g s urgery , s i mi l arl y , req u i res at t en t i v e an t i c i p at i o n o f p ro b-
lem s i t uat i o n s . Eri c s ai d :
W hen I am t h i n k i n g abo u t a d i f f i c u l t case t h at I am on edge
abo u t , I wi l l t en d t o p u l l up t h e wors t - cas e s c en ari o . Th at ' s
wh at I want t o h ave read y . W h en all h el l break s loose, you
have ref lex movement and memory. You can be wo rk i n g
aro u n d an an eu ry s m an d y o u ' v e go t t h i s t h i n g 9 5 % di s s ect ed
o ut an d y o u k now ex ac t l y wh ere y o u are go i n g an d y o u ' v e
been wo rk i n g aro u n d i t f o r 2 0 mi n u t es an d y o u k n o w v i s u al l y
where i t i s and k i n d of what t he an at o my i s ; but t h ere may be
one component you h av e not seen clearly and all of a s u d d en i t
goes, an d y o u ' v e los t y o u r v i s u al i z at i o n . Th e f i el d i s j u s t f u l l o f
blood. You can' t see. I n t hose cases, i f you can k eep a memo ry
of where t he an eu ry s m was, you c an o f t en j u s t s l i d e a c l i p
A half hour before the curtain was to
rise at the last performance of the school
show, they discovered that the lighting
board didn't work. The students were
going to have to do the whole show on
a wing and a prayer with basically no
lights. They had no other option. The
dancers who were in the first piece had
to wait through one announcement
saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry
we're having a bit of trouble due to the
lightning storm last night blah biah
blah." They had gotten themselves
ready, and then they had to wait, and
they had to wait, and they had to wait
until 8:20 for an 8 p.m. show. It finally
started, and then they had to come
bursting on, to do this very lively dance.
!t was very difficult for some of them to
hold on to the readiness that they had
prepared themselves with, through 15 or
20 minutes of extra distraction. Some
kind of technique to re-focus would
probably have been really helpful to
them.
down and put i t across what you
k new was t here. And t ak e what
could be a li f e- t hreat eni ng problem
and j u s t end i t .
The n at u ral react i on unt i l you
get comf ort able doi ng an eury s m
s urgery i s t o pani c and pull back .
Then what was pot ent i ally very
salvageable i s gone. And that' s a
wei rd step to overcome. To go f rom
t h at pani c, t hat "Oh my god, t he
f i el d i s f u l l of blood, " t o st ayi ng
where you are and get t i ng t he cli p
f ro m t he n u rs e and put t i n g i t on.
It's t ruly the hi ghest anxi ety
case we do, t h at mi n ut e- t o - mi n ut e
pot ent i al for change. I n most of
what we do, t here i s not thi s ri sk of
somet hi ng t hat ' s goi ng to uncork
ari d t u rn i n t o a li f e- t hreat eni ng
s i t uat i on; but t he aneurys m t ruly
i s.
Man y mus i ci ans face t he challenge
of deali ng wi t h las t - mi nut e di st ract i ons.
D i ane comment ed:
-Helena (dancer; dance instructor)
We ( orchest ra members) were
j u s t t al k i n g about t hi s t he ot her
day. There was an i ssue of
people comi ng t hrough
back st age bef ore concerts. And
the cleaners always seem to be
comi ng i n. Ri gh t when we' re goi ng on stage, t hey' re pi ck i ng up
bags of t ras h . I t's j u s t l i t t l e i n t rus i o n s li k e t hat . We all agreed
t hat we really wo u l d n ' t l i k e t o have anybody but orchest ra
people back st age bef ore a perf o rman c e and at i nt ermi ssi on too.
B ecause you really have t o f o c us on what you' re doi ng. The
ment al preparat i on i s i mport ant . You have t o be i n t he element
bef ore you go out t here and be t h i n k i n g about what you' re
goi ng to play.
As a musi ci an, N orman used rehearsal as a deli berate and i nt ent i onal
method of conti ngency planni ng. B ei ng i n charge of the notes duri ng prac-
ti ce gi ves hi m s uf f i c i en t preparat i on for handli ng errors that mi ght occur.
1 2 8 KEY F A C T O R S I N P E K F O R M A N C H
I t ry t o c u l t i v a t e i n my p rac t i c e t h e i d ea t h a t I c an st op an d s t a rt
a n y wh er e. Ma n y p erf o rm ers o f mu s i c s t o p an d s t a r t t h ei r
prac t i c e i n t h e s ame p l ac e t o o o f t en , wh i c h i s a mi s t ak e. W h i l e
p rac t i c i n g , i f I ' m g o i n g t o deci de t o s t op, I d ec i d e t o s t op on an
u n p r ed i c t a b l e n o t e. I t ' s d eep c o n c en t r a t i o n t o be abl e t o s t o p
wh en y o u c o mman d y o u rs el f t o s t o p , r a t h er t h a n wh en y o u
break d o wn . W h en I ' m p ra c t i c i n g , i f I mak e a mi s t ak e I t ry n o t
t o st op. I a l wa y s go f o rwa rd an d t h en I s t o p at some o t h er n o t e,
at a place t h a t I d et er m i n e, j u s t t o s ay " Oh, t h a t ' s i t , t h i s i s t h e
n o t e on wh i c h I wi s h t o s t op. "
Si m i l a r l y , Haro l d ( c o n d u c t o r ) rec al l ed how, as a c h i l d , h e h ad c reat ed
a game o f c o n t i n g en c y p l a n n i n g f o r h i m s el f :
I used t o p rac t i c e i t as a k i d , n o t k n o wi n g t h a t I was p rac t i c i n g
i t . I t was j u s t a s t u p i d l i t t l e game t h at I us ed t o p l ay f o r m y s el f .
I n my p rac t i c i n g , I wo u l d c o n s c i o u s l y mak e mi s t ak es , o r
p u r p o s ef u l l y d o s o m et h i n g wro n g t h a t was g o i n g t o mak e me
reac t t o a s i t u a t i o n . B ei n g abl e t o get y o u rs el f o ut o f an y
s i t u a t i o n s eemed t o me t o be an i m p o r t a n t t h i n g . N o w i t was a
v ery s u r f a c e t h i n g a t t h a t t i m e, bu t i n f ac t i t wa s v ery v a l u a b l e
t o r me i n some o f my k ey bo ard p l a y i n g . Th e wh o l e t h i n g wi t h
some p erf o rm ers i s i f y o u mak e o n e m i s t a k e t h en ev er y t h i n g
f a l l s a p a r t . I f y o u h av e t h e a b i l i t y t o c a rry o n , ev en t h o u g h
s o m et h i n g goes wro n g , wh et h er i t ' s a n o t e mi s t ak e o r y o u
mak e a wro n g t u r n , l i k e a memo ry p ro bl em, t h ere' s mo re
c o n f i d en c e t h a t y o u wi l l be abl e t o d eal wi t h a n y t h i n g t h a t
comes y o u r way .
Recommendations
to Consultants
Th e a r r a y o f m en t a l s k i l l s o r p s y c h o l o g i c al s k i l l s t ec h n i q u es h av e
u n d erg o n e ex t en s i v e i n v es t i g a t i o n , es p ec i al l y i n s po rt p s y c h o l o g y .
Ma n y o f t h es e t ec h n i q u es are a p p l i c a bl e t o o t h er areas o f p erf o r-
man c e.
Th e d i rec t a p p l i c a t i o n o f m en t a l s k i l l s s h o u l d n o t be d o n e wh o l e-
s al e t o a s p ec i f i c p er f o r m a n c e p o p u l a t i o n wi t h o u t t a k i n g i n t o ac -
c o u n t t h e p a r t i c u l a r s o f t h a i area o f p er f o r m a n c e.
B ec au s e o f t h e p o p u l a r i z a t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g i c al s k i l l s t ec h n i q u e' s ,
m a n y p er f o r m er s k n o w a bo u t t h em b u t n o t wh a t t h ey a c t u a l l y
are. They may have an i naccurat e underst andi ng of the techni ques
or may be di smi ssi ve, i n part because of t hat very populari zat i on.
Even i f perf ormers k now psychologi cal s k i lls t echni ques , t hey may
need di rect t rai ni ng t o be able t o apply t hem t o t hei r own s i t u a-
t i ons.
Total relaxat i on i s not necessari ly the opti mal pre- perf ormance state.
For any one i ndi vi dual , an array or mi x of ment al sk i lls may be
appropri at e. The sk i lls need not operat e i n i solat i on.
Perf ormers should learn how to i ncorporat e pract i ce of ment al sk i lls
i nt o t hei r ongoi ng pract i ce, i n order f u l l y t o mak e use of these
t echni ques.
129
T h e Microscopic Nigh tmare
of Inf inity: T h e E x pe rie nce
of S tre ss
The microscopic ni ght mar e of i nf i ni t y is the sense t hat , in the space of a
very t i ny moment a spl it part of a second, less t h an an eighth of a
secondy ou can experience i n f i n i t y between two notes. It is the f eel i ng
that y ou can f al l i nt o the bl ack hol e at t hat poi nt . And t hat ' s scary . That is
deeply f r i ght eni ng.
Nor man ( musi ci an)
o be al ive is to experience stress. Stress is not a static condition, but,
rather, a process. Stress has been described as "a substantial imbal ance
between demand and response capabil ity , unde r conditions where f ai l -
ure to meet t hat demand has i mport ant consequences" ( McGrath, 1970,
p. 20) . There is an i nt eract i on between the demands of the phy sical and
psy chological envi ronment , the i ndi vi dual ' s perception of those demands,
the person's phy sical and psy chol ogical response to stress, and the be-
havioral consequences.
In addition to the ordi nary stress of human existence, perf ormers
experience stress t hat arises f rom the practice of their profession. The
way in which a perf ormer manages stress is a crucial factor in achieving
performance excellence (Poczwardowski & Conroy, 2002) . What types
of stresses do perf ormers experience? We have al ready detail ed some
t hat are part i cul ar to each of the three domains. In this chapter and the
one that follows, we focus on stresses that appear rel ated to the more
generic aspects of perf ormance. We review stresses and methods of stress-
coping described by our perf ormer interviewees in more t han one do-
main.
Researchers have f ound t hat McGrath' s stress sequence, described
above, serves as a us e f ul model to under st and the stress experienced by
athl etes (Weinberg & Goul d, 1995) . The model appears appropriate for
performers in general . Perf ormance nat ur al l y entail s phy sical and tech-
nical demands that, together with si t uat i onal f actors and the performer' s
expectations and perceptions of them, can i nt ensi f y the experience of
131
stress. Research i de nt i t i e s t wo maj or s i t ua t i ona l sources of stress f or at h -
l etes: ( a) t he i mpor t ance of an event and ( b) unc e r t a i nt y ( Wei nberg &
Goul d, 1995) . The pe r f or me r s we i nt er vi ewed al so described these as
sources of stress. Perceived i mpor t ance of the pe r f or mance event was
ref l ect ed i n di scussi ons of compe t i t i on f or l i mi t e d resotirces, t he pot en-
t i a l impact of mi st ak e s, t he sense of personal responsi bi l i t y , and t he ex-
pect at i ons and s t a nda r ds t o whi ch one i s hel d when pe r f or mi ng f or a
l i vi ng. U nc e r t a i nt y i s e xpe r i e nce d by pe r f or me r s i n a n u mb e r of way s.
These i nc l ude t he u n p r e d i c t a b i l i t y of some t y pes of pe r f or mance , t he
v a r i a b i l i t y t h a t occurs wi t h i n a gr oup of pe r f or me r s, and a recogni t i on of
t h e l i mi t s of h u ma n pe r f or mance .
We have organi zed t h i s i nf or ma t i on by f i r s t l ook i ng at t he phy si cal
act i vat i on or ar ous al associated wi t h t he stress of pe r f or mance , and t hen
we expl ore t he de mands t h a t pe r f or me r s experi ence. Si t ua t i ona l f act or s
t h a t c ont r i but e t o t he experi ence of stress are described, not i ng both t he
perceived i mpor t ance of each s i t ua t i on and t he i mpact of perceived un-
ce r t ai nt y . Each pe r f or me r st r i ves f or excel l ence y et must come t o t erms
wi t h the i n e v i t a b i l i t y of i mpe r f e ct i on. Fi nal l y , we look at the impact of
stress and t he t ol l t h a t i t can t ak ephy si cal l y , ment al l y , and i nt erperson-
al l y .
Physical Activation
The phy si ol ogi cal a c t i va t i on necessary f or pe r f or mi ng t y pi c a l l y produces
a surge of adr e nal i ne , one t h a t can be experienced ei t her posi t i ve l y or
negat i vel y . H ans Sel y e, who coi ned the t er ms eustress and distress to de-
scribe these two ext r emes, al so cal l e d stress the "spice of l i f e " ( Sel y e,
1975, p. 83) . Anna, a l awy er, descri bed t hese two stress el ement s: "I t end
to need stress to work . So good stress is a mot i vat or to per f or m. Bad
stress f or me i s wor r y i ng about t he t h i ngs t h at y ou can' t r e al l y control ."
Our ot her at t or ne y , Ar t h ur , al so spoke of t he " a dr e na l i ne - i nduc i ng" el e-
me nt of stress. "The stress component of it ( wor k ) is ei t her t r y i ng to sat-
i sf y y our own e xpe ct at i ons or hopes, or somebody el se's."
Cs i k s z e nl mi h a l y i ( 1990) descri bed t he experi ence of "f l ow" as t he
bal ance between s k i l l and chal l enge. The exci t ement of ma i nt a i ni ng t h i s
e qui l i br i um is experi enced by Er i c in some t y pes of compl ex ne ur os ur -
geries: "The more d i f f i c u l t the case, the more stress y ou put on y our sel f ;
subconsci ousl y , t he more e xci t i ng i t becomes. Your anxi e t y i s up, but y ou
are al so charged f or it in a l ot bigger f a s h i on, so y ou' r e r e ady f or i t ."
The s i mu l t a n e o u s t ensi on and e xci t e me nt of wor k i ng at one' s ul t i -
mat e capaci t y was exper i enced by Fa i t h as a singer. Mus i c t h at de mands
The Microscopic Nightmare of Inf inity: The Experience of Stress
the f ul l range of the singer's skil l s is both a stressor and a source of deep
satisfaction. In this same manner, Norman, a cellist, called stress "exhila-
rating." Performers' habituation to stress can also mean that sometimes
one is so wrapped up in it that one is only aware of the presence of stress
by its absence: Norman described the beginning of a two- week free pe-
riod as "the most depressing day of my l ife." He knew that he would
settle down af t er a few more day s, "but I don't l ike that feel ing that I'm
not going to be gearing up and getting out there. I like to be gearing up
and getting out there."
Barry ( advertising executive) dichotomized performance: "Really good
performance is euphoric and real l y bad performance is depressing. A lot
of times, the hal f hour before performance is very stressful . Once y ou are
into it, it is either euphoric or depressing."
The absence of stress can, ironical l y , be a source of stress. Using
Csikszentmihal y i' s ( 1990) model , if chal l enge exceeds skill, an uncom-
f ortabl e level of stress is f el t. If skil l outpaces challenge, one experiences
the lack of an adrenal i ne rush, the lack of stimul ation, or boredom. Il l us-
trating this point, Diane ( musi ci an) commented on the stress of having
play ed a particul ar piece of music many times previously , being bored or
t ur ned of f , y et in performance stil l needing to have the music sound new
and exciting.
133
Demands of Perf ormance
By its nature, performance is inherentl y demanding. Any ty pe of perfor-
mance involves technical and, often, phy sical demands. As noted earlier,
some ty pes of perf ormance invol ve memorization of specific performance
material . Time stresses can add to a sense of pressure. Because perform-
ing invol ves being "on," the sense of exposure or vul nerabil ity can
be experienced as a stressor. And the weight of history provides a f ur-
ther "demand" in many areas of performance, that of expectations or
standards.
PHYSICAL AND TECHNICAL DEMANDS
OF PERFORMANCE
A number of performers highl ighted the phy sical and technical demands
of their work. Eric, the neurosurgeon, described the level of endurance
imposed by an eight- to t en- hour surgery ; the emergency room phy si-
cian, Frederick, spoke of the demands of continuous changes of pace as
well as rotating shifts.
Dance stresses the body both presentl y and cumul at i vel y . As Jerry
aged as a dancer, he increasingly needed to l imit his phy sical practice in
order to mai nt ai n his per f or mance abi l i t i es.
Ilene, a pianist now study ing voice for pl easure, was in awe of the
demands experienced by singers.
As a pianist supporting singers, I' m j us t daunt ed by the tact t hat
for singers, y our body is y our instrument. And it's very
phy sical; it can get derai l ed by al l the phy sical things t hat
happen to y ou t hat y ou don' t pl an. And that seems to me to be
so stressful .
MEMORIZATION
Performers in some domains must deal with a distinctive demand: memo-
rization. The perf orming arts are in part defined by presentation of spe-
cific memorized content. We have described the role of memorization for
performing artists in chapter 5. We ment i on it here, agai n, because it is
not only an element of performance but a stressor as well.
TIME STRESSES
Time stress is specific to and i nherent in some aspects of perf ormance.
Music and dance are st ruct ured in rel ation to time. In business, l i f e often
moves at Internet speed. In hi gh- ri sk occupations, time and timing are
often matters of l i f e and death.
"Broadcasting," Ian commented, "is a business of deadl i nes. It is a
time- consuming business. There are no hol i day s or weekends. How can
y ou manage time in y our personal l i f e? How can y ou make sure y our
career does not eat up y our entire personal l ife?" At t ent i on to time may
be a central el ement f r ami ng one's entire l i f e: To be f unct i onal duri ng her
earl y morning radio show, Grace spoke of the rigid dail y time pressures
she experiences, incl uding the need to get to bed early .
Al though time is for the most part irrel evant in neurosurgery , it is
critical at two specific moments: (a) if one is on call and anot her surgery
is waiting for the f irst to be completed, and (b) with some surgeries, if
things go wrong. Eri c el aborated:
Time is al most of no consequence in the operating room. There
is no stress to time. It j ust does not exist. You start and y ou
finish and t hat is it. There is nonl i near time in between. But if
you are on call and you are the only guy covering the whole
service and y ou are in the operating room and y ou' re f i ni shi ng
up one head probl em and there is anot her downst ai rs t h at y ou
are not qui t e sure of t here is s t uf f brewing t hat y ou need to
The Microscopic Nightmare of Inf inity: The Experience of Stress 135
Every musician has his or her own
paranoia. It can be fear of carpal tunnel
syndrome for a string player or a brain
aneurysm for an oboe player. Singers
have the reputation of being much more
paranoid than other musicians, but there
are reasons for these stereotypes about
divas and prima donnas. All singers
worry about their voice at some level.
We get obsessed with it
It's not so natural to develop the voice
to be a beautiful instrument, There's
something very fragile about it. To
actually practice, and get it warmed up,
and to be the instrument that is
beautiful, is not so natural.
There's always worry that you're
going to get sick, or that you'll inhale
something. This time of year, pollen is a
real issue, so I don't go running outside.
We don't like to deal with any kind of
[postnasal] drips, because it really affects
the voice very, very quickly,
I'm aware of my voice the very first
second that I wake up. The first thing I
think is: "Well, how does it feel today?"
"Is it going to be a hard warm-up or an
easy warm-up?" or "Darn, I wish I didn't
have to sing at 10 a.m. Yuck!" because
it's always much harder to get it cranked
up in the morning,
Faith (singer)
get in to look atthat is the only
time I have ever worried about
time in the operating room.
The critical el ements of time and
speed in certain neurosurgeries add to
the combination of stress and accom-
pl ishment. Eric described surgery on an
aneury sm on the basal artery. It is a com-
plex procedure and, additionally, is con-
ducted while looking through a micro-
scope.
As a neurosurgeon, probably
one of the peak procedures that
people can do from a
technically challenging
standpoint is aneury sm surgery
on the basal artery. It is
challenging because it is very
deep seated and it is
surrounded by literally "no
man's land." There is a lot of
room for really devastating
consequences to occur j ust
from little errors or little
problems with technique.
When done successful l y and
smoothly, that procedure
probabl y is still the one that
leaves you with the strongest
sense of accomplishment. It's
also the one that has the
greatest angst associated with
try ing to get through it. It's one
of the procedures with the
greatest risk of catastrophe.
There is no in- between where
one can have "a little bit of a
complication" or problem, yet
recover from the operation. Typically, if there is a problem, it's
l if e- threatening or nearl y l ife- threatening.
It's probably the consequences and the rarity combined that
make it pretty challenging. You are working around a time
bomb. Most of the time the issue is they ( the arteries) have
rupt ured and y ou have to repair them or else the risk stay s and
it's pretty significant. Some people tal k about it as being l ike
wal king t hrough a snake pit. You have to get in to the
aneury sm and y ou have to i de nt i f y and sur r ound it before it
bleeds or bef ore any t hi ng happens to it. Not onl y is it the
mental el ement of the slow methodical dissection, but at any
mi nut e it can j us t go BOOM and the whol e operating f i el d is
vi sual l y gone. And then it t ur ns into a f i re dril l to try to regain
control and get back into position to do something.
EXPO SURE-VULNERABILITY
The sense of exposure and vul ner abi l i t y is most intense among people
who l iteral l y put themsel ves in phy sical danger. George, the medic- sniper,
has an acute awareness of the phy sical risks to himsel f as wel l as, at times,
the sense of being al one against the worl d. He began his st udy of ment al
skil l s t rai ni ng f ol l owi ng an i nci dent in which, as a Special Forces medic,
he was at t empt i ng to treat the victim of a sniper. When an unt r ai ne d
coworker shone a bright l ight on him, George became an obvious target.
Not knowing whether the sni per was stil l present, he f ound his hands
shaki ng, his movements hesitant. He assessed his overal l performance as
far below t hat in si t uat i ons where his l i f e was cl earl y not in danger.
Exposure and vul ner abi l i t y can al so be experienced metaphorical l y .
Al though there is cert ai nl y huge phy sical danger associated with being a
sniper, George focused instead on his sense of vul ne r abi l i t y about his
role responsibil ity : He struggl ed with the potential chal l enge of deciding
the f at e of another h uman being.
The sense of exposure is par t i cul ar l y prof ound when one is being
j udged. The audi t i on process, for exampl e, is not a mat t er of act ual l i f e
and death. It coul d in some way s be compared to a job interview. Yet this
part i cul ar "job interview," with its repeated, of t en unexpl ained, rejec-
tions is one t hat is experienced at f r equent interval s t hr oughout many
performing artists' careers. Kogan ( 2002) expl ained the stress of a l i f e of
audi t i oni ng:
An anal ogous si t uat i on for most of us woul d be one in which
we send a succession of manuscri pt s to ref erred [sic] j ournal s,
al l t ur ne d down wi t hout a word of j ust i f i cat i on. How many of
us woul d remain in a f iel d with t hat k i nd of reward and
punishment sy stem? ( p. 10)
Dunkel (1989) f urt her elaborated on the stress of audi t i oni ng, high-
l ighting differences between l ive concert perf ormances and audi t i ons. In
a l ive concert, "the performer, in a sense, has i nvi t ed the l istener to enj oy
the musi c . . . the audi ence is, so to speak, on the side of the perf ormer.
... In an a udi t i on, however, t he at mosphere can be one of hostil e com-
pe t i t i on" ( p. x x i ) . I n a sur vey of musicians, Dunk e l f ound t hat approxi -
mat e l y 70% were more l i k e l y to experi ence nervousness and anxi e t y
dur i ng a udi t i oni ng as compared wi t h pe r f or mi ng.
Our pe r f or mi ng art i st s spoke of the sense of vul ne r abi l i t y , or expo-
sure, and a sense of personal nakedness ar ound audi t i oni ng and per-
f or mi ng. Ke i t h ( a c t or ) , who was especial l y f or t hcomi ng about hi s a udi -
t i on di s comf or t , sai d:
I don' t t h i nk it' s j us t me. You al way s get di rect ors j ok i ng, "I
wish t her e was a better way to do it. I k now it' s a wf ul but . . . ."
It's i mpor t ant t o unde r s t and audi t i oni ng i n that context, when
al l of those very t angi bl e j udgme nt a l t hi ngs are so present and
so i mme di at e . If not h i ng el se t h a n t he phy si cal space, y ou j us t
real l y feel l i k e y ou' r e in a f i s h bowl . In contrast, there' s
some t hi ng so l i be r at i ng about bei ng on a stage in perf ormance.
You coul d be in f r ont of 15,000 peopl e, but when there' s a
" f our t h wal l " ( audi e nce ) , it' s sort of a sea. It's e nt i r e l y di f f e r e nt
t han h avi ng t wo peopl e si x f eet away f rom y ou wat chi ng y ou
work . Gi ve me the 1 5,000 any day of the week.
Ch ar l ot t e ( dance r ) ref l ect ed on the sense of vul ne r abi l i t y of an art i st
who l oves the art and recognizes t hat pe r f or mi ng in f r ont of others is a
condition f or creat i ng her ar t :
I wasn' t a na t ur a l perf ormer. I wasn' t somebody who went i nt o
dance because t hey j us t l ove to get up in f r ont of peopl e and do
s t uf f . I l oved to dance, but I woul d have done it by my sel f, or
f or my mom and dad; not f or the whol e worl d, in f r ont of
t housands of peopl e, and not doi ng steps t hat I wasn't sure I
coul d accompl i sh in f r ont of t housands of peopl e. I was j us t
very hi ghl y st rung. If I had a show, I di dn' t sleep for weeks
bef ore it. I' d obsess about it, go over every det ai l in my mi nd,
and worry about ever y t hi ng. Even if I coul d do it perf ect l y
twice in a row in rehearsal , I woul d never j ust assume t hat I
coul d pul l it off in f r ont of t housands of peopl e. Somehow
when y ou do the si mpl est t h i ng by y oursel f , it becomes much
more t reacherous when y ou have al l those eyes on y ou and it' s
very qui et .
At the same t i me, it may in par t be the sense of vul ne r abi l i t y t hat
becomes an el ement of the art and its expression. Charl ot t e al so com-
ment ed on the i nt e r act i on between beaut y and vul ne r abi l i t y in dance:
St udent s and y oung dancers bri ng al l of themsel ves and how
t hey feel about t he musi c t o t h e i r work. They ' re creat i ng
137
characters f r om t h e i r own f eel i ngs, , and t h e y r e al l y ar e very
vul ne r abl e . And y ou want t he m t o be t h a t way because t h a t ' s
what makes t he m so b e a u t i f u l t o wat ch .
EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS
The pressure of h a vi ng t o de al wi t h ot h e r s ' e xpe ct at i ons and a nt i c i pa -
t i ons, or t he way s i n whi ch t r a d i t i o n h ol ds sway , al so can be s t r e s s f ul .
These can i n c l u d e a udi e nc e and me di a e xpe ct at i ons , t he e xpe ct at i ons
ar i si ng f r om one' s r e p u t a t i o n , and t he s t a nda r ds and t r a d i t i o n s of one's
f i el d of endeavor.
Nor man described t he cont r ast bet ween what an audi e nce expect s,
because it has become accust omed to per f ect recordi ngs, and wh a t a cl as-
si cal mus i c i a n can a c t ua l l y pr oduce i n a
""""""""""" concert :
With the standard repertoire, you're
always living up to a particular
recording. Everybody has an ear for what
that piece should sound like. It was such
a release to know that this was a premier
of a piece which nobody had a
preconceived idea about (at a concert in
which she played a new composition).
And it wasn't that joke that everybody
says, "Oh you can play wrong notes and
nobody knows," because the composer's
there, you can't play wrong notes, it
doesn't sound good. It's more that you
don't have to live up to the great
traditions of the past about a particular
sound.
llene (musician)
Some cl assi cal mus i c i a ns lose a
l ot of conf i de nce i n t he
r e a l i z a t i on t hat t h e audi e nce
has an exact f e e l i ng about what
t he mus i c s h oul d sound l i k e .
That ' s a conf i de nce suck er . Yoti
go out t o pl ay t he B r ah ms
V i ol i n Concer t o and y ou be t t e r
be l i e ve t h a t a l ot of peopl e in
t he audi e nce k now t h a t piece,
and t he y have t hei r f a vor i t e
recordi ng. And y ou k now t h a t
y ou' r e d e f i n i t e l y not goi ng t o
s ound as good in t h e i r ears,
because not h i ng coul d s ound as
good as h avi ng t he ear phones
on, l i s t e ni ng t o t h e i r f a v o r i t e
pe r f or me r pl ay i t .
A n o t h e r mus i ci an, Mi c h a e l , t ol d a
st or y f r om hi s f i r s t pr of e ssi onal "gig." I t
i s easy t o i magi ne pe r f or me r s i n any f i e l d
havi ng s i mi l a r experi ences, e s pe ci al l y at t he st ar t of t h e i r careers:
As a y oung conduct or , I had a post wi t h an or che st r a composed
of col l ege- aged mus i ci ans . It al way s had a y oung conduct or ;
t hat was what made i t u n i q u e . I was assi gned an advi sor,
someone who came f r om "on h i gh . " He was a pr e t t y sour
person. He woul d come to my r e he ar sal s and he woul d sit in a
corner shak i ng his head and mut t e r i ng "Oh, my god." Then I' d
go to his house for l essons, and he woul d tel l me t hat the
conduct or had to be perfect and coul dn' t make any mistakes.
This went on for a coupl e of mont hs. I hadn' t real l y thought
t hi ngs t hr ough for my sel f at the time. And because he was an
i mport ant aut hor i t y , t here was a tendency to simply swallow
what he was say i ng wi t hout t h i nk i ng about it. This was a big
mistake. Af t er about two months, I f ound that I couldn't
conduct. The abi l i t y where did the abil ity go?it j ust went
away .
One day I went to a rehearsal and I coul dn' t conduct, I
simpl y coul d not conduct. I t hought "I have no idea what I am
doing. I am i ncompet ent . What am I doing on the podium?" I
said, "I'm going off for a l i t t l e whil e," and I l ef t . That night I sat
in my apart ment wi t h my wif e. I coul dn' t have been in a
bl acker mood, I coul dn' t have been more depressed. I had no
idea, not a cl ue. Al l I knew was t hat I had no tal ent.
And then al l of a sudden it was l ike somebody t urned on a
l ight. The room fl ooded wi t h l i ght , f i gurat i vel y speaking. And I
went, "It's him\" Boom! And t hat was the end of that. I threw
off his i nf l ue nc e i mmedi at el y . I had had no idea where it was
coming f r om. I had assumed it as my own viewpoint for my sel f,
but it real l y wasn' t. It was his, not mine. That was al l it took.
By the next rehearsal , not onl y had I recovered al l of my
abi l i t y , but act ual l y I was better. I t h i nk t hat I was abl e during
t hat same t i me period to shed other si t uat i ons f rom the past as
wel l , other experiences of u n d u e i nf l ue nce .
The experience of stress, however, does not end with achievement
and accl aim. In f act , l i k e the novel ist whose f i rst book was a best- seller,
the pressure of l i vi ng up to one's reput at i on can become an additional
source of stress. In one par t i cul ar role, Charl otte ( dancer) commented, "I
al r eady had qui t e a r eput at i on for doi ng [t hi s rol e] well, and that caused
more pressure because y ou' re not sure y ou can pul l it off again as well as
y ou did it l ast time." She described the unnervi ng spotl ight of the media:
In my earl y y ears, I had the sort of success that was j ust
ast oundi ng, and especial l y ast oundi ng to me. For the longest
time, I ignored it t hat peopl e were wri t i ng about me and
t al k i ng about me and excited about me. 1 pretended it was
about somebody else. And t hen event ual l y I started not to be
abl e to pret end it was about somebody else and coul dn' t cope
with the f act t hat people were expecting great t hi ngs f rom me
al l t he time.
139
The t wo br oadcast er s comme nt e d on t he st ress of va r i ous e xpe ct a-
t i ons wi t h i n t he i ndus t r y . I an observed t h a t peopl e expect br oadcast e r s
t o mak e l i ve speci al appe ar ance s wi t h o u t pay . Despi t e he r " ce l e br i t y "
st at us, Grace noted t he stress of an e ve r - pr e se nt doubl e s t a n d a r d : i n t e l l i -
gent , ve r bal l y a r t i c u l a t e women i n br oadcas t i ng are perceived as aggres-
sive. I t i s s t i l l not soci al l y accept abl e t or a woman t o de mons t r a t e s uch
competence.
As ment i oned previ ousl y , c u l t u r a l ant hr opol ogi st Pearl Kat z ( 1999)
st udi e d t he c u l t u r e ol sur geons, de s cr i bi ng t he i nt e r s e ct i on ol mi l i t a r y
a nd me di ci ne , sur ge r y i n p a r t i c u l a r . Bey ond t h e h i s t or i c a l l i n k s a nd l i n -
gui s t i c me t aphor s, sur ge ons have been he l d t o t he t r a di t i on of "surgeon
as hero," men who are abl e t o c ount e r pa t i e nt s ' f e ar s of " i nva s i on" wi t h
t h e i r power and conf i de nce .
Our ph y s i ci ans f o u n d t h r e e aspects of t he s t a nda r ds and e xpe ct a-
t i ons wi t h i n t h e me di cal doma i n p a r t i c u l a r l y ch al l e ngi ng: t h e mi s mat ch
between pe r s onal i t y and rol e e xpe ct at i ons ( Fr e de r i c k ) , t he l e ve l of t ech-
ni cal de mand, a nd t h e mi l i t a r y - s t y l e t r a d i t i o n of s i l e n t l y t o u g h i n g i t out
( Er i c ) . Se l f - de scr i be d as an " i n t e r n a l " person, Fr e de r i ck was u n c o mf o r t -
abl e wi t h t he e xpe ct at i on of e xt e ns i ve i n t e r a c t i o n wi t h ot he r s:
I don' t t h i n k t he "we i ght of r e s pons i bi l i t y " i s a s i g n i f i c a n t
factor. You are t r a i n e d t o do s ome t h i ng. I t ' s a j ob. But I am not
an e xt r ove r t , so f or me, i t i s wor k t o h ave social i n t e r a c t i o n .
That t i r es me out .
Er i c comment ed on t h e mi l i t a r y t r a d i t i o n i nvol ve d i n t r a i n i n g a n d ,
t h us , medi cal pract i ce. Doctors are expect ed t o be "t ough e nough " t o do
t h e i r work wi t h o u t a t t e n t i o n t o t he e mot i ons or stress e xpe r i e nce d
The Perceived Importance
of the Situation
I n a d d i t i o n t o t he de mands of pe r f or mance , t he percei ved i mpor t a nc e of
a s i t u a t i o n has been i d e n t i f i e d as a ma j o r source of st ress l or a t h l e t e s
( We i nbe r g & Goul d, 1995) . The pe r f or me r s i n our p r o j e c t r e f l e c t e d t h i s
process i n t h e i r di s cus s i ons of compe t i t i on f or l i mi t e d resources, t he pr ag-
ma t i c l i mi t a t i o n s of ce r t ai n ar e as of pe r f or ma nc e , and t h e i r s t r ong sense
of per sonal r e s pons i bi l i t y .
COMPETITIVENESS
Pe r f or me r s i n al l doma i ns s t r i ve t o ach i e ve o p t i ma l pe r l or ma nc e . The
L a t i n root of t he word "compet e, " coinpclcrc. me ans "t o s t r i v e wi t h . " At
times, this determination is directed toward oneself. At other times, it is
experienced as pitting onesel f against another.
Competitiveness in the business world is often described as a zero-
sum game, one in which someone wins and someone loses. Charles, an
insurance agent, spoke with f rust rat i on about the increased level of
interorganizational competition. Within the fiel d of law, the one- up, one-
down perspective often is not experienced as f ul f il l ing. Arthur (lawy er)
said:
If it's j ust kind of a zero- sum game, y ou' re not going to be
satisfied and the other party is not going to be satisfied either.
The hard part is to try to f i nd a place where it is not j ust zero
sums.
Anna, al so a lawyer, described this win- lose perspective as Darwin-
ian, the epitome of a l ife and death struggle. Becoming inured to the
struggl e seems connected to the lack of pl easure in their profession that
many l awy ers experience over time: "L awyers win and lose a lot, and it
goes so bad when you lose. You do become somewhat immune to it."
Al though competitiveness is clearly endemic to the world of business
and the masculinized high- risk professions, it is experienced equally within
the performing arts. At times, competitiveness is intrinsic, involving sys-
tems that are designed to pit people against one another. As we noted in
chapter 5, Diane ( musi ci an) described a system that starts early and be-
comes relentless. From an earl y age, music students compete for specific
orchestral positions, annual performance competitions, and auditions.
This same ty pe of competition, also beginning early, is experienced within
the world of dance.
The adul t world of broadcasting invol ves a continual awareness of
positional instability. Ian described a dual istic but constant anticipation
of getting fired: 'There are two kinds of people in broadcasting: the people
who have been fired and the people who are waiting to be fired." Grace
spoke of the competitive atmosphere of industry functions. Brought in
to give a key note address to industry colleagues, she described the audi-
ence as "people who want to dislike y ou. They want to be cynical. They
want to be a hard l augh and a tough nut to crack."
In some situations, the competitiveness derives from either a scarcity
or an abundance of resources. This is in part a function of supply and
demand. In ballet, as we noted, an over- suppl y of femal e dancers means
that they need to be more competent than their male counterparts to
obtain a role. Consul tant Dr. Owen Osborne routinel y worked with per-
formers seeking a career in the world of the theatre. For those who are
talented and f ort unat e enough to land paying roles, other competitive
challenges are also present: meager pay or performances that run for a
f i ni t e length of time.
141
Both broadcasters described these stresses within t hei r f i el d as well.
For Ian, it invol ved a low level of pay ; for Grace, it was the l imited time
frame avail abl e for one's career. Grace sai d:
I can't do this forever. I have a l onger career t han an athl ete,
because I don' t need my knees, and e ve nt ual l y I can do
something else in this i ndust ry . But even t hough my show is
very l ucrative and popul ar, the clock is r unni ng on it.
SENSE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Al though personal responsibil ity is one of the cornerstones of f unct i onal
teams and team bui l di ng, this issue is not a ty pical f ocus in descriptions
of stress in performance. We were i nt r i gue d to notice t hat perf ormers in
each of the domai ns mentioned a sense of personal responsibil ity as a
stressor. This sense of responsi bi l i t y was described in rel ation both to
oneself and to others. It was refl ected not onl y by those who were ac-
tivel y involved in group ef f or t s in which the success of the group de-
pends on each i ndi vi dual , but al so by successful perf ormers who mani-
fest the bibl ical i nj unct i on, "To whom much is given, much is expected."
Whereas l awy ers are stereoty pical l y portray ed as being amoral , in
reality a sense of personal responsibil ity not onl y is expected but al so is
often demanded by cl ients. Anna expl ai ned:
There's an aspect of the rel at i onshi p between a l awy er and the
cl ient where y ou are the parent . You are the person they
expect to be t hei r advocate. And a l ot goes with t hat . They
real l y want y ou to k now every t hi ng. They want y ou to be
super- capabl e. Whet her in l i t i gat i on or in corporate deal s, t hey
want you to beat the other side. They want you to prevail on
their behal f.
Great athl etes often personal ize responses to a competitive chal l enge
( Cl arkson, 1999) . The sense of personal responsibil ity was also reported
as stressful by some of the perf ormers we interviewed. Keith ( actor) ex-
perienced this as an internal pressure, his responsibil ity to hi msel f : "The
pressures are so i nt ernal ; t hey ' re not br ought on so much f rom the
performance aspect. They ' re f rom me f aci ng me, not me f acing 2,000
people."
Hel ena ( dancer) commented on the sense of responsibil ity in rel a-
tion to personal i nj ury :
Deal ing with inj uries is very di f f i c ul t , very demanding, very
draining, very stressf ul . You feel f r us t r at e d and disappointed
with y ourself. You also feel that y ou' re l etting down y our
col l eagues and y our publ ic. You f ai l ed, y ou' re not good
enough. You feel l ike you might as well go j ump off a bridge.
You j ust come down with so many harsh j udgments on
y oursel f.
This sense of personal responsibil ity , as Helena noted, also carries
with it an implicit sense of responsibil ity to others, whether fellow per-
formers or audience. Jerry, also a dancer, elaborated on this point in rela-
tion to inj ury and inj ury management:
You can always f i nd at least one person who says, "You know,
you brought this on y oursel f; this isn't a disease." Sometimes
that's true; sometimes it is a technical f aul t. But five people can
have the same technical f aul t arid two of them will get inj ured,
so it's not entirel y y our f aul t . For dancers, that's a maj or source
of stress and a maj or source of guil t.
In both of his rolesone as a Special Forces medic and the other as a
police sniperGeorge experienced a strong sense of responsibility to oth-
ers. He was more concerned about l etting teammates down than even
losing his own l ife. As a police sniper, the sense of personal responsibility
was mul til ay ered. He must be a lone decision- maker; he risked not sav-
ing an innocent person; and here, too, he was concerned about letting
his teammates down. Al though he had not yet been required to "take
the shot" ( actual l y fire on a human target) , he anticipated complex reac-
tions: In such an activity, he expected a shifting perspective that woul d
weigh heavily on him. The perpetrator would shift f rom being an object
to being seen as a person who must then be transformed and deperson-
alized to the category of "target." George tal ked about being in a poten-
tial sniping situation: He might be the onl y person to see a particul ar
event and thus woul d be placed in the simul taneous roles of "judge, j ury ,
and executioner."
I may be shooting to kil l somebody, but I'm doing it to save an
innocent person and that's what keeps me motivated. At the
same time, I may be watching that person ( the target) through
my telescopic sight for hours on end. That person becomes not
j ust a target; he can become a real, live, breathing person. You
see him doing things that you can relate to.
The Uncertainty of
the Situation
143
Uncertainty whether invol ving the unknown, aspects of the perfor-
mance that are out of one's control, or dependence on others' perfor-
manceis a maj or si t uat i onal source of stress tor at hl et es ( Weinberg &
Goul d, 1995). It is no di f f e r e nt for the perf ormers t hat we i nt ervi ewed,
al though each experiences it sl i ght l y di f f e r e nt l y in rel ation to t hei r own
f iel d of perf ormance.
For a surgeon, unce r t ai nt y is a sal i ent stressor. Eri c spoke of two ty pes
of stress in surgery : one rel ated to more di f f i cul t surgeries and the other
rel ated to uncont rol l abl e f act ors t hat can occur even with r out i ne opera-
tions. He commented that for complex surgeries, the combination of l i f e-
threatening consequences and rarel y perf ormed procedures made such
operations "pretty chal l engi ng."
[Ironical l y ,] the operat i ng room is many times the most
control l abl e part of our day . We k now what to expect there.
The potential for probl ems does not sur f ace unt i l several day s
l ater or down the road. Probabl y the har de r stress to deal wi t h
is the pat i ent management stress, where y ou are not sure and
y ou don' t have the same control . Most of the t i me those are
deals when y ou have to sit and wait and watch to see what is
going to happen.
Sel f - ef f i cacy , the conf i dence t hat one can successf ul l y per f or m a t ask,
is si t uat i on- speci f i c with at hl et es ( Wei nberg & Goul d, 1995) . The same
appears to hold t r ue for nonat hl et i c performers. For exampl e, Har ol d f el t
entirel y comf ortabl e in his rol e as a conduct or but said t hat he exper i -
enced "debil itating stage f r i gh t " when he had to perf orm on pi ano. Al -
though an accompl ished pianist, he focused on and became concerned
about phy sical t echni que. Paradoxi cal l y , conducting, which he described
as being "all about anal y si s" and qui nt e s s e nt i al l y ment al , did not f r i ght en
hi m.
Ian described acting, especial l y the f i r s t ni ght , as i nvol vi ng the uncer-
tainty of whet her one can get t hr ough the whol e show. As we noted in
chapter 5, the question of s uf f i ci e nt memori zat i on adds its own f ri sson or
edge:
I am al way s a l i t t l e tense before it starts, even on the openi ng
ni ght . I al way s ask my sel f , "What the hel l are y ou doing t hi s
for?" It's the first time y ou' ve done it in front of an audience
and y ou don' t know if y ou can do a whol e show, recal l al l
those words.
Because David ( bank e r ) worked in an envi r onment with l ong- term
rather t han immediate outcomes, his stress came f rom "mak i ng deci-
sions and not knowing if y ou' re right or wrong, whether y ou were doing
the right thing, whether it's going to work. The l ong- term nat ur e [of the
decision! k i nd of eats at y ou."
For some people, the interaction with others is st ressf ul , in part be-
cause of the dy nami cs of the group. Di f f er ent i at i ng between anxi et y and
stress, Barry ( adver t i si ng execut i ve) commented al most dismissivel y t hat
"there is a terror t hat goes wi t h speaki ng at conferences, but that's mostl y
stage f r i ght . " He f ound the f e ar of the unk nown to be st ressf ul . That
unk nown increases when work i ng as a team: "The more people y ou add,
the less known it is how wel l they wil l perf orm."
In a management position, al ong with the stress of uncert ai nt y , David
( bank er ) f ound t hat deal i ng with peopl e and t hei r issueswhether com-
pensation or the processes of hi ri ng and f i r i ngwas st ressf ul . "Deal ing
with people and what they t hi nk the issues are, deal ing with compensa-
tion issues with people, and deal i ng wi t h hi r i ng people and l etting people
goall that can get pretty sensitive."
Al though al l perf ormers strive for perfection in one way or another,
they are conf ronted with the i nevi t abi l i t y of //^perfection. Attention to
imperfection can be anot her stressor, y et anot he r mani f est at i on of un-
certainty .
Imperfection is a constant aspect of unce r t ai nt y with which surgeons
must deal . Eric recognized that for cert ai n medical conditions, there wil l
be a poor outcome regardl ess of what one does. The surgeon must come
to terms with this f r ust r at i ng real i t y .
A number of the musi ci ans spoke to t hi s issuethe i ne vi t abi l i t y of
imperfection. Michael , a conductor, wisel y noted t hat the i ndi vi dua l who
focuses on perfection as the goal bur de ns hi msel f or hersel f with stress.
Diane ( musi ci an) described the way s in whi ch expectations of perfection
can i nt erf ere di rect l y with pe r f or mi ng wel l :
Just before y ou go out on stage, y ou can' t be t hi nk i ng "Now I
better mak e sure I get my t hi r d f i nge r j us t a l i t t l e bit hi gher on
t hat string or I' l l never mak e t hat shi f t . " You can' t move as
quickl y or as easil y when y ou' re tense. That means al l y our
f i f t h s ( interval s between notes) are going to be under ( pitched
f l at ) , or if y ou real ize that and try to overcompensate, then
they ' re going to be over ( pitched too shar p) .
Norman refl ected on this inevitabl e di l emma:
The t rul y great cl assical composersBach, Mozart, Beethoven,
Monteverdi, some of the real l y ant i que composers l i k e Josqui n
DesPres, and the modern masters Arnol d Shoenberg and
Stravinsky wrote the most perf ect musi c on the pl anet. The
idea of one of these composers staring over y our shoul der,
say ing "You' re never going to play it as wel l as I wrote it," is
daunt i ng. You can't pl ay it as wel l as they wrote it because, like
the Heisenberg principl e, by pl ay i ng it, y ou spoil it or y ou
145
change too much of it. But if y ou change it, y ou have to be
comf ort abl e t h at y ou' ve made i t enough y our own t hat y ou at
least feel okay about what ever changes y ou made.
Consequences of Stress
Stress has consequences on onesel f and on rel at i ons wi t h others. Al -
t hough the mi nd and body are i ne xt r i cabl y l i nk ed ( and perhaps this is
nowhere more appar ent t han in stress reactions) , for cl ari t y of present a-
tion, we have separated out the consequences in a general way , di vi di ng
mmmmmmmm
mmmm^^mmm^mmmmam t hem i nt o phy sical , mental , and interper-
. , . , . . . . . . , sonal .
I h ate doing ta p e d in te r vie ws , be c a us e , , ,
Davi d ( bank e r ) gave a cl assic descnp-
they have to be right and they have to
t j on ()f his phy si ol ogi cal
experience of
be perfect. You have no excuse, i wil l
stress:

If rm ma
king a present at i on, es-
sometimes start over twice to three peci al l y by my sel f , the stress l evel goes
times. I l ike live better, because y ou can't up. I may not sleep as wel l the ni ght be-
startover. iore,
anc
^
t ne next
morni ng I wak e up
earl i er, begin f i dget i ng." Al so t y pi cal was
I an (broadcaster) his i ni t i al rel uct ance to consider stress as
t he source of hi s phy si cal d i f f i c u l t i e s .
People of t en r equi r e a great deal of convi nci ng bef ore they accept the
i nt eract i on of stress and phy si ol ogi cal response. David l earned about his
stress reactions:
Ten or 15 y ears ago, I was get t i ng terribl e headaches every day
and f e e l i ng k i nd of dizzy . I t h ough t I was dy i ng. I went to see a
doctor and I sai d, "Something' s wrong." He was very smooth in
the way he did it, but basi cal l y he said, "Well, we can do l ots of
tests and we can do br ai n scans and we can do al l t hi s k i nd of
s t u f f ; but l et me ask y ou: How are t hi ngs going at work?" And I
said, "Wel l t he y ' r e goi ng f i ne . " I real l y t hought t hey were. And
he said, "Wel l , it j us t mi ght be stress."
Ar t h u r ( l awy e r ) recognized some of the common phy si cal ef f ect s of
stress, the ebbs and f l ows of adr e nal i ne : "Phy si cal l y y ou are either ener-
gized by stress and go hi gh or y ou' r e sort of wiped out by it and y ou have
to try to get y oursel f back up to keep going." Phy si cal stress is not iso-
l at ed. Its impact on one's t hought processes and af f ect can be pr of ound.
L arry ( act or ) ascribed a recent pani c at t ack to the bui l dup of phy sical
f at i gue .
The mental consequences of stress are experienced through one's
thoughts and feel ings. Charlotte ( dancer) commented: "I'm dramatizing
a bit, but every performance to me was l ife and death. For me it was the
most important thing that could possibly be happening." Sleep was inter-
rupted as she mentally reviewed all aspects of her performance. We have
described (chap. 3, this vol ume) the ways in which for Barry, in advertis-
ing, cumul ative stress resul ted in probl ems with concentration and
memory. Arthur (l awy er) also described the impact of stress on his abil-
ity to focus: "Some of what I have to do is very technical. It's very hard to
be really stressed and technical at the same time."
For the physicians, various stressors were mentioned. Frederick (emer-
gency room physician) noted the ways in which constant change is itself
tiring, especially having to relate differentl y to different patients.
Stress serves to narrow one's attention and heighten one's sensa-
tions. Intriguingly, this vividness can be a challenge in surgeries that in-
volve magnification of one's visual fiel d. Eric described the mental and
physical stress on all of one's senses as a function of changes to a single
sense organ:
Microsurgery produces a very strange sensation. Along with
vision, I guess all of y our senses are magnified. You are
working through this operative microscope that is incredibly
bright and well litthat's what allows us to do these
proceduresbut you are working at ten times normal power.
You don't realize it but the acuteness of y our hearing is turned
way up at the same time. That's why, even though music is
pretty common in the operating room, almost no microsurgeon
in stressful cases can have any kind of music on. Just about
everybody will have music playing for most things, but when
you get to a difficul t procedure, any noise is too much noise.
Microsurgeries can last as long as eight to ten hours, and physical
and mental stress results from the sheer duration of the procedure:
We rely a lot on teamwork when we are doing cases that are
very complicated or very long. You want that extra set of eyes
there with you, from both the complexity standpoint and also
to spell y ou. I think a surgeon under the microscope has
probably reached the peak of effectiveness at about f our hours.
Some types of cases, though, routinel y will be eight or ten
hours long. The guy whose case it is will typically start and run
for about f our hours. Once y ou have done that, somebody
spells you for an hour or two. But then it's not like y ou're good
for four more hours. From then on, typically you trade off
every hour or hour and a hal f, because you can't focus. It's not
147
the vi sual but the mental focus. You begin to wander a l ittl e bit
too much. And of course the cases t hat take that long are not
cases where y ou can [ af f or d to] lose f ocus. You are usual l y
doing something t hat is f ai r l y slow and tedious. That equates
with something that is usual l y i nt i mat el y associated with
st ruct ures t hat y ou cannot mess with.
Stress can have mark ed consequences for one's primary as wel l as
social rel ationships. Eric, a surgeon, commented t hat the stress of deal ing
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ with unpredictabl e outcomes can t ak e a
tol l on one's famil y and other rel at i on-
Since I have been doing this job, I have
ships This
awareness of the di f f i cul t i e s
not made very many f riends. I have a
O
f i nt egrat i ng the personal and profes-
mi l l i on acquaintances, but have not sional among performers has been more
made very many friends, because you t y pi cal l y expressed by women prof es-
don't know the dif f erence between,
si onal s
'
I n a detail ed
qual i t at i ve st udy of
, . eight successf ul mi ddl e - age d l awy ers,
Are we having a conversation or are ., , . , , ,
one of t he p r i ma r y t h e me s of t he
you gathering an anecdote? Whi ch one
women
, but not the men, was this issue
is it? It's f i n e for you to gather an
of
bal ance ( O' Donovan- Pol ten, 2001) .
anecdote, but we can't have a f r i e nds hi p Both broadcasters al so commented
simul taneousl y. " I've decided that it's on the chal l enges that t hei r professions
best to dance with the one that "brung" P
ose for their
Personal l ives. Grace spoke
iu * u * - j x u ^ i u ^ i u j : i about the impact for her in terms of both
you. I have the friends that I had before I
f
,
1
,
f ri endshi ps and her primary rel ationship.
began wor ki ng as a p ubl i c f i gure.
Gracgl so described the impact of her
-Grace (broadcaster) success and vi s i bi l i t y on the way s in
which her husband is perceived: "You are
l iteral l y invisibl e as a man. It's hard for a
guy . He is j us t compl etel y margi nal i zed." She said that this spousal i nvi s-
i bi l i t y adds "anot her l ay er of responsibil ity for me that I do not see [my
co- anchor] or other men havi ng to deal wi t h."
Yet t hi s stress may not be ent i rel y gender rel ated. Ian commented:
If y ou are successf ul , y ou are in the spotl ight, whether y ou
want it or not. At f i r st it can be pretty charming for y our
spouse. Then it can become damn annoy i ng, not j ust because it
is an i nt rusi on, but because they never get noticed.
More general l y , Grace commented on the chal l enge to the work- l ife
bal ance:
The hardest thing is the work- l ife bal ance. This is a very sel f ish
career. It is real l y hard in this business: You get up so earl y and
go to bed so earl y . And then, y ou are the center of at t ent i on.
You get used to being the center of at t ent i on and it gets real
crowded for ot her peopl e to come into y our precious world
where y our head is the size of the eart h.
The more of y oursel f y ou pour into the j ob, the more y ou
f eel l ike y ou need the adul at i on and feedback of strangers. But
the more f ul l and rich my own l i f e is, the less those people can
puf f me up and the less those sl ams hur t my feel ings. If I' m
being a bitch ar ound the house, if my husband and stepson do
not love me, then it does not matter that some y ahoo in
Kent uck y loves me. Conversel y , if these people adore me and I
love them and I have a good r el at i onshi p with all the people
t hat mat t er and some j erk t hi nk s I shoul d k i l l my sel f, the less it
mat t ers to me.
Recommendations
to Consultants
149
Perf ormers experience stress si mi l ar to athl etes: Stress occurs when
perceived demands exceed perceived resources and the outcome
is deemed i mpor t ant . The s i t uat i onal f act ors of uncert ai nt y and
perceived importance of an event t end to increase the experience
of stress.
Stress can be a posi t i ve experience, described by some as exhil a-
rat i ng, exci t i ng, mot i vat i ng, and as a catal y st for at t ai ni ng optimal
i nt e nsi t y f or perf ormance.
Al t h ough t here are common el ement s of stress in each domain
and across domai ns, stress is an ext r emel y personal , idiosy ncratic
experience. It is cr uci al for a consul t ant to det ermi ne what the
cl ient perceives as st r e ssf ul . If the stresses commonl y identified by
others are not ment i oned, the cl ient may have coping skil l s in these
areas t hat can be h e l pf ul in addressi ng those areas where stress is
experienced.
For some peopl e who are accl i mat ed to f unct i oni ng habitual l y
under hi gh stress condi t i ons, the absence of stress itsel f can be
experi enced as st ressf ul or at l east somewhat disorienting.
Perf ormers experi ence var y i ng degrees of both phy sical stress and
ment al stress. Those most l i k e l y to experience phy sical stress in-
cl ude perf ormers in the hi gh- ri sk domai n and perf orming artists.
Perf ormers in the hi gh- ri sk domai n may undergo high phy sical
demand in rel at i on to t he i r work or may experience direct threat
of har m. As with athl etes, perf ormi ng artists' bodies may be cen-
t r al t o t he per f or mance i t s e l f .
Where per f or mance and practice make exceptional de mands on
the body (e.g., bal l e t ) , stress is t y pi cal l y cumul at i ve over t i me. Thi s
can have si gni f i cant i mpl i cat i ons for the dur at i on of a per f or mer ' s
career. Cons ul t ant s i n these domai ns are advised t o have k nowl -
edge of phy siol ogical f unct i oni ng, recovery f r om i nj ur y , and ca-
reer t r ansi t i on.
Cumul at i ve stress may resul t in a vari et y of di f f i c ul t i e s : somat i c
reactions and phy sical or mental exhaust i on. Consul t ant s shoul d
be aware t hat perf ormers in al l domai ns are at risk f or negat i ve
effects f rom prol onged stress.
The requi rement of memori zat i on is a common stress f actor for
perf ormers who are expected to f ol l ow a predet ermi ned pat t e r n,
as in t heat re and dance.
In several domains, time can be a source of s i gni f i cant stress. This
i s par t i cul ar l y t r ue i n any domai n t hat i nvol ves deadl i nes; when
changes occur at l i ght ni ng speed ( e.g., in many aspects of bus i -
ness) ; and in hi gh- r i sk pe r f or mance s where both speed and accu-
racy are cri t i cal .
Some perf ormers' sense of exposure or vul ne r a bi l i t y may mani f e st
itsel f in phy sical or emot i onal way s.
The expectations and ant i ci pat i ons of ot hers can be a source of
stress for per f or mer s in al l domai ns. This can be especial l y t r ue
when, because of t r adi t i on or i n d i v i d u a l personal i t y , there are ri gi d
expectations of what const i t ut es an excel l ent pe r f or mance .
Competition f r e que nt l y i ncreases the sense of stress by ma k i n g
the outcome more i mport ant .
Perf ormers f r e que nt l y place a ddi t i ona l stress on t hemsel ves by vi r -
tue of t hei r own sense of personal responsi bi l i t y .
An omnipresent source of stress for many perf ormers is the i ne vi -
t abi l i t y of i mperf ect i on.
Stress can t ak e its tol l on pe r f or me r s ph y s i cal l y t h r ough f at i gue ,
i nj ury , or somatic il l nesses, such as headaches, backaches, ul cers,
and sleep di st ur bance. In assessing phy si cal sy mpt oms, cons ul t -
ant s shoul d be mi n d f u l of stress as a pot ent i al cause.
Establ ishing a work- l ife bal ance may be exceedi ngl y ch al l e ngi ng
for successful perf ormers. Consul t ant s are advised to be mi n d f u l of
interpersonal rel ationships as both a t r e me ndous source of s up-
port and a possibl e source of stress.
R e f r a m e a n d R e l a x:
Copin g With S tr e s s
My great mant ra is: "No matter how good or bad it is, 60 seconds is still a
mi nute, and there are onl y 60 of them in an hour. This may be real l y fun
ri ght now, but it's passing. This may be real l y bad right now, but it will
pass." When somethi ng is real l y heinous and I absol utel y can't get it
together, I j us t take a deep breath and I look at the clock. "This will not
l ast, because nothi ng does." It is ki nd of a morbid way of l ooking at it.
My other mant ra is: "There's a rock in the river. The water can' t fl ow
t hrough it, it can' t j ump over it, and it can' t go under it. The water comes
to the rock and separates and goes around it. I am the rock and it (al l the
stress" is the ri veral l of i t . )
Grace (broadcaster)
n the previ ous chapter, we described some of the stresses associated with
being a performer and performi ng. Here, we discuss methods that per-
formers use to cope with those stresses. We begin with a brief description
of some of the schemas researchers have developed to characterize meth-
ods of stress coping; we then cl uster our interviewees' responses. As other
researchers have observed, we note that it is easier to name types of
stress t han to f i nd an enti rel y f unct i onal taxonomy to describe stress cop-
i ng.
Theoretical Perspectives
on Coping With Stress
Coping has been def i ned as "constantl y changing cognitive and behav-
i oral efforts to manage specific ext ernal and/or i nternal demands that are
apprai sed as taxi ng or exceeding the resources of the person" (Lazarus &
Fol kman, 1984, p. 141) . Coping begins by assessing a situation. An indi-
vi dual f i rst makes a j udgment on whether the demands of the situation
are stressful , a process that researchers Lazarus and Fol kman called pri-
mary appraisal . They referred to the next step as secondary appraisal, the
151
152 KEY F A C T O R S I N P H R F O R M A N C F
assessment of one' s a b i l i t y t o h andl e t he s i t u a t i o n by e va l u a t i ng a va i l a b l e
resources and pos s i bl e out comes . The combi ned p r i ma r y and s eco ndar y
apprai s al s det er mi ne t h e i n t e n s i t y o f stress t h at o ne experi ences ; t h i s i n
t u r n i nf l u e nc e s t he choi ce of cop i ng responses. Wher eas t he r ange ol
possi bl e copi ng responses may be l i mi t l e s s , s t r at egi es can be g e n e r a l l y
cl as s i f i ed as e i t h e r p r o b l em- f o cus ed or emo t i o n- f o cu s ed ( Ha r d y el al . ,
1996; Lazar us f r Fo l kma n, 1984) . Pr o b l em- f o cus ed s t r at egi es a t t e mp t t o
change, al t er , o r mo di f y t h e a c t u a l c o ndi t i o ns t h a t cause t h e s t res s . Th i s
may i nvo l ve ga t h e r i ng more i n f o r ma t i o n , go a l - s e t t i ng, p r o b l em- s o l vi ng,
and t i me- management t e c h ni q u e s , al l of wh i ch ar e des i gned l o change
t he basi c co ndi t i o ns t h a t gi ve ri se t o st ress. Emo t i o n- f o cus ed s t r a t e gi e s
target ch angi ng one' s e mo t i o na l response t o t he s t r e s s f u l event . Th i s may
i nvol ve l ear ni ng r el axat i o n t e c h ni q u e s t o cope wi t h a s i t u a t i o n t h a t mu s t
be endur ed or co gni t i ve t e c h ni q u e s t o change t he me a ni ng or percep-
t i ons of the event .
Based on t he i n i t i a l work by La / a r u s and Fo l kman, a more el abo-
rated t heor et i cal f r a me wo r k ( Co x & Fer gus on, 1991; En d l e r f r Par ker ,
1990) categori zed copi ng i nt o l o u r el ement s : p r o b l em- f o cus ed, e mo t i o n-
f ocus ed, ap p r ai s al - f o cu s ed, or a vo i da nc e - f o c u s e d. Thi s schema has been
used i n a n u mb e r of s t u di e s of a t h l e t e s , and va r i o u s copi ng i nve nt o r i e s ,
usi ng t h i s schema, h ave been devel op ed f or us e wi t h a t h l e t e s .
Even t h o ugh res earchers may debat e t he mer i t s of d i f f e r i n g and com-
pl ex cl as s i f i cat i on schemas, p er f o r mer s ar e wel l awar e t h a t s u c c e s s f u l cop-
i ng f or ms a cent r al el ement i n o p t i ma l p er f o r mance. I n a recent q u a l i t a -
t i ve s t udy of met hods of copi ng used by a t h l e t e s and p e r f o r mi n g a r t i s t s ,
Poczwardowski and Conroy ( 2002) f o u n d t h a t 1 5 of t h ei r 16 i nt er vi ewees
"viewed copi ng as a maj o r part of t h e i r p er f o r mance: Ef f e c t i v e cop i ng
wi t h emot i ons was an es s ent i al and i nh e r e nt p an of t he p e r f o r mi ng c r a f t "
(p. 3 24) . Al t h o ugh " u ni ve r s a l p a t t e r ns of cop i ng mi gh t not e xi s t , and . . .
most commonl y used t axo no mi es of copi ng b eh avi o r . . . may o ver s i m-
p l i f y t he i ssue" ( p . 3 25) , Poczwardows ki and Conroy co ncl uded t h a t "ex-
cel l ence i n copi ng precedes excel l ence i n p er f or mance" (p. 3 1 3 ) .
The var i o us model s of stress copi ng r emi nd us of Hal ey' s ( 1987 ) g u i d -
ance t h at whereas researchers need det ai l ed and el abor at e t heori es , prac-
t i t i oner s need s i mp l e model s f r om whi ch t o make deci s i ons . We h ave
f o und McGrat h' s ( 197 0 ) model a u s e f u l overal l gui de t o a p p l i c a t i o n. Thi s
model i s i nf l uenced by Lazar us ' s concepts of p r i ma r y and s econdary ap-
prai sal s. I n McGr at h' s f r amewor k, stress occurs when t he exp er i ence i n
whi ch the perceived demands of a s i t u a t i o n are great er t h an the perceived
resources, and the outcome of the s i t u a t i o n i s consi dered i mp o r t a nt . From
t hi s model , managi ng stress i s accomp l i s hed by i nt er veni ng i n one ot
these three areas: decreasi ng demands , i ncr eas i ng resources, or r edu ci ng
the i mport ance of the out come.
To i l l u s t r a t e t he a p p l i c a t i o n of t h i s model : Al t h o ugh one mi gh t not
be abl e t o reduce t he t ech ni cal demands of a p a r t i c u l a r t yp e of p er f o r -
Reframe and Relax: Coping With Stress
mance, it might be possible to reduce the freq uency of performance. Like-
wise, one may reduce the sel f-imposed or perceived demands of a perfor-
mance by changing one's standard from the attempt at perfection to sus-
tained excellence over time. One can reduce stress by increasing perceived
resources, such as having adeq uate rest and energy and ensuring t hat
physical abil ities are functi oni ng at optimum level. Stress can l ikewise be
handl ed by changing one's perspective on the importance of the out-
come of a performance. If a person hol ds the belief that his or her entire
sel f-worth hinges on a single performance, the stress can be i nsurmount-
able. The feel ing of stress can be al tered by shi fti ng perspective on the
importance of the outcome. For exampl e, this reframi ng might involve
recognizing that whereas it woul d be trul y wonderf ul if one's audi ti on
performance had been fl awl ess and the rol e had been won, there will be
other opportunities and one's fami l y and f ri ends wil l remain, regardl ess
of the outcome.
The vast majority of i nformati on shared by our interviewees described
positive methods of coping; we detail these in the remainder of the chap-
ter. However, performers, l ike the rest of us, sometimes use less than
optimal l y heal thy methods for coping with stress, and we woul d be re-
miss not to at least acknowl edge that fact. We di dn' t ask directl y, nor did
we ask performers to di f f erent i at e between constructive and noncon-
structive or l ess-than-heal thful methods. We heard very l ittl e about these
methods, and, thus, we can't general ize about freq uency, type, or rati o-
nale, let alone make comparisons between i ndi vi dual s or across domains.
It is commonly understood that certain less optimal methods are en-
demic to specific performance cul tures. Dr. Norris described the ways in
which overuse of al cohol and other substances is ubi q ui tous wi thi n the
music industry. Bal l et dancers f req uent l y t urn to cigarette smoking for
both weight control and stress management. Jerry (dancer) spoke about
smoking as a way of stress coping:
I smoked, even though I knew how bad it was for me. I woul d
go through long periods of not choosing that response to stress,
but occasionally, when I most needed to have every ounce of
oomph, I would smoke anyway.
When I say smoke I don't mean packs a day, I mean two or
three cigarettes. But whether i t' s a mental or physical effect, I
knew that smoking meant that I was going to have to work
harder. The minute I put that thing in my mouth, I knew,
"Okay, today you' re going to feel physical l y less capabl e.
Nothing extraordi nary is going to happen to you today. You' re
not going to pul l out that unexpected pirouette. You' re going to
have to work for every step." If I gave in and smoked, then I
knew I wasn't handl ing my stress, and that took away some of
the spontaneous pl easure in the performance. I don't l ike the
153
idea that ballet is so stressful that you have to resort to
demonstrabl y unheal thy solutions. It's better than a nervous
breakdown, but not a good sol ution.
We cl ustered performers' responses in terms of efforts to decrease
the demands, increase the resources, or diminish the importance of the
outcome.
Decrease the Demands
In most performance settings, certain explicit requirements may not be
al terabl e. A performer' s sel f-imposed or perceived demands can often be
changed by adjusting his or her goals, reframing the task, or reinterpret-
ing the experience of stress.
REDEFINE THE GOAL
If one reframes the goal or the focus of a performing experience, per-
ceived demands may be reduced and stress thereby diminished. This can
be accomplished in a number of di fferent ways, such as shifting the de-
mand from an outcome goal to a process goal. For example, the goal for
a demanding si tuati on may become the refinement of certain skills rather
than the achievement of a particul ar outcome. Attorney Art hur noted
that he often redefines the goal of a negotiation by focusing on the pro-
cess. He said that he becomes "curious about how things work and why
they work the way they do." This in turn changes his sense of demand in
the situation.
Through a real istic appraisal of their goals, performers may reduce
stress by l imiting their expectations or demands on themselves. Arthur
admitted his own limits:
You have to bring di fferent tal ents to the game, and you can't
do it all. You might be able to do di fferent aspects of the thing
at di f f erent times, but you can't do it all at once. Or you can't
do it all at once and be particul arl y effective.
ALTER OR REFRAME THE TASK
Another closely related method for diminishing demands invol ves rede-
fi ni ng or al tering one's perception of a task. Keith (actor) spoke of this
process as a means of coping with the stress of auditioning. By changing
his perception of the situation and its inherent demands, he was able to
perform with greater ease and confidence.
Re frame and Relax: Coping With Stress 155
A woman who had stopped dancing, but
who I had danced with previously,
happened to be in Munich when I was
performing there. She was going to start
working with the company the next day.
And she said, "Oh well, of course I'm
coming to the performance," and I just
turned white, I was like: "Oh man, it's
going to be awful, don't come." And she
said, "I'm not coming to see how you
dance, I'm coming to see you." It just
made me feel so good. I say that now to
my students all the time: "I don't care
what you do, I care about you; I want to
see you."
Jerry (dancer)
It hel ps to view the audi t i on as
peopl e want i ng you to do well
because they have a probl em
t hat they want to sol ve. They' re
not si tti ng back there saying,
"Show me"; they' re prayi ng
t hat whoever they desperatel y
want is going to wal k t hrough
the doors and they can say,
"Ah! We f ound thi s person; this
is fantasti c! We have what we
need. We have what we want. "
If you come in there with a
real not a fal sesense of
bravado, if you come with a
real uns hakabl e sense that you
absol utel y have what it takes to
give them what they need,
peopl e are wil l ing and eager to
l atch onto t hat .
REFRAME THE INTERPRETATION OR
EXPERIENCE OF STRESS
Another method of changi ng the demand is by acti ve rel abel i ng or rei n-
terpretation of the experi ence of stress. The Chi nese symbol for crisis com-
bines two characters, one depicting "danger, " the other, "opportuni ty."
Ian (broadcaster) viewed somethi ng goi ng wrong duri ng a broadcast as
an opportuni ty to rise to the chal l enge.
This act of re-at t ri but i on can be i nt ent i onal and can in t ur n strengthen
one's sel f-effi cacy, or "sense of sel f . " Mi chael (conductor) commented
that "there are obstacl es and probl ems t hat come up and you solve them.
I t hi nk it's the process of attempti ng to solve them which l eads one to feel
good."
As one feel s a stronger sense of sel f, chal l enges that had previ ousl y
been stressors can be viewed di f f er ent l y. This synergistic experience bui l ds
on itsel f. The former stressor becomes the l earni ng experience that in
t ur n allows other l earni ng opportuni ti es to become i nteresti ng and in-
tri gui ng. In the l ast chapter, we spoke about musi ci an Il ene's sati sfacti on
with performi ng contemporary musi c. In the context of pl ayi ng "new
music," she experienced an epi phany regardi ng the weight of tradi ti on.
She was then abl e to take thi s sense of perf ormance capacity and appl y it
to musi c she had performed for years:
I am commi t t ed to p l ay i ng new mus i c and worki ng wi t h
composers. I t ' s a perf ect perf ormance f eel i ng, i n terms of my
body s ens at i ons and my concent r at i on. I feel I can l earn f rom
t h at , and maybe go backwards and t r ans f er those sensati ons
and t h at knowl edge t o perf ormance of t he t r adi t i onal
repert oi re.
Increase the Resources
As ment i oned ear l i er , stress i s experi enced when the perceived demands
of a s i t uat i o n are great er t h a n the percei ved resources and the outcome
of the s i t uat i o n i s cons i dered i mp or t ant . Stress can then be al l evi at ed
when the demands are decreased, when the i mportance i s decreased, or
when t he resources are i ncreas ed.
mmmmmmmmfmmmmmmmmmfmmmmmm Most of the methods for copi ng wi t h
stress t hat p er f or mer s described i nvol ved
some aspect of resources (or percei ved
resources) , whet her ment al or physi cal ,
i nt r a p s y c h i c or i nt er p er s o nal . The pri -
ma r y cat ego r i es i n v o l v e d as p ect s o f
p hys i cal care, at t ent i on t o paci ng, t hor -
ough preparat i on and mi ni mi zat i on of
uncer t ai nt y , the engagement of others,
s p eci f i c ment al or psychol ogi cal s ki l l s ,
a nd, as wi t h demands , a l t e r a t i o n or
r ef r ai ni ng of resources. Physical self-care
recognizes t h at , as i n a Mas l owi an hi er-
ar chy (Masl ow, 1968) , such f u n d a me n -
t al s as sl eep, exercise, and general at t en-
t i o n t o one' s o wn w e l l - b e i n g can
mi ni mi ze stress or i ts ef f ect s . Preparation
and the minimization of uncertainty al l ow
t h e p e r f o r me r t o e xe r c i s e co nt r o l
t h r o ugh movi ng t oward and t a ki ng ac-
t i on, r at her t han avoi di ng t he s t r es s f ul
s i t uat i o n. Pacing recogni zes t hat the per-
f or mer mus t bal ance hi s or her energy
and f ocus . I ncr eas i ng one's resources can be achi eved i n vari ous ways.
I ncreas i ng one's support system is a vi t al aspect of stress management .
I mp o r t ant ment al s ki l l s i n stress management i ncl ude i magery, t h o ugh t
management , and a t t e nt i o n management .
Most of the time, just by being conscious
of the problem I can make it go away. It
actually doesn't hit me very often, but
about three weeks ago, I started to feel
bad. I had a little bit of dizziness, a
headache. I started thinking, "This feels
the same way (as when his physician first
suggested that he was experiencing
stress)," but nothing's going on.' There
was nothing particular going on at work,
nothing exceptionally stressful. I couldn't
figure it out, but I decided that's what it
still had to be. I thought: "I must
subconsciously be worried about stuff
and I'm not going to do that." It really
did take two or three days to go away.
David (banker)
Reframe and Relax: Coping With Stress 157
PHYSICAL SELF-CARE
At the most basic l evel , stress coping occurs through physical sel f-care,
taki ng care of the resources that one has. Often this method serves a
preventative f unct i on. As we noted in chapter 6, one of the foundational
el ements that perf ormers recognize is the i mperati ve to take care of their
"i nstrument, " t hat i s, themsel ves.
Across professi ons, a number of performers menti oned the use of
physical acti vi ty as a way of managi ng stress. Some described specific
types of exercise, i ncl udi ng wal ki ng, bi ke riding, and yoga; others spoke
more generical l y. The i mportance of adeq uate rest and sleep was also
described by vari ous performers. Radi o host Grace called sleep "the single
biggest tool I have." She considered it to be the pri mary factor in deter-
mi ni ng peak experiences where she is "in the zone."
The vagari es of performance schedul es and demands often determine
the ways in which these sel f-care acti vi ti es are actual l y conducted. Be-
cause of her earl y morni ng drive show, Grace napped in the afternoon
and went to bed in the earl y evening. Those who do shi ft work with
rotati ng schedul es have di fferent chal l enges. Working in emergency medi-
cine, Frederick f i gur ed out:
If you are going to work seven consecutive days or six
consecutive days, it is better t hat you cycle through,
seq uenci ng two days, two evenings, two nights and then you
are of f . Other t han t hat , I don' t know anythi ng about how to
make those times more manageabl e. I just dread those
rotati ons. I hat e worki ng ni ght s .
Sel f-care can i nvol ve a number of i nteracti ng functi ons. In preparing
for a surgery of many hours, for exampl e, Eri c needed to attend more to
his physi cal t han mental state. "I def i ni t el y worry about maki ng sure I
get an extra hal f hour or 45 mi nut es of sleep the night before. And I will
go out of my way to have a significant breakfast with protein to hold me
over."
PREPARATION AND MINIMIZING UNCERTAINTY
Research with athl etes has i ndi cated that uncertai nty is one of the pri-
mary si tuati onal factors contri buti ng to stress (Weinberg & Goul d, 1995) .
Thorough preparation and accurate knowledge add to one's resources.
Among the hi gh-ri sk professions, i nadeq uat e preparati on resul ting
in poor performance can have the ul ti mate adverse effect: loss of l i fe.
Wi thout thorough preparati on, businesspeopl e can lose the case or the
sal e. As a lawyer, for exampl e, Anna refl ected:
I needed to overcome anxi et y about p ub l i c speaking,
presenti ng an oral ar gument , l et' s say before the Cour t of
Appeal s. I n addi ti on to practi ce, more general preparat i on has
been i mport ant , i n ot her words, s i t t i ng there and as ki ng mys el f :
What are the concei vabl e q ues t i ons t hat coul d come up?
In busi ness, knowl edge i s often power. Havi ng more i nf or mat i on t h an
others is a way in whi ch one can be compet i t i ve, decrease uncert ai nt y,
and i ncrease s el f -conf i dence. I l l us t r at i ng t h i s poi nt, B ar r y ( adver t i s i ng
execut i ve) refl ected:
It's the unknown t hat is most s t r es s f ul . I cope wi th it by doi ng
my homework. For i ns t ance, I am goi ng to be speaki ng at a
conference in next Monday. It is a conf erence on [ a
part i cul ar type of] advert i s i ng. Our company doesn' t do a l ot of
i t, but I have very strong opi ni ons about i t. I am passi onate
about it. I read everyt hi ng I can f i nd on it and whi l e I don' t do
as much of it as many peopl e at the conf erence, I t hi nk I
probabl y have stronger opi ni ons about what i t ( t h i s type of
adver t i s i ng) can do. And t hat reduces stress for me. I know t hat
whi l e a l ot of peopl e who have done a l ot more work wi l l be
there, I wi l l be abl e to mat ch them wi t h passi on and knowl edge
and a vi si on of where it is goi ng to go two or t hree years f r om
now.
Each surgery i s uni q ue, when p er f or med on any p ar t i cul ar i ndi vi du a l
at any one ti me. As a surgeon, Eri c recognized t hat cer t ai nt y about pro-
cedure was one way to decrease the stress of worki ng on compl ex cases:
The more I can make it repet i t i ous t he same p at t er nt he
more comfortabl e I feel about i t. It may be not hi ng more t han
to say I di d the same t h i ng the same way and I know t hat t her e
are going to be a certai n numb er of peopl e t hat do not do wel l .
Performers rarel y act i n i s ol at i on. Even wi t h t hor ough p r ep ar at i on,
apprehensi on about the adeq uacy of ot hers whose f u nct i o ni ng i s vi t al to
one's own p er f or mance can al so i ncreas e stress. B ar r y ment i oned the
added stress of some group presentati ons where the abil ities of others on
the team are uncer t ai n. Si mi l ar l y, a sol oi st may wonder wh et h er the pi -
ano accompani st t r ul y under s t ands t he compl ex r hyt hms . Deal i ng wi t h
emergency surgeri es, Eri c someti mes deal t wi t h heal t h systems i n whi ch
he did not know the other medi cal personnel :
Many ti mes we wi l l be not i f i ed about an emergency s i t uat i o n
coming from one of the s ur r oundi ng communi t i es . It may be
j us t l ack of f ami l i ar i t y wi th the heal t h care system i n those
areas, but you do not t rus t what you are bei ng tol d u nt i l you
Re frame and Relax: Coping With Stress
can see it with your own eyes. It is that unknown that is
probabl y the bigger stress. There is a def i ni t e stress rel iever
when you fi nd out that they have arri ved at an emergency
faci l i ty where you know the people and then you get a phone
call from one of them saying: ''This is what we've got." That
fami l i ari ty [with the faci l i ty and personnel ] is a great calming
force. You may stil l have to deal with a di f f i cul t si tuati on when
the patient arrives, but the stress may be reduced because you
do not have that unknown anymore. You know that you have
to fi ni sh this current surgery and get on to the next as q uickl y
as you can.
PACING
Performance, as our book title i ndi cates, entai l s being "on." It is impos-
sible to be "on" all the time and taxi ng to attempt to do so. In business,
Art hur described the al ternate potential for exhil aration and exhaustion
that comes wi th stress. It can energize, but it can also debil itate. One
aspect of stress management, then, invol ves knowing how to be "off."
Another incl udes understandi ng what forms of being "off" work best.
Fi ne-tuni ng is needed, such as f i guri ng out the best balance of perfor-
mance and respite, as well as the most effecti ve timing of this pacing.
This type of stress management often invol ves some changes in level of
physical arousal whether more, less, or merel y di fferent. At times, it
means devel oping an al ternate focus, or di versi on.
For performers in al l categories, f i ndi ng some way to take "time out"
can be a usef ul means of managi ng energy. Jerry (dancer) , for example,
woul d nap before a performance, less because of tiredness than as a means
of getting away. Larry (actor) woul d l i teral l y move from his current space,
either by wal king or going driving: "It' s called retreating; it's a reassess-
ment, it's a recharging, restoring. I come back twice as strong after that."
Similarly, Ar t hur used movement as a method of energy manage-
ment. During i ntensi ve meetings, he mi ght take a wal king break. Al ter-
nativel y, duri ng a meeting he mi ght move wi thi n the room or decrease
his own energy expendi ture by i nvol vi ng others in conducting the meet-
ing:
Sometimes it helps j us t to wal k away for a hal f -hour break and
catch your breath and then go back in. At other times, I just
walk around the room. I might try to see if I can get somebody
else to carry the bal l for a l i ttl e whil e so I could kick back just a
l ittl e bit and get more energy by not trying to push it al l mysel f.
Within the surgery suite, Eri c del i beratel y used time out to re-ener-
gize himsel f:
159
For me personal l y, to do nothi ngto j us t vegetateis by far
the most h el p f ul . To put your feet up on somethi ng and j us t sit,
and not real l y be bothered by any t h i ng. That' s not a ti me you
want to get i nundat ed wi t h phone cal l s about t hi s q ues t i on or
that q ues t i on. You are not operat i ng but you do not want to be
bothered. You are rechargi ng a l i t t l e bi t. The surgeon' s l ounge
of t en isn' t the q ui etest pl ace; but i t has several alcoves there to
sit down, put your feet up, and get away from everything.
Across domai ns, di f f er ent perf ormers ment i oned a vari et y of di ver-
sions. Di versi ons can be viewed as an energi zi ng resource, a "time out "
f rom the demands of perf ormance. Some are prototypical , i nvol vi ng read-
ing or gardeni ng, for exampl e. Jerry ( dancer ) used readi ng as a means of
under s t andi ng more about the worl d:
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm '
rea
^
a
'
l ) l
' science f i ct i on
f ant as y . For some reason I
mos t l y enjoy aut hor s wi t h a
very strong phi l osophi cal or
sociol ogical bent. Somethi ng
t h at r eal l y gives you a hook to
t hi nk about how society is
organi zed, or what you s houl d
spend your l i f e on.
Anna, a l awyer, commented: "I gar-
dened for about ten hours t hi s weekend.
It was very hard work physi cal l y, and yet
I f el t so rel axed. It' s j us t t hat it's so con-
crete; you' re i n there ri ppi ng away. And
you get i mmedi at e resul ts. "
Larry may have described the most
atypi cal di versi on for an actor. In addi -
ti on to dr i vi ng his car and thereby chang-
i ng settings, he has f ound t h at f l yi ng an
ai r p l ane gi ves him a change of focus:
I'm a pil ot. To me that' s a
wonder f ul source of rel axat i on.
It's a chal l enge because it's not
necessari l y somethi ng I ' m
gi f t ed at. Facing the sense of
p ani c t hat I was f eel i ng on
stage is the same reason t hat I
started f l yi ng: I was t er r i f i ed of
it, but I wanted to work
t h r o ugh i t .
For me, handling stress is a matter of just
going home and having down time. I
come home and basically I just want to
be by myself. I can just be by myself,
listen to music, stay up as long as I want,
go to bed when I want.
My definition of down time is an
evening or an entire day in which there
is absolutely nothing planned, from the
time you wake up in the morning until
you go to bed at night. There is nothing
planned. Nothing. If you are going out
to dinner with friends, that is not a
down time day because now you have to
plan in relation to that. I have to have a
down time day once a weekthough
sometimes I can't do that. Going on a
vacation usually isn't down timeit's too
scheduled.
My car's license plate says "Down
time." The name on my boat says "Down
time." Down time is just literally that. It's
sacred. That's the key.
Frederick (emergency room physician)
For some, di ver s i on can provi de product i ve i ncubat i on. Davi d, a
banker, s ai d:
I try to ment al l y l eave the of f i ce at the of f i ce. I don' t need to go
off somewhere necessarily, l ike go to the mountai ns for the
weekend. Some of my best work happens when I' m doi ng
projects ar o und t he house, p ai nt i ng and t hi nki ng about
not hi ng. I can j us t voi d my mi nd. And sometimes I can f i gur e
out what I want to do on Monday.
INCREASING PERCEPTION OF RESOURCES
I ncreas i ng avai l abl e resources may i nvol ve tangi bl e resources, whether
objects or peopl e. It can al so i nvol ve more i ntangi bl e or cognitive as-
pects, such as one's percepti ons or at t r i b ut i o ns regardi ng the avai l abl e
resotirces.
I ncreasi ng resources someti mes i nvol ves i ncreas i ng one's awareness
of s el f - at t r i but es . As a method of combati ng performance stress, Fai t h
(si nger) spoke of confidence, whi l e Kei th (actor) described his "unshak-
abl e bel i ef " i n hi s own t al ent . Recogni zi ng a st rat egy t hat heretofore was
negl ected or overl ooked may al so increase one's sense of resources. For
exampl e, Ian ( br oadcas t er ) discovered the rel ief of si mpl y acknowl edg-
ing a probl em and accepti ng res pons i bi l i t y if an i ntervi ew is not going
wel l : "If t hi ngs real l y aren' t goi ng wel l , I ' l l be honest about i t on the ai r.
I wi l l t ake the heat. I wi l l be sel f -deprecat i ng. "
In contrast to the stati c nat ure of vi sual arts, to which the observer
can r et ur n agai n and agai n, the perf ormi ng arts exi st i n a temporal mode.
Mus i c, i n whi ch the onl y sense t h ai mus t be engaged i s sound, may be
the most evanescent of al l . The mus i ci an cul t i vat es a special rel ati onshi p
wi t h s ound i n space and ti me. The pos s i bi l i t y of al t eri ng t i me i s t hus, for
a mus i ci an, a p ar t i cul ar way of enri chi ng one's resources.
Norman ( mu s i c i a n) shared t hi s p ar t i cul ar perspecti ve with us. He
used a phrase he had f i r s t heard f r o m Canadi an pi ani st Wi l l i am Tritt to
describe t hi s r el at i o ns h i p of the mus i ci an to an exq ui si t e sense of the
moment : "the mi croscopi c ni ght mares of i nf i ni t y. " These are the mo-
ment s when t i me seems to s t and s t i l l and be ut t er l y f i l l ed, i n Tritt's phrase,
wi t h t hat most a wf u l sense t h at error i s everl ast i ng. Norman spoke about
the chal l enge of coping wi t h t h i s ni ght mar e.
If you f al l i nto t hat jagged ni ghtmare worl d of the microscopic
ni ght mar es , you' ve l ost t he bat t l e.
How do you get over i t? One way i s you j us t l augh about i t.
Anot her way i s t h at you f i nd your cal m center. The microscopic
ni ght mares can di s appear i n a second i f you have t hat cal m
space. And t h a t doesn' t have to be onl y when I ' m act ual l y
161
perf ormi ng. I cul t i vat e i t whi l e I ' m pract i ci ngt hat ' s what
practice to me is about . I chant to mys el f , "You can create t i me,
as a musi ci an you can create t i me. "
Nobody can a c t u a l l y create t i me; t i me goes on i ts own way
i n vari ous spots i n the uni ver s e and i n a special way when
musi c i s going on. But you can create t i me i n those mi croscopi c
mi l l i seconds. And i f you can create i t t o y o ur advant age, t h en
you have given the audi ence and yours el f the sense t hat
ever yt hi ng i s goi ng to be f i ne, even when you t ot al l y screw up.
INCREASING SUPPORT SYSTEM
The hi gh-ri s k and medi cal p er f or mer s descri bed s upport as an i mp or t ant
resource. George (medi c-s ni per) spoke of the i mport ance of h avi ng the
o p p o r t uni t y t o di s cus s s i t u a t i o ns wi t h ot hers i n order t o no r mal i ze reac-
ti ons t o s t r es s f ul events. Si mi l ar l y, Eri c ( neur o s ur geo n) commented:
The onl y t h i ng t h at r eal l y makes much di f f er ence, beyond t i me,
i s t al ki ng to ot her peopl e who have been t hr ough s i mi l ar
s i t uat i ons . That i s where havi ng an age range i n a practi ce l i ke
we havei t goes f rom 30 to 65is so very h el p f ul because we
real i ze t hat everybody has been t h r o ugh somethi ng s i mi l ar .
They can expl ai n what t hey went t h r o ugh and i t al l evi at es
some of the stress.
MENTAL SKILLS
A f i nal resource avai l abl e t o perf ormers i nvol ves t he ment al s ki l l s and
techni q ues of psychol ogi cal s ki l l s t r ai ni ng. Al l of the ment al s ki l l s di s -
cussed in chapt er 8 can serve as resources; the ones s p eci f i cal l y descri bed
by performers as methods for copi ng wi t h stress i ncl uded di ap h r agmat i c
breat hi ng, imagery, t hought management , and at t ent i o n management .
The i mport ance of breat hi ng, i nvo l vi ng some f orm of rel axat i on or
deep, di ap hr agmat i c i nhal at i on and exhal at i on, was recogni zed and men-
tioned by a number of i nt ervi ewees, especi al l y perf ormi ng art i s t s . Thi s
techni q ue i s someti mes used si ngl y or i n combi nat i on wi th other ment al
s ki l l s . Some peopl e use br eat hi ng as a t ech ni q ue to manage stress j us t
pri or to perf ormance; ot hers use i t more gener al l y as a met hod of han-
dl i ng the dai l y stresses of l i f e.
I n our i ntervi ews, Lar r y ( act o r ) sai d t h a t he medi t at ed, whereas Kei t h
(act or) described t aki ng cal mi ng breaths t o reduce tensi on j u s t before
audi t i oni ng. I n broadcast i ng, Grace used both b r eat h i ng and i magery.
Combi ni ng breat hi ng and s el f - t al k, Char l ot t e ( dancer ) descri bed t he dress-
ing room scene: "I used to sit in the dres s i ng room and t al k mysel f i nt o
conf i dence. ' You can do t hi s . You j u s t have to cal m down and breat he
deeply.'" Fai t h (s i nger) reported t hat she checked her tension "pulse." As
she prepared to go on stage, she took deep breaths, assessed the level of
adrenal i ne, and if she f el t t hat she was too tense, continued to breathe
sl owl y and deepl y.
Ilene ( mus i ci an) recognized the benefi ts of deep breathi ng in al l as-
pects of l i f e. She recentl y had started taki ng voice l essons as a way more
f ul l y to unders t and singers for whom she was an accompanist:
Being outsi de, singing, and exercising, are al l breathing-rel ated.
When I started singing I real ized that it was the onl y hour
because I wasn't practi ci ng, j us t going to my voice lessonsit
was the onl y hour al l week t hat I breathed. I went "My-y-y this
feel s so good! I feel so good afterward; I t hi nk better. Why don't
I breathe all day?" Or at l east, why don't I practice on breathing
once a day? And then when I started going to yoga I thought,
"Oh good, now I'm breathi ng twice a week." You just don't
consciousl y breathe i n your l i fe nowadays.
Imagery can serve several f unct i ons, i ncl udi ng stress management.
Radi o host Grace uses i magery extensivel y, parti cul arl y when faci ng un-
pl easant si tuati ons t hat i nt er f er e wi t h her performance. She has devel-
oped a sequence in whi ch she breathes, rel axes, and then imagines a
"green handi -wi pe" passi ng across her face and brain, simply wiping the
stress away. Her image of hersel f as a rock in a river and stressors as
water, q uoted at the opening of thi s chapter, hel ps to stabil ize her.
A number of performers across domains described methods of thought
management to handl e stress. These i ncl ude del iberate countering, sel f-
tal k, af f i r mat i ons , and t hought stoppi ng.
Keith (act or) described a si t uat i on in which he was worrying about
his next l ine and then was abl e to counter his concern: "I'm al ready
thi nki ng of the end and I'm t hi nki ng 'I don't know it! I don't know it! I
don't know it!' I can al so say ' j us t rel ax, it wil l come; it wil l come; it will
come.'"
Diane (mus i ci an) used af f i r mat i ons for reassurance. The reverbera-
tion of her teacher's voice added power to these words:
One big strategy I use is [ s el f -t al k] : "You know how to do this,
you' ve been doing it since you were f o ur years old. You know
what you' re doi ng. You know where that note is." One of my
teachers used to say that, and to hear a real l y great teacher like
her say that gives you the go ahead to j us t go out there and do
what you know how to do.
Di ane al so poi nted to the i mportance of cognitive methods to redi-
rect attenti on from a narrow focus on techni q ue to a broader focus on
performance:
163
At t he moment of p er f or mance, I t h i n k i he o nl y s t r at egy 1
woul d use woul d be: " I ' m doi ng wh at I kno w how to do."
That' s t he one l ast t h i n g you can t el l y o u r s e l f bef ore you go out
on stage. You can' t be t h i n k i n g "Now I bet t er make s ur e I get
my t h i r d l i nger j u s t a l i t t l e b i t h i gh er o n t h a t s t r i ng o r I ' l l never
make t h at s h i f t . " You kno w t h a t ; you have t o have t h a t
practi ced i n t o y o u r system al r eady s o you kno w wh at i t l eel s
l i ke and know t h at y o ur ki nes t het i c sense can t ake over.
Ref ocus i ng and co ncent r at i ng i s es p eci al l y i mp o r t ant i n some p er f o r -
mance areas. B ecause t he brass i n s t r u me n t s ar e amo ng t he l o udes t i n an
orches t ra, any errors brass p l ayer s ma ke can be es p eci al l y a u d i b l e . Con-
s eq uent l y, brass pl ayers can become p a r t i c u l a r l y s el f - cons ci ous . The ono-
mat opoei c t erm brass p l ayer s us e t o des cri be t h e i r errors i s , des cr i p t i vel y ,
kacki ng. I n addi t i o n t o her own me n t a l me t h o ds used f or v i o l i n , Di ane
spoke of those devel oped by her h u s b a n d , a brass p l ay er :
My h us b and says everybody kacks and t h a t you' ve j u s t got t o
get ri ght by i t. He' s a very l ogi cal person and he' s abl e to j u s t
say, "That ' s done, I can' t t ake i t back, i i ' s gone." I t' s j u s t : "Let ' s
f ocus on doi ng t he next one bet t er . "
Davi d ( b a nke r ) act i vel y or gani zed hi s l i f e t o i ncr eas e t he l i kel i h o o d
of t h o ugh t st oppi ng. He de l i b e r a t e l y di d not t a l k ab o ut work at home, s o
t hat ment al l y he coul d l eave t he o f f i c e .
It' s i mp o r t a nt t o go t o t he f o o t b al l game and s t and bes i de
ano t h er p ar ent and no t t h i n k about work, t o t h i n k [ o n l y ]
about t he f o o t b a l l game, as opposed t o t r y i n g t o do bot h at t he
same t i me. I f you s t ar t t h i n k i n g ab o ut work, you need t o say,
"This i s crazy! I want to wat ch the f o o t b al l game. My son' s out
t her e! "
Davi d al so used s e l f - t a l k as a met hod of b eh avi o r al correct i on:
When I ' m not p r o ud of the way 1 act , I ki nd of me nt a l l y l e c t u r e
mysel f about i t . U nf o r t u na t e l y , r at h er t h a n go apol ogi ze t o
somebody, I ' l l l ect ur e mysel f not t o do i t agai n. Wh at I s h o u l d
do i s f i r s t go apol ogi ze to somebody and t h en l ect ur e my s el f . I ' d
have a hard t i me doi ng t h at b ut at l east I do the second p ar t .
At t ent i o n management i s ano t h er ment al s k i l l , one t h a t i ncl udes con-
cent r at i ng, f ocus i ng, and r ef o cus i ng. Lar r y ( a c t o r ) i n t e n t i o n a l l y reassessed
hi s p er f or mance, co ncent r at i ng on t he part s t h a t are r i gh t . George (medi c-
s ni p er ) descri bed keepi ng hi s emot i ons s uppres s ed u n t i l a f t e r t he t as k i s
compl eted, h andl i ng t he stress of t he a c t i v i t y by f o cus i ng on t he t as k at
h a nd. I an ( b r o adcas t er ) del i b er at el y f ocus ed on t he p res ent d u r i n g per-
formance, mai ntai ni ng the zest of performance: "The hour that I am on
the air is the best hour of the day for me. It does not matter what hour it
is, it could be any hour." The other broadcaster, Grace, also f ound it criti-
cal to segment her personal and professional l ife, giving priority to the
i mmedi ate tasks at hand.
Diane, who performed in a professi onal orchestra, has given the is-
sue of attenti on management considerabl e thought. She used two ut-
terl y divergent methods to handl e attenti on: distraction and i ntensi fi ca-
tion:
I'm af rai d to tel l you that a lot of peopl e do this whether or not
they admit it to outsiders: If you've pl ayed something enough
times, you can sort of put yoursel f on auto pil ot and thi nk
about something else. I haven' t real l y tal ked to men about
whether they do thi s, but when we tal k about it backstage I
know that the women spend a lot of time doing things [while
performi ng] l ike pl anni ng meal s or where you' re going to pl ant
your fl owers. Mundane things that you can just sort of think
about while you're playing something that you al ready know.
There is an abi l i ty to mul ti task; and in fact, if you' ve been doing
music for a real l y long time, it's a big part of you. You basical l y
can't escape the music, you al ways have it in your head. So
you can al so t hi nk about something else al together.
More proactivel y, performers may focus their attenti on on engage-
ment or meaning making. This al ternati ve strategy has also been applied
by Diane:
Sometimes you' l l get to a performance where you' re bored or
you' ve done this thi ng a mi l l i on times before. If the conductor
is terribl e and I j ust don' t l ike what he's doing to the music, I
can look out and f i nd people in the audi ence enjoying it and
remember why I'm there. I might not be havi ng a great time; I
might do this three or f our times a week; but those people are
here and it's special for them. That' s a good at t i t ude to take on
when you need to. It's al ways a good at t i t ude anyway; but if
you' re not going to enjoy it (performi ng) for the music, then at
least you can do that.
Di ane also structured her musi ci anshi p by what she had l earned from
others. Her father played at a piano bar:
Six nights a week he'd have to go and entertai n these people in
the pi ano bar. He was al ways in an upscal e place, but I'm sure
there were nights when he real l y di dn' t want to do it, when he
was just not in the mood to be on. But he fel t that if he could
165
t ake those peopl e somewhere t hat was good for them to be for
a coupl e of hours, t hen he had done somethi ng us ef ul .
Decrease the Importance
of Outcome
Some types of p er f or mance are i nt r i ns i cal l y i mport ant . Li fe and death
often hinges on the performance of those worki ng in hi gh-ri sk and medical
areas. For al l other performers, however,
changi ng one's perspective on the impor-
I cope with stress by having a clear idea
tance of trie
performance can serve to
of what it is I'm trying to accomplish in reduce stress. As we' ve not ed, Grace
l ife. The thing that keeps the stress down (broadcas t er) made extensi ve use of thi s
is the love I have for what I do and the ref rame. The other broadcaster, I an, de-
. .^. .. . .. , u - k i - j ! vel oped a mant ra that i ncorporated t hi s
ambitron that I have for what I do and
h h
view. To def us e his anxi et y about per-
the sense of direction. , , . . . , ., . , .
f ormance, he mi ni mi zed the central sig-
Mi c h a e l (conductor) ni f i cance of his job in compari son to l i f e
i t sel f : "It's j us t tel evi si on; it' s j us t radi o."
The bus i nes s p eop l e al so f o u nd i t
hel p f ul to re-assess the i mport ance of the s i t uat i on when experi enci ng
stress. Charl es chose to put events in perspective. His f at her - i n- l aw tol d
hi m the f ol l owi ng:
"I l earned t hat the t hi ngs t hat I t hought were i mp or t ant at the
ti me t hat they happened real l y weren' t i mport ant . " It's a way
of basi cal l y sayi ng "You' re under a l ot of stress, you created it
yoursel f. Whatever is going on now wi l l ul ti matel y end one
way or the other. When you l ook back on it, you' l l recognize
t hat it' s probabl y not as big a deal as you t h i nk it is ri ght now."
One way to di mi ni s h the i mport ance of an outcome is to contai n it
rather t h an l et i t expand and overri de one's other experiences and un-
derstandi ngs. For exampl e, Kei t h (act or) commented: "Even if I 'blow it'
i n an audi t i on . . . I vi ew t hat as my psychol ogi cal fear. It's not about my
gi fts; it's not about my t al ent s. It's si mpl y about my wi l l i ngness to crack
open, to put mysel f on di spl ay. "
Humor i s of t en used to put the i mportance of an outcome i n a di f f er -
ent perspective. When ti mes were tense and a case had been lost, Anna
(l awyer) commented t h at she and others i n her l aw f i r m woul d joke to
ease the stress. Davi d ( b anker ) was del i berat e about the atmosphere that
he wished to set in an of f i ce where mi l l i ons of dol l ars rode on a si ngl e
167
deal: "Around here, I try to keep a f ai rl y l ight atti tude, a sense of 'let's
don' t take oursel ves too seriousl y.' A l ot of joki ng and ki ddi ng people
goes on around here."
At times, the i mportance of a performance is not merel y refrained; it
^^i is lived by demonstrati ng the importance
of other aspects of a perf ormer' s l i fe.
David (banker) described the expecta-
tions in his office:
The very first time I ever performed, I
was eight, and was playing the accordion
for the Daughters of the American
Revolution, i had been playing for a year
and a half. I had never performed and
I'm sure I was terriblebut I was eight
years old, I was supposed to say what I
was going to play before every song. I
played my first song and it was okay and
they applauded. I was then supposed to
say, "Thank you, and now I am going to
play such and such." I opened my mouth.
My mouth moved, but nothing came
out. I was petrified, sure that I was going
to die. My father was in the back of the
room and he said, "This is his first
performance. He is going to play such
and such." And I played and I was fine. I
realized that I did not die.
Everybody here is expected to
work very hard but not to be
consumed by this. I have told
many of the guys here: "Don't
miss the soccer games. You can
come back to the office; [ the
work is] not that important.
But don't miss the soccer
games." Part of that is so they
woul dn' t not l ike it when I
went to my kids' games. My
onl y regret is that I missed any
of my kids' sports events. I
made about 90% of them. Of
course, I tol d many lies. I think
I've had 1 Taunts that died.
Ia n (broadcaster)
Grace ( b r o a dc a s t e r ) ref l ect ed on
many aspects of rel at i onshi p-t endi ng
that keep the importance of performance
in perspective:
It is j us t very hard to mai ntai n that
bal ance between work and home. What's worked has been the
abi l i ty to say "no" and mean no. To make the personal stuff as
i mportant a priority. It's not like I ' l l do everything I need to do
professi onal l y and wi th the time l eft over I will be giving you
my 100%no, that does not work. It's "I'm going to give this
what I can and give you what I can and weigh them equally."
That is what works. I wish there was something else that was
easier that worked.
As we noted, Kei t h (actor) fi nds audi ti ons especially stressful and has
al tered his percepti on of audi t i on demand. He also has found that recog-
ni zi ng the real ities of casti ng helps di mi ni sh his discomfort:
I unders t and what' s entai l ed in casting. I know that it's not a
refl ection or a j udgment on my soul . At an audi t i on, a director
The Rose Adagio is the Swan's first
entrance in Sleeping Beauty. It's very,
very difficult. You have to balance on
one leg for ages and it requires
tremendous stamina. It's what we call
"naked": You're either in balance or
you're not. There's no in-between, and
there's nothing you can do dramatically
to cover up your technical flaws. It's
really an either/or situation at every step:
You either do it perfectly or you fall over.
I was absolutely terrified about this.
In order to make your entrance you
come down this huge staircase, but to
get to the top of the staircase backstage,
you have to climb up the staircase. I
remember that moment backstage, at
the Metropolitan Opera House in New
York. I already had quite a reputation for
doing it wellwhich caused more
pressure, because you're not sure you
can pull it off again as well as you did it
last time. I felt like I was going to the
guillotine when I walked up the
staircase. I tried to think about things I'd
seen in the newspaper that morning
the wars that were going on, and the
really dramatic world events. I tried to
remind myself that this was just a
performance, this was just ballet.
Charlotte (dancer)
or a casti ng person may see a
numb er of peopl e who are
p er f ect l y capabl e. That gi ves
them the l u xu r y to be as p i cky
as t hey want , to pick someone
wi t h t he ear r i ng and t he purpl e
eyes.
Re f r a mi ng t he i mport ance i nvol ves
s omet hi ng of a bal anci ng act. Al t hough
decreasi ng the s i gni f i cance of the act i v-
i ty can l essen the perf ormer' s concern
about it, t here is a sl i ppery slope in whi ch
t he i mp ut ed decreased i mport ance may
i mp l y deval ui ng of the act i vi t y or the
performer. Both i n her own performance
career and as a teacher, Charl ot t e ( dan-
cer) decreased the sense of pressure she
experi enced by comp ar i ng danci ng to
ot her s i t u at i o ns and p r o f es s i o ns t h a t
t r u l y i nvol ve cri t i cal l i f e issues. Al t hough
she recognized the accuracy of t hi s per-
spective, she al so expressed the need for
ut t er devoti on to one's work, in order to
devel op and mai nt ai n performance pas-
sion and s ki l l .
I want dancers to feel t h at t h ei r
work i s the most i mport ant
t h i ng on t he pl anet when
t hey' r e i n t he s t udi o
otherwi se there' s no p oi nt i n
doi ng i t. I t' s got to be done wi t h
t h at ki nd of dedi cat i on. I al so
want t hem to be heal t hy
peopl e. When t hey step away
f rom i t t hey can t hi nk, "It's j us t
bal l et , it's not brai n surgery, it's
not cur i ng cancer, it's not what
some peopl e are havi ng to go
t hr ough i n t hei r l i ves."
169
Recommendations
to Consultants
I t i s i mp o r t ant and u s e f u l f or t he c o ns u l t a nt t o be awar e of
nonheal t hf ul stress coping methods used wi t hi n part i cul ar domai ns.
The model of stress proposed in t hi s chapteran experi ence in
which the perceived demands of a s i t uat i on are greater t han the
perceived resources, and the outcome of the s i t uat i on i s consi d-
ered i mportantcan be a us ef ul overal l f ramework from whi ch
consul tants and performers can adapt stress coping methods. Wi t hi n
thi s model , coping may i nvol ve reduci ng demands, i ncreasi ng re-
sources, or di mi ni s hi ng the i mportance of outcome.
One can al ter demand by adj us t i ng one's goal s, r ef r ami ng the task,
or rei nt erpret i ng the experi ence of stress.
Al t hough much of cons ul t i ng i nvol ves "head work, " cons ul t ant s
shoul d be aware of the mi nd- body i nt eract i on. For exampl e, t ak-
ing better physi cal care of onesel f (e.g., at t endi ng to nut ri t i on, sl eep,
exerci se) can of ten reduce stress and i ncrease capaci ty for coping.
Stress can al so be reduced by i ncreasi ng other resources, i ncl udi ng
s uf f i ci ent preparat i on and the mi ni mi zat i o n of uncert ai nt y, pac-
ing, al t eri ng one's perception or i nt erpret at i on of resources, and
i ncreasi ng one's support system.
Ment al ski l l s are i mport ant to the perf ormer not onl y for opt i mal
perf ormance but for management of stress as wel l . Among the
most i mport ant for stress management may be rel axat i on tech-
ni q ues (e.g., di ap hr agmat i c b r eat h i ng) , i magery, t hought manage-
ment, and at t ent i on management .
Numer ous types of r ef r ami ng al l ow the perf ormer to put the per-
formance si tuati on i nto perspective. Stress i s s ubs eq uent l y reduced
by decreasi ng the i mportance of the outcome of perf ormance.
The use of humor is a p ar t i cul ar l y ef f ecti ve " ref rami ng" t hat is com-
mon p ar t i cul ar l y among p er f or mer s who work i n hi gh-stress s i t u-
ati ons.
Work-life balance is a cruci al factor in coping with stress over ex-
tended peri ods of t i me. As such, ti me with f ami l y and l oved ones
can ul t i mat el y be a perf ormance enhancer.
Y o u 're On!
( P e rfo rm a nc e '
The night of the performance, there is no more studying, you j ust need to
be there. That work ( st udyi ng) is what should have been done over the
last two years. The experience is like emptying yourself out of everything
that is not essential so t hat you' re hyper-focused on communicating that
which cannot be communicated in any other way. It is an act of emptying
and eliminating everything and then you j ust add in the music once
everything is gone.
Harold ( conductor)
n the previous chapters, we have reviewed the common elements neces-
sary for peak performance. We noted the importance of achieving an
optimal pre-performance state and of having a performance plan, as well
as an understanding of the ways in which adjustments can be made to
maintain focus and the optimal performance state. This chapter addresses
the point at which planning stops and performance begins. We look at
the actuality of excellent performance in terms of both the performer's
process and experience.
Flow and Peak Performance
When Ravizza ( 1977) asked athletes to describe their "greatest moment"
in sport, their responses contained the following elements: no fear of
fai l ure; no thinking of performance; total immersion in the activity; nar-
row focus of attention; a sense of effortlessness in producing action; a
sense of being in complete control; disorientation of time and/ or space;
and experiencing a sense of "oneness" with the universe. Furthermore,
the athletes described these greatest moments as being temporary and
somehow beyond their vol unt ary control.
These elements are similar to those often described when one is "in
the zone," or in a state of flow ( Csiksz entmihalyi, 1990). In the world of
athletics,
171
To feel compl et el y at one with what you are doi ng, to know
you are strong and able to control your dest i ny at least for the
moment, and to gain a sense of pl easure i ndependent of the
resul t s is to experi ence flow. ( Jackson & Csi ksz ent mi hal yi ,
1999, p. vi)
Ni ne fact ors comprise the experi ence of fl ow: ( a) bal ance between the
challenge of a si t ua t i on and the at hl et e' s skills; ( b) mind-body "oneness";
( c) clear goals; ( d) u n a mbi g u ou s feedback; ( e) total focus on t he task at
hand; ( f) a sense of control; ( g) a loss of self-consciousness; ( h) experi -
ence of a t r ansfor mat i on of t i me; and ( i) an "autotelic" experience, one
which i s i nt r i nsi cal l y rewardi ng, exhi l ar at i ng, and an emot i onal "hi gh."
Flow is a psychological state ( Jackson, Thomas, Marsh, & Smet hurst ,
2001 ) , al t er nat i vel y described as an i deal "recipe of emotions" ( Har dy et
al., 1996, p. 245) , or i ndi vi dua l zone of opt i mal funct i oni ng ( IZOF; Hani n,
2000) . Flow ( or one of the comparable t erms) faci l i t at es peak perfor-
mance, but the two are concept ual l y di f f er ent . Flow is an experience,
whereas peak per for mance i s opt i mal f unc t i oni ng ( Pri vet t e & Bundr i ck,
1 9 9 1 ) . This di st i nct i on was confi r med by our performers: Their descrip-
tions of memorabl e and opt i mal performances included emphasis on what
t hey did as well as how t hey fel t whi l e doi ng it. We use those two broad
categoriesthe process of per for mance, or what the per for mer does, and
the experience of per for mance, or how the per for mer feel sas the gen-
eral framework for our di scussi on.
The Process of Performance:
What the Performer Does
FACTORS ESTABLISHED PRIOR
TO PERFORMANCE
Several of the fact ors t hat i nfl uence flow, as indicated above, are estab-
lished prior to performance. In performances t hat follow a predet ermi ned
pat t er n, such as a script or musi cal score, one t ypi cal l y knows or is able to
ant i ci pat e the bal ance r equi r ed between skills and challenge and has a
general expect at i on of what wi l l be encount er ed whi l e per for mi ng. Ide-
al l y, cl ear goals will have been established as part of t horough prepara-
t i on. The var i abi l i t y of the per for mance context oft en det ermi nes the
cognitive and at t ent i onal processes requi red for success ( Har dy et al .,
1996) . The more predi ct abl e the ci rcumst ances, the more a per for mer
can rely on aut omat ed processes t hat requi re l i t t l e conscious at t ent i on or
focus. The more var i abl e t he si t uat i on, t he more a per for mer must di rect
Y ou 're On! (Performance)
173
at t ent i on to assessing the si t uat i on prior
to choosing a response strategy (which
may then be an aut omat ed process).
The dynami cs of the per for mance
gr oup are t ypi cal l y known and estab-
lished pri or to performance. These dy-
nami cs i n f l u en c e bot h fl ow and peak
per for mance. Research with athletes in-
dicates t hat team dynami cs such as co-
hesiveness, trust, commitment, and posi-
t i ve f oc us ar e associ at ed with at hl et i c
success ( Gould et al., 1999) .
Our per f or mer s noted t he i mpor-
t ance of i nt er act i ons with ( a) other per-
formers wi t hi n t he performing group, ( b)
the immediate supporting group, or ( c)
t he admi ni st r at i ve group. Brenda ( act or)
of f er ed met aphor s of both musi c and
sports when she emphasized the central-
ity of gr oup dynami cs within theatre:
The one t hi ng you learn in the
t heat r e is t hat if you don't
work together you' ve got
not hi ng at al l . Interaction is
what it's all about. You' ve got
to be wi l l i ng to do t hat ;
otherwise you' ve got to plan to
be a soloist all your l i fe. You
have to have an instinct for
worki ng wi t h other people and
be interested in what they are
about , because t hen you can
play bal l . Of course, it's onl y
pl ayi ng when you know what
you' r e doing. Then it can j ust
be so much f u n , it's j ust mar vel ous. If you don' t know what
you' re doing ... I' d r at her open a vei n.
Tension in rel at i onshi ps can affect per for mance. St rai ght forwardl y,
Di ane ( musi c i a n) commented: "Your relationships with people you' re
per for mi ng with can drast i cal l y alter how your per for mance is. It would
be nice to be abl e to avoi d people or performance si t uat i ons t hat made
you uncomfor t abl e, but t hi s is what we do."
When I started in this orchestra, my
{music] stand partner was a totally jaded
older guy. Although he could play very
well if he wanted to, he was lazy. He
couldn't stand the job, played like crap,
and didn't care.
One night, after I had been in the
orchestra for a couple of months, we
played a Mozart symphony and this guy
just shit all over it. It was terrible, I was
upset, and I stayed behind in my dressing
room, crying. I left the hall at the same
time as [the conductor], and he looked
at me and said, "I know why you're
upset. I can see what's going on. I know
it's frustrating for you because you want
it to sound good. Well, you know he's
been here a long time and unfortunately
he hasn't figured out how to stay happy
with what he's doing. He's unhappy and
he just takes it out, and the worse he
plays, the more unhappy he is because it
doesn't sound good. There's no reason
that he has to let that happen, but you
also don't have to be affected by it. It's a
terrible influence on you, and I'm going
to speak to him." And he did.
Diane (musician)
Not sur pr i si ngl y, the performers whose work involves di rect i ng ot h-
ers on stage ( conduct or s) were keenly aware of group dynamics. From
the vantage poi nt of her role as a conductor, Ellen reviewed both the
relationship between performers and the concert sequence:
What goes into a good performance? I t hi nk the way people
are getting along and the work t hey' ve done to put it all
together is very i mpor t ant . If there's been a lot of tension in the
rehearsals, t hat will be reflected in your performance. You have
to keep very focused, and yet you have to give everybody a
sense t hat t hey are part i ci pat i ng. If they sense that their i nput
doesn't mat t er in rehearsal s, then in the concerts they' re going
to have t hat same sense. Why shoul d t hei r i nput suddenl y
mat t er t hen? You want them pl ayi ng t hei r [best], so a lot of
t hat work has been done ahead of time about how people feel
about t hei r par t i ci pat i on, their role.
The dynami cs and subsequent qual i t y of performance change with
repetition. El l en cont i nued:
We do each concert f our or fi ve times. There's a certain cycle
t hat seems to repeat i t sel f. At the fi rst concert, the energy for
me and probabl y everybody else in the group is usual l y pret t y
upt i ght . The fi rst ni ght is very car eful and precise and oft en not
as fl owi ng as you mi ght want it to be. The second night is
sometimes a l i t t l e bit careless, part s are a little bit unfocused.
And then it st art s real l y coming together. The t hi rd and four t h
you do real l y great t hey' re usual l y the best concerts. And
then you have to be car eful if there's a f i f t h one t hat it's not
j ust t oo rel axed.
The gr oup dynami cs in broadcasting were described by Grace:
Part of wor ki ng on a t eam involves recognizing t hat we are not
all fr i ends havi ng fun here. It is more like, "We have a job to do
and if we don' t do it, t hi s team di sbands." For a whi l e, we
cycled t hr ough employees whom we did not manage properly.
They did not do the job and ul t i mat el y there had to be fi ri ngs.
That is al ways hard, because they are people you l i ke. A
fr i endshi p develops. If the person does not do what he or she is
supposed to do, you begin to feel t aken advant age of and
resentment kicks in. You can hear on the air t hat somet hi ng is
not qui t e right. You do not want t hem to lose their job; it's
devast at i ng. This is a fun job and when they get fi r ed, you
don' t celebrate.
It is so important that you have total trust. When you are
doing improv, you need to know that the other person is going
to be in there swinging. As soon as layers of resentment and
anger build up, trust disappears. I have learned the hard way
that it is so much better to be very clear about your
expectations and to correct people midstream, rather than at
the end when it is hopelessly screwed up and you can't work
together any more.
In the world of medicine, interaction with one's immediate supporting
group takes on a vital role. Frederick, the emergency room physician, said:
I function best when I operate in a collaborative way. I rarely
order nurses to do things. I say, "We are going to need to do a
pelvic on this person." I don't say, "Do this or do that." The
result is the same, but it's all a matter of style.
The key is to be car eful about what jobs you layer on to
your nurses or any other providers. Because you are the person
giving most of the orders, you delineate who is going to do
what under what circumstances. You have to know the
operating capabilities and not pour a lot of st uff onto people. If
somebody is out there doing something, you say to them, "No
hurry; any time within the next 15 minutes if you get a free
time, I need you to be a chaperone for a pelvic examination."
And don't say, "I want to do that NOW." In the emergency
department if you take on that type of air, you become
colossally inefficient. I say, "Here's a windowfind me,"
because a lot of times I can be more fl exi bl e than others on the
team. I can bounce around; I can leave the room, go do
something and then come right back in.
It is all team, much more so t han being an internist where
you have "your" nurse. There are a couple of things that the
nurses do that I can't do, like get into the drug machine and get
out narcotics. I am absolutely not allowed to do that. But I can
change a stretcher or make a bed. There are all sorts of jobs that
everybody can do and everybody should do them, so it t rul y is
a teamwork proposition.
FACTORS DURING PERFORMANCE
Duri ng the actual performance, our performers emphasized an ongoing,
interactive process that included assessment, presentation of self, will-
ingness to risk, and maintenance of an optimal performance state. Main-
taining an optimal performance state is a process that entails a number of
elements: total focus on the present, adjustments in response to external
175
feedback ( f r om t he a udi enc e) , and a d j u s t men t s i n response t o i n t e r n a l
feedback ( sel f- cor r ect i ons i n r el at i on t o mi st akes or er r or s ) .
Assessment
As noted ear l i er , per f or mances can be br oadl y categoriz ed i nt o t wo groups:
those i n whi ch t he act i on fol l ows a scripted pat t er n wi t h mi n or va r i a -
tions, such as i n dance, t heat r e, and not at ed music; and those i n whi ch
t he per f or mer mu s t react t o c ha ngi ng s i t u a t i on a l fact or s t h a t ma y pr o-
ceed along any of a n u mbe r of pat hs. Wi t h t hi s l at t er gr oup, p er f or ma n c e
excellence i s c ont i ngent on correct assessment of a s i t u a t i on and ef f ec -
tive subsequent choi ces and act i ons. Many per for mer s i n t he h i g h - r i s k
and busi ness categories mu s t be prepared t o make cr i t i cal deci si ons at t he
onset of per for mance. I mpr ovi s a t i ona l p er f or mi n g a r t i s t s , such as j a z z
musi ci ans and i mpr ovi sa t i ona l comedi ans, r el y on " r eadi ng a s i t u a t i o n "
( t he resources a va i l a bl e) i n di r ec t i ng t hei r per f or mance ef f or t s .
Accur at e i n i t i a l obser vat i on and ongoi ng appr ai sal ar e obvi ousl y es-
sent i al t o hi gh- r i sk per f or mer s. George, t he medi c, descr i bed t he need
f or both na r r ow a nd broad f ocusi ng s k i l l s ( Ni d ef i er , 1 9 7 6) . I n i t i a l assess-
ment t ypi cal l y i nvol ves a broad scan of t he s i t u a t i o n . George i l l u s t r a t e d
t hi s met hod of broad a t t e n t i on a l focus: "I woul d have an awar eness [of
what i s] a r ou n d me. The s i t u a t i on may d i c t a t e t ha t I' m bei ng shot at or
t hi ngs are ha ppeni ng a r ou n d me. I can' t gel so focused on one p a t i e n t
t hat I become a casual t y. "
Fr eder i ck, t he emer gency room physi c i a n, r efer r ed t o t he i n i t i a l as-
sessment of a s i t u a t i on ascjestalting, t ha t i s, r a pi d eva l ua t i on of t he over a l l
si t ua t i on. Fi e not ed t he c r i t i c a l n a t u r e of t hi s i n i t i a l snapshot on t he t r i -
age t hat i s par t of an emergency s i t u a t i on . It must be done as a c c u r a t e l y
as possible:
Gest al t i ng i s da nger ous. If you come t o see a p a t i en t , y ou r
gest al t on a pa t i ent may not al ways be r i g ht , but i t a l wa ys has
an i mpact on your process.
Gest al t i ng t he pa t i ent i s ver y i mp or t a n t , not so muc h as t o
t he i r di sease but as t o i n t en s i t y : J u s t how sick ar e t hey? It' s sor t
of an i nst ant image of the ci rcumst ances in the room t hat
becomes very i mpor t a nt . It' s a qui ck read: How si ck is the
pa t i ent ? Not what t ype of si ck, not s u r g i c a l si ck, medi cal si ck,
disease si ckj ust sick si ck. Is t hi s somebody who i s a bout r eady
to die, or is t hi s somebody wher e I can waste t i me? Can I be-
more ef f i c i en t wi t h somebody else and put t hi s person on hol d?
Frederi ck' s second qui c k read i nvol ves assessi ng t he d y n a mi c s oi t he
hu ma n bei ngs i n t he room. R ecogni z i ng t he key f a mi l y member s and
at t endi ng t o what t hey bel i eve t o be t he pr obl em i s " a bs ol u t el y c r i t i c a l . "
These are the people who have the most information about the patient
and the most influence on the patient's life aft er discharge from the hos-
pital. Their support and cooperation is crucial to a "relationship-centered"
approach (described in chap. 4, this vol ume) .
Business performance can often entail a challenging blend of pre-
performance strategy and adj ust ment to variations. A person may have
an initial predetermined agenda, but ongoing assessment and feedback
may necessitate dramatic modification of one's original plan. The ability
to assess a situation both rapidly and accurately is the foundat i on of achiev-
ing excellence in these settings. Art hur ( l awyer) commented:
The key in what I do is pace. It's like using a clutch and an
accelerator. Knowing enough to be quiet and listen and to try
to really read what needs to happen. And then to take a stab at
it. And still to listen, to figure out whether it worked or not, so
that you don't over-commit too much to one way of doing it
but are open to changing very qui ckl y wi t hout appearing
flighty. In that context, it's more like being focused on what's
going on, trying to be wide open so t hat you can understand
what everybody needs and decide whether you can accomplish
what everybody needs.
Presentation of Self
Another factor of peak performance involves the way in which the per-
former presents himself or herself. Even when one doesn't feel the basic
attribute of confidence, conveying a sense of self-assurance is the most
important element of self-presentation. Like the character in the musical
Th e King and I, sometimes it's a matter of whistling a happy tune: "For
when I fool the people I meet, I fool myself as well." Ellen ( musi ci an)
commented that
a certain amount of being a performer is the sense that when
you don't feel the confidence, you can fool yourself and fool
everybody else into believing that you have the confidence, so
that you get into whatever the role is t hat you have to do to
perform the music. If you're not really confident, that's going to
be an effort . But that's part of the job; you can't seem as
insecure as you sometimes feel.
Norman ( musician) asked the key questions:
How are you going to be able to get up there and j ust act like
you're having a good time, the way kids do? And even if you' re
not, can you psyche it up to the point where you can convince
the audience that you haven't got a care in the world, or that if
177
1 7 8 KE Y F A C T O R S I N P E R F O R M A N C E
you' ve got a care it's only about what's inside the music and
not about your own fear in approaching your i nst rument or
approaching the audience for t hat matter.
Successful performance includes presentation of self that may be at
odds with one's act ual feel i ngs at the moment . Grace ( br oadcast er ) de-
scribed the dilemma of aut hent i c connection with one's i nt i mat es, yet
mai nt ai ni ng f ul l engagement in one's performance self:
One of the things I hate to hear [from my husband] is, "What
do you mean, you're tired? You di dn' t sound tired on the
radio." The only t hi ng t hat works is to be direct. You j ust have
to be really honest and you have to repeatedly remind the
other person t hat it's a j ob. This is what it entailsaccept it. It is
hard. I deal with it. My co-anchor deals with it. Everybody who
does t hi s deals with it. And the only way around it is const ant
negotiation. I have had to tell my husband: "Listen, when I go
to work I am at work, I am going to do my job. The day I sound
tired on the radio, I am eating cat food and living under a
bridge."
Music is an aur al medi um, yet in performance it contains a vi sual
element as well. As a vi ol i ni st and conductor, Ellen commented on one
of the di sj unct s between musi ci an and audience:
People are very vi sual in our society, and music is not very
visual. Music is a very abstract art form. People come to look as
well as to enjoy the sound. And we ( musi ci ans) tend to be
totally focused on the sound, on the music. You have to have a
bit of at least a sense of what you look like.
( One of the great pl easures t hat I ( KH) experienced whi l e observing
"Ellen" perform was a par t i cul ar way in which her face suf f used with
delight at certain moments. Ironically, especially in light of her comment
above, when I described t hi s vivid audi ence experience of mine, she was
not at all clear which moments I was describing.)
The regul at i on of emot i on while in performance is necessary in all
domains. As noted, surgeon Eric spoke of his "calm assuredness" in the
operating room. Anna described an overarching sense of confidence t hat
lawyers project. How this gets conveyed may vary, in part, by gender:
There's a certain male style of litigation. I think it is sort of a
waning style, but nonetheless it's very much there: this sort of
cowboy style. It's all performance. There's not much behind it,
and yet it can be very successful. It's a very aggressive gl adi at or
approach to things. In my experience the really, really good
lawyers have that ability to read t hei r audi ence and synthesiz e
179
things in a way t hat takes what ever t hat sensibility is into
account.
In addi t i on to presenting oneself as
confi dent , the performer must be clear
about the role of emotion during perfor-
mance. Here, we are di st i ngui shi ng be-
tween the emotions one actually expe-
r i enc es a nd t he emot i ons t ha t a r e
conveyed dur i ng per for mance. As we
noted earlier, the ideal role of emotion
dur i ng performance varies according to
per for mance domai n. An actor's i deal
performance state might include a com-
bi nat i on of nervousness and uncertainty,
whereas the role may call for the display
of outrage and anger. The performance
plan for a businessperson may include
presenting a proposal in a fashi on t hat
emphasiz es logic and reason and mini-
miz es the display of emotion. That same
i n d i vi d u a l may have an i deal per f or -
mance state t hat i ncl udes feelings of an-
ger, competitiveness, and even a little
fear. It is cri t i cal for the i ndi vi dua l to
achi eve his or her I ndi vi dual Zone of
Optimal Functioning ( IZOF) and then to
display emotions according to the per-
for mance pl an.
Two performers with markedl y di f -
fer ent personalities both commented on
the val ue of being deliberate with one's
emotions dur i ng performance. George,
who performed as both medic and sniper,
recogni z ed t hat he was an emot i onal
person. At the same time he admitted
t ha t hi s per f or ma nc e was best when
emotions were minimized and not dis-
pl ayed.
For a professional sniper, a lot of di f f er ent mental tasks need to
be carried out continuously, unt i l the si t uat i on is resolved. It's
important to keep your mind occupied and pull yourself away
a little bit, kind of stand outside of the emotional sphere. Keep
About ten years ago, I went to England
to do a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. On
opening night, there was a sea of
"penguins" (men wearing tuxedos) out
there. It was a very stiff audience and we
knew we had our hands full. We had a
difficult show. I had a wonderful role
and it seemed to go quite well [in
rehearsal], but I was worried. I was quite
out on a limb with the characterization
of my part.
I did it, and the audience didn't laugh
at one thing I did, because I was so
desperate. They (the audience) did home
in on the other three performers. They
(the other three) had the confidence.
They connected, f realized later that I
didn't have the confidence for the British
audience.
It doesn't matter if you're wrong; you
have to believe totally in what you're
doing. If you don't you have to
manufacture those qualities. So I started
doing that, I wasn't changing anything
externally. Timing wasn't changing. It
was an internal journey.
Larry (actor)
t hose emot i on a l t hi n g s covered. In both eases, as a medi c and a
sni per, I ' m t r y i n g t o keep t hem bot t l ed up u n t i l a f t er wa r d.
One time five of us went to meet this
group of decision-makers. The first set of
questions that were thrown at us were
ones that other people in the room were
trying to hit and they were just whiffing.
I finally stood up and said, "You know,
this is really a disaster. You may decide
not to hire us for what I am going to do
now, but I am just going to say we are
going to start over again. You are asking
questions and we're not listening, or you
are asking questions that are impossible
to answer. Let's take it from the top.
Let's try to refocus the time that we have
together, or let's end the time we have
together, because this is not working. I
know it's not working. You know it's not
working. We are not going to do this
anymore."
What I was doing was listening and
watching the body language. I was
making an on-the-spot diagnosis of what
was going on. In some ways, it was
pretty easy. It was like J anis J oplin
there was freedom, a sense that "there is
not much to lose here; we are dead in
the water here. Maybe we can salvage
our pride. Maybe we can surprise
everybody and they'll decide they like us,
because I am going to do something that
is really, in this social context, relatively
risky. I am going to tell the truth."
Arthur (lawyer)
Davi d ( ba n k er ) described hi msel f as
bei ng an u n emot i on a l person. He also
pr efer r ed to keep the di spl ay of emot i ons
out of busi ness per for mance.
Some people j ust have t er r i bl e
t emper s and t hrow t emper
t a n t r u ms . They' re passi onat e
about everyt hi ng, whet her
posi t i ve or negat i ve. In my
eyes, i t hur t s t hem. My style i s
k i n d of "Well, let' s look at the
fact s, let's t hi n k about i t , let's
t a l k about i t , what do you
t hi n k ? " For t hese people, it' s
"GOD, WE' VE GOT TO DO
THIS! I MEAN, I CAN' T
BELI EVE YOU GU YS AR E
STILL DOI NG THAT!"
Frederi ck ( emer gency room physi -
c i a n ) el abor at ed on t he i mpor t ance of
c ha ngi ng hi s pr esent at i on of hi msel f t o
fi t t he dema nds of a si t ua t i on.
You wal k i nt o a room and t he
f i r s t person you see is a person
who i s dyi ngI ' l l use t he most
ext r eme t hi nga nd t hen dies.
You go see the f ami l y. The way
I do it, I ext r act mysel f f r om it
and I r eal l y t hi n k of mysel f as
an act or. And I go in pl a yi ng a
cer t ai n rol e when I t a l k t o t he
f a mi l y of a loved one who has
di ed. That is, t her e is a cer t ai n
way you shoul d be. There is a
cer t ai n process you shoul d go
t hr ough. There is a cer t ai n set
of t heor y and dogma r el at ed to
how you st ar t t he gr i evi ng
process, how you process t ha t ,
how close you shoul d be to
Y ou 're On! (Performance) 181
High-level performers have a kind of
stubborn persistence and belief in self,
It's like: I can do this. I can succeed. This
is a good idea. They are willing to take a
risk to get the goal
One guy I worked with had been a
friend of my father's. He made quite a
bit of money. He went broke a couple of
times in his life. He risked it all. He lost it
alt. He built it back up again. He sold and
did a bunch of things and became just a
money maker after a while. He just really
believed in himself. He believed and
knew it was the right idea. He had a lot
of experience to the contrary for a
period of several decades before he
finally succeeded.
family business)
somebody, whether you
should be t ouchi ng them
or not touching them.
I assume that identity, I do the
job, and I walk out of the room
and quite literally walk down
the hall into the room of a
person who has got a minor
problem and I' m jovial and
l aughi ng, because that person
requi res an entirely di fferent
set of behaviors from the
caregiver.
Willingness to Risk
Loss of sel f-consci ousness is regul arl y
report ed by at hl et es as an element of
flow (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999).
We characterized a similar phenomenon
as a willingness to risk. Radi o host Ian com-
mented:
One key skill in doing a talk
show is trusting yoursel f. It
may be opening yourself up to your own l i fe experience.
Trusting yourself comes from experience and opening your
own l i fe experiences up comes from not being afrai d to be open
and honestbeing who you are. I say that I play this person on
the radio, but there are lots of real elements of me that I am
not afr ai d to let out. I admi t t ed the other day on the radio that
it was very pai nful for me as a teenager to be in phys ed class,
because I was lousy at it. I was al ways the last person chosen to
be on a team, and I couldn't dribble a basketball and nobody
wanted me on their team. It was horrible. No guy admits that
he is no good at sports. It was a pai nful time in my l i fe, but we
were talking about a topic where it seemed appropriate to
admi t t hat .
As a businessman, Barry described the "risk inherent in doing what
has never been done" as very i nspi rat i onal . Jerry, a dancer, characterized
"having the courage to go out and do something unknown" as "emo-
tional courage," for which "you need to have a very strong sense of know-
ing what you' re doing and believing in what you' re doing."
For an act or, wi l l i ngness t o r i sk r el at es t o bei ng emot i onal l y present ,
open, and vu l n er a bl e t o what one i s exper i enci ng i n t he role and t hen
shar i ng t ha t vu l n e r a bi l i t y wi t h t he audi ence. Lar r y ( a c t or ) commented:
Somet i mes I l i ke the chal l enge of a piece. There's somet hi ng
about i t t hat i s a psychol ogi cal , ment a l , or physi cal hu r d l e t o
get t hr ough. Part of my own bei ng has al ways bel i eved t ha t if
you have a fear , you' ve got to wal k up to it, you' ve got to look
at it, and hopeful l y to walk t hr ough it to the other side.
El abor at i ng f u r t her , Kei t h shared hi s own sense of vul ner a bi l i t y, par -
t i cul ar l y a r ou n d a u d i t i on i n g :
As an actor, I use what I have. I' m very much of the bel i ef t ha t
what ever I use i s wi t hi n me. Any char act er i st i c t ha t you play,
any el ement of t he hu ma n spi r i t , i s somewhere i nsi de you. It's
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ a quest i on of what ' s f or egr ound
and what ' s backgr ound, and what
Physical tension is something you want
choice you make How open can
j
to have as a dancer. You don't want to be? How open wi l l I be? That ' s the
have gripping tension, but you do want biggest chal l enge for me, not so
to havemaybe attention is a better
muc h in
per for mance but more in
word than tension. Even in your stillness a udi t i oni ng. You feel i ncr edi bl y
vul ner abl e because what you' r e
you need to have vibration, and a ,. ., . ,
wor ki ng wi t h is you. These are
present energy. You don't want it to be a
y ( ) u r mat er i al s And
especi al l y if
locked tension but a ki nd of vi brat i ng you' r e of the view t hat you' r e not
tension. You actually need that all the p u t t i n g on somet hi ng, t ha t it' s all
way through the performance. Even still comi ng out of you, you feel
moments have to be very intense. t r emendous l y vul ner abl e. And the
sense of rej ect i on t hen is at its
Helena (dancer) great est when you feel you' r e most
open.
MAINTAINING AN OPTIMAL
PERFORMANCE STATE
In chapt er 8, we discussed the i mpor t ance of achi evi ng an i deal per for -
mance state, or IZOF ( Ha n i n , 2000) . Per f or mance excel l ence is based, in
part , on sust ai ni ng t hat i deal state, usi ng t he ment al ski l l s devel oped d u r -
i ng pr epar at i on for per for mance. Our per f or mer s described t wo cr i t i cal
tasks: mai nt ai ni ng focus wi t hi n t he present moment , whi l e at t he same
time bei ng able to make mi nor a dj ust ment s in response to ext er nal or
i nt er nal cues. We r efer to these, below, as focus, i nt er a c t i ve feedback
wi t h "audi ence, " and sel f- cor r ect i on.
183
Focu s
Total focus on the present is one of the key methods of mai nt ai ni ng an
optimal per for mance state. Performers i n al l domai ns ment i oned this
point. All the skills of at t ent i on management (see chap. 8, this vol ume)
come into play to mai nt ai n focus on the moment.
As a conductor, Michael comment ed t hat it is part i cul arl y critical for
conductors to develop the ski l l of focusi ng t ot al l y on the music itself.
With the musi c as for egr ound, i nt er per sonal or systemic issues can be-
come backgr ound.
You' re deal i ng with such number s of people who make music,
and t hey have t hei r own problems, whet her it's their
personalities or ci r cumst ances. I don't get involved with that; I
j ust say t hat I j ust work on the i nformat i on; I j ust keep focused
on the music itself. I've discovered t hat t hat approach is most
product i ve, and it also makes it easy for me to deal with lots of
hard si t uat i ons t hat come up in all my travels working with
di ffer ent orchestras in di f f er ent part s of the world.
Mai nt ai ni ng focus on the task at hand is useful in many domains.
David ( banker ) comment ed: "I t hi nk of myself as being very disciplined,
which I t hi nk is a positive. I don' t get caught up in the deal or the hype of
the moment. I stay focused and di sci pl i ned."
Making an anal ogy to physi ci ans' challenges, radio personality Grace
emphasized the need to be totally focused on the present situation:
I real l y have no patience with people who: (a) can't get it
together and ( b) do not underst and t hat t hi s is a job. If I'm
your doctor and I had a fi ght with my husband and I come in
and screw up your operation, is t hat fai r ? It is totally
unacceptable. I'm expected to put it aside. If you're married to
a doctor, you don't call your spouse and say, "I hope Mrs.
Jackson dies because you screwed up her spleen. You' re too
tired to help me with these ki ds, so I hope t hat woman dies."
You woul d never do t hat . . . . You have not lived until you've
had a knock-down, drag-out marital argument at 4 a.m., right
before you have to get in your car for a ten-mile commute
[prior to going on the ai r ]. When I get in the car, I take a deep
breat h and say to myself, "He will be there; and so will [the
problem]." At t hat poi nt I have to move on.
This ski l l is also one t hat radio host Ian f ound i nval uabl e:
I can compart ment al i z e t hi ngs really well. Even if I have had a
horri bl y bad day or I had a car accident on the way in, I j ust
have to focus. You focus. The
At a recent concert of Baroque music, . , .
car acci dent was i n t he past .
one of us (KH) met one of the
Yes n
,
ha ve t() dea
,
wi t h the
performers, Francis Colpron. He wore a i nsur ance company when I get
lapel pin in the shape of a table knife. off the air, but t hat can' t be in
When asked about it, he commented the pi ct ur e now. I have to t al k
that he wears it to remind him to stay
to
I
t h e
S
uest
l
now
-
"sharp," that is, alert or focused. Per for mer s know where to put t hei r
t hought s at which time. Ilene ( mu s i c i a n )
c ont r a s t ed t he exper i ence of pr act i ce
wi t h the t ot al focus of per f or mi ng. She al so spoke to the i mpor t ance of
bei ng able t o "hold t he l i ne. " One needs not onl y t o at t end or focus, but
also t o st ay focused, concent r at i ng t hr ou g hou t an ent i r e piece of musi c.
When you pract i ce, you' r e al ways edi t i ng and you' r e al ways
t hi n k i n g backwar d, you' r e al ways eva l ua t i ng. If you pl ay a
phrase, you stop and t hi n k back: "What can I f i x, what woul d
be better t her e?" But i f you do t ha t whi l e you' re per for mi ng,
t hen at t he moment t hat you' r e t hi n k i n g backwar d you' r e not
t hi nki ng about t he musi c t hat you' r e pl ayi ng at t he moment .
What became ver y hel p f u l to me was to try, i nst ead of sayi ng,
"Okay, do t hi s here"whi ch is what you get i nt o when you' re
pr act i ci ngt o j u s t sing i t t hr ough. When you' r e si ngi ng i nsi de
your head, you usual l y can' t t hi nk t hought s. You usua l l y can' t
t hi nk verbal l y. Your whol e head i s used up wi t h t hi n k i n g of t he
music. What you don' t want i s an i nt er r upt i on, because musi c
goes on l i near l y. If you' r e t hi nki ng al l those l i t t l e corrections,
your concent r at i on can break down. But i f you' re t hi nki ng t he
l i ne, i t shoul dn' t br eak down. The musi cal t erm for i t i s
au diating, hear i ng musi c i nsi de your head and t hi nki ng t he
musi c.
The del i ber at e use of sound or silence mar ks cert ai n surgi cal opera-
tions, stages of surgery, or level of compl exi t y at any one t i me ( Kat z ,
1999) . Neur osur geon Eric's descr i pt i on of the i deal per f or ma nc e state
reflects t hi s factor as the performance pl an becomes a r eal i t y:
Ever ybody in the operat i ng room is aware of those d i f f i c u l t
cases. There is j u s t a general decl i ne in the backgr ound noise.
Thi ngs tend to be a lot more ef f i ci ent and t here' s j ust a more
busi nessl i ke, "get the work done" approach to those t ypes of
cases where t her e are pr et t y serious consequences. Wi t hout
any prompting, wi t hout t he surgeon sayi ng, "We've r eal l y got
t o pay at t ent i on t o t hi s, " t her e i s j ust k i n d of a gener al pat t er n
t hat everybody pi cks up and fol l ows. It's a l ot more i nt ense. It
al so i nvol ves st i cki ng to the same [known] procedure. If you
have t oo much a nxi et y or t oo much fear, it's count er-
pr oduct i ve. You al most have to go i nt o it wi t h ki nd of a calm
assuredness t ha t you can deal wi t h it. The other t hi ng is t hat
ever yt hi ng a r ound has t o fi t i nt o t ha t same pat t ern. The
smoot her t hi ngs go and the more st r eaml i ned the process
seems, the less a nxi ous you can be as a surgeon.
For Har ol d, conduct or and keyboar d pl ayer , focusi ngand at times,
refocusi ngi s cl ear l y t he key t o per for mance.
That is a c r uc i a l t hi ng. When I' m pl ayi ng a keyboard in
per for mance, one of the bad t hi ngs t hat can happen is t hat
st upi d t hi ngs wi l l j ust come i nt o my mi nd. And then you obsess
about t he fact t ha t you' r e not t hi nki ng about t he music. And
t hen you st art t o have t hi s war wi t hi n yoursel f and t hat
becomes the di si nt egr a t or of the performance. If you are
focused, t hose t hi ngs don' t happenor at least t hey' re less
l i kel y.
R a t her t ha n bei ng concerned t hr oughout a piece of musi c, Di ane
( musi ci an) uses f ocus del i ber at el y t o isolate d i f f i c u l t passages.
If I know t ha t I have somet hi ng har d coming up, I real l y try not
to t hi nk about it dur i ng the rest of the performance, because if
you al l ow those si x or ei ght bars t o control your ent i re
per for mance, you' r e goi ng t o t i e yoursel f up i n knot s; you' re
not goi ng to be where you are. It's okay to t hi n k about
somet hi ng else d u r i n g t he t hi ng but not about anot her part of
t he piece. That j ust upset s you. If you' ve done your work, i f
you' ve ever even sung it r i ght or pl ayed it right once, t hen you
know you can do it.
I nt ent i ona l di r ect i on of one's at t ent i on is a cent ral aspect of bei ng
"on." At t i mes, t he per for mance rel at es t o one's t ask. At other times, i t
i nvol ves a t t ent i on t o one's audi ence. Nor man ( musi c i a n) el aborat ed on
this process:
When you wal k out on the stage and look at the audi ence,
t hat ' s t he t i me when you bel ong t ot al l y t o t he audi ence. That's
your t i me t o be humbl e i n f r on t of t hemt hat ' s what t he
bowing i ndi cat es. You' re humbl i ng yoursel f i n f r ont of t he
audi ence and sayi ng, "I'm your servant and I' m going t o pl ay
for you." Then as soon as [ t he bowing is] over, it' s "Screw you,
buddy, now I' m goi ng t o show you what I've got," and you
can' t ever look back u n t i l the piece is over.
185
Norman's style tit his description, al bei t not qui t e so bl at ant l y: One of
us ( KH) at t ended a concert i n whi ch he per for med. He was ut t er l y en-
gaged wi t h t he audi ence befor e and a f t e r t he piece of musi c. D u r i n g hi s
pl ayi ng, however, he and hi s musi ci an col l eagues were ent i r el y f i xed on
t hei r musi cal cr eat i on and i nt er a c t i on. Dependi ng on t he domai n, some
per for mer s can seem or be near l y obl i vi ous of t hei r a udi enc e. For ot hers,
feedback fr om t he audi ence d u r i n g t he per f or mance i s c r uc i a l t o ma i n -
t ai ni ng opt i ma l per f or ma nc e.
Interactive Feedback From Au dience
For many per for mer s, i nt er act i on wi t h t he " a udi enc e" i s a vi t a l source of
feedback and i s i nt egr al t o t he q u a l i t y of t he per f or mance exper i ence.
Here we are r efer r i ng t o a udi enc e i n t he br oadest sense. For d i f f er en t
domains, audience has d i f f er en t meani ngs. It may refer t o an abstract
audi ence, a vi r t u a l audi ence, an a c t ua l a udi enc e, or an i nt er a c t i ve reci pi -
ent of a pr ocedur e or i dea.
A musi cal conduct or focuses on t he r el a t i on s hi p wi t h a hypot het i cal
audi ence t hr ough pr ogr a mmi ng choices. Mi chael described t hi s aspect:
My basic vi ewpoi nt as an a r t i s t i s t ha t you are t her e t o a c t u a l l y
serve others i n a ddi t i on t o y ou r s el f . Dependi ng on your
appl i cat i on of t ha t pr i nci pl e, t he sky i s t he l i mi t . You woul d l i ke
to affect as many people as you can, because t hat ' s the pur pose
of i t . That t hen a f f ec t s yot i r r el a t i onshi p wi t h those you work
wi t h. It affect s your r el a t i onshi p wi t h t he publ i c; i t af f ect s your
at t i t ude t owar d t he pr ogr a mmi ng policies you have, what
pieces you choose to gi ve to y ou r publ i c .
Many conduct ors don' t care what anybody t hi nks about
what t hey pr ogr am. It' s al most as i f t hey' r e out t her e for
themselves onl y, and t he p u bl i c be dammed. They sort of hi de
behi nd t he appar ent exal t edness of, say, new or cont empor ar y
musi c. I t ry t o make choices t ha t are t arget ed for people who
can get the message. R el a t i ve to somet hi ng new, unhea r d of
before, my program i s t o g r a d u a l l y bui l d up t he audi ence' s
knowl edge and appr eci at i on so t ha t t hey can be wi t h me t he
whole way al ong. I care about wha t my a udi enc e i s
exper i enci ng.
In act i ng, subt l e di s t i nc t i ons can be made r egar di ng t he audi ence,
dependi ng on t he speci fi c medi um. Kei t h discussed t he di f f er ences be-
tween doi ng comedy, l i ve t heat r e, and f i l m:
Pl ayi ng comedy isit' s the power of l a ughs . It r ea l l y is
i nt oxi cat i ng, no ma t t er wha t my mood, t o get t ha t i mmedi at e
charge. And t here' s a huge sense of power f r om t ha t .
In contrast, wor ki ng in straight dramatic theatre is often
di f f i c ul t . As wi t h comedy, there's a live organismthe audience
that's out t herebut t hey j ust don' t act i vel y feed a piece in
such a t angi bl e way as t hey do when you' re playing comedy.
Film is ent i r el y di f f er ent , because you' r e playing to one
"person": the camera. That's a whole other very interesting
medi um, because you have the rapt attention of t hat one
person. It ' s t rai ned on you. On stage, in contrast, you' re always
aware of the bat t l e to harness people's focus and energy.
Larry noted the dynami c between actor and audience in live theatre:
The point is to try and f i nd some communication, some kind of
acceptance with the audi ence. If t hi ngs aren' t going well, one
t endency is to overact, to try to grab the audi ence. The other
tendency is to be dismissive, to say: "Well, fi ne, if you don't like
it, I'll move along." But you' ve always got to care for people. In
my l i fe as a performer, if I'm not sharing with an audience, and
t ryi ng to reach them in some way, then I'm not doing my job.
Norman observed t hat musi ci ans vary in regard to the sense of con-
nection with t hei r audi ence. As wi t h at hl et es, the breadth of attentional
focus may be a f unc t i on of i ndi vi dual di fferences ( Ni deffer , 1976) , type
of music, or type of performance:
How do you r el at e to the audi ence? How much attention do
you pay to what' s going on out there? Some are going to say,
"Oh, did you hear t hat i ncr edi bl e thing that happened in the
t hi r d movement when somebody dropped t hei r t eet h?" Others
wi l l respond: "I don' t know, I di dn' t hear a thing." Some people
will be open to an out si de stimulus or a vari et y of outside
st i mul i . And some people j ust aren' t open to outside stimuli.
They go out and perform and have no idea whether it's hot,
cold, bri ght , or dar k.
The dynami cs between per for mer and audi ence are a fact or even
when the audi ence is unseen. In radio, t al k show host Ian said:
I t hi nk people like to know who you are. They like honesty. I
t hi nk people like vul ner abi l i t y. Vul ner abi l i t y makes you
at t ract i ve to some people to a cert ai n degree. They don't want
you to be a whi mper i ng pile of crap in the corner, but if you' re
wi l l i ng to show t hat you' re not perfect, t hat you have cracks in
t he veneer, i t makes you huma n.
In the worl d of busi ness, the cl i ent becomes the audi ence. For
Charl es, the i nsur ance busi ness revolved ar ound his i nt eract i on with his
cl i ent e:
187
What I do best i s creat e r el a t i ons hi ps wi t h peopl e. I d on ' t t h i n k
I' m t he worl d' s gr eat est sal esman. But 1 do have a ver y good
t echni cal knowl edge of my pr oduc t , and I t h i n k t ha t I' m ver y
good at cr eat i ng r el a t i onshi ps wi t h people.
We' re not sel l i ng a copi er wher e we come i n and convi nce
you t ha t we have t he best copi er and we' re gone. Or of f i c e
suppl i es. Or a st ock. We're s e l l i n g a r el a t i on s hi p . I wa nt t o sel l
you i nsur ance, I wa n t t o hel p you do y ou r f i n a n c i a l p l a n , and
t hi s i s a l ong- t er m r el a t i on s hi p . Yot i have t o have c onf i denc e i n
me.
Fr eder i ck adopt ed a hol i s t i c per spect i ve i n r el a t i on t o emer gency
medi ci ne, emp ha s i z i n g t he p r i ma c y of i n t e r p e r s on a l s k i l l s even over
medi cal knowl edge. Hi s t a sk i nvol ved t he en t i r e d y n a mi c r ange of ever y-
one i n t he e x a mi n a t i on room.
When you wal k i nt o t he room, i f t her e ar e f o u r peopl e i n t he
room i n c l u d i n g you, at mi n i mu m t her e ar e t hr ee di seased
pat i ent s. You mi ght be, too. Whet her you are or not depends
on y ou r mood or whe t he r you ar e a pat hol ogi c dor k. But t her e
ar e at l east t hr ee di s- eased peopl e. Wha t you have t o do i s f i n d
out what i t i s t ha t you t h i n k i s wr ong wi t h t hem and t r ea t t h a t .
But t ha t i s secondar y t o f i n d i n g out wha t they t h i n k i s wr ong
wi t h t hem and t r ea t i n g t ha t . You have t o t r ea t bot h. I f t hi n g s
are r ea l l y goi ng poorl y and you are one of t he di seased peopl e,
you have t o f i g u r e out what i t i s t ha t i s bot her i n g you, c a u s i n g
your di sease, and you' ve got t o t r eat t h a t .
Never ki ck anybody out of t he room unl ess t he p a t i e n t
want s t hem out of t he r oomnever . The odds ar e t ha t t he
ot her people i n t he room ar e goi ng t o be i n vol ved i n t he car e-
gi vi ng, so i f t hey ar e engaged f r om t he ver y beg i n n i n g i t i s
more e f f i c i e n t .
The key i s t o engage t he p a t i e n t and engage t he car egi ver s
so t ha t t hey wi l l know t he pl an a nd wi l l car r y out t he p l a n ,
because 9 0% of t he t her a py t h a t you ar e pr escr i bi ng, you
won' t do r i ght t her e i n t he emer gency r oom. And t he y t h i n k
you are God and you st r ut ar ound l i ke a God. They are not t ha t
mu c h bet t er when t hey l eave, but t hey j u s t have t o be ena bl ed
and have t o have a p l a n t o be op t i mi s t i c a bou t .
Self-Correction
D u r i n g per f or ma nc e, t he per f or mer ' s l ocus a nd r el a t i on s hi p wi t h t he a u-
di ence does not necessar i l y c on t i n u e at a st ea dy st a t e. Per f or mer s get o f f -
Y ou 're On! (Performance) 189
(t hi n k good salespeople connect wi th
people deeply and q ui ckly. I thi n k we
(consultants) are different from
salespeople, but really good salespeople
connect on the basis of really trying to
help a person, They thi nk they've got a
product that is good and they thi n k it
wi ll help. I thi nk we are somewhat li k e
that.
fami ly business)
track, and thus, one key skill is the abil-
ity to make minor corrections to one's
act i ons dur i ng per f or ma nc e. For i n-
stance, a coach of our acquaintance de-
scri bed t r ampol i ni st s' act i vi t y ( wi t h a
certain dour anticipation of catastrophe)
as cont i nuous ''disaster control." An ele-
ment of danger in performance exists.
Depending on performance domain, this
danger of derailment may be psychologi-
cal or physical. For example, in order to
think clearly and maintain his fine mo-
tor skills, whether for a medical proce-
dur e or a steady rifle hand, George de-
liberately slowed down his actions:
When I feel that I am too aroused, I j ust start moving in slow
motion. When I'm on the range t rai ni ng with the sniper rifle,
when I get down in position arid I j ust start making my hand
movements very slowly, my whole body calms down.
In addition to his emergency medicine practice, Frederick has re-
sponsibilities as a hospital admi ni st rat or. At times, his shi ft in the emer-
gency room is disrupted by an admi ni st rat i ve matter t hat immediately
i nt errupt s his sense of flow:
What drops me off the peak is getting a sense of fr ust r at i on
because there has been a break in my cont i nui t y. If I do get
fr ust r at ed, I won't get mad, but I will get i neffi ci ent . I operate
much less effi ci ent l y when I don't get over it. So I sort of start
over. If I was in some place where I can j ust get back in, I go
there. If not, I go to the boarda computer that has the names
of all the patients and where they areand I basically run the
board and go t hrough every pat i ent . Then I prioritiz e what I am
going to do. I reorder. It may not be in the same order that I
had been going, but you have to start over.
Larry commented on the actor-audience connection in theatre, an
ever-changi ng oppor t uni t y for sel f-correct i on and course adj ust ment .
"Theatre is a l i vi ng ent i t y ... a changing t hi ng. If your character is in the
right area of your mi nd and you are physically with the character, you
can adj ust to the vari at i ons that the audi ence will take you to."
Although Ar t hur was an at t orney rat her than an actor, he too was
sensitive to the i nt eract i on between himself and his clients, as noted in
his earlier comments about pacing. In addition to reading the process of
When I was a sophomore in high school,
I sang "Over the Rainbow" in the
Amateur Hour. I never had stage fright
and it never occurred to me that I would
ever be nervous on stage. Until I walked
out there the night of the performance,
I'd never had stage lights in my face. I
walked out there, the lights were in my
face, and I couldn't see any audience. I
couldn't remember a word of that song.
I was wearing this blue gingham dress,
with a big basket of lilacs, so I knew I
looked really pretty. I thought, "Well, I'm
not going to crash out here," so I la-la'd
the whole beginning and when I got to
"Somewhere over the rainbow," I just
made up something, and it all rhymed.
I was sort of mad at myself when I got
off stageI should have gotten first
prize, and now some other singer was
going to get first prize. 1 got second
prize. I was mad at myself, but it didn't
make me depressed, or think that I
shouldn't be a performer. I thought it
was funny. It just made me think, "Well,
at least I rhymed." I turned it around to
be humorous, some kind of learning
thing. And I've still never come off stage
depressed or thinking "Well, I'm
obviously in the wrong field."
i nt er act i on, he at t ended i n pa r t i c ul a r t o
l anguage. He noted whi ch words el i ci t
speci fi c responses and adj ust ed his per-
f o r ma n c e a c c or di ngl y: "I' ve l e a r n e d
s o me t h i n g a b o u t t he power of t he
st r ai ght word. I don' t measure what I' m
goi ng t o sayI t hi n k i t pr et t y much
fl owsbut I am really car eful about hot
words."
How does the performer ha ndl e mis-
t a k es a nd move beyond t hem? For
Mi chael ( conduct or ) , the issue is i nt en-
t i on:
If your aim is to be perfect,
t hen t he moment you make
any mi st ake, you' ve al r eady
f a i l e d . But for me, t he mai n
pur pose of, let's say, my doi ng a
Beet hoven symphony is to
del i ver t he i nt ent of t he musi c.
The t ec hn i q u e of t he piece i t sel f
i s t her e t o serve t he dr a ma t i c
ends of i t . Your focus as an
a r t i s t shoul d be t o mast er t he
t ec hni ques s u f f i c i en t l y t o l i ve
wi t h t ha t dr a ma t i c i nt ent .
There can st i l l be mi st akes in
t he per for mance, t here can st i l l
be lack of per fect i on in
per for mance, and yet you can
st i l l f u l f i l l t he purpose.
C ha r l ot t e ( da nc er ) i l l ust r at ed t he di s-
t r a c t i on and i nt er f er ence t ha t can occur
t hr ough a focus on per fect i on:
Faith (singer)
The per f or mances t hat went
badl y were t he per for mances
where I was di st r act ed f r om
what I wasdoi ng. I was wor r yi ng about pr essur e, and l et t i ng
every l i t t l e mi st ake I made t a ke my mi nd off what I was doi ng
at t ha t moment . If I made a mi st ake d u r i n g t he begi nni ng of
t he per f or mance or di d somet hi ng a l i t t l e r oughl y or di d some
l i t t l e step at a l evel less t ha n t ha t I t hou g ht I shoul d be doi ng
191
If you look beyond the garage band,
self-taught kind of musician, criticism has
been an integral part of the music world
since whenever. You have to do it right,
If you listen to musicians talk to the
conductor or their teacher or even their
peers, the initial focus is always on
"What did I do wrong?" or "How could I
do better?" Typically, there's very little
emphasis placed on "This was really
good, this was really fine, this was really
nice, now here are some changes you
could make." That kind of aura is not
out there. So kids come in, since
childhood, with this perfectionistic kind
of belief, and I work real hard at
changing that. There's more to making
music than just following the notes on
the page.
If you recognize that you're the one
making music, you're the one saying this,
then it's harder to fall victim to the
perfectionism that's intertwined with
performance anxiety. Because
performance anxiety people are tied up
in "Oh my god, other people are judging
me and I have to be perfect." They're
tied up in what others are thinking as
opposed to what they're thinking, what
they're saying, through the music that
they're making. I think probably the best
mental kind of attitude is, "Hey, this is
my music, I'm saying it."
Dr. Nick Norris (consultant, music)
t hat was a mi st ake but I
itand these are things that
nobody would notice but me
I would j ust dwell on how
angry I was with mysel f,
i nst ead of letting it go and
getting on with the show. And
all t hat would do was make me
blow the rest of the show. I
real l y got caught up in t hat . I
had to teach myself, to
discipline myself to let go of
mistakes and forgive myself for
not being perfect every time.
Similarly, musi ci an Norman recog-
ni z ed t hat musi ci ans need to know both
t hat t hey' l l make mistakes and that they
can't undo them. "I don't need to be in
control of the mistake, but I need to not
let it stop me fr om doing what I'm doing
and try not to feel gui l t y about making a
mi st ake."
I a n ( b r o a d c a s t e r ) i n d i c a t ed t hat
maintenance of the optimal performance
st at e consists of a delicate i nt erpl ay of
focus, audi ence, and self-correction. He
described the importance of mai nt ai ni ng
focus t hr oughout an interview, usi ng
t echni ques of sel f- t al k and thought man-
agement :
You have to remind yourself
t hat you know you can do it.
You can do it, you have done it
before. I am not one of these
Pol l yanna people who think
you should never have negative
t hought s. That is bull. But when
you are in the moment of doing
it, i nevi t abl y if you think you
can't, then you can't. You have
to t hi nk, "I can recover from
this. It is not going well and I
can get out of this." Or "Oops,
can recover fr om t hi s."
DEALING WITH OUTCOME
Both posi t i ve and negat i ve per for mances lead t o t hei r own di st i nct and
u n i q u e set of chal l enges. Posi t i ve out come and t he accompanyi ng celeb-
r i t y st at us can wr eak havoc wi t hi n one's personal l i f e, as Grace ( br oad-
cast er ) not ed ear l i er . At t he same t i me, negat i ve outcome oft en l eads t o a
crisis of conf i dence.
R a di o host Ian descri bed t he poi gnant chal l enge t o t he successful
per f or mer t hat of bei ng a p u bl i c f i g u r e. An y t hi n g t hat one does i s goi ng
to be noticed by ot hers:
You have to develop a real i st i c pi ct ur e of who you are and you
have to be open to recogni z i ng your f a ul t s. And t hat is har d to
do. It takes a cer t ai n a mount of confi dence to get up on the
stage or to get on the r adi o every day. Sometimes you are not
wi l l i ng t o look at t he t hi ngs t ha t you are not good at or t he
t hi ngs t hat you f a i l ed at or t he t hi ngs t hat you coul d use
i mprovement in. If you t el l me on a Wednesday t hat I am not
good at somet hi ng and I have to use t hat ski l l tomorrow, how
can I use it? I am going in t here knowi ng one of my weak
poi nt sI am naked out t her e. It is not l i k e a desk job. If I am
havi ng a bad day everybody knows i t . If t he guy at Bel l Sout h i s
havi ng a bad day, not everybody knows it.
Bandur a' s ( 1 9 86) sel f - ef f i cacy theory posits t ha t a person's confi dence
is most i nfl uenced by pri or ef f or t s and accompl i shment s. Aft er the per-
formance is compl et ed, t her e is a feedback loop of assessment of the out -
come and this i n t u r n i n f l u en c es f u r t her per for mance. Deal i ng wi t h nega-
t i ve out comes becomes a c r uc i a l aspect of t hi s process.
Speaki ng of a u d i t i on i n g , act or Kei t h described under - achi evement
i n act i on:
Sometimes I feel l i ke I' ve sabotaged mysel f, especially in
audi t i oni ng. It's muc h easi er for me t o wal k out of an a udi t i on
and feel t hat I somehow i nhi bi t ed the communi cat i on, t hat I
i nhi bi t ed the per for mance, t hr ough fear, so t ha t if there's a
rejection, t hen it' s l i ke "Well, of course t here was a rej ect i on
because t hey never saw what I have to offer . " To lay your sel f
bare, and still have somebody say, "It ' s not what we want or
what we need, " i s r eal l y pr of ound. It real l y i s pr ofoundl y
saddeni ng and h u r t f u l , no mat t er how many t i mes i t happens.
Taki ng a more phi l osophi cal posi t i on, Lar r y ( act or ) comment ed: "I
have t o learn fr om f a i l i n g . It ' s a process of ma ki ng mi st akes. Babe R u t h,
who was t he home run k i n g and has never been equal ed, was also t he
st r i keout ki ng. You have t o get t hi ngs i n perspect i ve."
U sing a baseball analogy, also, advertising executive Bar r y sai d:
I think there is a resiliency t hat you need. Things can f al l apart
in the fi r st mi nut e. You lose your belief in your sel f if you t hrow
a couple of bal l s ri ght out of the gate. You' ve got to be r esi l i ent
enough to bounce back f r om t hat . You have to have f ai l ed a lot
and be used to f a i l ur e and have the abi l i t y to overcome it and
not let it destroy you.
Because of the l ong- t er m i mpl i cat i ons of decisions made in his busi -
ness, David focused on the i mport ance of being able to live with his deci-
sions and avoid dwelling on t hem a f t er the fact :
They're par t i al victories or par t i al performances, i ndi cat i ons of
performance, as opposed to somebody who's in the business of
selling cars and one Sat ur day t hey sell more cars t han t hey' ve
ever sold before. Boom, they' ve done it. They can measure it
and it's done. Here, sometimes i t ' s wi nni ng a deal . That ' s a
part i al victory but at the same t i me you worry, "Did I r eal l y
want that? Is it good t hat I won it?"
We have discussed the process of opt i mal per for mance chronol ogi -
cally: rel evant fact ors prior t o, dur i ng, and af t er t he per for mance event.
What of the per for mer s' experiences dur i ng opt i mal performance? Here,
we come back to the t r ansfor mat i ve experience.
193
The Performance Experience:
What the Performer Feels
A f i nal theme that emerged in our i nt ervi ews wi t h a number of the per-
formers is the way in which performi ng may cont ai n t r ansfor mat i ve qual i -
ties, whether those rel at e to a sense of "oneness," al t er at i on in the ex-
perience of time, spi r i t ual issues, or a sense of "flow" ( Csi ksz ent mi hal yi ,
f 9 9 0 ) .
While in the flow state, at hl et es r out i nel y experi ence a t r ansfor ma-
tion of the sense of time ( Jackson & Csi ksz ent mi hal yi , f 9 9 9 ) . Several
performers we interviewed described si mi l ar perceptions. Nor man ( mu-
sician) del i berat el y at t ended to t hi s t hr ough what he called "the creation
of time." He commented on two pieces of cont emporary musi c t hat were
performed on the same program, one exceedi ngl y slow and spacious and
the other with many rapid notes:
To play the fi r st , I simply had to t el l myself t hat I'm going to
create a certain ki nd of t i me between the notes; t hat I'm not
going to al l ow myselfe ve r to force a note to be where it
doesn' t want to be. Because t here the microscopic ni ght mar es
of i n f i n i t y are not even microscopic, t hey' r e huge. The gap
between the notes is very large. And t hen to go to pl ay the
second one ri ght aft er war di t ' s onl y because I've dr i l l ed
myself to do it, to be able suddenl y to di vi de t i me i nt o very
smal l c hunks. But even when I pl ay t he f i r st , I' m al so di vi di ng
t i me i nt o smal l c hunks for mysel f, because a note for me wi l l
have a begi nni ng, a mi ddl e, and an end.
Dur i ng surgery, t i me di sappears. Er i c elaborated:
It may t ake two or two and hal f hours to complete the
procedure, but ment al l y it's fi ve seconds. There i s absol ut el y no
pause i n t i me. It j u s t collapses when you are i n t he mi dst of i t .
If you look back over ever yt hi ng t ha t occurred you r eal i z e t ha t
it has been a pr et t y prol onged period of time, but it j u s t all r uns
together and collapses. For a lot of these operat i ons, you j ust
st art and t hen f i n i s h and t he concept of t i me i s j ust stopped.
A number of t r ansfor mat i ve experi ences were described as a sense of
"oneness." El l en ( mu s i c i a n ) spoke of musi c performance as a 300% ex-
perience, c ont a i ni ng t he physi cal , s p i r i t u a l , and emot i onal or ment al .
It's compl et el y physi cal : You have t o be compl et el y physi cal l y
coor di nat ed. It's spi r i t ual i n t er ms of t he way you' r e connect i ng
wi t h t he a udi enc e and with t he ot her per for mer s. And t hen it's
emot i onal or ment al , because i f you' r e real l y ner vous or upset,
t hat ' s going to creat e a bl ock. If somet hi ng i sn' t wor ki ng, you
have to focus on t hat and somehow get t hat going. A lot of the
t i me I' m j u s t sort of t r yi ng t o get t hose t hree t hi ngs i n balance.
I may feel l i ke I' m si mpl y t i ght somewhere, I need j ust to focus
on r el axi ng muscl esi t can be t hat physi cal and t hat basic. Or
it could be t ha t the energy is not focused in the gr oup, whi ch is
most l y t he spi r i t ual t hi ng. Or t ha t we' re not communi cat i ng
wi t h the audi ence and we need to somehow get somet hi ng
more focused happeni ng and more t oget her. It's very seldom
t hat al l t hr ee t hi ngs come t oget her at once i n a per fect way. But
t hat ' s the goal. You get t here, you t ouch it, and you come
away. I t hi nk t hat ' s the na t ur e of per for mance.
Ear l y i n her career, C har l ot t e danced wi t h a passi onat e, f r en et i c style
t hat created a t r ansfor med, but una wa r e state. Al t hough t he audi ence
loved the energy of her performances, she had no recollection of the
process af t er t he cur t ai n f el l . She shi ft ed t o a syst emat i c and del i ber at e
c a l mi ng of her sel f i n or der t o rel i sh t he f u l l awar eness of her danci ng.
195
Although I hated galas, I went to [X]
because of the money. They were doing
the full length version of Apollo, with
the unwrapping from birth. The role is
physically very taxing and I thought, "Oh
my god, how am I going to do this, plus
it's a gala, and the stress."
At the time, I was very busy with
becoming a parent, and the cycle of life.
While I loved my current ballet company,
I felt that sometimes they were so
focused on the newest, youngest, most
exciting, most remarkable things that
they ignored or forgot that as dancers
became 30 or 35, they add a depth of
experience that actually informs abstract
ballet. To be doing a role that I had done
many times, with the story put back in,
and in my own life to be going through
that sense of growing up, to be dancing
as an adult with people who were from
my childhood as an artistall of those
were part of why I looked forward to it.
They got me all wrapped. One of the
first things is the Handmaidens come on
and lean you backward, and you open
your mouth and cry. I opened my mouth
and made as if I were a squalling baby. I
had this sudden vision of my own son
lying there squalling, and that's the last
thing I remember. But I know that it was
a very good performance.
Jerry (dancer)
Helena, also a dancer, spoke of the
ways in which, for a number of perform-
ers, verbal language loses its meaning
duri ng performance:
I've never really been able to
describe very well what's going
on in my mind when I'm
performing. I don't actually
think when I'm performing. A
little part of my mind is
thinking about the technical
aspects of holding on to this
muscle to get this limb where it
needs to be, or how to do this
turn without falling over. But
that's j ust one layer of what's
going on. I think it is quite
possible for people to be acting
in a way, to be trying to inhabit
a role as they perform, but I
often don't fi nd myself doing
that. I fi nd myself being the
music, or being the movement.
Norman ( musician) spoke of "shine,"
referri ng to the quality of the note and
rhythm:
I draw every drop of inspiration
from the notes and rhythms
that I play. You want to find
the flow, the groove, the
spiritual feeling, the inner self,
your own paradise that you
created. I try to say: "This note
has got shine on it." I feel the
shine. I don't see the word, but
I look for the quality of the
note and the rhythm, and I feel
those two things are locked
together. And that the rhythm
and its placethose things are
locked together. If there's any way to create it, I would create it
by a sense that those two things, the note and the rhythm, are
totally locked hand in hand, like Siamese twins.
El l en ( mus i c i a n) was awar e of the evanescence of ext r aor di nar y
moment s dur i ng a concert:
My experience in per for mi ng is t hat in most concerts, if you' re
lucky, t here' s a moment t he moment may last for 30 seconds
or on a good day for even two mi nut esa moment when you
feel completely at one. Everyt hi ng is growing and it's all
happeni ng j ust the way you mean it to be. Most of the time
there's something in the way. You' re either nervous or
something' s not f unct i oni ng in the group quite right or there's
a loud noise or somebody is chewing l oudl y or coughing. Or
there's something di st ract i ng youyour mind is wandering or
you' re tired. But there are certain moments in a good
performance when everyt hi ng is j ust working and all that st uf f
doesn't matter or it's not happening, it's j ust totally focused
per for mi ng.
Describing her deep level of concent rat i on, radi o personality Grace
i l l ust rat ed her experience of focus and corresponding effort l ess action.
There are times when you are fi ri ng on all cylinders, and when
t hat happens, ever yt hi ng darkens around t he edges and you' r e
super-focused. When I am listening very i nt ent l y to someone, I
do not hear a nyt hi ng else. It all starts shut t i ng down ar ound
me. And when I am l i st eni ng, my brain is j ust fi ri ng like a
computer. Ever yt hi ng the person is saying is tripping a hyper
l i nkan association, an idea, a concept. As you' re t el l i ng me
something, I am cross-referencing in my head. I am not t ryi ng
to do it; it j ust is happeni ng. It j ust seems so beaut i f ul l y obvious
t hat it seems almost embar r assi ng to say it out l oud. Like, "This
is what we're ALL t hi nki ng! "
Some of the performersnone of whom defi ned themselves as espe-
cially rel i gi ous peoplespecifically described the t r ansfor mat i ve experi-
ence as cont ai ni ng spi r i t ual aspects.
Di ane spoke of the i nt eract i on between performer and music:
For those of us who really love it, music is like a religion to us. I
say "us" to i ncl ude people who really feel a great a f f i n i t y for
what t hey' re doi ng. I'm sure there are a lot of bored musi ci ans
who woul d j ust as soon be doing something else, but musi c to
me is a very spi r i t ual t hi ng. We have t hi s connection with these
composers. Bach's been dead how many hundr eds of years and
how many people have experienced his music? I always feel
l i ke every t i me we pl ay something, I t hi nk of the connection
with all those long gone people, and t hat we're almost reliving
what the composer and the people t hat have heard it and
played it have experienced. To me it makes some sort of sense
of the uni ver se a l i t t l e bi t . There's a sense of connectedness
there.
Somewhat mystically, Nor man ( musi ci an) al l uded to stripping away
the veil of illusions in which we all swath ourselves. Ext raordi nary playing
is often described as a religious experi ence. Is it the veil of
illusions t hat all wri t ers and poets t al k about ? We don't have
one word t hat says what that veil of i l l usi ons is. There are no
real words in it. What ever t hat feeling, you have the illusion
t hat the prison t hat you create for yoursel f, or the paradise t hat
you make for yourself, t hat it's all not t r ue. Really the only
t hi ng is about t appi ng i nt o the source of your own imagination,
and your own source, the place where you fi nd your inner
temple, and i nner space. It i ncl udes the abi l i t y to create time
r at her than be a victim of time.
For Larry, the rel at i onshi p between actor and audience can take on a
spi r i t ual dimension:
It's visceral communi cat i on; it's al most a spi r i t ual
communi cat i on. You j ust know. There's a sense of awareness,
you act ual l y feel your audi ence breat hi ng. Al t hough t he
concentration is on you and t ur ns on t hat , it's a shari ng
process, it doesn' t feel sel fi sh. I perceive it wi t h a stillness;
there's a t r anqui l i t y and stillness f r om t he audi ence and from
the performers. There's no effor t i nvol ved in it. That sense of
shari ng comes t hr ough, there's a generousness to your whole
being.
197
Recommendations
to Consu ltants
Several of the fact or s i nf l uenc i ng fl ow are det ermi ned prior to the
commencement of performance: clear goals, a performance pl an,
r efocusi ng st rat egi es, and group dynami cs.
In contexts where performance is more open-ended and involves
problem-solving activities ( such as medicine, business, and many
of the hi gh-ri sk act i vi t i es) , accurat e assessment of the performi ng
context is essential. Critical cues or elements in the situation must
be recogniz ed, and a course of action selected, based on t hat as-
sessment.
The manner in which a per for mer presents himself or herself may
di f f er si gni fi cant l y fr om his or her ideal performance st at e. A sense
of confi dence, or creat i ng the appearance of confi dence, is consid-
ered i mport ant in all domai ns. Consul t ant s shoul d help per for m-
ers learn concrete skills to appear confi dent , even if they are not.
The wi l l i ngness to risk and push the limits of one's abi l i t i es is an
i mpor t ant part of peak per for mance.
Sust ai ni ng a performer' s i deal performance state r equi r es focus in
the i mmedi at e moment and ongoing mi nor adj ust ment s in accor-
dance with feedback. Feedback may be ext ernal ( fr om an a udi -
ence or act i on) or i nt er nal ( awareness) .
Peak per for mance does not r equi r e flawless performance; it does
requi re accepting mistakes, maki ng any necessary adj ust ment s, and
cont i nui ng to mai nt ai n focus on the moment. The best performers
are not the ones who are perfect, but the ones who are best at
handl i ng t hei r mi st akes.
Tr ansfor mat i ve experiences oft en involve a sense of time distor-
tion, effor t l ess activity, and ( at t i mes) a sense of spi r i t ual i t y or one-
ness with the uni ver se.
Al t hough one can set some of the conditions for t r ansfor mat i ve
experiences to occur, in all domai ns these experiences appear to
be out si de of the performer' s conscious control.
T h e He lp T h e y Ne e d:

A s s i s t a n c e P e r f o r m e r s Wa n t
I tend to over-analyze and over-complicate t hi ngs. You need somebody
who can j ust calm you down and get you to f ocus on what' s important
and boil things down to the essence.
Bar r y ( advert i si ng execut i ve)
e t ur n in part I V to the interaction between perf ormer and consul t ant .
Perf ormance consultants use a number of methods to of f er assistance,
depending on their t rai ni ng, interests, and styles. Each consultant may
have a niche, a specialty, or a method that shapes his or her perception of
perf ormers' needs. A consultant' s specialty, however, may also be a li-
ability. We are mi ndf ul of the aphorism at t ri but ed to Abraham Maslow:
"When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to
resemble a nail."
We asked both consultants and perf ormers what areas or concerns
might require assistance. In anal yzi ng the responses, we began with the
perf ormers' perspective by asking the f ollowing question: "When you
think of the ideal consul t ant , what kind of skills or assistance would they
provide?" We have supplemented their responses with those of our con-
sultant interviewees. We have also highlighted some of the contrasts
among consultants, di f f erences that are a result of their training, back-
ground, or objectives. Consultants may f i nd these comparisons a reminder
to consider a range of intervention options, rat her t han j us t "to look f or
a nail."
We explored the issue of perf ormance assistance in two ways. First,
we simply asked each perf ormer what assistance he or she would like a
consultant to provide. For a number of our interviewees, the area of
perf ormance consultation was a new concept; many were unaware of
the range of services and assistance available. Theref ore, at the conclu-
sion of our open-ended interviews we i nqui red about assistance a sec-
201
2 0 2 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
ond time, in a sl i ght l y di f f er ent f as hi on. We of f er ed a checkl i st of ski l l s
and services t hat have historically been provided by per f or mance con-
sul t ant s who work with athletes ( Appendi x B). We asked whet her the
per f or mer t hought the s ki l l or service woul d be hel pf ul wi t hi n his or her
own milieu. Overall, t hi s checklist of options of ten elicited ent hus i as t i c
support f or services pr evi ousl y not considered. This response suggests
that in many per f or mance domains, considerable educat i on is r equi r ed
to raise perf ormers' awareness of the range of options available within
perf ormance consul t i ng.
The responses can be cl ust ered i nt o f o u r overal l categories: assess-
ment , educat i on, support , and career devel opment . Accur at e assessment
may involve apprai si ng the i ndi vi dual or the system. The educat i onal
f unct i on i ncl udes the vast maj or i t y of i nt ervent i ons. Among these are
technical i nf ormat i on, interpersonal skills, mental skills, and i nt rapersonal
skills. Support may i ncl ude t he emot i onal assistance, a f f i r ma t i o n, and
encouragement t hat are t r adi t i onal l y associated with counsel i ng; i t also
can mean debr i ef i ng a f t e r cri t i cal i nci dent s. Career devel opment pot en-
tially f ocuses on issues in advanci ng wi t hi n one's per f or mance domain
or exploring vocations in other areas.
Assessment
From the perspective of our consul t ant s, a t horough and accurat e assess-
ment of the consul t at i ve si t uat i on is a critically i mpor t ant f i r s t step. The
f oundat i on of any consul t at i on t ypi cal l y i ncl udes a det er mi nat i on of
strengths, i dent i f i cat i on of problem areas, and the establishment of goals.
Not surprisingly, assessment is consistent with the t rai ni ng, skills, and
belief s of psychologists who consul t with per f or mer s. Tradi t i onal psycho-
logical t r ai ni ng grounds one in the medi cal model of diagnosis necessary
to i nf orm t r eat ment decisions as well as the use and i nt erpret at i on of
f ormal assessment i nst rument s.
From the perf ormer' s perspective, however, the cent ral i t y of assess-
ment was much less evi dent . To the ext ent t hat per f or mer s spoke of as-
sessment, they acknowledged the val ue of assessment in its br oader sense
rat her t han f or mal testing or eval uat i on. Perf ormers want a consul t ant
to i dent i f y strengths and capabilities to help address problem areasa per-
spective consistent with sol ut i on-f ocused or positive psychology. For ex-
ample, as an i nsurance agent, Charles observed that a personal assessment
of strengths would be hel pf ul . I an, in broadcasting, suggested t hat know-
ing the perf ormer' s weaknesses and insecurities allows the consul t ant to
provide f eedback wi t hout under mi ni ng the perf ormer' s conf idence.
The Help They Need: Assistance Performers Want
Perf ormers in vari ous domains underscored the value of observational
skills, one of the elements of assessment. They emphasized both observa-
tion and interaction. The consultant should not only observe, but more
importantly, give direct f eedback on the observation. For example, in medi-
cine, Eri c suggested t hat it could be us e f ul to work with a consultant
with good behavi or al observat i on powers, someone who could
watch somebody work, especially in the operating room, and
be able to t ur n that around and say, "These are some of your
charact eri st i cs and t r ai t s, and wi t h this type of characteristic
and t rai t , we have f ound t hat you could probably benef i t f r om
t hi s change."
Diane, a musician, also noted the val ue of observat i onal skills:
I t would be hel pf ul if t hey have good powers of observation.
They could point out t hi ngs t hat I may not be noticing about
what I ' m doing. They might notice t ensi on at part i cul ar times.
Or maybe they come and watch me perf orm as part of the
consul t at i on and t ry and see what t hey can f i gur e out f r om
t here.
Vari ous per f or mer s ment i oned bal anci ng eval uat i on with rapi di t y of
f eedback. I lene ( mu s i c i a n) said t hat i t woul d be us ef ul f or someone t o
work wi t h the perf ormer long enough to be able to observe and provi de
f eedback on pat t erns. At the same t i me, an i mpor t ant skill woul d be the
consul t ant ' s "ability to read you qui ckl y. "
This speed of engagement, assessment, and devel opment of potential
suggestions was a def i ni ng charact eri st i c cited by a number of di f f er ent
per f or mer s i n var i ous domai ns. Ar t h u r ( l awyer ) suggested t hat i t would
be hel pf ul if the consul t ant were able to develop "hypotheses" f ai r l y rap-
idly. Charact eri zi ng lawyers as i mpat i ent , he commented t hat
it would be i mport ant f or someone to make at least a
reasonable hypothesis r at her qui ckl y and start going down a
pat h based on t hat hypothesis. Assumi ng it's hal f right, the
person would be able to t ake smal l steps, to make adj ust ment s,
to see what works and what does not work.
Similarly, Bar r y ( adver t i si ng execut i ve) t hought t hat it was impor-
t ant f or the consul t ant to be bl u nt at t i mes. "Don' t be too sympat het i c an
ear and don' t wait too long to allow me to come to the right answer.
Sometimes, my per f or mance really needs to be maxi mi zed quickly, so
j us t t el l me what to do."
What is it t hat shoul d be observed or underst ood? Larry, an actor,
present ed a t r adi t i onal i st perspective on assessment. He saw it as impor-
203
t a n t "t o h a v e a good psychol ogi cal u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t he person, t o know
t he root s of t he per s on, t o know wha t hi s or her f a mi l y b a c k g r o u n d was
l i ke / -
For ot her s , c o ns u l t a t i o n assessment s ho u l d be br oader t h a n t he me nt a l
or ps ychol ogi cal . No r ma n ( mu s i c i a n ) suggest ed a compr ehensi ve role f or
t h e c o n s u l t a n t :
De p e n d i n g on wha t l evel t he psychol ogi st i s i nvol ved wi t h t he
s u b j e c t , i f i t ' s not a cl ass but maybe i t ' s a per sonal c o n s u l t a t i o n ,
you have t o look at ever y aspect of t he per son, t he k i n d of
wor k t he y do, t he s chedul e of wor k t hey ma i n t a i n , t he whol e
r ange of wha t goes on.
I n some ar eas of pe r f o r ma nc e , assessment may i nvo l ve t eas i ng out
t h e i n t e r a c t i o n bet ween phys i c a l a n d me n t a l concer ns. Di a n e ( mu s i c i a n )
t h o u g h t i t i mp o r t a n t t ha t t he c o n s u l t a n t be able t o r evi ew and d i s t i n -
g u i s h phys i c a l ( as compar ed wi t h me n t a l ) pr obl ems; t h a t i s , t he c ons ul t -
ant s ho u l d ma ke cer t ai n t h a t t he per f or mer i s do i ng e v e r y t h i n g possible
f o r p h y s i c a l p r e p a r a t i o n .
Thi s d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n bet ween phys i c a l a nd me n t a l i s c r i t i c a l l y i mpor -
t a n t i n b a l l e t , whi c h d e ma n d s p a r t i c u l a r phys i c a l s ki l l s t h a t a r e i n par t a
f u n c t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l s ' a na t o my. J e r r y suggested t h a t i t woul d be u s e f u l
t o ha ve an o b j e c t i v e assessment of dancer s' a b i l i t i e s and l i mi t a t i o n s and
t he e xt e nt t o whi c h t hey ar e phys i cal or me nt a l . He o f f e r e d a pot ent
e xa mpl e wher e a c c u r a t e assessment woul d be c r i t i c a l i n s el ect i ng t he
a ppr o pr i a t e i n t e r v e n t i o n . A dancer coul d experi ence a n x i e t y a bout a n a -
t o mi c a l or s k i l l l i mi t a t i o n s : " I don' t t u r n well and I ' m f r i g h t e n e d . " Al t e r -
n a t i v e l y , a n x i e t y mi ght de t e r mi ne t he response: "I don' t t u r n well be-
cause I ' m f r i g h t e n e d . "
As ref l ect ed in these examples, most perf ormers t hought of assess-
me nt onl y as i t r el at ed t o t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l s k i l l s and a bi l i t i e s ; al most none
me n t i o n e d assessi ng r e l a t i o n s h i p s a nd i n t e r a c t i o n s wi t h ot hers i n t he
p e r f o r ma n c e s e t t i ng. One except i on wa s B a r r y ( a d v e r t i s i n g e xe c u t i ve ) ,
who t h o u g h t t h a t i t woul d be h e l p f u l t o have assi st ance i n u nde r s t a nd-
i ng ( i . e . , an a s s e s s me nt ) t he needs and mot i vat i on of hi s most i mp o r t a n t
a u d i e n c e . He me a n t hi s boss, t he CEO t o whom he r epor t s. He sai d t hat
he woul d wa nt someone who coul d i d e n t i f y t he CEO' s e mo t i o na l t r i g-
gers as wel l as t he a p p r o p r i a t e responses t h a t he ( B a r r y ) mi ght make.
Education
P e r f o r me r s wa nt a c o n s u l t a n t t o ha ve more t han basic couns el i ng s ki l l s .
They wa n t someone wi t h e xpe r t i s e t o addr ess s peci f i c concerns i n t h e i r
area of per f or mance. I n t hi s section we discuss the background and spe-
cial skills t hat they would like an i deal consul t ant to possess.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Technical i nf or mat i on can encompass a numbe r of elements, including
the mechanical, physi cal , and physi ol ogi cal aspects of the domai n. Many
of the per f or mer s wished f or a c ons ul t a nt who was knowledgeable about
both the t echni cal issues of t hei r speci f i c f i e l d and the more general skills
of per f or mance consul t at i on. I n adver t i si ng, Bar r y suggested that it would
be u s e f u l to addr ess mechani cal or t echni cal ski l l s. He woul d want a con-
s ul t ant to be able to revi ew and prescribe. The consul t ant should be able
to say: "This is the area you s houl d probabl y be looking to cover me-
chani cal l y, technically, i nt el l ect ual l y. These are the triggers t hat you should
be looking f or, and t hi s is what you shoul d be prepared to do."
Si mi l arl y, i n banki ng, Davi d woul d want technical skills f rom some-
one hi ghl y knowl edgeabl e and experienced; someone who has been in
the f i el d f or a whi l e:
I t hi nk in our busi ness, what people woul d respect is the
t echni cal side of it, somebody very experi enced. I don' t see
how anybody can hel p us if t hey don' t r eal l y know our
business. You have to real l y under s t and it. Havi ng spent 15 or
20 years in the busi ness f i el d would be almost a prerequi si t e to
being abl e to real l y help us in per f or mance.
For those who pe r f o r m wi t h t hei r bodies, t echni cal expertise can in-
volve knowl edge of the physi ol ogi cal as well as mental aspects of perf or-
mance. As a musi ci an, Di ane was awar e t hat many musi ci ans play their
i ns t r ument s while in pai n. She t hought a musi c consul t ant should be
knowl edgeabl e about t he physi cal and mechani cal f act ors involved i n
creating and sust ai ni ng pai n. Beyond t hat , the consul t ant should be skilled
in helping the per f or mer cope wi t h both the physical tension and the
f ear t ha t of t en accompani es pai n.
The t wo bal l et dancers, however, di f f e r e d i n t hei r assumpt i ons about
t echni cal knowledge. Char l ot t e said: "I woul dn' t be able to talk to [the
consul t ant ] on a technical level, because ballet is such a complicated tech-
ni que, unl ess you' ve spent years arid years at it. "
Yet J er r y t hought t hat it woul d be cri t i cal l y i mport ant f or the con-
sul t ant to be knowl edgeabl e about the t echni cal aspects of dance in or-
der to assess a s i t uat i on accur at el y:
The consul t ant woul d have to know a hell of a lot about dance.
I t hi nk it woul d be very i mpor t ant f or the psychologist to have
an objective j udgment , to be able to know whet her the
205
concerns t h a t t he p a t i e n t has ar e r eal or not . I s t he probl em
t ha t t he person has concer ns t h a t a r e n' t va l i d?
I n sports and at hl et i cs, per f or mance c o ns u l t a nt s of t en serve as educa-
tors, pr ovi di ng r el i abl e and accurat e i n f o r ma t i o n on areas of concern. El l en,
a vi ol i ni s t , was t he onl y per f or mer t o speak di rect l y t o t hi s s t r a i ght f o r wa r d
educat i ve f unct i on. She t hought it especially val uabl e f or a cons ul t ant to
educat e per f or mer s r egar di ng t he i nt e r a c t i on of physiology and f ear :
There are some physi cal t hi ngs t h a t happen when you get
ner vous t ha t get i n t he way. For exampl e, t here' s a ves t i gi al
i ns t i nc t t ha t we al l have as ex-apes. When we' re scared, we
grab. The apes do i t , t he monkeys do i t so as not t o f a l l of f t he
br anchi t ' s a f e a r response, and we al l do i t . I t doesn' t do us
any good as h u ma n beings, but it' s s t i l l t her e. I f we get t h a t f e a r
response and we s t ar t gr abbi ng, we can' t pl ay t he vi ol i n. I t
happens t o everybody, and people compl ai n about i t al l t he
t i me. Or wi nd pl ayers who hol d t he i r br eat h and a r e n' t abl e t o
br eat he deepl y. That ' s a ver y nor mal phys i cal response t o f ear .
Whi chever i n s t r u me n t you play, there' s goi ng to be a
physi cal response t o f e a r whi ch i s get t i ng i n yo u r way. I t ' s one
t hat i s absol ut el y i ns t i nct i ve, t h a t every h u ma n bei ng shar es.
Begi nner s chi l dr en, f or exampl epl ay t he vi ol i n and don' t
have any exper i ence wi t h pe r f or mi ng, and t he bow shakes on
t he st r i ng.
So what do you do when you have t he f ear ? Somehow you
have t o deal wi t h t ha t phys i cal aspect whi ch i s comi ng f r om an
emot i onal place, f ear . You have t o l ear n t o cont rol i t . I have
l ear ned t ha t no ma t t e r how scared I am, t hi s bow is goi ng to go
s t r a i ght . I t' s not expl or i ng t he f ear, i t ' s j u s t f i g u r i n g out how t o
deal wi t h i t when it' s t her e, and l e t t i n g i t f l ow, and not r es i s t i ng
and sayi ng, "I ' m a f r a i d , I can' t be a f r a i d because t hen my bow
is going to shake, " [because t he n] i t ' s goi ng to shake worse.
You have t o somehow not be a f r a i d of t he f ear .
INTERPERSONAL AND RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Among t he busi nesspeopl e, t he at t or neys were t he ones who f ocused on
i nt r agr oup and r el at i ons hi p ski l l s. Anna comment ed about her colleagues:
There are some ver y successf ul l awyer s who have no people
s k i l l s . They may be good wi t h cl i ent s but t he y' r e hor r i bl e wi t h
t hei r par t ner s or associates. The best l awyer s I know have an
abi l i t y t o read ot her people, an a bi l i t y t o empat hi ze wi t h ot her
peopl e.
Our other attorney, Arthur, was f ocused on the value of teamwork:
" I j us t keep coming back to 'teams, teams, teams.' Maki ng people aware
of how roles work together and how they sometimes don' t work to-
gether; how people can f i nd ways to communi cat e and listen a little bit
better."
The importance and challenges of i nt ragroup relations was recog-
nized by a number of perf ormi ng art i st s as well. As we noted in chapter
5, Charlotte pointed to the complexities of hierarchy, systems, and team
dynamics within the world of ballet and other perf ormi ng arts institu-
tions. Chamber musi c groups and other small music ensembles are noto-
riously complex systems (e.g., Br andt , 1993; Steinhardt, 1998). In our
own practices, one of our most challenging consultations involved a pro-
f essional quar t et at t empt i ng to deal with rivalries, interpersonal violence,
and substance abuse. Norman ( mus i ci an) commented on the val ue of
guidance in worki ng with others. He mentioned an organization, Cham-
ber Music America, which holds an a nnua l conf erence:
Chamber Music America sometimes will have sessions at their
conf erences, almost like a counseling session. A trio may be
havi ng problems and decide to consult somebody. Maybe the
violinist and cellist ar en' t get t i ng along well. They' re sick of
each other. "Do you want to try and resolve the situation, or
does one person want to leave?" Maybe neither one wants to
leave, but each one wants the other dead. The psychology of it
can get to the point where the group is not playing well
because of the f ri ct i on among the players. Usual l y it comes
down to the relationship between two players.
From the consultant' s perspective, Dr. Owen Osborne ( consultant,
t heat re) described some i nt r agr oup situations in which a consultant might
be of assistance: "Sometimes it's necessary to resign f rom an impossible
si t uat i on. If an actor is being emotionally abused by a director or being
asked to endur e impossible work conditions, then that actor really has to
look at resigning as an option." Thi s exampl e also i l l ust rat es the ways in
which a consultant ought to under s t and the theatrical world and the
i nt erpl ay between act or s and other personnel, as well as the i ndi vi dual
with whom one mi ght be consul t i ng. What is endemic and contextually
relevant, and what goes beyond the bounds of appropriate consultation?
We explore this bal ance more f u l l y in chapter 15.
MENTAL SKILLS
Mental or psychological skills t r ai ni ng is a hal l mark of consultation with
athletes. A number of perf ormers wanted assistance with the develop-
ment or use of these skills. The spontaneous mention of these skills seemed
207
to be st r ongl y rel at ed to whet her there had been pri or exposur e to men-
tal ski l l s concepts. George, the medic and police sniper, had pu r s u e d a
f or mal st udy of ment al ski l l s t r a i n i n g to address per f or mance issues. He
suggested act i vat i on management ski l l s, positive s e l f - t a l k, and conf i dence
bu i l di ng as speci f i c issues t hat a c o ns u l t a nt mi ght address. Al t h o u g h t he
physi ci ans di d not ment i on any speci f i c ment al ski l l s d u r i n g t he open-
ended ques t i oni ng, t hey endorsed a nu mbe r of the ment al ski l l s on the
checklist as areas where assi st ance woul d be he l pf u l . These i nc l u de d i m-
agery, ref ocusi ng, pr e- per f or mance ment al r eadyi ng, conf i dence, deal -
i ng wi t h f ear s, and deal i ng wi t h loss.
The ment al s ki l l s speci f i cal l y r equest ed by busi nesspeopl e i ncl uded
goal cl ar i f i cat i on, imagery, and at t ent i on management . Wi t h regard t o
goal c l a r i f i c a t i on, Ar t h u r ( a t t o r n e y ) suggested t hat i t woul d be i mpor t ant
to "try to ar t i cul at e goals and set st andar ds. " On seeing the options on
the checklist, each busi nessperson not ed the i mpor t ance of deal i ng wi t h
loss. For Bar r y ( adver t i s i ng e xe c ut i ve ) , it woul d be h e l p f u l to "be abl e to
def i ne success and f a i l u r e , and know how t o respond appr opr i at el y. " An-
other at t or ney, Anna, ref l ect ed on the i ssue of losing cases. Despi t e the
i nt el l ect ual knowl edge t hat i t was t o be expected and t hat she had en-
dur ed t he process nu me r o u s t i mes, each loss was d i f f i c u l t .
Among t he s ki l l s described i n more det ai l were imagery, per f or mance
pl an, and a t t e nt i on management . Per f or mer s gave exampl es of t he ways
i n whi ch a per f or mance cons ul t ant mi ght assist t he per f or mer i n devel -
oping these ski l l s.
I magery
Char l es described t he val ue of a c o ns u l t a nt t eachi ng hi m how t o vi s u a l -
i ze speci f i c upcomi ng s i t uat i ons i n i ns ur ance. For hi m, t hi s type of men-
t al l y scripted i mager y is cent r al to the success of a cal l .
El l en, a mus i ci an, was well awar e of the power of i mager y and woul d
want a c ons ul t a nt who coul d f a c i l i t a t e those ski l l s. Al t h o u g h she used
t he more restricted t er m, v i s u a l i z a t i o n , she was descri bi ng i mager y i n i t s
richest sense, as she spoke of the sensory, emot i onal , and c ont e xt ua l de-
t ai l s of the ment al exper i ence of peak per f or mance:
People a r e n' t clear about what i t woul d f eel l i ke t o be a
successf ul perf ormer. I n a qui et , r el axed moment when you' r e
not per f or mi ng, t h i n k about i n ot her words, vi s u a l i z e wha t
t ha t woul d be. To you, what woul d f eel l i ke a r eal l y gr eat ,
s a t i s f yi ng per f or mance? What woul d i t be l i ke, what woul d i t
feel l i ke, what woul d it sound l i ke, what woul d it look l i ke, what
woul d be t he audi ence' s exper i ence? Wha t woul d you
experi ence? What woul d yo u r col l eagues experience? How
woul d t he mu s i c be d i f f e r e n t f r o m a h u md r u m per f or mance, a
"j ust a n o t h e r day, anot her dol l ar " ki nd of t hi ng? Wha t woul d
r e a l l y be a peak exper i ence f or you as a pe r f o r me r ? I f you
know wher e yo u ' r e going, t he n you can spend some t i me
v i s u a l i z i n g i t , t r y i n g t o get t her e f r o m her e.
Performance Plan
As someone who s t r uggl es wi t h t he di scomf or t s of audi t i oni ng, actor Kei t h
woul d welcome assi st ance devel opi ng a pe r f o r ma nc e pl an. He had t r i ed
v a r i o u s met hods wi t h i n t e r mi t t e n t success; he recognized t ha t a pr edi ct -
abl e pl an coul d a l l o w hi m t o t r u s t hi s knowl edge and s ki l l s :
P a r t i c u l a r l y i n a u d i t i o n s , keepi ng mysel f open woul d be t he
biggest g i f t I coul d get or gi ve to mys e l f . I l i ke to go to an
a udi t i on space maybe a day bef ore [to become accustomed to
i t ] , but I ' m al ways di s appoi nt ed t h a t at t he a u di t i o n, t he
smal l est t hi ngs seem t o r e a l l y t hr o w me of f . There mi ght be a
person t her e who I d i d n ' t expect t o be t here. S u dde nl y I j u s t
s pi r al so qui c kl y, and I f i n d t h a t i t b u i l d s on i t sel f . The next t i me
I go, I f eel l i ke , "Oh,, I ' m f e e l i n g r e a l l y good today, " but t hen I
r epl ay t he pr e vi o u s exper i ences and I f eel so f r azzl ed, I ' m l i ke,
"Oh al l it's goi ng t o t a k e i s someone comi ng i n t h r o u g h t hat
door wi t h a cup of cof f ee and I ' l l be t hr own o f f . " I r eal l y
d i s t r u s t mys e l f .
Attention Management
Co n c e n t r a t i o n and f ocus ar e a p r i ma r y concern f or t he ma j o r i t y of per-
f or mer s . Among al l t he per f or mer s we sur veyed, onl y one di d not en-
dorse assi st ance i n r et ocus i ng as b e n e f i c i a l . Thi s sole except i on was Davi d,
a pr a gma t i c b u s i n e s s ma n , who di smi ssed t he subj ect : "I t hi nk people are
very f ocused, u s u a l l y f ocused t he way t hey need t o be." This was i n mar ked
cont r ast t o ot her pe r f or me r s i n t he bus i nes s doma i n. I n addi t i on t o i mag-
ery, f or exampl e, Cha r l e s suggest ed t ha t l e a r ni ng how t o f ocus was an
i mpo r t a nt aspect of wo r ki ng i n t he i n s u r a n c e i ndus t r y.
I n dance, Hel ena comment ed: "For people who get al most t o t a l l y
f r eaked out by stage f r i g h t , I t h i n k a t e c hni que of f i ndi ng a way to center,
f i n d i n g a way to al most get i nt o a medi t at i ve gr oundi ng state, woul d be
very va l ua bl e . " S i mi l a r l y, Cha r l ot t e not ed t he cent ral f unc t i on of concen-
t r a t i on. El a bo r a t i ng on her perspective t hat a per f or mance consul t ant need
not know bal l et t e c hni qu e per se, she sai d: "The a bi l i t y to concent rat e is
t he most i mpo r t a nt t hi ng. I f t hey ( per f or mer s ) can concent rat e, t hey can
i mpr ove e ve r yt hi ng about t hei r per f or mance, t echni que i ncl uded. "
209
INTRAPERSONAL SKILLS
Self-Confidence
The desi re f or assi st ance i n devel opi ng c o n f i d e n c e was cl ear l y not ed i n
bot h t he open- ended ques t i ons as wel l as t he checkl i s t s , w i t h 100% en-
dorsement of t he l a t t e r by al l t he pe r f o r mi ng a r t i s t s and t hos e i n hi gh-
risk pr of essi ons. I n dance, Ch a r l o t t e c o mme nt e d on t he compl ex bal ance
between r e t a i n i n g a sense of h u mi l i t y whi l e ma i n t a i n i n g c o nf i de nc e .
An expect at i on of per f ect i on i s t he n o r ma t i v e st at ed message i n some
per f or mance areas. As we have not ed, t he i mpor t ance of a d a p t i v e , as
compared wi t h ma l a d a p t i v e , p e r f e c t i o n i s m i s one t ha t i s c u r r e n t l y u n d e r
i nvest i gat i on a mo ng sport psychol ogi st s ( e. g. , Goul d et a l . , 2002) . I t s ap-
pl i cat i on t o ot he r pe r f or ma nc e areas, s uch as dance, i s be i ng expl or ed as
well ( Goul d & Penni si , 2002; Ha mi l t o n , 2002; Hays, 2003; Kr a s no w et
al . , 1999). Re wo r k i n g per f ect i on s t r i v i n g s can have a s a l u t a r y e f f e c t on
per f or mance and s el f - conf i dence.
Lawyer s may exper i ence a conf l i ct bet ween t he d e ma n d s and rol es
placed on t hem and t h e i r own needs. Wi t h cl i ent s who ar e d e p e n d e n t on
t hem, l awyers may wi sh l or someone who can bol st er t h e i r own sense of
self . Anna suggest ed:
Some l awyer s need someone t o sor t of p u mp t hem up. They
need t o have a r e l a t i o n s h i p wi t h someone else t h a t i s s i mi l a r t o
t he one t ha t t he c l i e nt has t o t hemsomeone who i s more an
a u t h o r i t y f i g u r e f or t he m and i s goi ng t o give t hem a sense of
s el f - conf i dence.
Problem Solving
Some per f or mer s want assistance i n de a l i ng wi t h speci f i c i d e n t i f i a b l e prob-
lems rat her t han enhanci ng an al r eady sat i sf act ory per f or mance. I n cer-
t ai n i nst ances, probl em s ol vi ng may r e l a t e t o gr oup or s ys t emi c i s s ues . I n
ot hers, t he concerns may be endemi c t o t he pr of es s i on or s pe c i f i c t o t he
i n d i v i d u a l .
Banker Davi d i l l u s t r a t e d t he ways i n whi ch a pe r f o r ma nc e c o n s u l t -
ant mi ght assist wi t h probl em s ol vi ng.
We had an a d mi n i s t r a t i v e as s i s t ant wo r ki ng wi t h us who was
29 years ol d and di ed of breast cancer. That was r e a l l y t o u g h on
a lot of us. We never deal t wi t h t ha t f i r s t h a n d n o t her de a t h,
but t he t i me whi l e she was ver y si ck. Nobody k n e w how t o go
about i t .
I n dance, Cha r l o t t e recognized t ha t pr es s ur e i s not r est r i ct ed t o t he
pr i nci pal s and soloists; i t exi st s t hr o u gh t he e n t i r e dance hi e r a r c hy: "No
mat t er who they are, whet her t hey' re in the corps de ballet and they' re
bei ng t hr own i nt o a new place in the corps de ballet or whatever, they
have to cope with pressure. "
Di ane ( mu s i c i a n) suggested t hat l ear ni ng how to get beyond prior
negat i ve experiences woul d be an i mpor t ant skill. Larry noted the chal-
lenge actors experi ence because of per f or mi ng in publ i c. Actors may need
assistance in l e a r ni ng how to handl e the experience of public f ai l ur e.
Frederick ( emergency room physi ci an) suggested that it would be
u s e f u l f or a cons ul t ant to deal with a f l aw t hat needed correction, such as
temper or anxi et y management .
Balance and Perspective
A consul t ant mi ght assi st the per f or mer in developing and maintaining a
sense of bal ance and perspective. While art i cul at i ng her own resolution
of this issue, Grace ( br oadcas t er ) suggested t hat a consultant could be of
help in t hi s regard. She f o u nd that the way to maintain a sense of bal-
ance was to locate herself in the present moment and to mai nt ai n f ocus
in the here and now:
I t would be he l pf ul to have the big pi ct ure. For me, I have the
big pi ct ur e: We're all dyi ng her e, and a mi nut e only takes 60
seconds. That' s the big pi ct ur e. Once you look at t hat , you can
nar r ow it down a l i t t l e bit. The next shut t er down is: I have this
f o u r hour s in f r ont of me. That' s what I need to do right now.
That' s where I am. I t' s very Zen; I ' m in the moment .
Support
2 1 1
The types of support our perf ormers want ed were described in a number
of ways. Barry, an advert i ser, woul d look f or reassurance: "Let me know
t hat other people have overcome this and it is not as di f f i cul t as I might
have t hought . Or if it is di f f i c u l t , pr epar e me f or what I need to do."
Addi t i onal l y, he woul d val ue " a mot i vat i onal kick as well, the old 'you
can do i t . ' "
Similarly, Lar r y ( act or ) suggested t hat it was i mport ant to convey
a strong sense of belief in the perf ormer, "Yes, you can do it."
And it' s also i mpor t ant to allow [perf ormers] to underst and
t hat when t hey' re out t here, t hey' re not alone. Or that if they
are, to be comf or t abl e with t hat aloneness.
George underscored the experience of aloneness of the perf ormer
and the r esul t ant need f or support . With the stress of potential incidents
i n hi s rol es as me d i c and as sni per , he c o mme n t e d on t he i mp o r t a n c e oi
h a v i n g someone a v a i l a b l e l o r s u p p o r t a n d d e b r i e f i n g a f t e r a n i n c i d e n t .
Ha v i n g e n c o u n t e r e d a n e g a t i v e c o n s u l t i n g e xpe r i e nc e i n wh i c h t h e
c o n s u l t a n t ha d no t ma i n t a i n e d c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y , I a n ( b r o a d c a s t e r ) wa s e x-
pl i ci t i n hi s i ns i s t e nc e on a c o n s u l t a n t ' s pe r s o na l s u p p o r t and c o mmi t -
me nt . I a n h a d di scl osed wh a t h e h a d t h o u g h t wa s c o n f i d e n t i a l i n f o r m a -
t i o n ; t h e c o n s u l t a n t h a d n o t k e p t t h a t i n f o r ma t i o n c o n f i d e n t i a l , a n d a s a
r e s u l t I an l ost hi s j ob. He expr essed t he i mp o r t a n c e of f e e l i n g as t h o u g h
t h e c o n s u l t a n t were wo r k i n g f o r h i s b e n e f i t r a t h e r t h a n f o r ma n a g e me n t .
The v a l u e of s u ppo r t i n a s s i s t i n g pe r f o r me r s t o a ppr e c i a t e t he i mp o r -
t ance of t h e i r s t r i v i n g was also r ecogni zed. Us i n g a mor e p s y c h o t h e r a p e u -
t i c perspect i ve, J e r r y ( d a n c e r ) suggest ed t h a t s uppor t i s u s e f u l because
once a person does n' t f eel so bad, so g u i l t y , so a s h a me d a b o u t
wh a t i t i s t h e y ' r e do i ng t h a t t h e y s e e a s s h a me f u l , t h e n t h e y ' l l
stop wa n t i n g al so t o see t h e i r e xpr e s s i o n of t h e ms e l v e s on s t a ge
as s o me t h i n g t h a t t he y need t o be c r i t i c i z e d f o r .
Career Development
Car eer de ve l o pme nt wa s no t t y p i c a l l y me n t i o n e d d u r i n g t he o pe n- e nde d
q u e s t i o n i n g , but i t was g l a d l y wel comed whe n proposed on t he c he c k-
l i s t . Eve r y p e r f o r mi n g a r t i s t who c o mpl e t e d t he c h e c k l i s t s a w car eer de -
vel opment a s a d e s i r a b l e s k i l l . Ch a r l o t t e ( d a n c e r ) no t e d t he i mp o r t a n c e
of a d e v e l o p me n t a l f oc us i n c o n s u l t a t i o n , "t o h e l p peopl e cope wi t h whe r -
ever t hey ar e, at wh a t e v e r stage t h e y ar e, and do t he best t h e y can at t h a t
st age. I f t he y do wel l e n o u g h , t h e y ' l l move o n t o t he n e x t s t age. " I t i s a l s o
no t e wo r t hy t h a t i n t e r n a t i o n a l pr o gr a ms ha ve been devel oped f o r i s s ue s
of career t r a n s i t i o n a mo n g dancer s ( Ha m i l t o n , 1997, 1998) .
The a t t o r ne ys were p a r t i c u l a r l y vocal a b o u t t he i mp o r t a n c e of t h i s
ar ea. Anna e xc l a i me d, " Oh boy, t her e' s a hu ge ma r k e t f or t h a t ! Lawyer s
ar e desper at el y u n h a p p y . " As not ed i n c h a p t e r 3, as she was l e a v i n g t he
l aw f i r m i n whi ch s he had pr act i ced, An n a he a r d d i r e c t l y f r o m her col -
l eagues o f t h e i r di s t r es s wi t h t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l l i v e s .
I n cont r ast t o t he ot he r pe r f o r me r s i n v a r i o u s d o ma i n s , t he p h y s i -
ci ans i n t e r v i e we d di d not see di s c u s s i o n of car eer d e v e l o p me n t as r e l -
evant t o t he possi bl e f u n c t i o n s of a p e r f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t , even whe n
proposed as a p o t e n t i a l ar ea of l ocus. Thi s l ack of i n t e r e s t may h a v e been
an a r t i f a c t of t he s mal l n u mb e r of i nt e r vi e we e s i n each cat egor y, or i t
may r e f l e c t car eer s a t i s f a c t i o n i n a pr of es s i on i n wh i c h t he p e r f o r me r can
a n t i c i p a t e cons i der abl e l o nge vi t y.
213
Recommendations
to Consultants
Many per f or mer s are unawar e of the range of assistance that a
perf ormance consul t ant might of f er. Consultants should be pre-
pared to engage in extensive education regarding the options, re-
sources, and pot ent i al benef i t s of perf ormance consulting.
Consultants who have a uni que ni che, specialty, or method should
be caut i ous in "selling their product" to perf ormers. Because of
their lack of f ami l i ari t y with consultation, perf ormers may not have
the knowledge to make inf ormed choices regarding consultation.
A conscientious consultant will educat e the perf ormer of the range
of opt i ons a va i l a bl e and be gu i de d by what best meets t he
perf ormer' s needs.
It is critical that a consultant be capable of providing rapid (a) as-
sessment of a perf ormer' s abilities and needs and ( b) subsequent
f eedback and suggestions f or i nt ervent i on. Perf ormers appreciate
i nf ormat i on t hat is shared in a direct and collaborative manner.
Most perf ormers t hi nk of assessment as involving observation and
i nt eract i on rat her t han psychological measurement . Direct obser-
vation of perf ormance may be requi red f or perf ormers to consider
f eedback to be val i d.
I t is crucial t hat an assessment di st i ngui sh between concerns that
are based on physical skills and technical abilities and those that
are mental or emotional in nat ur e. Depending on the r ef er r al re-
quest and the consul t ant ' s prof iciencies, the consultant may pro-
vide these disparate roles or enlist the services of someone with
the appropriate expertise. As we discuss in chapter 15, a consult-
ant should be conscious of the pi t f al l s of engaging in more than
one role relationship with a client.
Perf ormers' expectations of consul t at i on range f rom specif ic prob-
lem solving to providing f eedback on vi rt ual l y all aspects of perf or-
mance. Consul t ant s should cl ar i f y the scope and f ocus of ef f or t s at
the onset of consultation. If the consultant does not have exper-
tise in the areas the perf ormer wishes to address (e.g., specif ic tech-
nical knowledge, or expertise in relationships or group dynami cs),
the consul t ant should acknowledge those limitations and recom-
mend other appropri at e resources.
A perf ormance consultant should have a model and expertise in
addressing issues of sel f - conf i dence and deal i ng with mistakes.
These are f ai r l y universal concerns among perf ormers.
The speci f i c t e c hni qu e s of goal cl ar i f i cat i on, i magery, a t t e nt i o n
management , and pe r f o r ma nc e p l a n n i n g ar e ment al ski l l s t ha t
per f or mer s comprehend and wel come.
A s ucces s f ul c ons ul t a nt bal ances encour agement wi t h open f eed-
back wi t hi n a suppor t i ve r el at i ons hi p.
Provi di ng support i s i mpor t ant f or al l per f or mer s and i s of t en i n-
t r i nsi c t o t he cons ul t at i on role. I t i s especi al l y i mpor t ant f or those
i n isolated, i sol at i ng, or danger ous occupat i ons.
Many per f or mer s have s i gni f i cant concerns about career pl anni ng
and devel opment , but t hey may not know t hat cons ul t ant s ad-
dress these issues. Cons ul t a nt s may want t o consi der devel opi ng
expertise i n t hi s ar ea, whet her t o f aci l i t at e a per f or mer ' s advance-
ment wi t hi n her or hi s per f or mance domai n or t o assi st i n career
t r ansi t i on pl a nni ng. The de ma nd f or these services i s l i ke l y t o be
great er i n domai ns i n whi ch career d u r a t i o n i s restricted by physi -
cal l i mi t a t i o n s ( e. g. , bal l et ) and i n whi ch t her e are hi gh levels of
di scont ent ( e.g., l a w) .
T h e Ide al C o n s u ltan t
In our business, a lot of consul t ant s have preset ideas about what works.
They t hi nk t hat if it works in one place, it will work everywhere. To a
degree t hat is t rue, but very oft en it does not work exactly the same.
People resent t hat a t t i t ude. They want to be consul t ed on t heir own
uni que gifts, chal l enges, and short comings, not on what has generally
worked in a broad way. We all feel special. We are all uni que. Consul t ant s
sometimes forget t hat people still want to be snowfl akes.
Grace (broadcaster)
n addition to the quest ion of opt imal assistance or services t hat a consult-
ant might provide, we looked at the quest ion of optimal consultant char-
acteristics. We asked: What kind of personal characteristics would you
look for in an ideal consul t ant ? We then asked specifically whether age,
gender, or ethnicity would be a f act or in working with a consultant.
We noticed t hat many of our performer interviewees were unf ami l -
iar with the concept of a performance consul t ant or performance psy-
chologist, let alone havi ng known of one or worked with one directly.
Lack of f ami l i ar i t y may resul t in the creation of a person of myt hic pro-
portions, someone t r ul y super human. However, our performers were
reasonable in t heir expect at ions. We have incl uded numerous samples
of their comments to provide a collage of what performers are seeking.
Performers' responses were clustered to reflect issues of credibility, the
consultant' s style and manner of consul t at ion, and aspects of interper-
sonal f unct i oni ng. We augmented these responses with comments from
our consul t ant s.
Credibility
Cr edi bi l i t y can be established and recognized in a variety of ways. As
professionals, we oft en t hi nk of f or mal credent ial s as being a cornerstone
215
of cr edi bi l i t y. I n t r u t h , t he per f or mer s never ment i oned f o r ma l cr eden-
t i al s when di s cus s i ng t he ways i n whi ch a cons ul t a nt mi ght be knowl -
edgeabl e and ski l l ed. For t hem, cr edi bi l i t y der i ved f r om a c o mbi n a t i o n of
experience, knowl edge, and va l ui ng of t he doma i n. The c o n s u l t a n t s un-
derscored t he i mpor t ance of exper i ence and knowl edge.
EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
Across a n u mbe r of areas, per f or mer s descr i bed di rect exper i ence in t he
domai n as one of t he most i mpor t ant cr i t er i a . Pi a ni s t I l ene sai d t ha t a
per f or mance cons ul t a nt f or mus i ci a ns s ho u l d be "someone who has been
or who is a musi ci an, so t ha t t her e is an u n de r s t a n di n g of wha t it ' s l i ke. "
Descr i bi ng t he wor l d of t heat r e, Lar r y suggested t h a t h a v i n g di r ect
experi ence wi t h act i ng woul d be u s e f u l , a l t ho u gh i t needn' t be at a pro-
f essi onal l evel . A cons ul t a nt who had t aken an act i ng cl ass or coul d cl ai m
"I di d t he backst age t hi n g, I di d c o mmu n i t y t heat r e, I ' ve been out t her e
al one" woul d u n de r s t a n d and appr eci at e t he compl exi t i es and chal l enges
of the pr of essi on.
Speaki ng more br oadl y a bout per f or mance, vi ol i ni s t - conduct or El l e n
recognized t ha t t her e can be si mi l ar i t i es among t hose who have stage
experience: "It ' s h e l p f u l i f somebody has been a per f or mer of some k i n d
at some poi nt , ha vi ng had t he exper i ence of get t i ng up on stage and
knowi ng what st age f r i g h t i s, so t ha t t her e woul d be some common
gr ound, some shar ed exper i ence. "
J er r y ( da ncer ) al so recognized t he va l ue of generi c per f or ma nce ex-
perience: "My i deal cons ul t a nt is someone who was a per f or mer and
moves i nt o [ cons ul t i ngl out of i nt er est . Bei ng able t o i de n t i f y some area
of your l i f e as per f or ma nce woul d be q u i t e i mpor t a nt i f you wa nt t o hel p
per f or mer s. "
Gener al r a t her t ha n speci f i c exper i ence i n t he f i el d may have par-
t i cul a r advant ages. B a r r y expressed concern about per sonal i t y char act er -
istics of people in adver t i si ng. Thus, he woul d want t o work wi t h some-
one wit h exper i ence, but per haps in a r el at ed area of expert ise:
I woul d pr obabl y t r us t someone who has exper i ence i n t he
f i el d. But I have been f i n d i n g t ha t people i n a dve r t i s i n g t end t o
be very ar r ogant and to me t ha t is ki n d ot a t u r n o f f , so I
pr obabl y woul d be l ooki ng for somebody who has a per sonal i t y
s i mi l a r t o mi ne and who has f aced s i mi l a r issues, but one who
i s i n a busi ness ot her t han adver t i si ng.
B r eadt h of knowl edge was emphasi zed by some per f or mer s. Consi d-
eri ng a number of di f f e r e n t per f or mance doma i ns , vi ol i ni st - conduct or
El l en t hought t ha t co n s u l t a n t knowl edge of physi cal movement woul d
be u s e f u l :
The Ideal Consultant
Movement is an i mport ant par t [ of musi c] and the more I t hi n k
about t he other per f or mi ng ar t s, it' s even more i mpor t ant for
t hem. A lot of the probl ems are j ust not l et t ing your body do
[ what' s needed] . Working i t out , worki ng i t out physi cal l y,
because t hat ' s how we' re doi ng it . We're al l expressing
oursel ves t hr ough our bodies, whet her one is a singer or a
vi ol i ni st or a dancer and cer t a i nl y in t heat r e, it's your body
t hat is your vehi cl e. I can' t t h i n k of an except i on. Maybe one
part of your body more t ha n ot her part s, but somehow, you' ve
got to get t hat going. So I t hi nk what woul d be i mpor t ant is
somebody who has some exper i ence per f or mi ng, and
somebody who's experienced wo r ki n g wi t h movement , r at her
t han j us t t he t al ki ng par t .
Knowl edge, an i mpor t ant component of expert ise, was emphasi zed
by a number of the businesspeopl e. For exampl e, Davi d ( ba n ke r ) f el t
t hat t he pr i mar y r equi r ement woul d be ext ensi ve knowl edge, experi-
ence, and u n der s t a n di n g of t he business, and he point ed out t ha t t his
ki nd of knowl edge t akes t i me t o a ccumul a t e. Char l es ( i ns ur a nce bro-
ker ) , si mi l ar l y, woul d look for someone wi t h pr i or experience of success-
f ul consul t at i on i n t he f i el d.
Ian, in broadcast i ng, woul d want some demonst r at i on or i ndi cat i on
of practical cr edi bi l i t y:
I' d look for cr edi bi l i t y in a consul t ant : t ha t you have some
knowl edge of what you are t a l ki n g about and t ha t you can
act ual l y hel p me be bet t er. How can you hel p me? Wha t is your
track record? What are t he ski l l s or phi l osophi es t ha t you br i ng
t o t he t abl e t ha t I can buy i nt o?
VALUING THE DOMAIN
Along wi t h ha vi ng some knowl edge and experience in t he domai n, hav-
ing ent husi asm for and int erest in t he domai n is val ued by performers.
This aspect was emphasized by a number of musi ci ans and a dancer. It
also reflects a perspect ive under scor ed by expert sport psychologists. In
i nt er vi ews wi t h 11 wel l - known sport psychol ogy consul t ant s, Simons
and Ander sen ( 19 9 5 ) f ound t ha t despi t e var i ous pat hs t o ent r y i nt o con-
s ul t i ng, al l "shared a love of sport, exercise, and h u ma n per f or mance" (p.
4 5 2) .
Recogni zi ng t he i mpo r t a n t mi x of exper i ence and a ppr eci a t i on,
Nor man ( mu s i c i a n ) suggested t ha t t he cons ul t a nt shoul d have ski l l i n or
passion for music. Fai t h, a singer, el abor at ed f ur t her . She sai d t ha t it was
i mport ant that t he consul t ant have an int erest in and appreciat ion for
music and ener gy and ent husi asm for t he ki nd of work t he per f or mer
217
does: "Especial l y i f t hey want t o speci al i ze i n wor ki ng wi t h mus i ci a ns , i t
woul d be he l pf u l t hat t hey have some i nt er est in musi c, some appr eci a-
t i on. "
This i nt erest may have t o be br oader t ha n t he speci f i c f i e l d i n whi ch
one consul t s. For exampl e, musi c, as well as movement , are cent r al to
t he dance experience. Thus, Hel ena ( da ncer ) suggested t ha t an i mpor -
t a nt char act er i st i c of a dance cons ul t a nt woul d be being "open to musi c. "
Mi chael ( conduct or ) described a number of ways t he cons ul t a nt coul d
demonst rat e knowl edge or va l u i n g of t he domai n:
There has t o be some ki n d of a f f i n i t y t here. Cons ul t a nt s who
deal wi t h mus i ci a ns woul d maybe a ct ua l l y love musi c and
know a bit about it or be avi d concert-goers. Or t hey woul d
have seen or been a r o u n d s i t u a t i o n s t ha t musi ci ans were i n.
They mi ght have an easier t i me bei ng t r ust ed t ha n those who
have never seen a symphony pl ay and are t r yi ng t o work wi t h
a conduct or. In t ha t case, it mi ght be a l i t t l e bit ha r der to get
enough connect i on going, enough t r u s t .
Presentation of
the Consultant
The way in whi ch t he cons ul t ant present s hi msel f or her sel f can be an
i mpor t ant det er mi nant of successf ul consul t i ng. We looked at a number
of el ement s t ha t ent er i nt o s e l f - pr e s e n t a t i o n , i n c l u di n g physi cal char ac-
teristics as well as af f ect i ve, verbal, l i ngui st i c, and a t t i t udi na l aspects. Some
of t hese descript ors coul d be nea t l y separat ed out , a l t ho u gh for a n u m-
ber of per f or mer s, it was t he cl ust er or gest al t t ha t woul d be s i gn i f i c a n t .
Some pr of essi ons va l ue cer t ai n speci f i c phys i cal char act er i st i cs. I n
br oadcast i ng, for exampl e, Grace r ef l ect ed: "My busi ness is a l i t t l e more
open t o di ver si t y of appear ance t ha n ot hers. Bleach your ha i r , pierce
your nose, what ever . In f act , to be honest , we tend to t hi n k t hose people
may be a l i t t l e more cr eat i ve. "
Some i n di vi du a l s have speci f i c pr ef er ences. Fa i t h ( s i nger ) , f or ex-
ampl e, woul d want t o work wi t h a consul t ant who is neat in appear ance
and whose workspace is t i dy.
Nu me r o u s people ment i oned t he i mpor t ance of empat hy t o ef f ect i ve
consul t i ng. Wi t hout empat hy, a consul t ant ' s knowl edge and exper t i se
are useless. Wor l d-r enowned busi ness cons ul t a nt Dr. Adams proposed
t hat empat hy is the very cornerstone of effect i ve consul t at i on.
The Ideal Consultant 219
Prior experience can affect one's cur-
rent consulting preferences. Barry (adver-
tising executive) drew on his athletic ex-
perience, using the model of an athletic
coach as a prime example of the general
style he would want in a consultant:
In the past, I responded best to
coaches who were brutally
honest and straightforward and
sometimes even a little hurt ful ,
but very motivating.
Sometimes, you need
somebody to help you step out
of your own body and figure
things out . I would probably
respond well to somebody who
is more like a classic [athletic]
coach.
My son went to some
hockey camps last summer and
he hated half of them and
loved the other hal f. He most
recently said, "Boy, Dad, it seems like the camps I hated the most
were the ones that did me the most good."
The type of affective intervention he would want also derives from
Barry's athletic experience: "Sometimes things were said in a nice way
and sometimes things were said in a humorous way, but it was always in
an emotional way. I have always responded well to kind-hearted but
emotional coaches who talked straight."
Throughout the interviews there was consistent reference to the im-
portance of a consultant's verbal skills and language. The quality of voice,
the lack of didactic or repetitious language, and the use of the performer' s
l anguage wer e al l men-
tioned by various perform-
ers. This l at t er element
s pea ki ng t he per son' s
l anguage in a pragmat i c,
easy- t o- under st and f a s h -
ionwas critical across per-
You need to be a cultural anthropologist.
You need to be able to study that world
to see how to present yourself in ways
that speak their language and that make
them comfortable. I don't think most
psychologists feel that comfortable with
some of the worlds that we're in right
now. They don't present themselves in
ways that would be acceptable to a
businessperson, They would be quickly
discounted, their skills would be quickly
discounted or discarded because they're
not presenting it in the business culture,
which means having the right kind of
language, the right kind of clothes, the
right kind of presentation.
Dr. Claire Crown (consultant, business)
I used to always dress up and wear a coat
and tie and so on and then after a while,
I got to saying "Hell, one of us ought to
be comfortable."
f or ma nce domai ns. This
point has long been recog-
nized within sport psychol-
-Dr, Brian Bell {consultant,
family business)
,. , . . ogy consulting (e.g., Gould &Damani an,
In working with people in marketing and , _ ,. .
r
_, .
i r
. o^ o- M K K y
1998; Orhck & Partington, 1987; Simons
some other areas of business that are & Andersen, 1995; Van Raalte, 1998). Dr.
more sales oriented and where there's Gates, for example, commented on the
actually more women in the group, I've importance of being "one of the guys"
actually found situations where some of when wor ki ng in hi gh- per f or ma nce
the sports analogies that I've used have
s
P
orts:
"
li
8
ets
y
u in the door; but even
.
A
, . . ,. . ... _.
x
more t han t hat , it allows you to corn-
just drawn a complete blank, like That . ., , ,
mumcat e with them because you are not
story about the New Y ork Y ankees was ,
tOQgood
,
for them There
-
s the emry
great, but what are they? Are they a
s t uf f / but also you speak their
language."
soccer team? I don't know what you're Combi ni ng physical, af f ect i ve, l i n-
t al ki ng about." gui st i c, and general at t ri but es, Ar t hur
suggested t hat a consultant working with
Dr. John Jarrett (consultant, high-risk) lawyers "would need to be at least half
spry . . . [ and] to be able to work the
room physically. Even if the room was
only eight people, or even if one were sitting, the consultant must not be
very sedent ary. " It woul d be i mport ant that the person look experienced
and present with confi dence. From an af f ect i ve perspective, "One would
have to be r el at i vel y demonst r at i ve, but also relatively controlled." The
person would need to have a strong voice, one t hat is neit her gr at i ng nor
a whisper. For l awyers, Ar t hu r t hought , it would be import ant t hat the
person not seem to be a consul t ant . "They woul d have to be very car ef ul
about usi ng psychological j argon. Avoiding j argon is real l y crit ical . Law-
yers wil l pick apart words. They'll ki l l you with words. Worki ng wit h
lawyers would be hard, because we live and die by words." As for the
content of the l anguage, Ar t hur suggested t hat "lawyers are now all sizes
and shapes. Sports anal ogies sometimes don' t work anymore, and I al-
ways t hought t hey di d. "
ATTITUDE
At t i t ude refers to the gener al or global impression the consul t ant makes
regarding his or her interest in the domain or consultee. Some of the
preferred characteristics might be specific to the profession; others may
merel y reflect personal preference. A few characteristics cut across pro-
fessions. For example, J erry ( dancer ) suggested t hat what woul d be best
woul d be someone who was low-key, unf l appabl e, and detached f r om
the outcome of the performance. Acknowl edgi ng t hat a performer is of-
ten al ready st r uggl i ng with expect at ions and at t empt i ng to please other
people, he would want "somebody who doesn't look like t hey have a
hell of a lot invested in what you do." Similarly, Norman ( musi ci an) de-
scribed the va l ue of "a sense of war mt h wi t hout a lot of personal involve-
ment . " Diane ( mus i ci a n) suggested t hat she would appreciate working
wit h someone who was "very honest and f or t hr i ght . "
More general l y, Nor man emphasized the import ance of the consult-
ant havi ng a "heal i ng" rat her t ha n "Svengal i" ment al it y. This ability t o
connect and support in a pr of ound way was one that he compared to
pl ayi ng with ot her musi ci ans:
Some musi ci ans can dr aw the ot her musicians i nt o pl aying
bet t er t han t hey are. But some people are br i l l i ant and
exclusive when t hey get on stage, and act ual l y make other
musi ci ans sound worse by t hei r own per f or mance.
This i nt er act i ve q u a l i t y was ment i oned by Grace (broadcast er):
Good l i st ener. Sel f -depr ecat i ng. A person who is able to l augh
freel y and openly. There is not hi ng worse t han a di dact i c
consul t ant and t her e is not hi ng worse t ha n a consul t ant who
cannot conceal t hei r boredom wi t h you and t he task at hand
because t hey have deal t with it a dozen times.
Lar r y (act or ) suggested t hat what was i mpor t ant was a strong sense
of support for and bel i ef i n t he per f or mer :
It's t hat gut l evel of awareness and empat hy t hat actors crave,
t hat they search for. I t hi nk a t rai ner shoul d honor the
per f or mer not t he per f or mer in hi msel f , but honor t he task
t hey have at hand. It j us t centers everybody, because we all
look for t hat respect and honor. It's a noble professi on.
As an actor, Kei t h comment ed t hat what mat t er ed was "someone
who was car i ng, nonj udgment a l , experi enced, and also wi l l i ng t o learn."
It would also be i mpor t ant t hat the person be col l aborat ive and not "just
say, ' Hey t hi s is the way to do i t . ' "
The businesspeople emphasi zed var i ous a t t i t u di n a l characteristics.
Both lawyers underscored the importance of presenting with confidence.
Barry (adver t i si ng execut i ve) caut i oned t hat t he person not appear arro-
gant , however.
This may be somet hi ng of a cont r ast wi t h charact erist ics preferred by
performers in medi ci ne and hi gh- r i s k professions. A low-key approach
appeared to be of more i nt erest to t hem. Eric ( neur osur geon) noted t hat
surgeons t ypi cal l y do not l i ke to be t ol d what to do. Consequently, it
would be hel pful to present with "Not a real forceful approach, more of a
' we coul d try t hi s and t hi s, and work wit h it awhi l e and see if it makes a
di f f er ence and if so ... 'less of a director and more of a facil it at or."
George (medic-sniper) t hought t hat an abi l i t y to relate and be ca-
sual , "shoot ing t he breeze and hangi ng out wit h t he boys and dr i nki ng
beer," woul d be us ef ul .
221
Frederick (emergency room physi ci an) suggested mi ni mi zi ng pater-
nal i st i c, t rit e f r ami ng:
Make sure that you mi ni mi ze in every way possible being the
great whi t e f at her . Don' t use old hackneyed phrases l i ke "I
learn as much when I come to a di f f er ent place . . . " [or] "I
t hi nk of myself as being an insect, because all I am doing is
cross-pol l inat ing. I am t aki ng things I learned from one
consulting job and passing them on to the next consulting job."
INDIVIDUALIZED INTERVENTION
Orlick and Part ingt on' s (19 87) anal ysi s of crit ical component s in consul t -
ing with Olympic athletes suggested t hat individual ized intervention was
one of the key elements in effective performance consul t at i on. In our
research, several per f or mer s specifical l y ment i oned the import ance of
i ndi vi dual i zi ng t he i nt er vent i on. Frederick (emergency room physi ci an)
suggested t hat the consultant shoul d be "a non-bl ack-and-whi t e t hi nker .
Y ou have to operate at least to some ext ent in the gray zone and feel l i ke
there are mul t i pl e answers to any question, or you are dead meat."
Highly skeptical of performance consul t ant s, actor Brenda was spe-
ci fi cal l y clear t hat a f or mul a i c approach woul d not work. Larry pointed
out the importance of being abl e to communi cat e in the sensory mode
t hat works best for t he par t i cul ar actor (physi cal , audi t ory, vi s ua l , taste,
sound, t ouch) .
Cellist Nor man emphasized the import ance of observation of the per-
f or mer in action as a necessary condition for credible, i ndi vi dua l l y t ai -
lored intervention:
A performance t herapist woul d have to real l y get to know a
person and see t hem per f or m oft en. They would have to
act ual l y come to t heir per f or mances and see them before, af t er ,
and maybe dur i ng to r eal l y be able to hel p them with
performance strategies.
Barry ( adver t i si ng execut i ve) emphasized the need to bal ance expe-
rience wit h not giving pat sol ut i ons. He woul d look for someone who
has considerable experience and can t her ef or e put t hi ngs in cont ext :
"Make me feel l ike you have had experience with 10 or 20 ot her people
who have faced the same t hing." Al t hough he woul dn' t want "a solution
that comes out of a can/' he woul d look for support. That might t ake the
form of addi t i onal tools to prepare him for a di f f i c u l t si t uat i on, or reas-
surance t hat the issue is not as probl emat ic as he' d t hought .
Interpersonal Relationships
A number of interpersonal factors contribute to the effective functioning
of a consultant. We looked at the consultant's role function, the nat ure
of the relationship, and the nat ure of feedback that is given.
ROLE FUNCTION OF THE CONSULTANT
Prior experience often determines f u t u r e attitude. Having been "burned"
in his earlier dealings with a consultant, Ian (broadcaster) would want to
make sure t hat a consultant' s role was to serve the client rather than to
promote management' s agenda:
Most t radit ional consultants in radi o are all working for
management. I want to know your agenda. "Why are you
there and who hired you? Are you there because the boss
thinks I suck or are you there because the boss wants it to work
here?" I would want to have confidence that you really are
there to make me better.
There may be some domain-specific differences. Powerful physicians,
such as Eric (neurosurgeon), suggested that physicians would look for a
facil it at or rather t han a director, whereas the attorneys stated that strong
leadership might be preferable. Ar t hur commented that "lawyers aren't
going to want to lead, but at the same time, they are going to demand to
be led."
NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP
One of our consultants. Dr. Benton (business), suggested that it was im-
portant for a consultant to be "someone who has two ears and one mouth
and [who] uses them in that proportion." Knowing how to listen in an
engaged way is critical: Dr. Bell commented t hat with businesspeople
who are used to running the show and listening j ust to themselves, "if
you are too tentative or too wishy-washy, too laid back, too much of a
listener, you don't ever get to play."
In broadcasting (Grace) and music (Di ane), mention was made of
the importance of having the consultant be a good listener. Perhaps some-
what more cynical, Frederick (emergency room physician) spoke of the
importance of good social skills. "The single best social skill is simply to
constantly give the impression not only that you are listening but also
that you are actually paying at t ent ion and analyzing what they are say-
ing. That is the key."
224 W H A T DO P E R F ( . ) R M E R S W A N T ?
For a l u l l u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t he per f or mer ' s pa t t er ns , I l ene ( mu s i c i a n )
consi der ed i t i mp o r t a n t t h a t a r e l a t i o n s hi p exi st s i n an ongoi ng ma n n e r
over t i me. This is consi st ent wi t h feedback f r om Ol ympi c at hl et es, who
i n d i f f e r e n t s t u di e s ha ve not ed t he v a l u e of wor ki ng wi t h t he same spor t
psychol ogi st o v e r t i me ( Gr e e n l e a l et a l . , 2001; Or l i ck & Pa r t i n g t o n , 19 87) .
Si mi l a r l y, Cha r l o t t e ( d a n c e r ) described t he va l ue of gener al a v a i l a b i l -
i t y:
We have a physi cal t her api st who works on [ dancer s' ] knees
and t he i r a n kl e s and s t u f f l i ke t ha t , and she ends t i p bei ng a
psychol ogi st most of t he t i me. The dancer s go t her e and u n l o a d
whi l e she's wo r ki n g on t h e i r j oi nt s . She f eel s t ha t some of t he m
go t o PT ( phys i c a l t he r a py ) al l t he t i me because t hey a c t u a l l y
need t o t a l k a bout t hi ngs . They don' t even need so much PT;
t hey j u s t need t o t a l k about how t hey' r e f e e l i n g a bout what ' s
goi ng on i n t h e i r career.
NATURE OF FEEDBACK
Per f or mer s want cons ul t a nt s t o pr ovi de direct feedback on r el evant is-
sues i n a t i mel y f a s hi o n . They wa n t
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El l c n
( mu s i c i a n ) suggest ed t h a t
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f a mi l y business) , ,
woul d be u s e f u l . She also spoke ol t he
va l ue of concrete and s peci f i c f ocus on
t he pr esent s i t ua t i on:
I wo u l dn ' t spend a whol e l ot of t i me expl or i ng t he dept hs of
f ear . Fear i s t he most n o r ma l t h i n g i n t he wor l d. I t h i n k wha t
you have to do is l earn to cope wit h it: i dent i f y it and own it
and t hen get past it . Dwel l i ng on it s source may be a
wor t hwhi l e a c t i vi t y at some ot her poi nt , but I don' t t h i n k t ha t ' s
going t o hel p t he per f or mance now. Y ou' r e bet t er of f j u s t
sayi ng: It' s t he most hor r i bl e t h i n g i n t he world t o be a f r a i d ,
s t a n d i n g up t her e i n f r o n t of t ho u s a n ds of people, when t he
st akes ar e hi gh and you can' t mess up. Y ou' r e goi ng t o ha ve
nor ma l f e a r r ef l exes, so let' s t a l k a bout wha t you' r e a f r a i d of
and how yo u ' r e goi ng t o deal wi t h t he f ea r when you f eel i t
coming up. What are you going to do? Are you going to resist
it, push it away, or are you going to j ust incorporate it? How
are you going to get it out? How are you going to let it go? I
would deal with it rather t han anal yze it.
Performers in a number of domains expressed a strong preference
for informative, collaborative consul t at ion r at her t han directive consul-
tation. Diane (musi ci an) commented t hat the consul t ant can bring issues
to a performer' s awareness t hat they can then address. Eric (neurosur-
geon) suggested a kind of smorgasbord approach:
I would like it if a consultant could provide me with a list of
patterns or activities that people utilize to prepare for surgery.
Personalities are so varied that you are not going to f i nd that
the whole list is beneficial to everybody, but I think you would
be able to look t hr ough a list and say, "This may be something
that could real l y be hel pf ul " or "That is not anyt hing that I
could utilize." Y ou' d need to do this knowing t hat we are f ai r l y
ignorant about all t hat . We do not have any history of saying,
"Joe Blow does this and that is kind of neat. I want to try that
technique," or "I'm not interested in that." Trying to steer
somebody down a path is probably going to be less successful
for neurosurgeons t han to kind of give options and make them
feel like they are directing it themselves. Y ou' re building the
ego, so to speak, but you' re allowing a self-discovery process
that probably would be adopted and utilized faster.
Michael (conduct or ) suggested an al t ernat e form of informat ion shar-
ing through di f f i dence:
A person has to have his own realizations and needs to decide
for himself what is t r ue. Anybody can help a person who is
doing a good job. And the person can look at the fact ors t hat
are in his life, what is going on there, and take a look at them,
and put two and two together and make a better go of it
because of t hat .
If I was consulting with someone, helping somebody, I
would certainly ask, "Have you thought about this, have you
thought about that?" I like to put things in this way: "This is
what I have f ound for myself to be very hel pful . " And it
resonates with the individual , and he or she can say, "Oh yeah,
I can see that, I see that in rny own si t uat i on, yesterday blah
blah blah, and that' s what happens with me." And it helps to
improve a person's life. I'm very car ef ul in that I don' t want to
enforce my views on somebody else. I like to simply put it in
terms of letting someone know what has helped me.
225
Biases
Having asked about var i ous per sonal i t y and style charact erist ics of the
ideal consul t ant , we were also curi ous about bias in the di f f er ent do-
mains. We wondered whether performers had certain biases with regard
to the obvious visible characteristics of age, gender, and et hnicit y. Recog-
nizing that there could well be a tendency to present a "politically cor-
rect" image of ut t er neut r al i t y, we asked not onl y about the specific
performer' s own preferences but also about t heir expectation of others
in t hei r profession. In regard to age, for example, Di ane ( mus i ci a n) com-
mented t hat the age of the consul t ant was not an issue for her per sonal l y
and that, more broadl y, it woul d not be rel evant for others in music.
At a general level, Keit h ( act or ) commented: "I don' t real l y feel l ike it
would make an enor mous di f f er ence. I've f ound some val uabl e i nsi ght s
in some of the least likely places." As a real ist , Dr. Bell (consul t ant , busi-
ness) recognized t hat whereas demographic characteristics might not be
significant af t er t he i ni t i al contact, t hey mi ght well af f ect t he l i kel i hood
of "getting in the door."
AGE
We had ant icipat ed neut r al i t y for the most part but were surprised ( and,
given that we've been ar ound for a while, personally somewhat rel ieved!)
to f i nd t hat to the ext ent t hat per f or mer s saw age as rel evant , they ex-
pressed interest in worki ng wit h someone older r at her t han younger.
For some people, it was a mat t er of working with someone wi t hi n their
age rangeand our i nt er vi ew part i ci pant s, by vi r t ue of our expertise cri-
teria, were t hemsel ves not beginners. For others, this pr ef er ence was
direct l y tied to an assumpt i on t hat age most l i kel y related to number of
years of experience and competence.
A number of people in the business domai n responded to t his issue.
Charl es (i nsur ance broker execut i ve) suggested someone older t han 35 .
B ar r y (adver t i si ng, age 4 3) woul d want a peer or someone a bit older.
Ar t hur (lawyer, age 5 1) , was qui t e specific: "Probably being 4 0 is bet t er
t han being 30. Looking 4 0 is bet t er t han being 4 5 and l ooking 35. Maybe
someone who is a l it t l e older and has t aken a few t ur ns ar ound the t rack. "
Making the age aspect rel at i onal , Anna (lawyer, age 5 1) commented:
To me, gender or et hnicit y are irrel evant . I t hi nk age is probabl y
a fact or for me. I doubt t hat I could have the type of
r el at i onshi p t hat I woul d envision want i ng f r om such a person,
with somebody who was very young. I woul d probabl y want
somebody who was wi t hi n my age group. I probably woul dn' t
Initially, I think age is kind of important.
There are some impressions that you
might have to get over. We've got a lot
of high-tech companies around here and
mostly the people that do those are
young. In a lot of family businesses,
members of the founding generation are
my age or near it. They don't do e-mail,
they don't do computers, but their kids
sure as hell do. So, they kind of take to
me at first figuring that I don't know
one end of the computer from another.
Sometimes I use that. I do know one end
of the computer from the other, but I
may disparage that and say "Well, you
can't high-tech everything. You've got to
know what the hell you are doing, too."
All that does is just help you get in the
door, get some rapport,
The younger ones are more likely to
assume that because of my age [64], I
don't know diddly about what they are
trying to accomplish: getting a
management information system and
people who are computer literate, and
getting the old man to understand that
there is more to running a business these
days than just yakking on the telephone.
We all start with these kinds of vices and
assumptions. We have to work with
those or against them or overcome
them,
family business)
want somebody a lot older or a
lot younger. Y ou might have a
probl em real l y believing that a
younger person could have
insight t hat you wouldn't have.
Pragmat ical l y, Eric ( neur os ur geon)
suggested t hat age would be irrelevant
to neur osur geons unless there were a
large age discrepancy: "If t here is a huge
age di f f er ence, it probably wouldn' t be
as beneficial to them. It's kind of that 30-
55 stretch where time stands still." Simi-
l arl y, Dr. Dean ( consul t ant , busi ness)
comment ed that age can become a fac-
tor if the mismatch is too great.
A few people noted the likely rela-
tionship between age and experience. Ian
(broadcast er) said t hat he would discount
i nf or mat i on from a person who was both
young and inexperienced. David (banker)
art icul at ed this interaction:
Age would matter onl y to the
ext ent t hat it t ransl at ed into
r el evant experienceand t hat
indirect l y would correlate with
age. If somebody walked in 18
mont hs out of gr aduat e school,
t hat would be a lot di f f er ent
f r om somebody who has been
doing it for 20 years. There
woul d be a lot more chance of
respecting t hat person's
opinions. They woul dn' t have
to prove themselves as much.
The new gr aduat e might still
win everybody over, but it
would be a harder sell.
GENDER
A number of the (mal e) businesspeople suggested t hat businesspeople
woul d pr ef er wor ki ng wit h a man, as Charles ( i nsur ance broker) com-
228 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
mer i t ed, "because it ' s a pr e do mi n a n t l y
ma l e bus i nes s . " Thi s o bs e r va t i o n wa s
acknowl edged by some of the mal e busi -
ness cons ul t a nt s . Among Dr. Col i n Cross's
s t a f f a r e women bus i nes s c o n s u l t a n t s .
Co n f o u n d i n g gender a n d pr o f es s i o n a l
backgr ound a bi t , he nonet hel ess com-
ment ed wi t h consi derabl e f r u s t r a t i o n ,
Whet her we l i ke t o accept t he
f act or not , we st i l l have people
i n de c i s i o n - ma ki n g posi t i ons i n
t he i n du s t r y who ar e mal e.
And i f gi ven a choice bet ween
a mal e wi t h a sport s
ba ckgr ound or a f ema l e
wi t ho u t one, i n v a r i a b l y t he y ' l l
choose the mal e. About 80% of
t hem will choose the mal e wi t h
t he sport s ba ckgr ound.
However, t he onl y f ema l e per f or mer
we i nt er vi ewed i n t he busi ness domai n,
An n a ( l a wye r ) , comment ed on t he va r i -
a bl e n a t u r e of pr ef er ence f or one gender
or the other. She reflected t hat "depend-
i ng on t he i nt er act i ont he dyna mi c
somet i mes it can be a real pl us to be the
opposite sex, and sometimes it can be a
real pl us t o be t he same." Dr. Adams also
t ho u ght t h a t bei ng f ema l e or an e t hn i c mi n o r i t y coul d be advant ageous at
t he pr esent t i me. He bel i eved t hat a f f i r ma t i ve action had creat ed an at mo-
sphere of oppor t uni t y for women and et hni cal l y diverse i ndi vi dual s.
The per f or mer s i n h i g h - r i s k medi ci ne were cl ear about pr ef er r i ng t o
wor k wi t h a ma n. George ( medi c- s ni per ) sai d t ha t a man woul d be easi er
t o open up t o. Er i c sai d:
Gender i n t he f i e l d of neur os ur ger y pr obabl y woul d be an i ssue
at some poi nt , because t her e ar e very f ew women i n t he f i el d
of neur osur ger y. I don' t t hi n k anyone has a strong preference,
good or bad wi t h i t , but it ' s j u s t t ha t t he f i e l d hasn' t been
h e a v i l y pen et r a t ed a nd I t h i n k you woul d f i n d t h a t some
peopl e woul d not be as comf or t a bl e wi t h a f ema l e.
I sometimes have difficulty with
somebody who's significantly younger
than me trying to tell me, "You should
be doing this, that, and the other." I
went to a sports clinic a couple of days
ago, and part of the time I was feeling
like an old curmudgeon and saying to
myself: "Come on, Helena, now just
relax. These people probably know lots,
and they can be really helpful to you."
But I just found it very difficult to get
over thinking that I was practically old
enough to be the doctor's and the
physiotherapist's mother. And I just
found myself resenting the fact that they
hadn't gone through half of my life
experience, and so they just don't have
the frame of reference that I'm coming
from. Maybe they'll luck into exactly the
information that I need, but I somehow
trust somebody who's got at least the
mileage behind them that I have.
Helena (dancer)
229
Similarly, in emergency medicine, Frederick saw gender trumping
et hni ci t yt hough less because of gender per se and more because of
het erosexual energies:
I t hi nk t hat by and large the white male emergency room
physician would relate much better to a white or black male.
When you are spilling your guts, you don't want any issues of
sexual it y to pl ay a part . I t hink it would be much easier for a
woman to go to a man because women don' t look at every
man and t hi nk whet her they want to go to bed with them or
not.
Because I'm in a helping profession,
sometimes t don't realize how
Machiavellian business often is, or how
sociopathic people will behave, or how
much the sole motivator is often money.
I've often projected some of my own
needs or experiences onto the situation,
whereas in fact it's a different culture
and I've misread it.
Women in particular have been
misreading the men's world and men's
motivation, thinking that relationships
count more than they do. People have
done things that totally shocked us. We
never expected them to do such dirty or
manipulative things. And they do. And
then our coaching hasn't been as
effective.
Helena (dancer ) would also opt for a
same-sex consultant. For her, issues of
sexism and het erosexual it y could then
be el i mi nat ed f r om t he i ni t i al i nt er -
change:
I usual l y feel more comfortable
t al ki ng to a woman. Generally,
if I'm talking to a man who is
in a sort of counseling or
t herapeut ic position, there's a
bunch of defenses t hat I have
to get over before I can deal
with whatever the issues
act ual l y are. It's easier for me to
start without those defenses so
that I'm closer to dealing with
whatever the actual issue is at
hand.
Dr. Cl.nre Crown (consultant, business)
Interestingly, some of the consultants
working with high-risk performers saw
potential advantages to women as con-
sul t ant s in these f i el ds. Dr. Gates sug-
gested that women working with race car
drivers might have some advantages, as
long as they minimized sexual cues in
t hei r dress and demeanor and were able to tolerate a t radit ional and
bl at ant l y sexist environment. Some of Dr. Lindsay' s femal e students were
unexpect edl y more effective in working with Navy SEALs in training
t han were the male consultants. He hypothesized t hat the naval trainees
felt the need to mai nt ai n a "macho" facade with male consultants, whereas
with femal e consultants, they "didn' t have to act any part."
These very mixed perspectives on gender suggest t hat t her e may be
increasing f l u i di t y even wi t hi n some t r adi t i onal l y closed systems. It may
also be import ant to di st i ngui sh between issues of ent ry and issues of
acceptance. Ul t imat el y, a female consul t ant ent eri ng a t r adi t i onal l y mas-
culine environment must be deliberative about how she est abl ishes le-
gitimate credibility and professional relationships.
ETHNICITY
All of the performers i nt er vi ewed were Whit e. Few had any comment s
about ethnicity. Frederick (emergency room physician) raised the possi-
bility that a Black male physician might t hi nk t hat a White male woul dn' t
underst and his perspective. As mentioned, Grace suggested t hat in broad-
casting, diversit y is accepted and val ued. "In radio we are much more
open and loose. I act ual l y have a slight bias against the Caucasi an gray
suit-wearing man, because we have had some bad experiences wi t h
them."
Recommendations
to Consultants
Although professionals may place a great deal of stock in formal
credentials as a means of establishing credibility, performers do not.
Performers assess credibility by looking at a consultant' s experience,
knowledge, and his or her valuing of the performer' s craft.
A consul t ant wil l t ypical l y be viewed more positively if he or she
has some form of performance experience. It does not have to be
at the same level or necessarily in the same domain. The mere fact
of having experienced the demands and expectations of perfor-
mance enhances the belief t hat the consultant can empathize with
the performer.
It is crucial that the performer experiences the consultant as em-
pathic. This is the cornerstone of an effective rel at ionship and con-
sequently the f oundat i on of successful consulting.
Each performance domain is a uni que cul t ur e. A consul t ant is ad-
vised to become a "cul t ur al anthropologist" and l earn the cul t ure' s
language, customs, and attire. The consul t ant can "mi rror" t hat
knowledge by selecting the "appropriate" language, at t ire, and ac-
tions.
Performers val ue a consultant who shows empat hy and support
and can work with them in a collaborative f ashi on t hat recognizes
their own strengths and expertise.
Preference for the manner in which feedback is presented may
vary from performer to performer. Consultants are encouraged to
explore with the performer how he or she best receives feedback
and then respond accordingly. Consultants accustomed to a tradi-
tional, nondirective approach most likely must learn how to be
more engaged and direct.
It is important that the consultant be able to rapidly establish a
trusting relationship with the performer, assess the situation, and
provide feedback in a timely fashion. Providing feedback and sug-
gestions that prove beneficial to the performer is perhaps the most
potent means of establishing credibility.
More yout hf ul consultants may be at a disadvantage in perfor-
mance consulting, as numerous (experienced) performers preferred
older, more experienced individuals. Y ounger consultants are ad-
vised to be respectful of these concerns, to acknowledge the limi-
tations of experience, and to emphasize their usefulness as a col-
laborative resource rather than an
y/
expert with the answers."
It is not clear whether gender or ethnicity biases play a role in the
selection of a performance consultant. There has been some indi-
cation that being male might be a slight advantage in gaining ini-
tial access to consulting in high-risk domains, but there is also com-
pelling evidence that women may be equally (if not more) effective
in dealing with stress-related issues in that same domain. This topic
requires f ur t her research and clarification.
There are several indications that the ideal consulting relationship
is forged over a significant period of time. Consultants must be
prepared to be available to the performer "for the long haul," al-
beit at varyi ng levels of involvement.
231
C o n s u lta n t E f f o r t s T h a t
Hinder P er f o r m a n c e
I t would be t r oubl es ome i t I got t he message t h at i ndeed I am wr ong, t hat
t her e i s s omet hi ng wr ong wi t h me. That woul d j us t per pet uat e my cycles
of c r umbl i ng.
Kei t h ( ac t or )
I t hough one hopes t hat c ons ul t ant e f f or t s woul d have posi t i ve ( or at least
ne ut r al ) ef f ect s , c ons ul t ant cont act pot ent i ally can be negat i ve or har m-
f ul . We asked: Ar e t here t hi ngs a c ons ul t ant mi ght do t hat mi ght ac t ual l y
hi nder per f or mance? We asked because we want ed t o know what con-
s ul t ant s s houl d avoi d doi ng and because we t hought responses mi ght
shed li ght on t he ant i t hes i s : de f i ni ng best pr act i ces. I t was also an i nt r i gu-
i ng ques t i on because i t of f e r e d pe r f or me r s an oppor t uni t y f or s pont ane-
ous comment r at h e r t han r out i ne responses t o pr edi ct able quest i ons. I n
addr es s i ng t h i s t opic, we also t ur ne d t o our cons ult ant s , whose h umi l i t y
and i nsi ght s f r om t hei r own f ai l ur e s gui ded our under s t andi ng of t he
r i sks and l i abi l i t i e s i n wor k i ng wi t h eli t e per f or mer s.
The at hlet es i n Or li ck and Par t i ngt on' s ( 1987) s t udy of pr ef er r ed con-
s ul t ant at t r i but e s descri bed t he worst cons ult ant s as havi ng t he f ollow-
ing char act er i st i cs: poor i nt er per s onal s ki lls , poor appli cat i on of psychol-
ogy t o sport , lack of s e ns i t i v i t y or f l e x i b i l i t y t o i ndi v i dual needs, li mi t ed
one- on- one cont act , i nappr opr i at e behavi or on sit e, bad t i mi ng, and i n-
adequat e f eedback. These i s s ues were described by our i nt er vi ewees as
well.
We clus t er ed pot ent i al l y h ar mf ul consult ant act i vi t i es i nt o t hree gen-
eral cat egories: t hose t hat are of f t he mar k, t hose i nvolvi ng poor ski lls,
and t hose t hat i nvolve pr oblems wi t h t he cons ult ant ' s per sonali t y. Per-
f or mer s also ex pressed var i ous at t i t ude s t oward and bi ases about con-
s ul t ant s and c ons ul t at i on t hat mi ght have addi t i onal negat i ve ef f ect s .
233
O f f the Mark
C ons ul t ant s c an h i nde r a pe r f or me r i f t h e y o f f e r s ug g e s t i ons t h a t ar e of
l i t t l e us e or ar e un r e al i s t i c . The l ac k of domai n- s pe c i f i c k nowl e dge , r e-
s ul t i ng i n advi c e or i nt e r v e nt i ons t h at ar e un r e a l i s t i c or i nac c ur at e , was a
pot e nt i al concer n me nt i one d b y s ever al pe r f or me r s . A r t h u r ( l a wy e r ) , f or
ex ample, c omment ed: " A l ot of l aw c o n s u l t a n t s come i n and don' t hav e
a lot t o s ay [ of s ub s t anc e ] . Ther e i s no l i s t e n i n g goi ng on and no di ag no-
s i s , b ut i t ' s e nt e r t ai ni ng . "
Our c ons ul t ant s obser ved t h a t pr ob l e ms of unr e al i s t i c or i nac c ur at e
advi ce were t ypi c al l y r e l at e d t o pr ob l e ms wi t h as s e s s me nt . A l t h o u g h per-
f or mer s di dn' t us e t he same t e r mi nol ogy, t h e y s har e d t he s ame concer ns .
Wi t hi n t h e h i g h l y t r a d i t i o n a l i s t , s t r uc t ur e d f r ame wor k of b al l e t , C h ar -
lot t e ( danc e r ) not ed t h a t a pe r f or me r ' s c apac i t i e s c oul d i n some ways be
i mpai r e d:
I f someone ( a danc e r ) whose ego was al r e ady a l i t t l e out of
cont r ol was convi nced t h a t t h e y wer e even b e t t e r t h a n t h e y
t h oug h t t hey were. Par t of be i ng m a t u r e i n danc e i s t h a t yot i
have t o unde r s t and your place i n t he or g ani z at i on. Not
everyone can be a pr i nc i pal danc e r .
in dance, anatomy is destiny. No matter
how hard you work, you may not be able
to be a professional. If you don't have
the turn-out or the feet or the extension,
it's not going to happen. [Dancers can be
adversely affected if the consultant]
assumes that because they want this so
much, all that is necessary is to focus on
helping them get it without recognizing
their personal limitations. The role of the
consultant as a psychologist may not be
helping them to perfect their techniques
or even deal with performance anxiety
it may be helping them to find another
career.
Dr. Donna Desmond
(consultant, dance)
S i mi l a r l y , Nor man ( m u s i c i a n ) s ug-
gest ed t h at i t woul d b e h a r m f u l i f t h e
c on s ul t a n t wer e t o pump up pe r f or me r s
beyond t h e i r ab i l i t i e s and not ac k nowl -
edge t he di s c r e panc y bet ween t h e i r e x -
pe c t at i ons and a b i l i t i e s .
Har ol d c omment ed s pe c i f i c al l y about
t he ways i n whi ch i mager y t r ai ni ng could
be pr ob l e mat i c t o a mus i c i an. B ec aus e
mus i c i s abs t r ac t c ommuni c at i on, a par -
t i c u l a r me nt al i mage c oul d r e s t r i c t t h e
br oade r e x pr e s s i on of t he mus i c .
Ex pe r i e nc e may i nur e t h e pe r f or me r
t o a c on s ul t a n t who gi ves poor adv i c e .
I l e ne sai d t h a t s he had t h oug h t s o muc h
ab out pe r f or manc e i s s ue s f or t he pas t 3 0
year s t h a t " I doub t i woul d t ak e any s ug-
ges t i ons t h a t I t h oug h t wer e bogus. I ' m
j us t r e al l y j udg me n t a l . I f I T h o u g h t t h e y
we r e n' t t e l l i n g me a n y t h i n g t h at was use-
f u l , 1 wo u l d n ' t l i s t e n t o t h e m any mor e. "
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
235
One issue is not being adequately
sensitive to the actual physical demands
of a performance. I'm going to describe
a sports situation, though it's equally
applicable to the military. It's less so in
business because there you are talking
about cognitive skills more often than
the physical requirements of
performance.
A discus thrower was having a hard
time staying focused. She just had too
many distracting thoughts. I suggested:
"As you get in the ring, why don't you
just pay attention to the feeling of the
weight of the discus in your hand." The
idea was that you can't simultaneously
really feel that, pay attention to it, and
be distracted by thoughts going on
inside your head.
I wasn't aware that for a discus
thrower to focus on the weight in their
hand means they lose awareness of their
lower body. That is where the strength
cornes from for their throw.
This person just used her arm for
throwing. She didn't lower her body to
get the drive through the power of her
legs. My suggestion actually interfered
with her performance. A lack of
sensitivity to the biomechanics and the
actual physical demands of the
performance situation meant that an
intervention that made sense from a
concentration standpoint, when put
together with what the body has got to
do, was not the right thing to suggest.
Dr. Kenneth King (consultant, military)
Davi d ( bank e r ) conveyed a si mi lar
at t i t ude :
As st r ong wi lled as ever ybody is
her e, i f somebody didn' t t hi nk
somet hi ng was right and di dn' t
want t o do it , t hey j us t
woul dn' t do it . They might
li st en, t hey mi ght t ry some
t hi ngs, ex periment , but not f or
long if it 's not working. They' d
be qui ck t o speak up and say,
" B ulls hi t ! "
From Davi d' s perspect ive, rat her t han
hi nder i ng t he per f or mer , "t he only har m
would be t he t ime and mat er i alst he
cost in dollar s and t ime away f r om do-
i ng ot her t hi ngs. "
Dr. Bell' s s ummar y of " of f t he mar k"
c ons ul t i ng capt ures t he f lavor of t his t ype
of wor k. As a consult ant specializing in
work wi t h f ami l y businesses, he recog-
niz ed t hat i naccur at e assessment , knowl-
edge, or present at i on can be problemat ic:
I t h i nk t he biggest mi st akes in
wor ki ng wi t h f ami l y businesses
ar e f ai l ur e s t o r eally under st and
t he f ami l y. I f you haven' t paid a
lot of at t ent i on and you don' t
under s t and t hat f ami ly and
what is going on t here, you j us t
do t hings t hat are dumb, naive,
and misdirect ed. I t may be a
great idea, but it is not going t o
work because you di dn' t
deli ver t he message in a way
t hat it could be heard.
Poor Skills
Somet imes a consult ant may lack or be
weak in cer t ai n ski lls, which hinders his
or her ab i l i t y t o serve per f or mer s . Some weaknes s es may lead t o pr ob-
lems wi t h pr es ent at i on, not bei ng able t o mat ch i nt e r v e nt i ons wi t h i n di -
v i dual s , c r e at i ng over dependenc e or un de r m i n i n g c onf i de nc e , and pr o-
v i di ng i n ade q uat e s uppor t . We di s cus s t hes e s hor t c omi ngs i n t h i s s ect i on.
PROBLEMS WITH PRESENTATION
Di f f i c ul t y wi t h pr e s e nt at i on may i nc l ude pr obl e mat i c l anguage , poor l i m-
ing, or uns ki l l ed paci ng. A number of t hese are basic cli ni cal or cons ult a-
t i on s ki l l s . However , as r ef l ec t ed by bot h t he pe r f or me r s ' concer ns and
t he c ons ul t ant s ' ex per i enc e, i n t he pr es s ur e of a new cont act or di f f e r e nt
use of one' s s k i l l s , some s e e mi ngl y i ng r ai ne d s k i l l s can at leas t t empo-
r ar i l y get de r ai l e d.
Tr yi ng t o i mpr e s s t he per f or mer can bac k f i r e . B ar r y ( adv e r t i s i ng ex -
e c ut i v e ) s ai d, " Don' t t ell me all t he great people you know r i ght t i p f r ont .
Focus on me."
Somet i mes , i t ' s a mat t e r of poor basi c c ommuni c at i on s k i l l s . B ar r y
c ont i nue d: " You have t o be t he r e i n t he room wi t h me. I t woul d be a
pr obl em i f t her e were s i gns t h at you were di s t r ac t e d. " Act ors, comment ed
ac t i ng c ons ul t ant Dr . Owen Os bor ne, s omet i mes des cr i be t h i s k i nd of
di s t r ac t ed i n a t t e n t i on t o t he pr es ent as " phoni ng i n" one' s pe r f or manc e .
Pr obl emat i c t i mi ng or pac i ng could i nv ol v e gi vi ng t he person t oo many
t hi ngs t o f oc us on, s ugges t ed George ( medi c - s ni per ) . Ex pe r i e nc e d con-
s ul t ant s echoed t he i mpor t anc e of paci ng and i nc r e me nt al change as cen-
t r al t o success. Dr . Cross, f or e x ampl e , used a t er m f i r s t developed by
i nv e nt or B uc k mi ns t e r Ful l e r , t r i m t ab adj us t me nt , and elabor at ed:
You don' t t r y and c hange e v e r yt hi ng. I f t he T i t ani c had t ur ne d
a hal f a degr ee s out h as i t l e f t Eng l and, t he r e ' d hav e been no
movi e. And t he s ame t h i ng i s t r ue wi t h us . Ye s t e r day I was
doi ng a c oac hi ng wor ks hop. One of t he t h i ng s t he par t i c i pant s
had t o do was t ake a s i ngle goal and br eak i t down and t he n
come up wi t h a pe r f or manc e goal. Then t hey got coached i n i t .
We were t r yi ng t o b ui l d s e l f - awar e ne s s and s e l f - r e s pons i b i l i t y
i n ot he r h uman bei ngs . One of t hese goals was b ui l di n g r appor t
wi t h people. Someone pi cked an i t em and sai d, "Well t h i s i s not
very big." And I s ai d t o t he m, " Thi nk about i t : i f you s t ar t t o
wor k wi t h b ui l di ng r appor t wi t h your people t hr ough mor e
t wo- way c ommuni c at i on and mor e t wo- way di al ogue , i n t hr ee
mont h s you' r e goi ng t o have a whole di f f e r e nt r e l at i ons hi p
wi t h t h e m. You don' t hav e t o c hange t he wor ld, j us t t hi s one
s mal l t h i ng . You s t ar t t o give people your undi v i de d at t e nt i on
when t hey come i n t o speak t o you i n your of f i ce; f our mont hs
l at e r you wi l l be i n a whole di f f e r e n t place wi t h t hose people
and unde r s t andi ng t he m.
Ar t hur ( lawyer ) suggest ed t hat t he consult ant is inef f ect ive if he or
she is merely ent ert aining rat her t han act ing as an agent of change:
A lot of law f irm consult ant s specialize in what I would
charact erize as gossip. Somet imes inf ormat ion is involved, but
most ly it ends up being gossip about ot her law f irms and how
ot her law f i r ms pract ice, but t he person who comes in wit h t he
gossip does not know how similar you are t o what t hey are
t alking about . I f t here is a knowledge base t o it pay, where
people went t o law school, and t hat sort of st uf f heari ng
about anot her' s corporat e cult ur e or deciding whet her t hat
corporat e cult ure f it s your own pract ice requires more t han
gossip; [but ] you can't do t hat on an ent ert ainment budget .
POOR MATCH BETWEEN THE INTERVENTION
AND THE INDIVIDUAL
Pro f or ma solut ions do not t ake t he i ndi vi dual, t he sit uat ion, and t he
consult at ive f ocus int o account . The lack of an individualized approach
can signal problems wit h consult ant skill (Simons & Andersen, 1995).
Charles (insurance br oker ) gave an ex ample:
I f somebody in my business were not det ail-orient ed and t he
psychologist said, "This is an ex ercise t hat 's very det ailed. For
t he nex t t wo or t hree days, record what you do during t he day,
every f i f t een minut es, " I t hink a lot of people would bail out .
OVERDEPENDENCE
A consult ant f ost ering over-invest ment by t he per f or mer can creat e di f -
f icult ies. Simons and Andersen ( 1995) int erviewed 11 well-known sport
psychology consult ant s regarding t heir consult ing pract ices. Dr. Ronald
Smit h, at t he Universit y of Washingt on, comment ed t o Simons and
Andersen about t he problems of f ost ering at hlet e dependency: "I've . . .
seen lot s of inst ances where at hlet es have f ormed t remendous depen-
dency relat ionships wit h sport consult ant s, and t hey can't make a move
wit hout t hat person. That 's one t hing I t hink is a negat ive rat her t han a
posit ive" (p. 465). Among our own int erviewees, Norman (musician)
suggest ed t hat an over-reliance on t he consult ant could be problemat ic:
I f [t he consult ant ] were t o lead you t o believe t hat your
perf ormance was somehow based on his or her helping you
and you f elt t hat you couldn' t do it wit hout t he ot her person's
help, t hat would be a det riment . "I've got t o see my t eacher
237
bef ore I play t his concert , I ' ve got t o get t o t he gur u, I ' ve got t o
see my spi r i t ual counselor, " t hat ki nd of t hi ng.
TENDENCY TO UNDERMINE CONFIDENCE
AND DISCOUNT EXPERIENCE
Support , i ncludi ng a s us t ai ni ng sense of conf i dence in t he client ' s capaci-
t ies, would seem t o be a basic element of counseling or consult i ng ski ll.
Yet a number of per f or mer s recognized t he delicacy of per f or mer s' be-
lief s in t heir own knowledge, skill, compet ence, and conf idence. This
cat egory was one of t he most f r equent ly ment i oned by per f or mer s in
various domai ns. Whet her in br oadcast i ng, i nsur ance, mus i c, or medi -
cine, t he pot ent i al negat i ve i nt er act i on bet ween a consult ant ' s power
and a per f or mer ' s ego loomed as a real t hr eat .
I an ( br oadcast er ) r emar ked:
I f a cons ult ant crit iciz es in t he wrong way or poi nt s out
short comings in a way t hat under c ut s your level of conf i dence,
t hen t hat could hi nder per f or mance. You are out t here on your
own every day. There is no script and you br i ng t o it what you
br i ng t o it . You have t o br i ng a cer t ai n ment al conf i dence. I f
[the consult ant ] under mi nes t hat , you can' t per f or m.
Charles ( i nsur ance br oker ) i ndi cat ed t hat per f or mance would s uf f e r
if t he consult ant di scount ed t he per f or mer ' s ex peri ence and hi t her t o suc-
cessf ul met hods. Fai t h ( mus i ci an) said: "The only t hi ng t hat would be a
det riment is if t hi s pr act i t i oner made you have doubt s about your s elf . "
Bot h physicians r ef lect ed on t his issue as well. Er i c ( neur os ur geon)
described t he possibly serious, genui ne li f e and deat h implicat ions of such
an int eract ion.
I f someone is a successf ul pract i ci ng surgeon, I t hi nk you could
undermine compet ence by t r yi ng t o aggressively change t hi s or
t hat t o demean what people have been doing. I can pi ct ur e
someone coming in and saying, "Oh no, you' ve done t hi s all
wrong. You' ve got t o do t his and t his di f f er ent ly. " I f someone
really t ook it t o heart , it could seriously shake his or her
conf idence. I n surgery, you have t o be conf ident in what you
are doing. I f you can' t walk int o a case and f eel conf i dent t hat
you' r e going t o get t hr ough t hat case regardless of what is
t hrown at you along t he way, t hat ' s going t o af f ect your abi li t y
t o perf orm t he surgery and t he pat i ent will s uf f er .
Frederick (emergency room physician) recognized t he ways in which
self -conf idence can be under mi ned and t he implicat ions of t hat :
Let 's t ake a person who has a poor self -image. You can
obviously do t hings t o f ur t her screw t heir self -image. You can
do t hat t o anybody. I t doesn't mat t er whet her t hey are in
emergency medicine or anyt hi ng else. I f you' ve got somebody
t hat is f r ai l in t hat regard, a person who has grave self -doubt s,
if you want t o, obviously you can t ake t hem out .
INADEQUATE SUPPORT OR FOLLOW-THROUGH
Consult ant s, but not perf ormers, specif ically ment ioned t he problem of
i nadequat e support or f ollow-t hrough. Dr. Barbara Bent on (consult ant ,
business) said, "Lack of f ollow- up or f ollow-t hrough can be a problem.
Even consist ent t op per f or mer s occasionally hit a wall. They need t o see
you ASAP and it would be a dr awback if you' r e not accessible."
The import ance of access was echoed by perf ormers when discussing
charact erist ics of t he ideal consult ant and was one of t he key point s made
by at hlet es in t he Orlick and Part ingt on st udy (1987). Dancer Charlot t e
was ex plicit on t he import ance of availabilit y, and I lene (musician) un-
derscored t he value of an ongoing relat ionship over t ime.
The Personality of
the Consultant
239
I n t oday's pract ice climat e, compet ing met hods are used t o at t ract pot en-
t ial cust omers. Though consult ant s may reason t hat t he best way t o ob-
t ain or ret ain business is t o present a specif ic package t o clients, a number
of perf ormers were leery of t his met hod. Our ex pert consult ant s also saw
packaging as an i nef f ect i ve business met hod.
CLAIMS OF HAVING "THE ANSWER"
Perf ormers were especially caut ious about consult ant s who have The
Answer. Ar t hur ( lawyer ) comment ed: "You can have somebody who is
inef f ect ive because he or she's come t o sell one t hing. He's got The An-
swer and he's going t o share it wit h you and you' re going t o be happy."
Barry (i nsurance br oker ) described t his approach as "t hinking you know
it all. Having t he answer right away."
The Answer can at t imes indicat e a vari ant on t he lack of individual-
izat ion. Keit h (act or) said:
I would j ust f ind it very di f f i cult if someone f elt t hat t hey had it
f igured out , like: "This is what works f or t he sprint er I work
[To assess consultants' competency], I
would want to see that they were the
embodiment of what we were talking
about here [training, professional
credentials, etc.]. And even though they
may be the embodiment of it, they
shouldn't be evangelical about it. Some
people go away and take a course and
then they come back and they turn
people off because they {claim to] have
The Answer.
Dr. Colin Cross {consultant, business)
wi t h, so t h i s wi l l work f or you. I
know t her e ar e di f f e r e nt
ci r cums t ances , but t hi s wi ll wor k
f or you. "
Maybe t hat is t r ue , I don' t
know. But I ' m a cur i ous ,
i nq ui s i t i v e k i nd of per son, and I
don' t t ake r eally well t o people
l ayi ng it out f or me. So I suppose if
t hat was t r ue, I would li ke
somebody t o lead me t o t h at
conclus i on and at least pay me t he
li p service of t ak i ng i n all of t he
cr uel and un us ua l demands of my
i ndus t r y, and my l i f e . And t hen at
t he end, t hey could say, " Oh, t h i s i s
ex ac t l y t he same t hi ng t hat we di d
f or t he s pr i nt er . "
I n t hei r i nt er vi ews wi t h ex per t sport psychology c ons ul t ant s , Si mons
and Ander sen ( 1 9 9 5 ) comment ed: " None of our c ons ul t ant s endor sed a
' cookbook' approach t o ment al s ki l l s t r ai ni ng, and none of t hem c l ai med
t o hold t he ' one t r ue met hod' " ( p. 458) . Al t hough t hi s st r at egy f or pre-
sent at i on may appear appe al i ng t o some, clear ly nei t her per f or mer s nor
ex per t c ons ul t ant s see i t as v al uab l e .
Grace ( br oadcas t er ) sai d t hat per f or manc e was ac t ual l y hi nder ed when
t he st af f at her r adi o s t at i on were pr ovi ded wi t h
t he molded s t uf f , t he carbon s t uf f , t he preconceived s t u f f . We
were r e q ui r e d: " Here i s t hi s pr omot i on/ c onc e pt / bi t . I t has
wor ked r eally well i n [ anot her s t at e] and so t hi s i s ex act ly how
you should do i t her e. " We di d t hat her e wi t h an on- ai r cont est
t hat bombed miserably. I t had been a huge success in [ anot her
cit y] . We " Xer ox ed" t he concept her e and it bombed, because
our cit y is not t hat cit y and t hi s is not t hat r adi o s t at i on. Thi ngs
ar e di f f e r e nt here.
From pai nf ul per sonal ex per i ence ( as he r elat ed i n chap. 9, t hi s vol-
ume ) , Mi chael ( c onduc t or ) was v i v i dl y awar e of t he det r i ment al ef f ect s
of t he c ons ul t ant - as - aut hor i t y:
The consult ant s houl dn' t set hi mself or her s elf up as an
aut hor i t y, because whoever needs help has t o discover what ' s
t r ue. That ' s t he only t hi ng t hat has t o happen. The person has
t o discover what ' s t r ue f or hi mself or her s elf . I f t he c ons ul t ant
can help t he pe r f or me r do t hat , t hat ' s gr eat .
241
You m ay have th e com petence to give OUT SIDE THE BOUNDARIES
tec h n ic a l a dvic e, bu, it wo u ld be
OF THE
C ONSULT ING
"CONTRACT"
inappropriate because it isn't your place
to do that, especially if the advice clashes Wh a t is t h e c o n s u l t a n t 's l e ve l o f kn o wl -
with the advice of those who are
e d
8
e i n t h e f i e l d ?wh a l a r e t h e
s e r vi c e s
... , ., , _, ., t o wh i c h t h e c o n s u l t a n t a n d pe r f o r m e r
responsible for the performance. That s a ^
h a ve a gr e e d ? Al t h o u gh Je r r y (d a n c e r )
dangerous position to be i n. Moreover, , , , -. 1 i u
t h o u gh t t h a t a n i d e a l c o n s u l t a n t wo u l d
that leads to a kind of triangulation
be s o m e o n e wh o h a s be e n a
pr a c t i c i n g
which happens all too frequently in the pe r f o r m e r , h e a l s o s a i d t h a t f o r m e n t a l
theatre world: People end up carrying s ki l l s t r a i n i n g, "I wo u l d t h in k m o s t c o n -
the opinions of other people on their s u l t a n t s wo u l d h a ve a h a r d t im e m a i n -
shoulders and that messes them up.
t a i n i n
^
t h e i r
c r e d i bi l i t y if t h e y a c t u a l l y
ga ve t e c h n i c a l a d vi c e ."
Dr. Owen Osborne P e r f or manc e can be adv e r s e l y af -
(consultant, theatre) f ect ed if t he pr act i t i oner bl ur s t he di s t i nc-
t i ons bet ween cons ult at i on and psycho-
t h e r apy. We di s c us s t h i s i s s ue mor e
t hor oughl y i n chapt er 15. Di f f e r e nt i at -
i ng bet ween t he roles of per f or mance c ons ul t at i on and i ns i ght - or i ent ed
psychot her apy, Ellen ( mus i c i an) suggest ed t hat i n per f or mance c ons ul t -
ing, per f or mance f ear should be addr essed in t er ms of nor mal i z i ng and
developi ng coping mechani sms r at her t han addr essi ng hi s t or i cal root s.
Hist orical under s t andi ng and r econst r uct i on can occur at some ot her point
and is essent i ally a di f f e r e nt " cont ract ."
UNETHICAL PRACTICE
Few per f or mer s descr i bed conduct t hat t hey woul d ac t ual l y consi der
unet hi cal. I an ( br oadc as t er ) , however, had per sonal ex per i ence of con-
sult at i on wit h unclear boundar i es and ult i mat ely, a vi olat i on of conf i -
dent i al i t y:
The one r adi o cons ult ant I wor ked wi t h was a guy who f ocus ed
on psychological aspect s. He want ed " t o get i nt o your head and
see where you were at and see what ki nd of person you were
and help t o mold you i nt o being a bet t er per sonali t y, " when in
f act he was collect ing i nf or mat i on f or t he gener al manager
who repeat ed it all back t o me as I was bei ng f i r ed. So don' t
come in here and t ell me it ' s all bet ween us. There has t o be a
doct or-pat ient r elat i onshi p. I t has t o st ay c onf i dent i al and I
have t o t r ust t hat ; ot herwise you are not going t o help me,
because I am never going t o open up t o you.
Two pot ent i al l i abi l i t i e s r elat ed t o t he cons ult ant ' s per s onali t y or ego
were ment i oned only by c ons ul t ant s : loss of perspect ive and lack of con-
gr uence. C ons ul t ant s ' awar enes s and concern about t hese f ac t or s may
r ef lect t he i r own ex per i ence and obs er vat i ons of colleagues' behavi or .
LOSS OF PERSPECTIVE
The c ons ul t ant s recogni z ed t h at bei ng " i n awe" of t he per f or mer would
li kely r ender t hem i ne f f i c i e nt at best and possibly hi nder t he per f or mer ' s
e f f or t s . This obs er vat i on has also been made in t he sport psychology con-
t ex t ( Goul d & Damar j i an, 1998; Si mons & Ander sen, f 9 9 5 ) . An awe-
s t r uck c ons ul t ant i s more l i k e l y t o i ndul g e t he t endency of some per-
f or me r s t o act wi t h i mmat ur i t y. Dr . Owen Osborne comment ed:
Some pe r f or me r s say, " I ' m t he ar t i s t . I get t o be t he baby. I get
t o be out r ageous . I n f act , i t may even enhance my i mage as
somebody who i s t r ul y ar t i s t i c. " Somet i mes t hey' ve had people
i n t hei r l i f e who di d t hat t he i r mot her t reat ed t hem l i ke t hey
were t he Second C omi ng and i ndul g e d t he hel l out of t hem or
made ex cuses or pr ot ect ed t he m f r om l i f e . Somet i mes an ar t i s t
at t empt s t o operat e out of bei ng unbal anc ed i n t he i r l i f e and
t h i nk s t h at t h e i r t al e nt or t h e i r c ommi t ment t o t he f i el d i s goi ng
t o somehow compensat e f or t hat or pr ot ect t hem. I f t he
c ons ul t ant accept s t hat , i f t hey i ndul g e t hat , wat ch out . B ad
news.
I t can be a f i ne l i ne, suggest ed Dr. Ki ng, mai nt ai ni ng a bal anc e be-
t ween showing respect yet not put t i ng some per f or mer s on a pedest al.
Ef f e c t i v e c ons ul t i ng may well be compr omi sed when t he c ons ul t ant be-
comes swept i nt o t he per f or mer ' s or bi t . Dr . Gor don Gat es pr ovi ded an
ex ample (see chap. 15, t hi s v ol ume ) of a s i t uat i on in whi ch a " sport s
gr oupi e' s" awe about t he s t at us of hi s cli ent ( a race car dr i v e r ) li mi t ed hi s
ef f ect i venes s .
CONSULTANT BEHAVIOR NOT ISOMORPHIC
TO MODEL
C ons ul t ant s whose wor k f ocused on t eam dynami c s and l eader s hi p i s-
sues were par t i c ul ar l y sensi t i ve t o t he pot ent i al haz ar d of " pr act i ci ng di f -
f er ent l y t han one pr eaches. " Dr. Coli n Cross descri bed hi s own appr oach:
I f you don' t mat ch up wi t h what you' r e t r yi ng t o t each, I t hi nk
t hat ' s i nappr opr i at e. I f you' r e t r yi ng t o get managers t o be mor e
open- mi nded, t o i nvolve t hei r people more, t o ask more
quest i ons, t o use t he wisdom of t he gr oup, t hen you bet t er
meet all of t hose behaviors t o t he nt h degree. You' ve got t o
model it big t ime. And t hat ' s cert ainly t r ue in working wit h
corporat e people. You need t o model what you want t hem t o
do. And it 's so easy somet imes t o want t o violat e t hat and say,
"Well we don't have a lot of t ime, so let me j us t t ell you t his."
Biases and Attitudes
About Consultation
243
Many of t he perf ormers were unf ami li ar wit h t he concept of using con-
sult ant s t o work on ment al skills. Some had had unpleasant or di f f i cult
prior ex periences wit h consult ant s; ot hers were skept ical. I t is us ef ul f or
consult ant s t o be aware of t he preconcept ions t hat may color perf orm-
ers' recept ivit y t o working wit h consult ant s.
I n cert ain domains, specif ic at t i t udes t oward consult ant s were not ed.
I n broadcast ing, Grace comment ed: "As a rule, we hat e consult ant s in
our business." Dave ( banker ) has f ound large leadership conf erences, his
primary cont act wit h consult ant s, st ult i f yi ng and obvious:
To me and t o most people in my group, t hese leadership
conf erences have not been all t hat helpf ul. You' re t old you
need a vision and need t o share t he vision f or t he company,
and you need to ex press it to people, and you need to be a
t eam player and you need t o be a good list ener ... all t hat sort
of t hing. Frankly, most of us know t hose t hings, even if we
don't necessarily do t hem.
So much of it (leadership conf erences) is, to me, common
sense. Or t hings t hat never even occur t o me, like "never pick
up a piece of paper but once." There are a lot of t hings I handle
once, but t here are a lot of t hings I like to have just sit on my
desk. I like t o put t hem aside and t hen handle t hem again. To
me, t hat is product ive. Or: making a list, priorit izingno shit,
of course, you know. My problem is I so much love making lists
and checking t hings of f , when I make a list I t end t o do t he
quick and easy t hings f irst and t hen I can check seven out of
nine t hings of f . And I ' m lef t wit h t he t wo really big and
import ant ones and I've done t he unimport ant .
Concerning consult at ion f or lawyers, Ar t hur said:
A bad consult ant will ruin it f or t he nex t t hree good ones.
Lawyers bring a cert ain level of skept icism about a consult ant
being able t o help t hem, no mat t er where t hey are. I f you end
up wi t h someone who comes in wi t h only one approach or
someone who is j us t an ent er t ai ner t ype, t hen t he nex t t i me
when s omet hi ng is seri ously wrong, [ t he lawyer won' t be
wi lli ng t o make use of a cons ult ant ] . Let 's say you' r e h al f -
dys f unc t i onal and you br i ng i n somebody who i s bad. By t he
t i me you' r e f ul l y dys f unc t i onal , you' r e probably s unk, because
t he nex t guy is never goi ng t o have a chance.
As a bus i nes s man, Davi d i ni t i al l y t hought t hat a consult ant would be
called in only if somet hi ng were really going wrong and needed t o be
f i x e d. Regar di ng hi s own t ensi on headaches, f or ex ample, he said:
I was j us t havi ng a headache. I wasn' t on t he verge of anyt hi ng
ser i ous. A cer t ai n amount of st ress is good. People get st ressed
out , people blow up occasionally, t hings happenbut it 's j us t
short t erm. I t 's nat ur al in a very compet it ive but di f f i c ul t
envi r onment wi t h hi gh st akes. I t h i nk I would need t o see
some seri ous problems bef ore I would call a per f or mance
cons ult ant .
On t he ot her hand, he could see t he relevance of per f or mance con-
s ul t i ng in t he world of at hlet i cs and sport psychology: " Obviously, in t he
at hlet i c world it has done an awf ul lot ." However, he quest i oned evalu-
at i ng ef f ect i venes s in a s i t uat i on wit h a sample size of one: "The problem
is you never know whet her it had any impact because you never know
what would have happened if you hadn' t done it or if you had done
somet hi ng else."
Ult i mat ely, he acknowledged t hat t here mi ght be ways in which lear n-
ing could be mor e ef f ect i ve and ef f i c i ent by us i ng a compet ent consult -
ant :
We' re c ont i nually doi ng nonr emedi al t hi nki ng ar ound here.
We' re t r yi ng t o f i g ur e out how t o i mprove what we do. We
act ually do t hat consciously and are always t alki ng about it . We
ask our newest young people a couple of t i mes a year, "Hey,
you guys j us t came f r om t he out si de, t ell us: Do you t hi nk we
can do bet t er? We may l augh at you, we may not ; but we want
t o know. You' re coming in blind; you don' t know t he hist ory of
a lot of s t uf f . " Or when a new associat e comes in: "See if you
can come up wi t h t hr ee t hi ngs t hat don' t make any sense. Let
us ei t her ex plai n t hem t o you or st op doi ng t hem." And we t ry
t o do t hat sort of t hi ng in our periodic meet ings: "How can we
i mprove t he process, what can we do di f f er ent ly?" Not t hat
we' re doing anyt hi ng wrong, but what can we do [bet t er]? So I
t hi nk we make a very conscious ef f or t t o c ont i nual l y improve
s t uf f t hat ' s not br oken. And I j us t want t o make t hat point ,
because I t hi nk t hat is ver y i nconsi st ent wi t h my preconceived
not i on about t he consult ant . I t hi nk if I could have learned a
lot of t hi ngs t hat I 've learned over a long period of t ime, if t hat
could have been helped a long t ime ago, t o learn t hose sooner
and f as t er and bet t er maybe lear n some ot her t hings, t oo
t hat would be great .
Recommendations
to Consultants
245
The great est concern ex pressed by perf ormers is t hat a consult ant
might under mi ne t he i r self - conf i dence. C ons ult ant s ar e advised
always t o be r espect f ul of t he per f or mer ' s abilit ies and t o build on
ex ist ing st rengt hs and resources.
Even more t han domai n- speci f i c knowledge, t he consult ant should
consi der what i s appr opr i at e f or t his speci f i c i ndi v i dual i n t hi s
uni q ue set t i ng wi t hi n t hi s specif ic domai n. We r ef er t o t his capac-
it y as contextual intelligence and discuss it f ur t h e r in chapt er 16.
As indicat ed in ear li er chapt er s , assessment is crucial t o ensur e
t hat challengi ng but realist ic goals are set .
A c ons ul t ant can be well me ani ng but none t he l e s s h ur t an
i ndi vi dual' s per f or mance by not demonst r at i ng appropriat e pac-
ing, or not mat chi ng i nt er vent i ons t o t he par t i c ul ar st yle and
st r engt hs of t he i ndi v i dual .
A cons ult ant who i s ent er t ai ni ng r at her t han i nf or mat i v e will ult i -
mat ely be viewed as a wast e of ef f or t and may hi nder ef f or t s of
subsequent consult ant s in t hat set t ing.
For many per f or mer s, crises may not f it a predet ermined consult -
ing schedule. From t he onset of services, consult ant s should plan
f or adequat e support and f ollow- t hr ough.
At t he same t i me, consult ant s can hi nder a per f or mer by creat ing
overdependence on t he consult ant . The ult imat e goal of consult -
ing should be t he per f or mer ' s aut onomous success.
Fai lur e t o recogniz e t he i di os yncr at i c nat ur e of each i ndi vi dual is
li kely t o lead t o i nef f ect i ve consult at i on at best and may even have
adverse ef f ect s. A
y/
one size f i t s all" model may seem t o ease t he
demands on t he consult ant ; however, it is likely t o be a disast er.
Bei ng "a f an" or in awe of t he per f or mer renders consult at ion in-
ef f ect i ve. C ons ul t ant s need t o mai nt ai n perspect ive on t heir role:
assist ing a person in t he process of change.
Whi le havi ng per f or mance ex perience i n t he par t i c ul ar domai n
may be an asset f or developing cr edi bi li t y and empat hy wit h t he
perf ormer, it may also be a l i abi l i t y if t he consult ant s t r ays f r om
per f or mance consult i ng t o gi vi ng t echni cal advi ce.
I t is crucial t hat a consult ant have a clear under s t andi ng of issues
f al l i ng under t he domai n of per f or mance cons ult at i on and t hat
of psychot her apy. This is discussed in great er det ail in t he nex t
chapt er.
I t is i mpor t ant t hat cons ult ant s " pract ice what t hey pr each." This
is par t i cular ly t r ue wit h cons ult ant s who f ocus on t he organi z a-
t ional cli mat e and t he deci s i on- maki ng process in a per f or mance
set t i ng.
A Good Fit: Training,
C om petence, and
E th ic al P rac tic e
hether a person considers performance consulting a distinct profession
or a subset of professional knowledge and expertise, there is no doubt
that the field is in a process of evol uti on. The consultants we interviewed,
like the performers, came f rom varyi ng backgrounds and di f f eri ng levels
of involvement with assorted types of perf ormers. In beginning to map
out appropriate expectations for trai ni ng, competence, and ethics, we
wished to tap this very diversity, refl ecti ve of the f i el d.
We were curi ous about the practicalities of perf ormance consulting.
How does one become and stay competent? What best prepared them
for what they are now doing? How would they assess a colleague' s com-
petence?
Training and Turf Concerns
A number of consultants expressed concern about other consultants. In
some instances, the concern was expressed in terms of professional cat-
egories of training; in others, consul tants shared specific concerns about
other consultants they knew or knew of. Within the community of con-
sultants, some of these red fl ags are well recognized, and some are red
flags for "bulls" with di f f erent types of trai ni ng. It is i nstructi ve, there-
fore, to understand what some of these concerns are.
249
2 5 0 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
Various consul tants expressed concern about the current vari ety of
paths to coaching and the lack of regul ati on in the f i el d. Dr. Bri an Bell
( f ami l y busi ness) noted t hat the f i el d of perf ormance coaching is pres-
ently wi de open to people with, at best, mi ni mal trai ni ng. His sardoni c
summary: "Some of these people remi nd me of reporters who have re-
ported on a lot of wars and af t er a while they decide they woul d make
pretty good general s. "
Lest those of us with advanced degrees scoff at these reservations,
the concerns of others meri t some refl ecti on. For example, Dr. Cross ( bus i -
ness), whose background is in sports sciences, commented on the ways
in which psychologists who lack experience in sports may superimpose
i nappropri ate val ues on thei r clients:
I can remember a psychol ogi st who went in to work with a
group of athl etes and he said to me, "It's an abusive
envi ronment! It's this; it' s that. " He di dn' t unders t and sports. I
don' t know a lot of Olympic athl etes who love t hei r coach.
They l i ke t hei r coach, they respect thei r coach, but they always
feel l i ke they' re being overworked. It's not that I' m siding with
the coach or the athl ete. I don' t. I of ten represent the athlete to
the coach. But you have to understand what that world is all
about. You don' t have to know the i ntri cacy or the strategy of
the game, but you have to unders tand what trai ni ng is all
about and how hard it is, and how someone is tryi ng to move
someone out of thei r comfort zone and getting them to stretch.
So, too, it is with the busi ness world.
Dr. Dani el Dean ( busi ness) shared his concerns about the arrogance
demonstrated at times by practi ti oners who do not obtain addi ti onal spe-
cialized trai ni ng. He sees suppl ementary educati on as especially impor-
tant when one attempts to consul t wi th businesses. He compared the
l earni ng process in business consultation to that of sport psychology. Prac-
ti ti oners l earni ng how to become sport psychologists often do so, in part,
through vol unteer activities. The busi ness setting, however, does not pro-
vide "amateur" opportuni ti es:
I don't know too many who have the l uxury of having a
f ormal trai ni ng program l i ke I had at . Frankly, I t hi nk a lot
of times [lack of specialized trai ni ng] comes f rom confidence
and a lot of times I thi nk it's false confi dence. My sense is that a
lot of people are going into [business consul ti ng] as solo f ol ks
wi thout a lot of experience and jus t sort of wi ngi ng it. They
shoul d not be conf i dent, because they are wal ki ng i nto a
di saster! It is easy in the sport area to say, "I' ll do thi s for f ree to
get some t rai ni ng. It is onl y j u n i o r high soccer, so I am not
going to do much harm. " It is very hard to do t hat in a
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
corporate setti ng. To call up the local offi ce of the Xerox
organi zati on and say, "Hey, do you guys need some team
bui l di ng? I am l ooki ng to get some t r a i ni ng in t hat area. I' ll give
you a talk!" You have to go in wi th both feet and "b.s." some
people to be able to pul l it of f , unl ess you have some f ormal
consul ti ng group where you' ve got fol ks who can mentor you.
Essential Ethical Concerns
251
Issues of trai ni ng, competence, and ethi cs are hi ghl y i nterwoven. Ul ti -
mately, the "big pi cture" of ethi cal practice means doi ng "work that is
good." There are two basi c ways of measuri ng that: ( a) obtai ni ng appro-
pri ate preparati on and ( b) practi ci ng in a competent manner. This con-
cept is l i ngui sti cal l y supported: The deri vati on of the word competent comes
f rom the Lati n competens, "being f i t . " It i s appropri ate that f i tness i mpl i es
both heal thperhaps the heal th of thi s new f i el dand capacity.
The devel opment of competency in perf ormance consul ti ng must
i ncl ude more t ha n the obvious acqui s i t i on of techni ques and skills. The
knowledge and ski l l s requi red to treat pathol ogi es are not necessarily the
s a me a s t ho s e n e e d e d t o f a c i l i t a t e ex c el l en c e ( Se l i g ma n &
Cs i ks zentmi hal yi , 2000; Shel don & Ki ng, 2001). It may be equal l y im-
portant to at t ai n perspectives and at t i t udes that emphasi ze strengths and
excellence rat her than defi ci enci es. These senti ments are consistent wi th
recent observati ons f rom the positive psychology movement.
A discussion of ethi cs is of ten l ef t to the end of a book. At times,
we' re sure thi s i s because pract i t i oners may approach ethics di scussi ons
with a paral yzi ng combi nati on of boredom and f ear. Instead, we sub-
scribe to the idea t ha t ethi cs f rame and shape our best practi ce. Accord-
ingly, we consi der a di scussi on of ethics as an opportuni ty to refl ect on
the central issues and val ues of perf ormance consul ti ng.
It is in the context of ethi cal bel i efs, val ues , and practices that the
practi ti oner can move wi th some sense of confi dence into a new area of
practice. This f ramework i s well art i c ul at ed by Pope and Vasquez ( 1998):
[Learni ng] ethics is a process through which we awaken,
enhance, i nf orm, expand, and i mprove our abi l i ty to respond
ef f ecti vel y to those who come to us for hel p. . . .
[Ethics codes] cannot do our questi oni ng, thi nki ng, feel i ng,
and respondi ng for us. Such codes can never be a s ubs t i t ut e for
the acti ve process by which the i ndi vi dua l therapi st or
counsel or struggl es wi th the sometimes bewi l deri ng, al ways
uni que constel l ati on of questi ons, responsi bi l i ti es, contexts, and
competi ng demands of helping, another person. . . .
Et hi c s mu s t be p r a c t i c a l . Cl i n i c i a n s c o n f r o n t a n al mos t
u n i ma g i n a b l e d i v e r s i t y of s i t u a t i o n s , each wi t h i t s own s h i f t i n g
qu es t i o n s , d ema n d s , and r es p o n s i b i l i t i es . Every c l i n i c i a n i s
u n i q u e i n i mp o r t a n t ways . Every c l i en t i s u n i qu e i n i mp o r t a n t
ways. Ethi cs t ha t are out of t ouc h wi t h the pract i cal r ea l i t i es of
c l i n i c a l work, wi t h t he d i v er s i t y a n d c o n s t a n t l y c ha n g i n g
n a t u r e o f t he t he r a p e u t i c v e n t u r e , a r e usel ess, ( pp. x i i i - x i v )
The et hi c a l concerns of p er f o r ma n c e ps ychol ogy are s i mi l a r to the
concerns of sport psychol ogy, whi c h have been expressed i n t ha t l i t er a -
t u r e f or the past 20 years ( see, e.g., A n d er s en , Van R a a l t e, & Brewer,
2001; Br o wn , 2001; Ni d e f f e r , 1981; Sachs, 1993; Whel a n , Meyers, &
El k i n s , 2002). The A s s oci at i on l or t he A d v a n c emen t of A ppl i ed Sport
Psychol ogy has devel oped i ts own Code of Et hi cs ( Meyers, 1995). Al -
t ho u g h based f a i r l y ex t en s i v el y on t ha t of t he A meri can Psychol ogi cal
A s s oc i a t i on ( A PA ; 1992, 2002), the Code of Et hi c s recogni zes the par-
t i c u l a r c i r c u ms t a n c es a n d s i t u a t i o n s t ha t appl y t o those c o n s u l t i n g wi t hi n
t he a t hl e t i c s et t i n g . These v a r i o u s resources hi g hl i g ht es s ent i al concerns
r eg a r d i n g competence, c o n f i d en t i a l i t y , mu l t i p l e rel at i ons hi ps , s el f - r ep r e-
s en t a t i o n t o t he p u b l i c , ma r k e t i n g , and a d v er t i s i n g . Ma ny of t he sport
exampl es descri bed i n t he l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d a p p l y equ a l l y wel l t o o t her
p er f o r ma n c e d o ma i n s .
A l l of our c o n s u l t a n t s emphas i z ed t he i mport ance of ha v i n g an e t h i -
cal f r a mewo r k and of rec ogni z i ng t he l i m i t s of t hei r competence. For
ex a mp l e, Dr. Gat es ( h i g h - r i s k ) suggested t ha t he woul d ma k e a r ef er r a l
t o c o n s u l t a n t s "who know enough t o recogni ze t he i r own l i mi t s and know
not to t a k e a r ef er r a l i f t hey ' r e not goi ng to be abl e to do i t wel l . " More
g en er a l l y , Dr . Ki n g ( h i g h - r i s k ) suggested:
1 l ook at p er f o r ma n c e al ong a c o n t i n u u m. A nd al ong t ha t
c o n t i n u u m, 1 t h i n k i t i s f a i r t o s ay t ha t everybody has some
s i t u a t i o n s t hey can be s ucces s f ul i n and everybody has some
t ha t t hey are goi ng to f a i l i n. The key f or me has more to do
wi t h i n d i v i d u a l s ' rec ogni t i on of t hei r own l i mi t a t i o n s and t he i r
areas of competency.
Dr. Bel l ( bus i nes s ) rai sed i mpor t a nt ref l ect i ve questi ons i n consi der-
i ng c o n s u l t a n t s ' competence: "Do t hey have f o r ma l t r a i n i n g i n a rel evant
d i s c i p l i n e? Do t hey have some p r o f es s i o n a l as s oci at i on t hat woul d hel p
hol d t hem to some et hi c a l g u i d e l i n e s of some k i n d ? Do t hey have appro-
p r i a t e ex p er i en c e i n wha t t hey are t r y i n g t o do?"
Wi t h i n A PA , the area of sport psychol ogy has rec ent l y been recog-
ni z ed as a pr of i c i enc y, and i n i t i a l des c ri pt i ons of t ha t f i el d and i t s p r a c t i -
t i o n er s have been devel oped ( A PA , n . d . ) . The Ed u c a t i o n and Tr a i n i n g
Co mmi t t ee of APA' s Di v i s i o n 13 , Soci ety of Co n s u l t i n g Psychology, has
e sta bl ish e d P rinc ip l e s fo r E duc ation a n d
Anybody can occasionally make an error _ . . , ^ , ,
3
Trai ni ng at the Doctoral and Post-Doc-
and may occasionally do things that
U)r a l Le ve l in
c o n sul tin g P syc h o l o g y/
might appear to be incompetent In Or g a n i za t i o n a l C o n sul tin g P syc h o l o g y
many cases, the training you have had (A P A , 2000). T h e d o c um e n t "o utl in e s
and your ability to document it become th e e xp e c t e d c o m p e t e n c i e s to be o b-
important in order to make the point
ta in e d b
V P
c r so n s
r e c e ivin g training at
^, . , . ^, , th e d o c t o r a l o r p o st -d o c t o r a l l e ve l in
that I am in fact competent in this. . . , .
Co n s u l t i n g Psychology ( CP).
Dr. Stanley Jones (former director E th ic a l i ssue s in p e r fo r m a n c e c o n -
of the APA Ethics Office)
Sul tin
8
a
P P
e a r to be sim il ar to th o se r e c
'
o g n i z ed wi t hi n sport ps ychol ogy a nd
cons ul t i ng psychol ogy organi zati ons. Be-
cause the f i el d of perf ormance c ons ul t at i on is in the process of develop-
ment, its ethical s t andards may be even more ambi guous than those of
more establ i shed areas. To address concerns of ethi cs in t hi s new f i el d,
we were gui ded i n l arge meas ure by an i nt ervi ew we conducted wi th
Stanley Jones, the f ormer di rector of the APA Ethics Of f i ce (1990-1999),
and a cons ul t ant to t hat of f i c e si nce t hen. Dr. Jones was wi l l i ng to ex-
t rapol at e hi s u n d er s t a n d i n g of prof es s i onal ethi cs i n devel opi ng areas to
a d d r es s concerns a b o u t p er f o r ma n c e psychol ogy. I n cont ras t t o our
broader i ntervi ews wi th the perf ormance cons ul tants , our i ntervi ew wi th
Dr. Jones focused en t i r el y on i ssues of the ethi cs of prof es s i onal s movi ng
i nt o a f i el d t hat i s s t i l l i n the process of bei ng def i ned. Our di scussi on
drew f rom the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct ( APA,
1992); however, i n the present di s cus s i on we have ext rapol at ed hi s com-
ments to the recent l y publ i s hed revi si on ( 2002; we ref er to both as the
APA Ethics Code}.
A l t ho u g h we f ocus on a doc ument t ha t has speci f i c appl i cat i on to
psychologists, we recogni ze t ha t nonps ychol ogi s t pract i t i oners may be
more f a mi l i a r wi th and have great er legal and ethi cal res pons i bi l i t y to
uphol d the ethi cs f r a mewo r k of t hei r p a r t i c u l a r prof essi on. We commend
them to the document s per t i nent to t hei r licensed prof essi onal i denti ty.
In a l i ti gi ous society, i ssues of ri sk management are also embedded
wi t hi n ethi cal concerns. In pa r t i c ul a r , bei ng abl e to document one's de-
vel opment of competence in a p a r t i c u l a r area takes on potenti al l egal as
well as ethi cal s i gni f i c anc e. A p r a c t i t i o n er wi t h s ubs t ant i at ed t rai ni ng may
be in a posi ti on to place a o n e- t i me mi s t a ke in the perspective of a hi s t ory
of et hi cal practi ce. I n contras t, i f a pr a c t i t i oner commi t t ed the i dent i c a l
act, but l acked a t rack record i n d i c a t i n g the devel opment of competence,
the error mi ght be perceived d i f f er en t l y . In regard to these issues, we
appreci ated the oppor t uni t y to revi ew some of the rel evant risk manage-
ment f actors wi th Er i c Ha r r i s ( pers onal c ommuni c a t i on, Ja n u a r y 28,
2003 ), a psychol ogi st and l egal c o n s u l t a n t to the APA I ns urance Trust.
253
The secti ons t ha t f ol l ow are desi gned to revi ew t r a i n i n g , competence,
and et hi cs f rom a v a r i et y of angl es . We begi n wi th a s t r a i g ht f o r wa r d ap-
pl i cat i on of t he c u r r en t prof es s i onal s t a nda r ds regardi ng b o u n d a r i es and
ma i nt ena nc e of competence to the area of perf ormanc e c ons ul t i ng. Then
we i ncorporat e the perspecti ves of our c ons ul t ant i nt ervi ewees on the
el ement s of t r a i n i n g and experi ence necessary t o t hei r own devel opment
and ma i n t en a n c e of competence. A s l i g ht l y d i f f er en t perspecti ve i s of -
f ered as we consi der the t as k of assessi ng another' s competence. Et hi c a l
concerns t ha t move beyond i ssues of competence are then revi ewed.
Fi n a l l y , becaus e p r a c t i t i o n e r s approach t hi s f i el d f r o m v a r i o u s bac k-
grounds , we descri be i n d et a i l the t r a i n i n g and practice of three of our
per f or ma nc e c o n s u l t a n t i nt ervi ewees .
THE BOUNDARIES OF COMPETENCE
St andar d 2. 01 of the APA Code of Co n d u c t , des cri bi ng the Bo u n d a r i es of
Competence, speaks d i r ec t l y to the i s s t i es of t r a i n i n g and compet ence.
2. 01 ( a) Ps ychol ogi s t s provi de servi ces, l each, and c onduc t
research wi t h p o p u l a t i o n s and i n areas onl y wi t hi n t he
b o u n d a r i es of t h e i r compet ence, based on t hei r ed u c a t i o n ,
t r a i n i n g , s upervi s ed experi ence, c o n s u l t a t i o n , s t udy, or
pr of es s i ona l experi ence.
St andar d 2. 01 recogni zes a broad a r r a y of ways i n whi ch one may
devel op competence i n a p a r t i c u l a r area. The l i n g u i s t i c changes i n the
u p d a t ed A PA Et hi c s Code suggest t ha t i n a n u mb er of prac t i c e areas ,
ps ychol ogi s t s are e x p a n d i n g t he i r knowl edge by a v a r i et y of means . Thi s
s t a nda r d descri bes t he a t t a i n me n t of competence f a i r l y broadl y by v i r t u e
of the word o r . I n s i t u a t i o n s where f o r ma l educ at i on i s a v a i l a b l e, p r u -
dence woul d suggest t hat such educat i on be obtai ned. What t hat t r a i n -
i ng i ncl udes , however, i s not d ef i n ed wi t hi n t he s t a n d a r d .
St a n d a r d 2. 01( c ) i s especi al l y r el eva nt f or pr a c t i t i oner s who have al -
ready obt ai ned t r a i n i n g i n, say, c l i ni c a l or couns el i ng psychol ogy. Thi s
secti on addresses s i t u a t i o n s i n whi c h g r a d u a t e t r a i n i n g occurred i n one
f i el d and the p r a c t i t i o n er wi s hes to add a d i f f e r e n t area of practi ce:
2 . 01 ( c ) Psychol ogi sts p l a n n i n g t o provi de servi ces, t each, or
c onduc t research i n v o l v i n g p o p u l a t i o n s , areas, t ec hni ques , or
t echnol ogi es new t o t hem u n d er t a k e rel evant educ a t i on,
t r a i n i n g , s upervi s ed experi ence, c o n s u l t a t i o n , or s t udy.
This standard notes that the i nt ent i on to engage in anot her area of
pract i ce s ho u l d i n c l u d e d el i b er a t i v e r el eva nt l ea r n i n g . A g a i n , t he met hod
by whi ch the prac t i t i oner l earns and the necessary a mo u n t of l earni ng
needed may vary.
A f u r t her compl i cati on resul ts f rom the i nteracti on of i ndi vi dual s with
vari ed backgrounds worki ng wi t hi n a f i el d ( i. e. , perf ormance consul ti ng)
in a state of devel opment. On the one hand, a pract i t i oner psychologist
al ready t rai ned i n the use of r el a x a t i o n or i magery s ki l l s mi ght benef i t
f rom a weekend workshop t ha t el aborates on the use of these skills in
perf ormance setti ngs. On the other hand, i f a person' s background and
trai ni ng i s i n comparati ve psychol ogy wi th mi ni mal unders t andi ng of
methods of worki ng wi th people, thi s same works hop would at most
onl y touch on the necessary knowl edge for t hi s psychologist.
Standard 2. 01 ( e) ref ers to t r u l y emergent areas of practice. It reads:
2. 01( e) I n those emergi ng areas i n which gener a l l y recognized
s t andards f or pr epa r a t or y t r a i n i n g do not yet exi st,
psychologists nevertheless take reasonable steps to ensure the
competence of t hei r work and to protect cl i ent s / pat i ent s ,
s t udent s , supervi sees, research part i ci pant s , organi zat i onal
cl i ents, and ot hers f rom ha r m.
The chal l enge of def i ni ng " reas onabl e steps" or "rel evant educati on"
f or perf ormanc e psychol ogy i s t h a t the f i el d i s nei t her t ot al l y new nor
f u l l y def i ned. Furt hermore, i t makes use of t ec hni ques and popul ati ons
t hat have been and are wi t hi n the p u r v i ew of others. It exi sts i n a middle
or gray zone, wi th el ements of both emergi ng and t r u l y establ i shed areas
of practi ce. Because the f i el d of perf ormanc e c ons ul t i ng i ncl udes elements
and techni ques with whi ch ma n y psychologists may al ready be f ami l i ar,
some psychol ogi sts wi l l l eg i t i ma t el y argue t hat t hi s area i s a "subspe-
ci al ty" of t hei r general practi ce. As an emergi ng area, it is sti l l not clear
whet her the exact emphasi s of t r a i n i n g shoul d be at the graduat e or post-
g r a d u a t e l evel . In part i c ul ar, the l ack of a developed gr a dua t e curri cul um
and other s i mi l a r i ndi ces suggest t ha t i t i s not yet a f u l l y establ i shed fi el d.
Unt i l such gui del i nes are f o r ma l l y developed, the APA Ethi cs Code
( 2002) i ndi cates t hat "reasonable means the prevai l i ng prof essi onal j u d g -
ment of psychologists engaged in si mi l ar acti vi ti es in s i mi l ar circumstances"
( p. 1061). This suggests t hat i f a cl i ni cal or couns el i ng psychol ogi st i s
seeki ng to expand hi s or her practi ce to i n c l u d e perf ormance consul ti ng,
i nf ormat i on f rom colleagues engaged in general practi ce is not likely to
be s u f f i c i en t l y " i nf or med" to meet the def i ni t i on of "reasonabl e" ef f orts.
One mus t look to those who are es tabl i s hed and acti ve i n perf ormance
c ons ul t i ng f or g u i d a n c e regardi ng appropri ate s t andards . I n the sections
that follow, we have i ncorporat ed the opi ni ons of our consul tants i n or-
der to provi de a mea n i n g f u l ref erence l or persons s eeki ng ethical expan-
sion i n t hi s area.
255
MAINTAINING COMPETENCE
Psychol ogi sts who have devel oped ex p er t i s e i n an area are al s o e t h i c a l l y
obl i gat ed t o ma i n t a i n t ha t l evel of s k i l l . The new s t a n d a r d t ha t addres s es
t he i ssue of compet ence ma i n t e n a n c e i s b r i ef but t o t he poi nt . St a n d a r d
2. 03 reads:
2. 03 Ps ychol ogi s t s u n d e r t a k e o n g o i n g ef f o r t s t o devel op and
ma i n t a i n t h e i r c ompet enc e.
A l t ho u g h t he met ho d s used t o devel op and ma i n t a i n competence-
are not ex p l a i n ed , we s ugges t t ha t f or m i n i m a l compl i ance, one mu s t
have an awarenes s of t he c u r r en t j o u r n a l l i t e r a t u r e and engage i n rel -
eva nt c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n . A s n o t ed ea r l i er , l o r t he b e n e f i t o f b o t h r i s k
ma n a g emen t and ma i n t e n a n c e of et hi c a l practi ce, p r a c t i t i o n er s are ad-
vi sed to secure c redi bl e evi denc e of t hes e e f f o r t s . Thi s may be i n the f o r m
of c er t i f i c a t es v e r i f y i n g works hops or s p ec i f i c c o n s u l t a t i v e or s u p er v i s ed
experi ence i n t he n ew f i e l d . No n et hel es s , t he c o n u n d r u m r ema i n s : Wha t
c o n s t i t u t es r el ev a n t ed u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g ?
A s t he f i e l d ev o l v es , f o r ma l ways wi l l u n d o u b t e d l y devel op t o hel p
p r a c t i t i o n er s become k n o wl ed g ea b l e and s peci al i zed. A t pr es ent , t he con-
s u l t a n t s we i n t er v i ewed descri bed a c o mb i n a t i o n of f act ors r el ev a n t to
t he a c qu i s i t i o n o f t hei r k n o wl ed g e a n d s k i l l .
A s recogni zed ex p er t s i n t he f i e l d of p er f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t i n g , our
i nt ervi ewees o f f er ed i n s i g ht s c o n c er n i n g t he n a t u r e o f a p p r o p r i a t e e d u -
c a t i o n . Becaus e t hi s g en er a l f i e l d does n o t have f o r ma l l y devel oped c r i t e -
ri a or career pa t hs , each c o n s u l t a n t had come to hi s or her pres ent con-
s t i l t i n g prac t i c e t h r o u g h a s omewha t i d i o s y n c r a t i c c o mb i n a t i o n of f o r ma l
a n d i n f o r ma l e d u c a t i o n a n d exper i enc e, a s wel l a s f o r ma t i v e l i l e ex p er i -
ences.
Aspects of Appropriate
Training
I n r ev i ewi n g t he t r a i n i n g experi enc es of p er f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t s , we
c o n c l u d e t ha t a s ol i d f o u n d a t i o n i n ei t her ps ychol ogy or exerci se sci ence
i s es s ent i al , a l o n g wi t h r el ev a n t s u p p l e me n t a l t r a i n i n g . Thi s a d d i t i o n a l
p r ep a r a t i o n ma y i n v o l v e f o r ma l t r a i n i n g t hr o u g h c ours ework o r f r ee-
s t a n d i n g ed u c a t i o n a l programs , i n d o ma i n s where t h i s i s a v a i l a b l e . A
c o mb i n a t i o n o f p er f o r ma n c e experi enc e ( g en er i c ) , i n f o r ma l l e a r n i n g , a n d
u s e f u l l i f e experi enc es c u r r e n t l y p r o v i d e t he a d d i t i o n a l r el ev a n t k n o wl -
edge.
FORMAL ACADEMIC TRAINING
The maj ori t y of the c ons ul t ant s ( t he psychol ogi sts i n p a r t i c u l a r ) men-
ti oned t hei r f o r ma l academi c educ a t i on as t he f o u n d a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e f or
devel opi ng c ons ul t at i on s ki l l s . Dr. Fr a n k Fi ske ( b u s i n es s ) , f or exampl e,
suggested t hat the general i st knowl edge base of psychol ogy al l ows for
t r a n s f er of knowl edge f rom one s et t i ng to another.
Dr. Ki ng ( hi g h- r i s k , mi l i t a r y ) emphasi zed the i mport ance of ha v i n g a
t heoret i cal f r a me to gui de i n t er v en t i o n s . He was al so qu i c k to d i f f e r e n t i -
ate between knowl edge and i ts ma n i f es t a t i o n i n practi ce behavi or. Theo-
reti cal u n d er s t a n d i n g s ho u l d be t r ans l at ed i nt o us abl e i deas t ha t are t hen
expressed i n the f orm of p r a g ma t i c t ec hni ques when worki ng wi th the
per f or mer : "They don' t want theori es; t hey want to know i t works. "
The generi c knowl edge base devel oped t hr o u g h psychol ogi cal t r a i n -
i ng was hi ghl i ght ed by those wi th and wi t ho u t a speci fi c psychol ogy de-
gree. Dr. A ndrew A dams, a nonps ychol ogi s t and f ormer professor of or-
g a n i z a t i o n a l devel opment , i s now a hi g hl y s ucces s f ul bus i nes s c o n s u l t a n t .
He observed t hat psychol ogi sts, i n contrast to ma na gement c o n s u l t a n t s
wi t hout a psychol ogy ba c kgr ound, u n d er s t a n d the i nt erpers onal dynami c s
t ha t are an i mp o r t a n t aspect of the "sea change" of the c u r r en t bus i nes s
cl i mat e. Dr. Dean poi nted to the ext ens i ve knowl edge t hat psychol ogi sts
gai n i n g r a d u a t e school: experti se regardi ng i n d i v i d u a l hu ma n needs, as
wel l as t r a i n i n g i n gr oup dynami cs . He asserted t ha t the f u l l range of
g r a d u a t e ed u c a t i o n f r o m social psychol ogy t o devel opment a l ps ychol -
ogy to a b n o r ma l psychol ogy to n o n v er b a l c o mmu n i c a t i o n f o r ms an
u n p a r a l l el ed f o u n d a t i o n on whi ch f u r t h e r speci al i zed knowl edge can be
b u i l t .
Several c o n s u l t a n t s speci f i cal l y ment i oned cogni ti ve- behavi oral t r ea t -
ment as a u s ef u l g r o u n d i n g f or p er f o r ma n c e c ons ul t i ng. Dr. A l i c e A u s t i n
( bus i nes s ) comment ed t hat t he cogni ti ve- behavi oral t reat ment f r a me-
work of bot h qu es t i o n i n g and f i r m but c a r i n g c o n f r o n t a t i o n was an i m-
portant el ement of her present c o n s u l t i n g practi ce. Whereas he recog-
ni zed t ha t ps yc hodynami c , ex i s t en t i a l , or ges t al t t r a i n i n g mi ght be of use
f or certai n perf ormanc e c o n s u l t a t i o n s , Dr. Ja r r et t ( hi g h- r i s k ) noted t ha t
he f o u n d an excel l ent " f i t " between cogni ti ve- behavi oral t r ea t ment and
sport psychology and performance cons ul t i ng.
I n addi t i on to ha v i n g a t heoret i c al f r a mewor k f or assessi ng s i t u a t i o n s
and maki ng deci si ons, those t r a i n ed i n psychol ogy programs t ypi c al l y
l earn pa r t i c ul a r couns el i ng and t her a p y s ki l l s . Speci f i c s uba r ea s of k n o wl -
edge may be v i t a l as wel l . Dr. Br i a n Bel l , who does ext ens i ve c ons ul t i ng
t o f a mi l y busi nesses, said t ha t hi s t r a i n i n g i n f a mi l y t her a py, i n a d d i t i o n
to genera] c l i n i c a l experi ence, has been es s ent i al to hi s c ons ul t i ng suc-
cess.
257
258 WHA T C O N SULT A N T S X E I. D
Dr . i r d wa r d h -'va n s ( bus i n e s s ) m e n -
l i o n e d a n um i )e r o l u- l e va n t s k i l l s a n d
p e r sp e c t i ve s t h a i h e o bt a i n e d d ur i n g h i s
t r a i n i n g a s a be h a vi o r a l c l i n i c a l p syc h o l o -
g i s t : t r a i n i n g i n f un c t i o n a l b e h a vi o r a l
a n a l ys i s , i n d i vi d ua l i n t e r vi e wi n g a n d l i s-
t e n i n g , a n d a n i n t e r n sh i p e xp e r i e n c e i n -
vo l vi n g k n o wl e d g e o f g r o up fun c t i o n i n g
a n d i n t e r ve n t i o n .
T h o se c o n s ul t a n t s wh o se p r i m a r y
d e g r e e wa s i n t h e sp o r t sc i e n c e s o ffe r e d
a sl i g h t l y d i ffe r e n t p e r sp c c i i vc t h a n t h o se
t r a i n e d p r i m a r i l y i n p syc h o l o g y. C o n sul t -
a n t s suc h a s Dr . Li n d sa y ( h i g h r i s k ) a n d
Dr . Be n i o n ( b us i n e s s ) r e c o g m / c d t h e
i m p o r t a n c e o l t r a i n i n g i n p s yc h o l o g y but
a l so sa w t h e d i s t i n c t k n o wl e d g e ba se o f
e xe r c i se a r id ^p o r i sc i e n c e a s e s s e n t i a l t o
be c o m i n g a c o m p e t e n t c o n s ul t a n t . T h e y
sug g e st e d t h a t t h e i d e a l c o n s ul t a n t i s o n e
wh o h a s a n i n t e g r a t e d , s ys t e m a t i c f o un -
d a t i o n o l k n o wl e d g e i n e x e r c i s e sc i e n c e ,
p syc h o l o g y, a n d sp o r t p syc h o l o g y.
T h i s i j r s t e l e m e n t t h a i c o n s ul t a n t s
r e l y o n , t h e i r fo r m a l g r a d ua t e t r a i n i n g ,
p o i n t s t o a c o m m o n c o r e o f un d e r l yi n g
sk i l l s n e c e ssa r y fo r sp e c i a l i ze d c o n sul t -
ing. T h e se a r e t h e l o un d a t i o n a i buil d in g
b l o c k s o l s uc c e s s f ul c o n s ul t i n g . A s
Wi n st o n a n d Se x t o n ( 1 9 9 3 ) n o t e d , t h e
r e l a t i o n sh i p sk i l l s t h a t fo r m t h e ba c k bo n e
o l c l i n i c a l a n d c o un se l i n g p syc h o l o g y
p r o g r a m s a r e t h e n e c e ssa r y but n o t suf-
fi c i e n t c o n d i t i o n s fo r p e r fo r m a n c e c o n -
s ul t i n g . Be c a us e c o n s ul t a n t s ' wo r k
m o ve s be yo n d th i s g e n e r a l i st l e ve l , o t h e r t yp e s o l l e a r n in g se r ve u> a ug -
m e n t t h a t ba se .
A n i n d i vi d ua l c o n si d e r i n g p r a c t i c e e xp a n si o n wh o r e c o g n i /e s p a r -
t i c ul a r d e fi c i t s i n k n o wl e d g e o r e xp e r i e n c e h a s a n e t h i c a l o bl i g a t i o n t o
r e c t i f y t h e se d e fi c i e n c i e s. St r uc t ur e d p o si d e g r e e t r a i n i n g i s e sp e c i a l l y i m -
p o r t a n t l o r t h o se wi t h o ut a ba c k g r o un d i n p syc h o l o g y. It i s a l so use ful i n
d o m a i n s wh e r e fo r m a l t r a i n i n g e x i s t s , suc h a s i n t h e f i e l d s o f busi n e ss
c o n sul t i n g a n d c o a c h i n g . Fo r o t h e r p e r f o r m a n c e d o m a i n s, i t m a y be n e c -
e ssa r y t o e x t r a p o l a t e fr o m e x i s t i n g t r a i n i n g . Mo r e i n f o r m a l m e t h o d
If you c om e fr o m a p ur e l y [in d ustr ia l /
o r g a n iza tio n a l ] ba c kg r o un d with o ut th e
fa m il y syste m s o r ie n ta tio n , yo u m a y n o t
r e c o g n ize th at in a fa m il y busine ss, th e r e
a r e th e p robl e m s o f r e g ul a r busin e ss p l us
a fe w th at fa m il ie s "m a n ufa c tur e ." A n d
th e y are al ways m ixe d up toge th e r.
Som e tim e s th e r e is so m e d e fe n sive n e ss
[in th e c onsul tant]: "We ll, h ow are we
going to wo r k a r o un d th is? I am not
h e r e to take c a r e o f th a t fo r th e m ."
If you h ave wo r ke d a wh il e as a
th e rap ist, you know th at, as in th e rap y,
fa m il y m e m be rs don't a l wa ys want to
so l ve th e p robl e m . Th e y don't a l wa ys
give you th e str a ig h t sc oop , and
so m e tim e s th e y d o tr y to sa bo ta g e you,
or th e y se t it up in a way th a t m a ke s it
ve r y diffic ul t. By th e tim e you fin d out
about som e oth e r ke y fa m il y m e m be r s,
yo u've a l r e a d y sp e nt e nough tim e with
th e m th a t it is r e a l l y d iffic ul t to switc h
[fo c us to inc l ude th e n e w in fo r m a tio n ]
and be be l ie ve d. Fa m il ie s are fa m il ie s.
Th e y som e tim e s do a l ot of h urtful
th ings to e ac h oth e r.
-Dr. Br ia n Be l l
{c onsul tant, fa m il y busine ss)
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice 259
[Cognitive-behavioral training provided
a worldview that connects cognition,
emotion, and behavior], and that has
greatly colored who I am, the way I
operate, and the types of interventions
and ways that I work with performers.
You just cannot be effective unless
you're a good people person with terrific
working skills. Graduate school and
internship training improved rne a
thousandfold as a listener and a
counselor. There must be other factors in
there as well, but getting good training
as a counselor is going to increase the
odds of your being an effective
counselor in the real world. I think it's
enormously important in terms of
performance consulting.
I have had training in a lot of the
other areas of knowledge or expertise as
a postdoctoral professional. I've learned
to understand people's performance
patterns in relationship to their
nutritional habits, their fitness, their
sleep patterns, and so on either from the
__ Center or through some of the sport
psychology and sports medicine training
experiences that I've had. Similarly, a lot
of the training I've had in leadership
studies and teamwork has been
postdoctoral and has been tremendously
helpful in my consulting. I know that I
will continue to seek out new learning
experiences, because that's the only way
to keep improving.
Dr. John Jarrett (consultant, high-risk)
i n c l u d i n g perf ormance experi ence, i nde-
p en d en t s t u d y a nd r ea di ng, a nd l i f e ex-
p er i en c ema y prove v a l u a b l e to some,
as at t es t ed to by a n u mb er of the con-
s u l t a n t s i n t er v i ewed . By d ef i n i t i o n , these
a r e t a i l o r ed t o t he i n d i v i d u a l ' s knowl -
edge, b a c k g r o u n d , and t r a i n i n g needs as
wel l as the perf ormanc e doma i n. We of -
f er several exampl es of postdegree t rai n-
i ng below.
STRUCTURED,
POSTDEGREE TRAINING
For some, f o r ma l postdegree t r a i n i n g has
served to s uppl ement and expand con-
s u l t a n t s ' p r i o r knowl edge base. For ex-
a mp l e . Dr . Ma r c Ma r t i n ( mu s i c ) wa s
o r i g i n a l l y t r a i n ed as a mus i c i an, perf orm-
i n g , c o n d u c t i n g , a n d c o mp o s i n g . Fo r
h i m , t a k i n g c o u r s e w o r k i n n e u r o -
l i n g u i s t i c p r o g r a mmi n g ( NLP) , a n d t rai n-
i n g w i t h V i r g i n i a Sa t i r a n d Mi l t o n
Er i c k s o n were t he p a t hs t o p r o v i d i n g
c o n s u l t a t i o n to others. The ef f ecti veness
of combi ned i ma g i n a t i v e and p r a g ma t i c
i n t e r v e n t i o n s , s uch as those of Sati r and
Er i c k s o n , was al s o noted by Dr. Ki ng,
wo r k i n g i n a n en t i r el y d i f f er en t domai n
wi t h hi g h- r i s k perf ormers . Prac t i t i oners
i n t e r e s t e d i n p r a c t i c e ex p a n s i o n ma y
wa n t to gi ve special a t t en t i o n to these
resources, whi c h appear to have appeal
and di rect appl i c at i on to performers' con-
cerns.
Dr . J a r r e t t ( h i g h - r i s k ) d es c r i b ed
p o s t d o c t o r a l s t u d y i n l ea d er s hi p a n d
t e a m w o r k a s e s p e c i a l l y u s e f u l . Dr .
Ben t o n ( b u s i n es s ) and Dr. Dean ( b u s i -
nes s ) have bot h obt ai ned ext ens i ve t r a i n -
i n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e i n a f o r m a l ,
pos t degree f r e e - s t a n d i n g bus i nes s con-
s u l t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n . Dr . Dea n com-
meri ted t ha t t hi s o r g a n i z a t i o n - b a s ed t r a i n i n g f e l t c ompar abl e t o g r a d u a t e
school . "There i s cl assroom t r a i n i n g , f o r ma l men t o r i n g , obs ervat i on, ses-
si on t a p i n g a nd t hen f eed b a c k t he whol e n i n e yards . "
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Several c o n s u l t a n t s c o mmen t ed t ha t t h e i r o wn p er f o r ma n c e experi ence
wa s s i g n i f i c a n t i n p r ep a r i n g t hem f o r t he i r ev en t u a l c o n s u l t i n g rol e. Fo r
some, ea r l i er experi ence i n a p er f o r ma n c e d o ma i n evol ved i n t o pract i ce
l ocus . For ot hers , t he ex p er i en c e of wo r k i n g wi t h el i t e perf ormers i n
hi gh- pr es s ur e s i t u a t i o n s ha s provi ded t he f o u n d a t i o n f o r a p p l y i n g s ki l l s
i n new d o ma i n s .
The most s t r a i g ht f o r wa r d t r a n s f er of p er f o r ma n c e experi ence occurs
when one becomes a c o n s u l t a n t i n a domai n i n whi ch one has perf ormed.
The ma n y years Dr. Donna Des mond spent as a prof es s i onal bal l et danc er
i n f o r ms al l her work wi t h per f or mer s . The experi ence has provi ded i n-
s i ght s i n t o bot h t he i n d i v i d u a l i s s ues t ha t dancers f ace a n d t he s ys t emi c
i ssues of wo r k i n g i n the worl d of pr of es s i ona l dance. Dr. Ma r c Ma r t i n
( mu s i c ) c o mmen t ed on t he rapi d rapport t ha t c an devel op f r o m s uch
hi s t o r y : " I t hel ps i f y o u u n d er s t a n d p er f o r mi n g , u n d er s t a n d t he b a t t l e-
f i e l d c o n d i t i o n s , so t ha t i n a f ew moment s , the p er f o r mer can say, ' Oh
t hey k n o w wha t I ' m t a l k i n g a b o u t . ' "
Dr. Owen Osborne ( t he a t r e ) ci ted a n u mb e r of d i f f e r e n t i nt ers ec t i ons
wi t h t hea t r e p er f o r ma n c e t ha t assi sted i n hi s preparat i on f o r c o n s u l t i n g
wi t h act ors . He p er f o r med i mp r o v i s a t i o n s ! team comedy f or a n u mb er of
years . Through hi s wi f e ( an ac t or), he has been i nvol ved i n t he t hea t r i c a l
mi l i e u , whet her s i t t i n g i n on rehears al s , bei ng i nvol ved i n t hea t r e projects,
or i n soci al i n t er a c t i o n . These experi enc es were i n s t r u me n t a l i n t he de-
vel opment of hi s own c o n s u l t i n g model, one t ha t i nt egrat es el ement s of
p er f o r ma n c e a n d p s y c ho t her a p y .
On the road to bec omi ng a bus i nes s c o n s u l t a n t , Dr. Bel l ci ted the
i mpor t a nc e of hi s bus i nes s exper i enc e as a u n i v e r s i t y dea n. Hi s u n d er -
s t a n d i n g of both bus i nes s and bus i nes s c ons ul t i ng was t hen expanded
when he was asked to c o n s u l t wi t h the u n i v er s i t y ' s board of t rus t ees .
Wi t hi n an i n f o r ma l context i n whi ch he f el t respected and not u n d er
pres s ure t o p er f o r m, i t was possi bl e t o gai n cons i derabl e knowl edge t ha t
now serves as one of the f o u n d a t i o n s f or hi s c o n s u l t i n g pract i ce.
Dr. Cross ( b u s i n e s s ) el aborat ed on the i mp o r t a n c e of knowi ng the
worl d i n whi c h one i s c o n s u l t i n g . He descri bed hi s work wi t h a t hl e t i c
coaches:
At one t i me, I used to coach and t ha t ' s been i n v a l u a b l e.
Co a c hi n g has been muc h more v a l u a b l e t o me i n ma k i n g my
connections i ni ti al l y than my sport psychology credentials;
because [the coaches] know I know thei r reality. You don' t
have to know the intricacy or the strategy of the game, but you
have to understand what trai ni ng is all about and how hard it
is, and how someone is tryi ng to move someone out of their
comfort zone, getti ng them to stretch.
Performance experience can also i ncl ude the learning that is acquired
as a performance consul tant. General i zati on provides its own uni que
education, occurring in two ways: appl yi ng what one has learned in rela-
tively easy si tuati ons to more complex ones; and transferri ng knowledge
f rom one domain to another. For example, a sport psychologist typically
refi nes his or her consul ti ng talents and techniques by working with
amateur athletes. Consul tants have to prove their abilities with "low-
ri sk" si tuati ons before they are i nvi ted to work with "the crown jewels"
of performance. As Dr. Gates ( hi gh- ri sk) aptly explained, "I wouldn' t
want to run into a major NASCAR team and kind of fi gure it out as I
went. "
Several consultants whose original training and work was in sport
consultation told of busi nesspeopl e who sought their performance ex-
pertise, even before the consul tant recognized the possible link. Com-
menting on his own transition, for example, Graham Jones ( 2002) re-
cently wrote:
A number of years ago, when I was still a f ul l - ti me university
academic engrossed in research i nto the area of competitive
anxi ety and consul ti ng wi th elite athletes, I was approached by
a senior executive in a large global company. [He] was seeking
a sport psychologist who would give him an insight into the
psychology of coaching and implement a coaching intervention
that would help his al ready successful senior management
team to achieve even higher levels of performance, ( p. 268)
In his current work within the busi ness world, Dr. Cross emphasized
the similarities of role and f uncti on between his athletic experience and
the business si tuati ons in which he consults. He gains credibility by hav-
ing been a university athl eti c director. Businesspeople know that he un-
derstands what it's like to be an administrator and that he, too, has had
to manage staf f , do perf ormance appraisals, and f i re employees.
Dr. Frankl i n Fiske, a f ormer elite athlete, has enhanced credibility in
the business world because of his experience as a high-level performer:
You don' t have to have been a worl d class athlete to be a
successful sport psychologist; you don' t have to have been a
vice-president of a company to be a successful consulting
psychologist; but I thi nk it helps. Actually, I've been hired
261
several times because I was a worl d-cl ass ski racer. That
background seems to carry a lot of wei ght because they know
that I know what it's like to perf orm in hi gh- pressure
si tuati ons.
INFORMAL TRAINING
I nf ormal trai ni ng experi encessuch as l earni ng t hrough readi ng; expe-
riencing the domain; or being coached, mentored, or supervisedpro-
vide i mportant opport uni t i es f or gai ni ng prof i ci ency. The expa ns i on,
breadth, and depth of t hi s i n f o r ma l t rai ni ng allow the practi ti oner to
understand commonal i ti es across domai ns and gain specific knowl edge
wi thi n parti cul ar domai ns. A number of our consul tants commented on
the val ue of these experi ences in which they parti ci pated.
"For some, it's been a matter of readi ng. " Dr. Cross ( bus i nes s ) com-
mented. He said t ha t he applies less than 1 % of what he learned in g r a d u -
ate school to his current work, but has f ound it very hel pf ul to read broadl y
across a number of di sci pl i nes. Si mi l arl y, Dr. Dani el Dean( bus i nes s ) has
f o u n d reading to be i nstructi ve: "Just l i ke i n any other f i el d, the more
you work with people, the more you understand and recognize common
themes. Li ke ' Oh, that' s a common theme; that' s not u n i qu e to t hi s
person.' "
For some of his more recent work in hi gh- ri sk sports, Dr. Gates has
l earned i nf ormal l y t hrough using computer games to gain general i nf or -
mation and l earn some of the jargon specific to the sport. Si mpl y bei ng
curi ous and aski ng questions can be a remarkabl e source of i n f o r ma l
l earni ng. Dr. I ngram ( publ i c s af et y) said that "hangi ng out wi th these
people" is one of his pri mary modes of educati on. Dr. Li ndsay ( hi g h- r i s k )
learned i nf ormal l y through observi ng all phases of the t r a i n i n g program
with which he then consul ted.
Informal learning may also i ncl ude developing a network of colleagues
who can serve as a s oundi ng board, resource, or means of "peer consul -
tati on" when the consul tant encounters chal l engi ng si tuati ons. For ex-
ample, al t hough he obtai ned his doctorate 16 years ago, Dr. Fiske ( b u s i -
ness) t urns to two other well-respected practi ti oners "when I' m s t uck or
when I' m scared or when I don' t know what to do or when somethi ng is
a little over my head."
FORMATIVE LIFE EXPERIENCES
Successful consul tati on is more than the appl i cati on of knowl edge and
techniques; it i ncl udes the use of oneselfpersonality, val ues, and per-
spectivesall the things that are essential when one human develops an
aut hent i c rel ati onshi p wi th another. One cannot schedul e, predi ct, or
structure some of the s i gni f i cant l i f e events t ha t mold our bei ng and that
appear to be elements essential to the process of becoming an effective
consul tant.
Varying circumstances of f ami l y and development helped shape in-
di vi dual s to thei r current practice. These f ormati ve l i fe experiences com-
prised perhaps the most i nteresti ng category of training reported by our
consul tants. The specifics are varied; it is the commonality of having been
i nf ormed by these experiences that is themati cal l y constant. Consultants
have made use of these experiences in gui di ng their interests and devel-
oping a communi cated empathy with their clients.
For Dr. Bell ( f ami l y busi ness), consulting to fami l y businesses has
been i nfl uenced by havi ng grown up in a f ami l y business as well as his
own i n-depth psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Dr. Adams ( business)
observed that his own f ami l y and emoti onal stability have been an an-
chor in his work wi th others.
Dr. Kenneth King ( mi l i t ar y) mentioned a number of developmental
i nfl uences that shaped his subsequent comfort in working with the mili-
tary:
I was raised in southern Cal i f orni a on a f arm. I grew up with
guns. I' ve been shooti ng all my l i f e. I hunted when I was
younger. I was born in 1942, so when I was going to school,
there was still all of this patri oti sm. I got a lot of patriotism
instilled in me. I was in the Civil Air Patrol. I was in the
military. I studi ed the marti al arts. So, there is a lot of empathy
for the ki nds of thi ngs that [the mi l i tary] do.
He also spoke of the ways in which he uses his own experience to
empathize and af f i rm others' experience:
I' ve had my own f a i l u r e experiences, so I can certainly
empathi ze with the si tuati ons that people f i nd themselves in.
It's the abi l i ty to draw on those experiences and then generalize
them to what the other person is going through, but to do it in
a way which doesn' t sound l i ke "Oh, I know what you do
because I've done bigger things." Instead, it's doing it in a way
that af f i rms them and yet shows some sensitivity to what they
have to deal wi th.
In a si mi l ar manner, Dr. Colin Cross ( busi ness) deliberately has used
many aspects of his l i f e hi story as a way to connect with people and
increase credi bi l i ty:
The biggest t hi ng t hat has helped me is I have had a very broad
spectrum of experiences in my l i f e. Each of those has provided
me with the background that I need for di f f erent groups and at
di f f erent levels.
263
You connect with what you have goi ng for you and you
share that. Sometimes I' m in rural areas, and I make it very
clear that I come f rom a rural area. And when I'm in , I tal k
about how I used to live there. My background is worki ng
class. My f a t her worked 42 years underground in mines. I
spent my summers worki ng underground in mines. So when I
have to deliver the mental f i tness materi al to l aborersand I' ve
done this many, many times, in l unchrooms and other places
I'm able to do it in a way that they can accept. I speak t hei r
l anguage.
Dr. I ngram ( hi gh- ri s k) also grew up in a worki ng-cl ass envi ronment
and uses his experience to unders t and and connect with publ i c service
employees in hi gh- ri sk jobs:
I grew up in a bl ue-col l ar fami l y. I grew up usi ng my hands. I
grew up wi th a great deal of respect for entry-l evel personnel of
one ki nd or another. My dad was a plumber. I've al ways
respected the ski l l t hat people have, whether it's an el ectri ci an
or a carpenter or a plumber, a f i ref i ght er or a police of f i cer. I'm
j us t fasci nated by how people do thei r work. I can' t even count
the hours I' ve spent in patrol cars and f i rehouses. I don' t
pretend that I can do thei r job, but I do know enough about
the nat ure of thei r jobs by havi ng actual l y perf ormed those
ki nds of thi ngs wi th thei r help or watchi ng them do it.
Some consultants f i nd that shared character traits can form an entree
for "joi ni ng" and being accepted by perf ormers. In contrast to Dr. Cross
and Dr. Ingram, whose earl y l i f e experiences served as a f oundat i on for
empathi zi ng wi th the perf ormers wi th whom they work, Dr. Norri s ( mu -
sic) described his connection wi th musi ci ans as related to si mi l ar aspects
of personality. Al though he has not had any f ormal i nstructi on i n musi c,
he has a strong sense of creati vi ty. Another characteri sti c is a term he
takes f rom drama: "the abi l i ty to be a ' qui ck study. ' In worki ng wi th any
musi ci an, no matter what the genre, I pick up the nuances of the craf t , of
the art, and then can integrate t hat not only into how I tal k with them
but how I hear them. "
Serendi pi ty sometimes pl ays a major role in shapi ng the i nf or ma l
t r a i ni ng that l ater proves essenti al to performance consul ti ng. Up u n t i l
the age of 35, Dr. Marc Mart i n ( mus i c) was a prof essi onal musi ci an. "[I ]
got bored with pl ayi ng, and the way my l i f e was going. I decided t hat I
wanted to study the other arts. So I studi ed acting, dance, mi me, bal l et,
fenci ng, theatre di recti ngal l the theatre arts. " These broadened ski l l s
and abi l i ti es are central to hi s c urrent consul ti ng work.
265
The best preparation for me has been
working in a lot of different fieldsthe
television that I've done, working as a
psychology expert for a national
network for many years. That required
learning how to translate and do things
in different ways. The elected and
appointed positions that I've held in APA
have also involved watching what works
and doesn't in terms of teams and
effectiveness. Really listening and
learning from my clients' experience in
the business world. Modeling successful
behavior that I'm comfortable with in
terms of my own values.
I need to do something more than
just clinical work. I've done it for so long,
I want to do some other kinds of things. I
found that [business consulting] was a
really good application. Although I was
trained analytically, I'm very action
oriented, so it's a better fit for my
temperament to be able to have action
and identifiable results. It is a great
antidote to burn-out, and very
financially lucrative. It's allowed me to
work in partnerships with a lot of other
psychologists who 1 really like, so J don't
feel alone or isolated. We do certain
projects together but we don't have to
be encumbered by a business
partnershipwe are all working
together as independent contractors.
I can't teach anybody efse if I haven't
mastered the coaching skills myself. So
it's challenged me personally, and t like
that as well.
Dr. Claire Crown (consultant, business)
Assessing Competence
One of the ways of determi ni ng the "rel -
evant educati on" and "appropriate steps"
to becoming competent as a perf ormance
consul tant is to look at the ways in which
expert cons ul tants have developed thei r
own expertise. Another potenti al angl e
on the same questi on is to ask a some-
what projecti ve questi on: "How woul d
you assess whether a colleague was com-
petent to provi de such service?"
As the f i el d and practi ce of perf or-
ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n bec omes mor e
cl earl y def i ned, standards and gui del i nes
for assessing competence will undoubt -
edly be specified. For the present, our
consul tants suggested a number of meth-
ods of review. These may serve as a start-
ing point for evaluating whether one has
establ i shed competence. They i n c l u d e
f o r ma l trai ni ng, direct observation, out -
come, experience, personal characteris-
tics, and the presence of some f orm of
ethi cal consciousness.
FORMAL TRAINING-
KNOWLEDGE BASE
Formal t r a i n i n g was the most f r equ en t l y
men t i o n ed meas ur e t hat c o n s u l t a n t s
woul d use to eval uate a colleague' s com-
petence. Because consul tants noted t hei r
own f or ma l educati on as the f oundat i on
of t hei r cons ul t at i on preparati on ( men-
ti oned earl i er i n thi s chapt er), i t i s not
s urpri s i ng that they woul d start there i n
assessi ng others' competence. The mi ni -
mal cri teri on most commonl y cited was
ed u c a t i o n t ha t i n v o l v ed ps ychol ogy,
counseling, or psychotherapy.
266 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
The combination of athletic and format
course experience works for me in the
sports world. I was a runner-up for the
Olympic basketball team, Athletes realize
that you have been an athlete and can
relate. The best sport psychologists for
athletes have played competitive sports at
a pretty intense level.
I also had formal education in sport
psychology. I did not train myself [just] by
reading books. I took course work [on]
concentration, relaxation, anxiety, and
stress.
In the business world, f have spent over
ten years now at and that experience,
combined with my education is pretty
powerful.
When people come to our leadership
training program and I introduce myself, I
tell folks that 1 am a sport psychologist
who works in the area of consistent top
performance. Peoples' eyes light up and
they think, "Boy, I can't wait to learn
from her." I tell them, "This week while
you are here 1 hope to share some
techniques with you that will help you
develop yourself at work and teach you
how to develop other people. And if I
can, also help you with your kid's soccer
game."
So many workers ask me how to be a
better parent to their kid who is playing
tee-ball. It's incredible how people call
upon my sport psych in the athletic arena
while they are here for business
development.
Dr. Barbara Benton
(consultant, business)
The pragmati c stance of the l eader-
ship organi zati on where Dr. Dani el Dean
( b u s i n es s ) rec ei ved hi s p o s t d o c t o r a l
t rai ni ng i l l ustrates the importance of for-
ma l t r a i n i n g . Thi s o r g a n i z a t i o n ha s
mostly drawn its trainees f rom those al-
ready licensed in psychology. Al though
the organi zati on has turned to psychol-
ogy to obtai n competent practi ti oners,
Dr. Dean suggested t hat the "i mpl i ci t
prestige f actor" might actual l y be the de-
termi nant: "If you are going to present
yoursel f to corporations and executives,
havi ng those paper credentials can help
sell the product. "
It is si gni fi cant that this f ormal aca-
demic degree, al though necessary, was
not considered s uf f i ci ent. The specifics of
the addi ti onal trai ni ng vari ed, i n terms
of both practi ti oner and domai n. The
most di rectl y rel evant addi t i onal t r a i n -
ing was that of an MBA or its equi va-
lent, as suggested by some of the bus i -
ness consul tants. Even if a person does
not have formal postdoctoral training, Dr.
Dean suggested a consul tant may dem-
onstrate competence by developing some
f o r ma l system of ment ori ng, such as
worki ng wi th and being supervi sed by
someone wi th busi ness knowledge. As
noted earlier, consul tants whose ori gi nal
t rai ni ng was in the exercise and sport
sciences strongly recommended that per-
sons wi th clinical or couns el i ng back-
grounds , i nterested i n becoming sport
psychology consultants, need to demon-
strate mastery of the di sti nct knowledge
base of sport psychology.
R at her t han a specific ki nd of addi -
ti onal trai ni ng, a number of consul tants
spoke to a type of trai ni ng or experience.
For example, wi th a background in ki-
nesiology and c urrent work with hi gh-
risk performers, Dr. Leo Li ndsay empha-
sized the importance of the joi nt knowl edge produced by a background
in psychology and some area of appl i ed perf ormance. He cited musi c per-
formance as an example, indicating that it was the focus on performance
application that was key.
For Dr. Fiske ( busi ness), the isomorphism, or consistency, between
training and experience would be one means of measurement. Dr. Gates
( hi gh-ri sk) suggested that the knowl edge base s houl d i ncl ude ei ther spe-
cific knowledge or knowledge about knowledge: "Consul tants shoul d
have a thorough knowl edge of the fi el d and also know enough either to
understand the specific context or l earn about it."
In addition to formal trai ni ng credenti al s, a number of other factors
were suggested for assessing a consul tant' s competency. These include
some combination of direct observation, the consultant' s reputati on with
regard to outcome and experience, and personal characteristics of the
consul tant.
v-
DIRECT OBSERVATION
A number of consul tants i ndi cated that direct observation of the person's
work, perhaps through working together, would be the pref erred mode
of assessing competence. Dr. Marc Marti n ( mus i c) observed:
The best way of course woul d be j us t to watch them work. But
I think if I had a conversation wi th somebody about working
with performers, I woul d be able to get an i dea in a short time
of how they approach it, and how successful they would be,
just by their general at t i t ude.
OUTCOME
Probably the most pragmatic assessment of competence involves looking
at outcome: Does a consul tant' s ef f ort produce the desired results? Dr.
Adams ( busi ness) stated that the l ong-term outcome would be the most
si gni fi cant indicator: "I thi nk ul ti matel y the test is the pragmati c test over
time in the marketplace. "
Several interviewees suggested t hat outcome al one is not s uf f i ci ent ,
however. Dr. Jarrett ( hi gh- r i s k) recommended the combination of ef f ec-
tiveness plus positive feedback over time as critical factors. Dr. Evans
( business) shared thi s perspective and of f ered cl ari f i cati on of the impor-
tance of dua l cri teri a: both outcome measures and comfort with the con-
sul tant:
One kind of feedback is, how comfortabl e were you about the
i ndi vi dual and the person' s at t i t ude, and how the person
approached the client or situation? The other ki nd of feedback
267
i s, what were the outcomes? You can have a ni ce c o n s u l t a n t
who was j us t great and f r i en d l y and wo n d er f u l , but you had
t he f eel i ng t ha t n o t hi n g happened. A n a t hl et e I know r ec en t l y
tol d me, "Hel l , the psychol ogi st was okay and i nt er es t i ng, but I
don' t t hi n k I ' ve gone a n y wher e. " A s a r es u l t of t ha t , the
i n d i v i d u a l r ea l l y di dn' t wa nt t o s ee anybody. [ Bu t on t he ot her
ha n d ] , you can get somebody l i k e a Bobby Kn i g ht where
everybody says, "yeah, but l ook at hi s outcomes. " So y o u ' v e
got to deal wi th the other aspect: Not onl y are there
perf ormanc e outcomes, but how c omf ort abl e and how
reasonabl e i s the pers on?
EXPERIENCE
To assess competence, a n u mb er of c o n s u l t a n t s woul d al so wa nt to k n o w
t he a mo u n t of experi ence t he person had i n t hi s p a r t i c u l a r f i e l d wi t h
these p a r t i c u l a r k i n d s of perf ormers . For ex a mp l e, a l t ho u g h f o r ma l , s t r u c -
t ured t r a i n i n g mi g ht be opt i mal , Dr. Al i ce A u s t i n ( b u s i n es s ) suggested
vari ous other routes by whi ch someone mi g ht become a p er f o r ma n c e
c ons ul t a nt . It can t ake two to f i ve years for someone to become a capabl e
and competent o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d ev el o p men t a l psychol ogi st, but a person
mi ght be s u f f i c i e n t l y qu a l i f i e d to engage i n execut i ve c oac hi ng i f he or
she had a bus i nes s background as an engi neer or i n ma r k et i n g and t hen
obtai ned s k i l l s i n c ouns el i ng and coachi ng.
Dr. Desmond ( da nc e) emphasi zed t ha t merel y a t t en d i n g a works hop
or r ea di ng a book wo u l d not be s u f f i c i e n t exper i enc e to g a i n compe-
tency. To d et er mi n e compet ence, she wo u l d r equ i r e a revi ew of the
consul tant' s trai ni ng, background, and experience i n worki ng wi th per-
f ormers and dancers, as well as an i n t er v i ew wi th t hem.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Several c o n s u l t a n t s ment i oned t he i mport anc e of t a k i n g pers onal char-
acteri s ti cs i nt o account when assessi ng competence. Dr. A n d r ew A dams
( b u s i n es s ) , f or exampl e, noted t ha t f o r ma l cri t eri a do not al ways det er-
mi ne competency. I n several i ns t ances , he has f o u n d t ha t s el f - ed u c a t ed
people, wi t ho u t f o r ma l degrees, have been great c ont ri but ors . Dr. Gat es
( hi g h- r i s k ) comment ed on t he rel at i ve mer i t s of bei ng per s ona l l y ac-
qu a i n t ed wi t h prof essi onal s to whom he ref ers others, as compared wi t h
knowi ng t hem on paper onl y: "I woul d muc h r a t her r ef er to a person
than I would a certi fi cati on. But I would much rather refer to a person
with certification than one without."
Dr. Dean ( busi ness) suggested that a general assessment of personal
characteristics be a component of eval uati ng competence: "I would look
at some of the personal factors. I'd assess their personal characteristics,
their training, thei r intelligence, their flexibility, their confidence, their
fol l ow-through, whether they respond promptly to e-mail and phone
messagesthings like that."
Given the vari ous routes to working in performance consulting and
the ways in which individuals may decrease cognitive dissonance by ac-
cepting the validity of their own path, perhaps the most honest com-
ment was expressed by Dr. Owen Osborne ( theatre): "I have to say I
really would fi nd it di f f i cul t to know what to look for. I mean, actually I'd
look for somebody just like me."
Additional Ethical Concerns
269
The APA Ethics Code applies to psychologists' practice. Beyond issues of
competence and the maintenance of expertise, many of the other stan-
dards are broadly applicable to the f i el d of performance psychology. That
this is a relatively new fi el d doesn' t exempt the practitioner from these
standards; however, the manner in which the standards apply may di f f er
f rom more established areas, such as clinical psychology, organizational
consulting, or research.
Standards that pertain to scientific professional judgment, the nature
of psychological services, evaluation and assessment, privacy and confi -
dentiality, and avoiding harm may all be relevant. Here, we discuss these
and other concerns in terms of multiple role relationships, i nformed con-
sent, confidentiality, and organizational issues.
MULTIPLE ROLE RELATIONSHIPS
The ethical performance consul tant must be especially aware of the com-
plex area of multiple relationships. Expectations concerning consulta-
tion may vary f rom one performance cul ture to another and even within
performance settings. Where there is potential for blurring of roles, prob-
lems can arise.
This issue of multiple relationships has been discussed in sport psy-
chology (e.g., Ellickson & Brown, 1990; Whelan et al., 2002). Role con-
fusi on may occur because of a variety of circumstances: Sport psycholo-
gists may have vari ous roles wi thi n a system or may, because of t hei r
knowl edge base, have several areas of experti se. For exampl e, a sport
psychologist may have expertise i n both perf ormance enhancement and
the treatment of eati ng di sorders. Woul d i t be ethi cal for t ha t person to
treat the eati ng di sorder of a team member whi l e provi di ng services to
the team? The i denti cal di l emma may c onf ront a cons ul t ant to a dance
company. How shoul d the part i ci pant - cl i ent and the cons ul t ant - t hera-
pist relate to each other i n the two s i t uat i ons ?
Or consider the pragmati cs and dangers of the f ol l owi ng s i t uat i on:
Suppose that a performance organi zati on has obtai ned f u n d i n g for a publ i c
relations coordinator. They l earn of the possi bl e benef i t s of worki ng wi th
a perf ormance c ons ul t ant and t hey woul d l i ke to, but t hey have no f u n d -
ing. A performance cons ul t ant has an u n d er g r a d u a t e degree i n commu-
ni cati ons and worked i n publ i c rel ati ons pri or to ret urni ng to g r a d u a t e
school for t rai ni ng as a psychol ogi st. The organi z at i on woul d l i k e to hi re
the person to handl e both p u b l i c rel at i ons and serve as a perf ormance
resource for the organi zat i on. Is i t ethi cal for one person to perf orm both
of these complex roles?
As another exampl e of d i f f er en t norms, agai n us i ng the worl d of sports:
It is common practi ce for a sport psychol ogi st to t ravel wi th a team, of t en
shari ng meals and lodging, wi th consequent f r equ en t i nf or mal i nt erac-
ti ons with the athl etes. Many c ons ul t a nt s descri be these moments of i n-
formal i nteracti on as t hei r most ef f ec t i ve opportuni ti es f or i nt ervent i on.
As the athl ete comes to know the c ons ul t ant on a dai l y basi s and sees the
sport psychologist' s responses to a vari et y of l i f e s i t uat i ons , the c ons ul t -
ant gai ns credi bi l i ty and respect ( Van R aal t e, 1998). How does one bal -
ance the potenti al for role conf us i on i n such ci rcums t ances ?
Psychology has t r a d i t i o n a l l y advocated f a i r l y ri gi d s t andards regard-
i ng mul ti pl e role rel ati onshi ps. The norm f or convent i onal t her a py re-
stricts i nteracti ons to the f o u r wal l s of the consul ti ng of f i ce. I t i s d i f f i c u l t
to i magi ne an ethi cal psychotherapi st s ugges ti ng he or she accompany a
client to a ski resort to observe the cl i ent' s i nt eract i ons and of f er i mmedi -
ate "therapy on the slopes." Li kewi se, i t i s consi dered u n et hi c a l for a
psychologist to act in the dual roles of therapi st and s upervi s or to an
i ndi vi dual ; i t woul d general l y be consi dered unet hi c al to provi de t herapy
services to a f ri end. Suppose t hi s f ri end i s an emot i onal l y heal thy, worl d-
class performer, interested in becomi ng better at the process of audi t i ons .
Would i t be unethi cal to provi de perf ormanc e cons ul tati on? Few i f any
other professi ons expect such a s t ri ngent restri cti on of i nteracti on be-
tween provi der and client.
Newman, R obi ns on- Kurpi us , and Fu qu a ( 2002) have suggested t hat
i n the f i el d of cons ul t i ng psychology, mu l t i p l e rel ati onshi ps contai n the
potenti al for loss of objecti vi ty as wel l as expl oi t at i on of cl i ents. Yet, wi t hi n
consul ti ng psychol ogy, " d u a l r el a t i ons hi ps . . . | may] be more the norm
than the exception" ( p. 740). The very nature of extensive interactions
between professionals, each operating within his or her particular do-
main of expertise, may lead to the consultative relationship in the fi rst
place or may be necessary in order for ef f ecti ve consultation to occur.
The issue of the appropri ateness of a dual relationship hinges on
whether it ei ther ( a) i mpai rs a consul tant' s objectivity, competence, or
effectiveness in del i veri ng services; or (b) exploits or harms the client in
any way. The APA ( 2002) Ethics Code is explicit in declaring that "mul-
tiple relationships that would not reasonably be expected to cause im-
pairment or risk exploitation or harm are not unethical" ( p. 1065). In
each of the examples above, the ethical practitioner must weigh the merits
of a given si tuati on against these standards.
Perhaps even more challenging is this question: "Can a practitioner
ethically provide both psychotherapy and performance consulting ser-
vices to an i ndi vi dual ?" As with most ethical dilemmas, the issues in-
volved are complex and del i cate.
For example, consider a si tuati on in which a therapist is working
with an i ndi vi dual who is diagnosed as having a narcissistic personality
disorder. The i ndi vi dual routi nel y encounters di f f i cul ti es in interpersonal
relations both at home and at work. Al though the initial referral and
focus of therapy center on di f f i cul t y in social situations, the client is aware
that the therapist also provides performance coaching and specifically
asks for assistance at work. Can the therapist ethically provide both therapy
and coaching? The answer hinges on whether the practitioner is at risk
of exploiting the client.
The content of services is not at issue. Many forms of therapy, such as
strategic and solution-focused approaches, concentrate on improving one's
performance in social and busi ness settings. If a therapist has the appro-
pri ate trai ni ng and expertise, expandi ng the f ocus of treatment to in-
cl ude f ormal work on performance would seem both appropriate and
prudent . The focus is the same whether it is called "performance coach-
ing" or "an extension of therapy. "
The risk of ethical impropriety occurs, however, if the practitioner
uses a di f f erent fee structure for "consultation. " Consul tants typically
charge higher hourl y rates than do therapi sts. Shi fti ng charges for ser-
vices that might equally be seen as falling under the purview of therapy
can be interpreted as exploitation of the client ( Eri c Harris, personal com-
muni cati on, January 28, 2003)
A coaching rel ati onshi p is typically viewed as a business contract. In
marked contrast, a therapeuti c rel ati onshi p entai l s a special trust on the
part of the client and a corresponding responsibility of the therapist to
protect the client. The vul nerabi l i ty of the client arises from two di f f erent
aspects: the client's emotional f ragi l i ty and imbalances of power. This
i mbal ance of power can leave the client susceptible to undue influence
271
by the therapi st. The ethi cal therapi st is commi tted not to take advant age
of that trust. If there is a therapeuti c rel ati onshi p, one can never be cer-
tain if a client' s acceptance of a coachi ng contract is i nf l uenc ed by not
wanti ng to di sappoi nt the therapi st. In such ci rcumstances, the t herapi s t
is advised to ei ther address the perf ormance concerns as a part of the
therapy services or ref er the cl i ent to anot her person for coaching-con-
sul ti ng services.
What about provi di ng psychotherapy to a person for whom one pro-
vi ded performance cons ul t at i on? There woul d seem to be l i t t l e risk of
exploitation i n s hi f t i ng f rom consul tati on to therapy. However, the et hi -
cal therapist mus t consider whether hi s or her f unc t i oni ng woul d be i m-
paired by doing so: If I establish a special therapeuti c rel at i ons hi p wi th
this i ndi vi dual , can I s t i l l f unc t i on wi t h objectivity, competence, and ef-
fectiveness as a perf ormance consul tant? Will the cl i ent be abl e to re-
ceive perf ormance f eedback as ef f ecti vel y once the more i nt ens e t herapy
rel ati onshi p is establ i shed?
Our personal experi ence is t hat havi ng a breadth of s ki l l s and exper-
tise can be an asset in both consul ti ng and therapy. There have been
times when it was d i f f i c u l t to di s t i ngui s h between the process of perf or-
mance consul ti ng and therapy. There have also been ti mes when cl i ents
have cl earl y pref erred keepi ng perf ormance consul tati on and t herapy
separate. When in doubt, therapi sts are urged to err on the side of c au-
tion ( in this case, separation of servi ces).
Whet her t herapy and cons ul t at i on rel ati onshi ps a c t ua l l y d i f f er i s
undoubt edl y a subject for debate among professi onal s. Psychologists are
advi sed that even i f there i s no fee d i f f er en t i a l , engagi ng i n both act i vi t i es
s i mul t aneous l y may put one at risk of bei ng the subject of an ethi cal
compl ai nt by a di s grunt l ed pat i ent . The more vul nerabl e the pat i ent i s,
the greater the risk. This does not necessarily mean that one has acted
unethically; however, the exposure to criticism would be greater.
INFORMED CONSENT, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND
SERVICES PROVIDED TO ORGANIZATIONS
The i ntent of i nf ormed consent is to keep clients f rom f eel i ng betrayed.
When provi di ng any servi cestherapy, assessment, counsel i ng, or con-
s ul t at i onan ethi cal pract i t i oner makes known the reasonabl e ri s ks ,
benef i ts, and expectati ons, so the consumer can make an i nf or med deci-
sion in agreei ng to services. This issue is covered by Standard 3.10.
3.10 When psychologists conduct research or provi de
assessment, therapy, counseling, or consul ti ng services in
person or via electronic transmission or other forms of
communication, they obtain the i nf ormed consent of the
i ndi vi dual or i ndi vi dual s usi ng l anguage that i s reasonabl y
understandabl e to that person or persons except when
conducti ng such activities wi thout consent is mandated by law
or governmental regul ati on or otherwise provided in thi s Ethi cs
Code.
The consul tant and cl i ent shoul d be clear as to what services are be-
i ng provided, the f i nanci al charges, expectations regardi ng payment, and
gui del i nes for conf i denti al i ty. By bei ng explicit about expectations, a con-
sul tant establishes the f ounda t i on on which a trusti ng, collaborative re-
lationship is developed. Gui del i nes proposed by the APA I nsurance Trust,
an organi zati on designed to meet the i nsurance and f i nanci al security
needs of APA members, recommend t hat i nf ormed consent i ncl ude a
def i ni t i on of the goals and methods of consul tati on as well as a method
of measuri ng the outcome of these ef f ort s ( Harri s, 2002a).
An addi t i onal complication in consul ti ng rel ati onshi ps is the ques-
tion of who is consenti ng to the services. "A di s t i ngui s hi ng f eat ure of
consulting rel ati onshi ps is thei r t ri adi c nature" ( Newman et al. , 2002, p.
73 3 ). Across domains, many consul tati ve rel ati onshi ps i nvol ve decisions
made by one party or enti ty in power ( e.g., a manager, director, or super-
vi sor) about services of f ered by the cons ul t ant to another person or part
of the system. The specific APA s t andards regardi ng conf i denti al i ty ( St an-
dard 4) most clearly pertai n to rel at i ons between two i ndi vi dual s : the
psychologist and a client or research parti ci pant. In many perf ormance
consul tati on ci rcumstances, however, the "tri adi c nat ure" of the setti ng
and the s i tuati on i nvol ves a del i cate bal ance that necessitates spelling
out the nature and limits of conf i denti al i ty. Furthermore, as menti oned
in the context of mul t i pl e role rel ati onshi ps, d i f f er en t domai n cul tures
may have markedl y d i f f er en t atti tudes , bel i efs, and practices regardi ng
conf i dent i al i t y than those understood by psychologists ( Whel an et al . ,
2002). For example, a mi l i tary of f i cer may expect a cons ul tant to disclose
any condi ti on that might negati vel y af f ect a soldier' s perf ormance and
thereby put other team members at risk, whereas a conductor might be
appalled if any i nf ormati on about consultation with a member of the
orchestra were disclosed. It is cruci al lor the psychologist to cl ari f y the
exact nat ure of conf i denti al i ty pri or to engagi ng in the consul tati on pro-
cess.
The ethi cal practi ti oner mus t consi der compl exi ti es of power di f f er -
ential, payment, and, especially, conf i denti al i ty. Et hi cal practice i n such
ci rcumstances i nvol ves expl i ci t d ef i n i t i o n of the nat ure, expectati ons, and
boundari es of the consul ti ng rel ati onshi p, as stated i n St andard 3. 1 l ( a ) ,
Psychological Services Del i vered to or Through Organi zati ons:
3.11 ( a) Psychologists del i veri ng services to or through
organi zati ons provi de i nf ormat i on bef orehand to cl i ents and
273
when appropri at e those di rectl y af f ec t ed by the services about
( 1) t he n a t u r e and objectives of t he services, ( 2) t he i nt ended
reci pi ents, ( 3 ) whi ch of the i n d i v i d u a l s are clients, ( 4) the
rel at i ons hi p the psychol ogi st wi l l have wi th each person and
the organi z at i on, and ( 5) l i mi t s of c onf i dent i al i t y. A s soon as
f ea s i bl e, t hey provi de i n f o r ma t i o n a b o u t t he res ul t s and
c onc l us i ons of such servi ces to appropri at e persons.
ADVERTISING
The i ssue of advert i s i ng i s al so rel evant i n a devel opi ng f i el d . St andard
5. Of p er t a i n s to the Avoi dance of False or Deceptive Statements. In par-
t i cul ar, St andard 5. 01 ( b) states:
5.01 ( b) Psychol ogi sts do not make f al s e, decepti ve, or
f r a u d u l e n t s tatements concerni ng ( f ) thei r t r a i n i n g ,
experi ence, or competence; ( 2) t hei r academi c degrees; ( 3 )
t hei r credent i al s ; ( 4) t hei r i n s t i t u t i o n a l or associ ati on
a f f i l i a t i o n s ; ( 5) t hei r services; ( 6) the sci enti f i c or cl i ni cal basis
for, or resul ts or degree of success of, t hei r services; ( 7) t hei r
fees; or ( 8) thei r publ i c at i ons or research f i ndi ngs .
Thi s s t a n d a r d appl i es to al l areas of practice, al t hough i t may be d i f f i -
cul t to det ermi ne compl i ance i n a f i el d where speci fi c s t a nda r ds have yet
to be es t abl i s hed. From a l egal perspecti ve, psychol ogi sts cannot be ac-
cused of mi s l ea di ng others i f they a c t u a l l y provi de the services t hey cl ai m
to provi de and i f t hei r experti se i s credi bl e.
Dr. Fr a n k l i n Fiske ( b u s i n es s ) expressed concern about t he f l a s hy ex-
ecut i ve coach or the mo t i v a t i o n a l speaker who promi ses a qui ck f i x :
Compani es b r i n g these peopl e i n as moti vators , they t el l great
stori es, t hey ' r e en t er t a i n i n g , t hey get people psyched up, t hey ' l l
be in the room going, "Yes, let' s go, let' s go." The probl em is the
next day the part i ci pant s wake up and then it' s bus i nes s as
us ual because they di dn' t give t hem any tools. You can' t expect
change i n a t wo - ho u r workshop.
APPLICABILITY
Some prac t i t i oners have suggested t ha t because t hei r practi ce i s, f or ex-
ampl e, execut i ve coachi ng r a t her t ha n psychotherapy, the Ethi cs Code
does not appl y to them or t hei r act i vi t i es . In f act , the Ethi cs Code i s ex-
pl i ci t i n di s t i ngui s hi ng not onl y between psychologists' roles but also be-
tween psychol ogi sts' publ i c and pri vat e selves. The second paragraph of
the Et hi c s Code ( APA, 2002) states:
This Ethics Code applies only to psychologists' activities that are
part of their scientific, educational, or professional roles as
psychologists. Areas covered include but are not limited to the
clinical, counseling, and school practice of psychology;
research; teaching; supervision of trainees; public service; policy
development; social intervention; development of assessment
instruments; conducting assessments; educational counseling;
organizational consulting; forensic activities; program design
and evaluation; and administration. This Ethics Code applies to
these activities across a variety of contexts, such as in person,
postal, telephone, Internet, and other electronic transmissions.
These activities shall be distinguished f rom the purel y private
conduct of psychologists, which is not within the purview of
the Ethics Code.
By vi rtue of being licensed and members of APA, psychologists are
subject in all of their professional actions to the Ethics Code, even if, in a
parti cul ar role, they are not referri ng to themselves as psychologists. This
does not mean that psychologists must refer to themselves as psycholo-
gists. They can describe themselves, for example, as performance con-
sultants. The Ethics Code, nonetheless, applies to them and thei r activi-
ties. As there is variability among insurance companies, consultants should
careful l y review their practice l i abi l i ty policies with regard to coverage
for their coaching and consulting practices.
Putting It All Together
275
To f ul l y explore training, competence, and ethics in this chapter, we have
partitioned these di fferent aspects of performance consulting into sepa-
rate components. Al though this yields a clearer understandi ng of the
di f f erent parts, it is in f act the gestalt, the totality, that creates the trai ned,
competent, ethical practitioner.
To end thi s section, we share vignettes of specific work done by three
of our consultants. Each brings his own background and trai ni ng to work
with diverse populations. Each i l l ustrates the diverse ways in which prac-
titioners are moving f rom their al ready established areas of expertise into
new arenas of performance consulting.
Dr. Gates exempl i fi ed a sports sciences professor whose expertise as a
sport psychology consul tant led to work in hi gh-ri sk sports. In his "day
job," Dr. Norris provided therapy in a university counseling center. He
also consulted with rock bands. The trai ni ng staff of a few organizations
with high-risk professionals pursued Dr. Jarrett, trained in psychology
with a subsequent career in sport psychology consulting, to apply those
ski l l s to thei r domai n.
With a doctoral degree in sports sciences and training in counseling
techni ques, Dr. Gordon Gates has extensive experience in both research
and practice. Uni versi ty- based, he has consulted with elite athl eti c teams,
i ndi vi dual s , and organi zati ons for nearl y 20 years. About seven years
ago, he began worki ng with aut o raci ng dri vers and pit crews. His prag-
matic, nonpretenti ous style and recognition of his l i mi tati ons have been
central to his success. He provi ded the following example of the i nterpl ay
of these el ements f rom his consul tati on with a NASCAR team whose
dri ver had d i f f i c u l t y perf ormi ng af t er hi s wi f e l ef t him:
We went to di nner one ni ght and we ki nd of tal ked about it. I
said I am not a cl i ni ci an, blah, blah, bl ah. At one point he went
off to the restroom. He came out with wet handsthere were
no towel sand he di dn' t know what to do. And he ended up
f i na l l y gi vi ng up and j us t wiped them on hi s jeans. And I made
a comment to them l i ke, "Oh, we can dress him up, but we
can' t take hi m anywhere. " He l ater told the other guys that the
reason I got hi red was because I treated him l i ke j us t a normal
guy and he f el t pret t y comf ortabl e wi th that.
I worked real l y hard wi th hi m, and I thi nk I was ef f ecti ve.
We practi ced t hought stopping. We did af f i rmat i ons . Centeri ng.
And I was pretty scared because at t hat poi nt I hadn' t worked
in auto racing. I j us t had these visions of him hitting the wall.
But I was pretty smart wi th it. I tal ked to him about it and for
i nstance when we did thought stoppi ng, I would tell him the
techni que, but then I woul d ask him "Coul d you do t hat in the
car?" And then we tal ked about i t and then he tri ed i t, j us t
t aki ng it for a few laps. Then he tri ed it in a time tri al . Then he
tri ed it in a race.
We did a pilot testi ng protocol for almost all of the s t uf f we
did in the car. We did most of the s t uf f that you do with a
normal at hl et e who was havi ng t as k- i nt erf eri ng thoughts.
I di dn' t have any i l l us i ons t hat we were solving the
problem. We were doi ng triage, Band-Aidsbut he owned the
team and he coul dn' t qui t, or 50 people woul d have been out
of work. We had to hel p him get his head right in the car.
He was able to get in the car and not ki l l anybody. I got him
past the i mpasse of deal i ng with his wi f e. There is no doubt in
my mi nd t ha t I hel ped him there. But I coul dn' t help him on
the bigger i ssue. I ended up getti ng him back in counseling
wi th a marri age and f a mi l y therapi st.
Dr. Nick Norri s obtai ned a doctorate in counsel or educati on 30 years
ago. Professi onal l y, he is based in a uni ver s i t y counsel i ng center, but over
the years he has been i nvol ved in outreach to the musi c department of
his uni versi ty. Through his i nvol vement in presentati ons at musi c con-
ferences, he has also become known to a network of musi ci ans:
If you get beyond the i n d i v i d u a l perf ormer, whether it's a f l ute
section or any mus i cal group, you' ve got to take a look at "How
do we gel mus i cal l y?" and t hen "How do we gel professionally,
f rom a busi ness perspecti ve?" because those two go hand- i n-
hand if you' re goi ng to be successful out in the real musi cal
world. I t ake ki nd of a goal -setti ng, probl em-sol vi ng,
communi cati on approach. And then as I work with a group
along those l i nes, I start to see all thi s other s t u f f . I ndi vi dual ,
personal, mental heal th probl ems of a wide variety. I n d i v i d u a l
personal perf ormance problems, stage f ri ght , and so on.
One of my better consul ti ng jobs has been wi th a Grammy-
wi nni ng group. That' s j us t somethi ng that' s evolved over time.
It real l y has always been focused on hel pi ng them as a band, as
a f unc t i oni ng musi cal perf ormi ng group, l earn how to i dent i f y
goals, and how to do problem solving, and how to be a commun-
ity, on an organi zati onal -busi ness, as well as creati ve, level.
I haven' t worked with them as a group now probabl y for a
year. But there' s i ntermi ttent contact. Just last night I probably
spent 20 mi nut es on the phone wi th one of their major players,
hel pi ng hi m, coachi ng hi m. It's l i ke a corporate coaching
concept: coaching him as to "okay you' ve got thi s
communi cat i on probl em, how i n the hel l are you going to
solve it?" We brai ns tormed, and he came up wi th a way to
approach the rest of the group. But I also recognized t hat he
was really in a depressive ki nd of crisis. And knowing his long-
term hi story and s t u f f , I was abl e not only to help him
personally but also to help him f i g u r e out how to take thi s
perf ormance i ssue, busi ness- rel ated, back to the group where
he was j us t stopped solid.
What I f i nd really sati sf yi ng is seeing them take what I've
coached them on and put it into practice wi t hout me. So it
mi ght be about communi cat i on, whi ch gets all the way down
to paraphrasi ng and "I" statements and no assumpti on making.
Or goal setti ng. Or problem solving, in whi ch you coach them
on the process, and they put t hat i nto acti on in thei r rehearsals
or busi ness meetings or perf ormances. And to know that
they' re also becoming i ncreasi ngl y more sensitive about the
277
i n t er p er s o n a l s t u f f t ha t goes wi th bei ng a mus i cal group, where
they can be sensi ti ve to each other, not j us t as musi ci ans, as
band- mat es , as bus i nes s partners, but also as people.
Shortl y a f t er obt ai ni ng hi s doctorate i n counsel i ng psychology 1 5 years
ago, Dr. John Ja r r et t became one of the f i r s t of the current wave of psy-
chol ogi st prac t i t i oners hi red f or a p er ma n en t posi ti on worki ng wi th el i t e
at hl et es . Approached by a d mi n i s t r a t o r s i n hi g h- r i s k prof essi ons to adapt
some of his sport psychol ogy work to t hei r areas, he has now developed
experti se i n worki ng wi t h ai rl i ne pi l ots, SWAT teams, and nuc l ear en-
ergy workers:
I' ve been f oc us i ng on getti ng nuc l ear energy techni ci ans and
engi neers ready for an exam t ha t i s pretty ri gorous i n terms of
the qu a n t i t y of the ma t er i a l t hat t hey s t udy and the qu a l i t y of
t hei r knowl edge. They' ve been a dopt i ng a d i f f er en t perspecti ve
where certai nl y the content i s s t i l l of p a r a mo u n t i mportance,
but al so a l ot of a t t ent i on i s pai d to t r a i n i n g t hem for the exam
process.
They have t r a i n i n g f aci l i t at es at these pl aces t ha t are j u s t
unbel i evabl e. They coul d s i mul a t e the control room; t hey had
complete mock re- creati ons of the room t hat the nuc l ea r
engi neers si t i n when they are moni t or i ng the pl ant. I t goes
ri ght down to the same i ndi cat ors and vi s ual f eedback
mechani sms and al l t he di al s and knobs and but t ons , t hey' re al l
there. In t erms of s i mu l a t i o n , it' s even better t han what we
woul d u s u a l l y have avai l abl e even f or el i te at hl et es . We d i d n ' t
have to rel y nearl y as muc h on i magery work; we could j u s t
wal k i nto these recreat i ons .
What was real l y i nt eres t i ng to me was t hey have these
f a nt a s t i c resources f or concent rat i ng upon the emoti onal ,
cogni ti ve preparat i on of the i n d i v i d u a l s , but t hey di dn' t use i t
f or t hat . They used i t f or two purposes: They gave them as
compl i cated scenari os as they coul d to chal l enge them al l the
ti me, to keep t es t i ng t hei r knowl edge. Also, there was supposed
to be a general u n d er s t a n d i n g t ha t "Let' s make i t as s t r es s f ul as
we can; the more stress we put t hem under, the better t hey wi l l
be prepared for the exam. " But wi t ho u t the connecti on of: Let's
give t hem coping ski l l s as well, so t hat wi th the hi gh level of
stress we' re p u t t i n g t hem under, we' re also teachi ng t hem how
to handl e i t.
A l ot of my work has real l y i nvol ved c ha n g i n g t hei r
t r a i n i n g program. It's someti mes not as i mmedi at el y g r a t i f y i n g
as the sport psychology work, because you have to know the
s i t u a t i o n i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n f a i r l y wel l bef ore you can s t art
being effecti ve. But the work I' ve done over the years with the
nucl ear energy i ndustry is somethi ng that I've f el t really good
about. I certai nl y know they' ve been extremel y pleased with
the results.
Recommendations
to Consultants
279
Based on the comments of our expert consul tants, our expert performers
( as described in earlier chapters), and our own experience, we would
make the fol l owi ng speci fi c observati ons and recommendations with re-
gard to trai ni ng, competence, and ethics in perf ormance psychology:
I Successful performance consul tants i dent i f y the fol l owi ng elements
as central to becoming competent in the f i el d: f ormal academic
training, structured postdegree trai ni ng, performance experience,
i nf ormal trai ni ng ( e.g., reading, being mentored, peer consulta-
tion or vol unteeri ng i n the perf ormance domai n), and f ormati ve
l i fe experiences.
i Unti l the advent of specific graduate programs in performance psy-
chology, it is unl i kel y that any current graduate trai ni ng will pro-
vide the breadth of knowl edge requi red for competent practice.
Individuals shoul d assess their areas of competency and seek supple-
mental trai ni ng to remedy any defi ci ts.
I Performance experience, whether in the relevant domain or trans-
f erred from a di f f er ent domai n, i s hel p f u l .
I Knowledge of the rel evant domai n, whether t hrough experience
or learning, is essential.
I At present, no f ormal standards exist for assessing competence in
performance consulting. I nf ormal s t andards by which others weigh
competency and credi bi l i ty i ncl ude one's f ormal academi c and
postdegree trai ni ng, direct observati on of one's work and interac-
tions wi th others, the outcome of one's consul ti ng ef f orts, the ex-
perience and personal characteristics that one bri ngs to the con-
sul ti ng context, and prof essi onal af f i l i at i on with an organi zati on
that mai nt ai ns a code of ethics for practice. It is especially impor-
tant to recognize the l i mi ts of one's abilities and not to practice
beyond one's area of competence.
i Documentati on of trai ni ng and the means by which one estab-
lishes competency are i mportant, not only to ensure qual i ty of
service, but also for effecti ve risk management. Substanti ated train-
i ng and knowl edge can set the context for recogni zi ng the
consul tant' s competence.
Un t i l s peci f i c g u i d el i n es f or per f or ma nc e c ons ul t i ng a r e es t abl i s hed,
t he reasonabl e steps and rel evant educ at i on r equi r ed are d ef i n ed
by the " pr eva i l i ng prof es s i onal j u d g men t of ps ychol ogi s t s engaged
i n s i mi l a r a c t i v i t i es i n s i mi l a r c i rc ums t anc es " ( APA, 2002, p. 106 1) .
I n t hi s regard, the experi ence and educ at i on of other p er f o r ma n c e
c o n s u l t a n t s , not mer el y one' s g en er a l i s t peers, wo u l d f o r m t he rel -
evant ref erence g r o u p .
I nt eract i on between p er f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t s and c l i ent s may oc-
cur i n a v a r i et y of setti ngs o t her t han an of f i c e. Pr a c t i t i oner s are
advi sed to be p a r t i c u l a r l y a t t u n e d to i ssues of c o n f i d en t i a l i t y and
mu l t i p l e rol e r el a t i ons hi ps . I n consi deri ng a change of v en u e, s h i f t
i n f ocus , or any v a r i a t i o n of i n t er a c t i o n s t hat may al t er t he rel a-
t i ons hi p wi t h t he c l i ent , one mu s t ens ure t ha t t he change n ei t her
( a ) i mp a i r s or d i mi n i s hes one' s prof es s i onal f u n c t i o n i n g nor ( b)
possi bl y expl oi t s or harms t he c l i ent .
Engagi ng s i mu l t a n eo u s l y i n ps ychot herapy and perf ormanc e con-
s ul t at i on wi th an i n d i v i d u a l i s not unet hi c a l as l ong as the above
condi ti ons are met. Nonethel ess, practi ti oners s houl d be a dvi s ed
that such acti on may put t hem at greater ri sk for a c ompl a i nt by a
di s cont ent ed c l i en t . The a mo u n t of ri sk i s di r ec t l y rel at ed to the
emot i onal v u l n er a b i l i t y of the cl i ent.
Perf ormance c ons ul t ant s s houl d prepare wri t t en ex p l a n a t i o n s of
practi ces, fees, and pol i ci es to c l i ent s as a ma t t er of i n f o r med con-
sent.
When c o n s u l t a t i o n i nvol ves t hi r d parti es , such as a r ef er r i n g ma n -
ager or s upervi s or, t he g u i d el i n es f or c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y s houl d be ex-
p l i c i t l y d ef i n ed and c l a r i f i ed wi t h al l part i es pri or t o c ommenc i ng
servi ces.
As practi ti oners vi e l or busi ness i n thi s new and s t i l l evol vi ng area,
special a t t en t i o n i s r equ i r ed to ac c urat el y represent one' s s k i l l s ,
abi l i t i es , and experi ence.
Whet her t hey provi de c ons ul t at i on, coaching, or t herapy, psychol o-
gists are subject to al l aspects of the APA Ethi cs Code, i n al l aspects
of t hei r prof es s i onal work.
T h e C o n s u lt a n t
a s P e r f o r m e r
It is not what you know t hat is import ant ; it is what people do wit h what
you know.
Old gr andf at her saying
hroughout the process of interviewing part icipant s and t hen writing this
book, we have reflected on the ideaboth metaphor and act ualit yt hat
the consult ant is a performer in his or her own right. As we came to
underst and the experiences of bot h performers and consult ant s, we were
increasingly aware that the informat ion which focused on those we des-
ignated as performers was equally applicable to those who t ake on the
role of performance consultant. In this f i nal chapter, we at t empt to syn-
thesize and reflect on some of the primary observations t hat have been
gathered t hrough the course of our work.
Successful performance consult ing poses a special challenge. As an
evolving field, it requires t hree levels of knowledge (Terenzini, 1993):
foundat ional or basic knowledge; specific knowledge of the performance
domain; and cont ext ual intelligence.
These levels of knowledge to some degree move from general to spe-
cific competencies. Among t he f oundat i onal skills, we have ident ified
five essential areas of knowledge t hat consult ant s learn t hrough formal
coursework and t raining: relat ionship skills, change skills, knowledge of
performance excellence, knowledge of the physiological aspects of per-
formance, and knowledge of syst ems consult at i on. Domai n- speci f i c
knowledge must be built on this f oundat i onal knowledge. One also must
have "contextual intelligence" to underst and the systemic principles and
interactions within a specific consult at ion sit uat ion.
Knowledge and skills in these t hree core areas are not sufficient , how-
ever; consultants must also have a number of the performance skills and
281
competencies t hat we have discussed in the preceding chapters: They must
be able to present themselves effect ively and efficient ly to apply the knowl-
edge that t hey have. They must be excellent performers themselves.
Foundational Skills
The five f oundat i onal skills described below are gained t hrough gr aduat e
t r ai ni ng or supplement ar y lear ni ng. Lear ni ng can occur t hr ough f or mal
classroom lectures, readings, or on-line resources. Some of the skills should
be act ively pract iced under supervision in order for t he consult ant t o
become compet ent .
BASIC RELATIONSHIP OR COUNSELING SKILLS
Relat ionship skills are essent ial to develop rapport . It is import ant to be
able to list en and convey empat hy and support . Research has indicat ed
t hat the qualit y of counselor-client relat ionship is the best single predic-
tor of out come in counseling and t her apy (Whist on & Sexton, 1993). We
conclude t hat these skills are critical t o effect ive consult ing as well.
One of the most succinct descript ions of t his issue t hat we heard was
from Dr. Jarret t . He reflect ed on si t uat i ons in which he had been called
in, following unsuccessf ul work by anot her consult ant :
Sometimes I get caught in sit uat ions where anot her
psychologist has alr eady been in t her e and f ai led. A common
t hread of why t hey failed of t en seems to be t hat they di dn' t
establish a human relat ionship wit h people. They were aloof or
noncommunicat ive or unresponsive to the needs of the people
whom t hey were wor ki ng wit h. I've usually heard, "Oh, such a
smart person; he really knew his st uf f , but we just couldn't
work wit h him."
A successful consult ant must be able t o i dent i f y bot h t he st rengt hs
and t he nat ure of di f f i cult i es t he client want s t o address. In some si t ua-
t ions, t his assessment may require f or mal evaluat ion, i ncludi ng t he use
of a bat t ery of inst rument s. For others, observat ion and i nt er vi ew pro-
vide adequat e informat ion for t horough assessment. In all cases, t his evalu-
at i on should be rapid, t horough, and ef f i ci ent . Depending on t he par-
t i cular area of performance, it will be crit ically import ant to di f f er ent i at e
between di f f i cul t i es caused by basic limit at ions (e.g., anat omy or abi l i t y)
and those relat ed t o ment al or emot ional fact ors.
Basic counseling skills are a cornerstone of consult ing. Three skills
are especially import ant : being able to successfully est ablish a positive,
The Consultant as Performer
t rust ing relat ionship; being able to accurat ely assess a given sit uat ion;
and being able t o design i nt er vent i ons t o help bring about change.
SKILLS FACILITATING CHANGE
The combination of basic counseling skills and accurat e assessment pro-
vides a f oundat i on for designing and implement ing int ervent ions. Con-
sult at ion is premised on t he assumpt i on t hat an i ndi vi dual or group in-
t ends to ef f ect change in order to improve. Under st andi ng the processes
of change (Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClement e, 1994) provides the con-
sult ant a f r amewor k for assist ing ot hers. Alt hough it is not impossible for
a performance consult ant to t hi nk in psychodynamic terms or use a non-
direct ive style, feedback f r om successful consult ant s and performers alike
suggests t hat direct ive, solut i on- or i ent ed models fit more readily with
the needs of per f or mance consult at ion. Training in cognit ive approaches
is especially helpf ul, as is a grounding in the principles of positive psy-
chology.
KNOWLEDGE OF PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE
Our interviews suggest t hat the knowledge base of li t er at ur e, research,
and principles of applied per f or mance enhancement int ervent ions wit h
athletes is widely applicable to nonat hlet ic areas of performance. Alt hough
sports analogies may not be appropriat e in every domain and venue, t he
core concepts and the ext ensive and syst emat ic research in applied sport
psychology are simply too valuable to ignore. Hist orically, t his knowl-
edge base has not been part of the t r ai ni ng of psychologists. Psychology
has focused more on the diagnosis and t r eat ment of psychopat hology.
This deficit focus provides both a mar kedly di f f er ent i nf or mat i on base
and perspective f r om t hat of at t endi ng t o and nur t ur i ng excellence.
Knowledge of per f or mance enhancement has evolved pr i mar i ly in
depart ment s of kinesiology, physical educat i on, and sport and exercise
sciences. Rat her t han at t empt ing t o "re-invent t he wheel," or worse, in-
appropriately apply pat hology-based concepts, consult ant s are advised
t o do t heir homework and become f ami l i ar wit h t he available li t er at ur e.
Not to do so is at best naiveand more likely, inappropriately arrogant.
KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
OF PERFORMANCE
Psychology as well as t he ot her counseli ng professions typically mai n-
t ains t he Cart esian mind-body dichot omy. Knowledge of relevant as-
pects of the physiology of performance is a critical skill for consult ant s.
Maslow (1968) recognized t he hi er ar chy of needs on which human f unc-
283
t i oni ng rest s. As we have described here, nei t her a surgeon nor a t alk
show host can per f or m opt i mally wi t hout s uf f i c i ent sleep; issues such as
t he gr i p on one's vi oli n or t he possi bi li t y of correct " t ur n- out " in ballet
are rooted in our anat omy. A compet ent per f or mance consult ant should
have a basi c wor ki ng knowledge of physi ology ger mane t o t he per f or -
mance set t i ng and seek addi t i onal c ons ul t at i on as needed.
KNOWLEDGE OF SYSTEMS CONSULTATION
Per f or mer s do not act in i solat i on. I t is t he i n d i v i d u al in t he cont ext of his
or her p ar t i c ul ar per f or manc e mi li eu t hat is of relevance t o t he consult a-
t ion i nt er act i on. Cons ul t ant s may gai n a gener al under s t andi ng of t he
i nt er act i on bet ween t he i n d i v i d u al and t he syst em t hr ough knowledge
of f ami l y syst ems, or t hr ough t heories and pract ices of c ons ul t at i on or
coaching.
Recent ly, per sonali t y t heor i st s have begun t o address t hi s complex
area as well. I n par t i cul ar , Mischel and Shoda ( 1 9 9 5 ) developed a f r ame-
work, t he c ogni t i ve- af f ec t i ve per sonali t y syst em ( CAPS ) , t o describe t he
i nt er ac t i ve q ual i t y of person and syst em. They suggested t hat t here are
pr edi ct able element s t o i ndi v i dual s ' percept ions, expect ancies and be-
li ef s, af f ect s, goals and val ues, and sel f - r egul at or y processes. This "i f - t hen"
i nt er ac t i on of Person x S i t uat i on allows for a par t i cul ar "behavioral sig-
nat ur e. " Sport psychologist Ronal d S mi t h ( 20 0 2) has looked at t he CAPS
perspect ive in r elat i on t o t he sport envi r onment . He has consi der ed ap-
pl i c at i ons t hat per t ai n t o sport per f or mance anxiet y, b ur nout , achi eve-
ment goal t heory, and under s t andi ng of t he i ndi v i dual at hlet e. The CAPS
model of f er s anot her f r amewor k f or c ons ul t ant s at t empt i ng t o navi gat e
t he i nt r i caci es of per f or mance set t i ngs.
Domain-Specific Knowledge
Domai n- speci f i c knowledge is acqui r ed in a var i et y of ways: t hr ough one's
own act ive i nvol vement in t he domai n or t hr ough absor pt i on of t he cul -
t ur e by means of f or mal or i n f o r mal l ear ni ng. Knowledge of consul t at i on
ski lls i n speci f i c domai ns varies widely: Consi der able i nf or mat i on exist s
about execut i ve coaching, wher eas i nf or mat i on on consult i ng wi t h mod-
ern dancer s is at best nascent .
Among t he people we i nt er vi ewed, t here was not a consensus as t o
how muc h knowledge of a specific per f or mance domai n is r equi r ed in
or der t o est abli sh cr edi bi li t y. Most per f or mer s, t hough not al l , would want
a consult ant who had act ual l y worked eit her in t heir specific domain or
a comparable performance domain. On the other hand, some of our con-
sult ant s felt t hat performance was universal and that domain-specific
knowledge was not necessary. Having participated in a part icular perfor-
mance domain may not be required, but three things are critical:
First, an effect ive consult ant must at the very least have an apprecia-
tion for and int erest in the part icular performance domain. A pacifist
attempting to consult with the military, or an individual who finds ballet
a waste of time, will have a short -lived career consulting in those areas.
Second, the consult ant must have respect for performers in the spe-
cific domain. Respect moves beyond appreciation and int erest . It means
acknowledgement of the challenges and difficult ies that the performer
faces on a daily basis. This is a cornerstone of being able to develop empa-
thy with any individual. Respect also encompasses an understanding of
the domain in addit ion to the person.
Third, for success it is critical to be able to speak the language of the
specific domain. Each domain has a history, language, and cult ure. Con-
sulting can be considered an experience in cult ural immersion. The ef-
fective consult ant makes the ef f or t to learn the language and t ake re-
sponsibilit y f or ef f ec t i ve communi cat i on, rat her t han expecting t he
performer to learn the consultant's language.
285
Contextual Intelligence
Successful consultation involves more t han knowledge of technical skills
and techniques. It includes knowledge of the implement at ion of change
wit hin a given system. It requires an underst anding of the context in
which one operatesknowing what works with which persons in what
sit uat ions. It is more t han knowing what to do; it is knowing how to get it
done. Cont ext ual intelligence is both a sensitivity to the uniqueness of
the particular situation and an acquired skill.
Inst it ut ional researchers (Terenzini, 1993) and contemporary intelli-
gence theorists (Davidson & Downing, 2000; Sternberg, 1985, 1997;
Wagner, 2000) have associated cont ext ual intelligence with "practical
know-how t hat rarely is formally described or t aught directly" (Wagner,
1987, p. 383). It is the skill t hat is most closely associated with wisdom
and practical knowledge, and it has been shown to be the best predictor
of success in act ual performance situations (Sternberg, 2000). It reflects
"organizat ional savvy and wisdom" (Terenzini, 1993, p. 6).
Successful consult ant s recognize the importance of knowing both the
formal and informal st ruct ure of an organizationthat is, knowing who
has the power to influence decisions and "the way the system works."
2 8 6 WH A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
Understanding the system is critical for interventions, whether with in-
dividuals, groups, or systems.
An example of the applicat ion of cont ext ual intelligence relat es to
the issue of domain-specific i nf or mat i on. The savvy consult ant t reat s each
domain as uni que and goes t hr ough a process of i nqui r y and l ear ni ng.
Even if lit t le or no new i nf or mat i on is ant i ci pat ed, it is st ill i mpor t ant to
go t hr ough the process, because performers generally believe it is impor-
t ant . Regardless of whet her new i nf or mat i on is gai nedand usually, it
will bethe per f or mer will be more recept ive t o feedback and sugges-
t ions if he or she feels t hat the uni que aspects of the si t uat i on have been
f ully considered and appreciat ed.
Gaining cont ext ual int elligence has oft en been considered a t acit pro-
cess, learned indirect ly t hr ough experience. Systems t heory ( Bat eson,
1972; Brown & McDaniel, 1995; Wynne et al., 1986) of f er s a model for
assessing organizations and developing cont ext ual "maps," t hereby has-
t ening the learning curve. A consult ant is well on the way to developi ng
cont ext ual int elligence if he or she lear ns t he language wi t hi n t he sys-
tem; t he st r uct ur e, processes and pat t erns; t he means of i nf l uenc e wi t hi n
t he system; and basic at t i t udes and values.
You 're On
Merely having knowledge is not necessarily equi valent t o good consult a-
tion. A consult ant must be able to engage the client and deli ver advice in
a f ashi on such t hat t he client want s t o par t i ci pat e in t he process. When a
consult ant ent ers t he arena, he or she is essent ially an unknown q uan-
tity to whom at t ribut es will rapidly be ascribed. The client is likely to
imput e certain charact erist ics on the basis of prior concept ions or exper i -
ence wit h consul t ant s. These assumpt i ons usual l y ar e r e- ev al uat ed
t hr oughout t he i ni t i al cont act . They can easily make or break t he con-
sult.
As superficial as it may seem, one's physical appearance and presen-
t at ion set t he stage for eit her ef f ect i ve or i nef f ect i ve consult at ion. Of t en,
init ial appearance creat es an i nst ant aneous impression r elat ed t o t he
client's assumpt ion of credibilit y. A casually at t i r ed consult ant may bomb
in a business setting. Wearing a conservative three-piece sui t can be equally
disast rous for consult ing in t he creat ive world of r adi o. Dr. Gates's i nf or -
mal, humorous put - down of a stock car racer created the oppor t uni t y for
effect ive, t rust ing consult at ion. A per f or mer f r om anot her set t ing might
feel of f ended and "dissed."
Other consultant characteristics also were considered import ant , at
least in terms of i ni t i al impression. The per f or mer s we i nt er vi ewed uni -
versally agreed t hat older consult ant s are generally perceived as more
experienced and more credible. Having a "good voice" is important. Atti-
t ude is a crucial factor, as one want s to be alert, attentive and listen with
respect. Being able to "speak" the language and engage in a collaborative
fashionfundament als of good consult at ion methodwere highlighted
by performers. Our interviews indicat ed t hat it is important to present a
pragmat ic at t i t ude t hat dispels the t radit ional image of a psychologist. An
action and solut ion-orient ed at t it ude is a plus; psychodynamic interpre-
tations, solicit ous "mmm-hmms", and nondirective reflection may be of
little benefit or even damaging.
It is import ant to come across as knowledgeable and confident, yet
equally important to admit what one does not know. It is far more ac-
ceptable to confess ignorance than attempt to bl uf f , deceive, or "oversell"
one's knowledge and abilit ies. The client will soon recognize the decep-
tion, at which point all credibility is lost.
Int egrit y is essential for credibility and, hence, effect ive consultation.
This means behaving in a fashion t hat is isomorphic with the principles
and models t hat one proposes. This pointpracticing what one preaches
was recognized and emphasized by consult ant s more often than by per-
formers. If you advocat e applying specific mental skills for peak perfor-
mance, you want to have clear goals and a specific game plan. You will
use imagery to prepare for the consult at ion, practice relaxation tech-
niques to manage your own physical activation, notice and direct your
concent rat ion, and assess and manage your self-t alk. If you advocate
balancing work and personal life, your life should reflect a comparable
equilibrium. Business consult at ion oft en focuses on the style of interac-
t ions t hat t he client has wit h co-workers or subordinat es. Thus, t he
consultant's isomorphic behavior may be especially crucial for business
consult ant s.
Engaging the client is the essence of your performance as a consult-
ant . It is a dance in which all of your knowledge, all of your skills, and
the essence of being int ermingle arid interact within the encounter with
your client. It is the moment when you' re on, consulting for peak perfor-
mance.
287

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