Austin Swain
Director, Research & Product
Click here to download a PDF of this profile
Austin's approach to people and organisational development is drawn from an elite performance and sport psychology background. Combining this heritage with extensive experience in the commercial world, Austin specialises in leadership development for senior executives and teams. As Director of Research & Product, Austin is also responsible for ensuring that Lane4's product offerings and consultant delivery are cutting edge.
Leadership and Team Development
Central to Austin's approach is enabling leaders to act as inspiring role models within their organisations. He has designed and implemented programmes to ensure that leaders are able to provide vision, support and challenge to their teams at all stages of the business cycle. Experiences include working with a leading oil and gas company's leadership team through significant organisational change, senior team facilitation with the Management Operating Committee of a global technology company and developing mental toughness with leaders at a major investment bank.
Alongside his consulting role, Austin leads an internal team responsible for ensuring Lane4's product propositions reflect market requirements. Ensuring a robust interface between academic research and the delivery of viable commercial propositions is vital to provide great experiences for Lane4's clients.
Performance Coaching
Austin is an experienced senior executive coach and works on a 1:1 basis with board members across a range of sectors. His approach centres on enhancing leaders' resourcefulness and developing an increased awareness of their impact over the organisation.
Organisational Change
Austin has extensive experience of working with individuals and teams to achieve and sustain high performance through major organisational change. Following the merger of two travel businesses, Austin led the Lane4 team responsible for running post integration workshops with the Board and their respective leadership teams, focussing on the internal psychological and emotional journey that people were experiencing. Austin works in partnership with organisations to tailor merger integration programmes through identifying associated risks, highlighting culture gaps and informing the decisions around aligning the two organisations. Austin draws on his psychology background to ensure individuals, teams and organisations are able to transition effectively through change.
Sponsorship
Austin works alongside HR and Marketing departments to drive employee engagement through the internal activation of sponsorship propositions. Drawing on his sporting and commercial expertise, Austin explores how organisations can apply the Olympic metaphor effectively. In this way businesses are able to maximise the opportunities associated with their sponsorship rights to motivate and engage employees for improved business performance.
Work at Lane4
Dr Austin Swain is currently working with the Board of five FTSE 100 companies and has been involved in designing and delivering High Performance Environment Programmes for leading organisations. Austin has also worked as a senior executive coach in The City since 1995.
Areas of specialism include:
- Enhancing the performance of Senior Executive Teams
- Psychological Preparation for Performance
- Performance Leadership
- Managing Organisational Stress
- Using Sponsorship to Drive Employee Engagement
Clients include:
Leadership & Team Development
Coca- Cola Enterprises
ExxonMobil
JP Morgan
Deutsche Bank
3M
HSBC
Roche Pharmaceuticals
Organisational Change
TUI Travel
Safeway
Bourne Leisure Group
Background
Austin received a Ph.D.in Performance Psychology from Loughborough University in 1992. Between 1992 and 1997, Austin took up a lectureship in Sport Psychology at Loughborough University.
Austin joined Lane4 as a full time consultant in 1997 and is now a member of the Group Board.
Whilst at Loughborough, he coached the University Rugby 1st XV to three British University Championships and also published extensively in the areas of competitive stress, mental preparation for performance and group cohesion. Between 1994-1997, Austin worked as psychologist to the England Rugby Union team and assisted with their preparation for the 1995 World Cup in South Africa. He is also an accredited sport psychologist with the British Olympic Association.
Outside his life at Lane4, Austin is a keen triathlete and marathon runner. He is married to Sarah and has a young family.
