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“What you get by achieving your goal is not as important as who you become by achieving your goal.” Henry David Thoreau.

Whatever line of business you are in, whatever mission or path of purpose you are on… Welcome. This is extraordinary time on the planet and whether you realise it or not, your leadership is needed.
As a former elite athlete whose body literally broke at the peak of my career, my life has been deep exploration of human potential – and specifically how do we achieve extraordinary aims without breaking down or damaging each other along the way?
As a coach of Olympic athletes and coaches, leaders, teams and businesses globally, I have had the privilege of being at the heart of many different arenas where humans come together to achieve bold visions and go beyond what was previously believed possible.
I have come to believe this is one of our primary reasons for being here: to take on seemingly impossible missions and through the journey discover our true capacity for greatness together.
Our world needs this now more than ever. So let's get started. I look forward to learning more about what is calling YOU!

(bio)

From Olympic and world champion athletes, to pioneering entrepreneurs, artists and senior leaders of some of the planet’s largest and most complex organisations and projects, Chip Richards is a globally sought-after mentor, coach and facilitator of human potential.
As a mentor to Elite Performers and Senior Leaders, Chip brings deep inquiry, fierce listening and a keen eye for untapped potential, helping to dissolve barriers that hold us back from being our very best.
As a Coach of Teams, Coach of Coaches and developer of high-performance Culture, Chip brings a powerful inclusiveness for each to find their part in a shared vision, aligning strengths of individuals into a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. 
As a Keynote Speaker, Facilitator of immersive Leadership Retreats and global Leadership mastermind programs, Chip brings a deep connection to the natural world, weaving outer adventures with inner quests and journeys of deep personal discovery. 
Amazon #1 bestselling Author, voted Coach of the Decade by Skiing Australia’s leading region, recipient of JMJ’s Making the Impossible Possible Award, Chip is a passionate surfer, free diver, beekeeper and food grower, committed to living a connected, adventurous life with his beautiful wife Ash and their son Josh.

(elements of work)

(purpose)

Ikigai – Our reason for being

Research from Harvard Business Review and others repeatedly confirm that “companies able to harness the power of PURPOSE enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.” In the medical sector, studies reveal that “having a sense of purpose” is one of the key leading indicators for health, vitality and wellbeing.
In times of big change, growth and breakthrough, our sense of purpose keeps us grounded and connected to the task at hand, while simultaneously enabling us to navigate obstacles, barriers and pre-conceived notions of what’s possible.
This work often involves:
– Gaining an honest sense for our current state – including what’s holding us back
– Creating a compelling vision for the future we are committed to creating
– Building a pathway to anchor vision into form
– Enrolling, aligning and empowering others to be part of the journey
– Developing the skills and resilience to respond to challenge and create momentum  
Purpose is not something you can force upon yourself or a team, but when it comes alive at the heart of our endeavour, it becomes a deep driving force that radically impacts our focus, efforts and results.

“Chip Richards is naturally and authentically a master-teacher. His life and his love are obvious for any and all to see. When choosing someone to teach how to live, it is best to find someone that demonstrates their wisdom naturally, not only intellectually. Chip’s Love and teachings need no words, only your willing presence.”

Paul Chek – Founder, C.H.E.K Institute

(leadership)

Executive Mentorship & Emerging Leaders

Whether you are leading a small team or a global enterprise, how you show up as a leader; your presence, approach, how you listen, what you focus on, has a massive impact on the daily performance and long-term success of your team. 
Many of us first find ourselves in a leadership position not because we consciously choose it, but because the moment or phase of growth in our project or mission calls for it.
Leadership requires taking absolute responsibility for the whole, while empowering a sense of ownership in our team that unleashes their potential to create something beyond what any individual could achieve on his/her own – while somehow balancing our own and each other’s energy along the way.
The work of leadership requires fierce self-reflection and a willingness to be totally present with the current state while holding a clear vision for what’s possible beyond our circumstance.
This work includes in-depth work in four key areas:
1. Self Leadership: Personal growth as a Path to Authentic Leadership
2. Team Leadership: Building and Empowering High-Performance Teams
3. Project / Mission Leadership: Transforming Vision and Commitment into Action for Breakthrough Performance & Results
4. Culture Leadership: The Business of Making Movements

“Chip Richards is one of the people that actually lives his business. He embodies the concepts he shares with everything that he does. Application of what is taught by Chip is empowering and life-changing and he is one of a very few people that can teach this kind of information so that everyone can benefit from the message.”

Richard Boyd – Co-Founder, PT on the Net.

(teams)

High-performance teams

Working as “One Team” is a popular concept, rarely realised to its full potential. It takes genuine commitment to build trust and cohesion authentically, but when it’s there, the potential for a team to perform expands exponentially.
Challenge is, most of our “normal” structures and processes are geared more toward creating silos and division than alignment and collaboration.
Being part of a team where we feel valued for the unique part we play, where our unique skills are being utilised and appreciated gives us a sense of meaning that ignites discretionary effort and builds both morale and performance. 
Layers of this work includes focus in a few key areas:
– Launching & Developing TEAMS: Frameworks and process for bringing people powerfully together
– Aligning Vision, Mission & Values: Creating a game worth playing and igniting individual commitment and group cohesion to deliver
– Performance Breakthrough : Cut-through experiences to help teams move beyond sticking points and transcend barriers to performance
– Core Practices to Thrive: Developing key touch points and rhythms of engagement that fuel connection, alignment and collaborative achievement

“Chip understands the mechanics of breakthrough and achievement in a highly competitive environment and helps leaders and teams see what is at play that is getting in the way of us reaching our full potential. When we discussed the blockages that we were experiencing with the team, I was blown away with the sharpness of his inquiry.”

Ant Morell – Founder, BOUNCE Inc.

(culture)

Creating thriving cultures

When people come together with a common mission, aligned by a personal sense of purpose, the power of the collective becomes exponential. 
Not by bending individuals into compliance, but by involving them in the fulfilment of a vision that awakens a personal sense of mission and playing their unique part in something meaningful. 
Benefits of an inspired Culture include the very measurable elements of;
– Increased productivity and performance levels
– Radical reduction of mistakes and injuries
– Increased staff retention, reduced absenteeism
– Unprecedented levels of collaboration.
Slightly less measurable but equally powerful benefits of Culture include:
– Maximised individual strengths and acceptance of differences
– High levels of personal ownership and responsibility
– Dissolving of barriers - unprecedented levels of collaboration
– Generous listening and willingness to speak up
– Increased energy, connection, sense of belonging and meaning,
Culture is not a bolt-on extra, but an essential, daily deliverable, and one of the greatest contributors to long-term fulfilment and success. When Leaders get intentional about building Culture, a team becomes a thriving ecosystem and a project has potential to grow into a movement.

The culture we developed provided an open communication platform for every single worker to feel valued and part of what we're delivering. At peak that was 10,000 people coming through the gate every day, which is a significant number of people.

Vince Kenny – General Manager of Construction, INPEX.

(visionary projects)

Vision, Mission & Critical Pathway

From an Olympic campaign to the assembly of a 30,000 person global infrastructure project, projects give us the opportunity to merge backgrounds, cultures and walks of life in a unified mission that calls for extraordinary contribution by everyone involved.
By their nature, projects are often (unrealistically) time-based, radically results-focused, highly ambitious and often initially thought to be impossible. They require us to bring all that we know from our past and let go of how we’ve always done things in order to discover a fresh path forward together.
The truth is we love an impossible dream. Because it calls us to awaken dormant capacities, to remember who we really are and what we are capable of when come together for a common aim.
While every project is unique, there are common elements that make lasting breakthrough in this work possible.
– CONNECT – Taking time to listen and build relationship with key individuals in order to understand the current state and explore opportunities for breakthrough
– IGNITE – Establishing a shared vision, sense of ownership + commitment in to go beyond pre-conceive limits
– CULTIVATE – Developing skills, practices and interventions to create momentum in the new direction
– EVOLVE – Staying dynamic, relevant, alive in action and approach, reassessing and adapting along the way

On our Project, Chip has facilitated extremely effective breakthroughs in near-impossible situations where alignment between Teams, Organisations and Individuals was needed for success. Chip has a knack for dissecting a complex challenge, simplifying the problem to its core elements and guiding leaders to find and own the solution.

Mark St.Germain – Global HSE Director, JGC.

(service offerings)

(process)

Because breakthrough results often require fresh thinking and bold action, this work is by its very nature is dynamic, ever-evolving and fit-for- purpose in design and implementation. Each engagement is developed in partnership with organisation Leaders with a shared sense of ownership and integration into existing team culture, systems and practices.
Drawing upon multiple schools of elite performance coaching, diverse models of transformative leadership, team + culture development, refined practices in mental, emotional and physical empowerment, human needs psychology, deep ecology and the power of myth and storytelling…
This work has evolved through decades of intense focus with elite performers, leaders of diverse global organisations and teams immersed in pioneering projects and highly aspirational initiatives.
Engagements range in length from single high-impact events to multi-year engagements, weaving in-depth 1:1 and small group mentorship, with full-team / organisation workshops and ongoing curriculums of peak performance and breakthrough development.

(services)

Executive Leadership Coaching & Mentoring
Emerging Leadership & Coach Development Programs (Impact Leadership Academy)
Vision Alignment + Mission Breakthrough Workshops
Culture Leadership, Team + Project Performance Programs
Immersive Leadership Retreats in the Kingdom of Tonga & Byron Bay Australia
12-month "Alchemy of Leadership" Leadership Fellowship Program
Keynote Speaking + Workshops
- Becoming the Hero of Your Own Life Story
- Answering the Call: Leadership in Radically Uncertain Times
- HiveMind: Igniting the Power of the Collective

(testimonials)

“You don’t reach the absolute pinnacle in sport or a business without having that internal fire to succeed. With Chip, you can sense that desire, and because it’s cloaked in such integrity, it’s infectious. His unwavering morale compass, understanding and love for the human condition, makes Chip a powerful yet humble force.”
(Ant Morell, Founder – BOUNCE Inc.)
"The training I received with Chip quite literally changed the course of my life, and therefore the lives of my clientele.   I was masterfully taught the skills to become my authentic self and to let go of the beliefs and thought patterns that did not serve my life or professional goals. When one approaches a goal with peace of mind and purpose, positive results are not only likely, they are inevitable!"
(Wendy Branchfield – Founder, Inside Out Training)
"Chip is simply the best facilitator and event host I’ve ever seen. He blends a highly intelligent approach with creativity, authenticity and heart. If you want to take an event or leadership gathering from good to great, Chip is your X-Factor."
(Jono Fisher – Founder, Wake Up Project)
“Chip is a weapon in his field; a deep thinker who has operated successfully at the highest global level, giving him unique insights into active leadership and the power of team.”
(Richard Rice – Founder, One ELC)
“Chip brings with him a connection to greatness that builds confidence and belief in our ability to deliver as a high-performance team. His approach draws out the greatness in others and helps a team see possibilities beyond what you would otherwise see.”
(Patrick Swainson – Culture Leader & Master Trainer, Enermech)
“Chip doesn’t only see the issue, he sees through the issue to the opportunity and then utilises the strengths of the situation to carve out a path to improvement. He knows robust processes and procedures will deliver good outcomes but to deliver great outcomes requires mindful and motivated individuals bonded in a cohesive way – this is where he excels. He can work with individuals or groups to coach them to great.”
Vince Kenny – General Manager of Construction, INPEX.
"You've always been inspirational in my life Chip, through your fearless and deliberate actions, and deeply connected consciousness.... I come alive when I'm around you and my passion for life increases ten-fold when I'm in your presence. Thank you for believing in me, it helped me believe in myself."
Cooper Schell Gold Medal US Olympic Coach – Moguls, 1998 Nagano Games
We have been involved together on a range of visionary and complex projects where creativity, imagination, hard work and humour are key ingredients. Not only has Chip been a conceptualizer, a director and strategist, he has also been a mentor, a sounding board and a spiritual guide through what have often been very intense and pressured times.
Phil Gregory – Founder, E-Water Systems.
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(insights)

The Purpose of a COACH

Olympic and Leadership Coach Chip Richards shares insight into the role of a Coach and why Coaching can be pivotal in helping us think beyond our past experience and move beyond our preconceived limits of what's possible. It's time.
Read More

Life Lessons from Bees : PURPOSE

Over the past several years we've become passionate bee keepers and not only have we learned an incredible amount about the way of the bee, the more time we spend with the bees, the more they teach us about Life, Leadership, Collaboration and the power of PURPOSE!
Read More

William Ury: Transforming Conflict into New Possibility

William Ury has mediated some of the world’s most intractable conflicts ranging from the Kentucky wildcat coal mine strikes to ethnic wars in the Middle East, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union.
Read More

Working Hard or Playing Big?

Sometimes when life or work feel overwhelming, we think our only way through is by putting our head down, taking on more and pushing through... But often when we hit these challenges, the true and lasting solution is not in working harder, b ut in expanding who we are Being in the situation... ​
Read More

What are the Six Basic Human Needs?

Every day we make decisions and take actions in our life based on what we think, feel and believe is most important. While we may not always be consciously aware of why we make the decisions that we do, the truth is that each of us have our own unique filters of perception that naturally rank certain decisions and actions higher than others.
Read More

How to Navigate Life (Using our Inner GPS)

When traveling in unfamiliar territory (on the road and in life) there are some powerful parallels between the GPS system in our car and our approach to navigating the twists and turns of life.
Read More

(more insights)

"We must be willing to let go of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” - Joseph Campbell

(connect)

(dive in)

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