ìSven was correct to highlight the need for mental coaching,î Professor Graham Jones

This week Sven Goran Eriksson blamed Englandís failure at the World Cup on the absence of a mental trainer or coach to help the team deal with pressure ñ especially in the penalty shoot-out against Portugal.

According to the Swede, practicing penalties on a daily basis was not enough to see his team through the challenges they faced on the big stage. And as a result they inevitably succumbed to the extreme match day pressure.

Not only is this recurring problem something we witness time and time again with our national football team, but also a common issue in the world of business. Leading figures in large corporations increasingly strive to develop higher levels of mental toughness in their boardrooms and are employing professional coaches to help them achieve this.

Leading sports psychologist, Professor Graham Jones of performance development consultancy Lane4 says: ìOn occasions such as these, the ethics of business and sport often cross over. Just as Sven felt that there was a need to develop mental toughness and emotional intelligence amongst the England players to cope with penalties, many senior businesspeople require exactly the same level of support to help their employees excel and deal with the stresses they face at work.î

He continued: ìSven was quite right to point out that this kind of support is the way forward. Management teams in both sport and business who turn to mental coaching can go on to achieve higher levels of commitment, teamwork and self-belief ñ essential for any penalty shoot-out and boardroom battle.î

Developing Mental Toughness: Gold Medal Strategies For Transforming Your Business Performance, written by Lane4 cofounders, Professor Graham Jones and Adrian Moorhouse is available in bookshops and on Amazon now.