Andrew Lawless, Chief High Performance Coach, Team Lawless
Do you know those people who are over-achievers in their career or business, but their success comes at the cost of their health or relationships? That's the people Andrew Lawless helps by coaching them to increase income, impact, and well-being.
He is certified in High Performance Coaching through Brendon Burchard's Institute and a finalist for the Kolbe Professional Award, recognising him as one of the world's leading experts in human instincts coaching.
Andrew has a track record in executive and operations management, sales management, personal development, and behavioural sciences. His accomplishments include managing a corporate turnaround of Berlitz in Central and Eastern Europe to transforming the World Bank's global approach to disseminating its analytical work.
Andrew served as a trainer and consultant to the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. Additionally, he trained Special Forces of the United States Army Operations Security Evaluation Group and 50+ Sheriff academies through the Mid-States Organized Crime Information Center in Missouri.
He discussed his work with the White House and testified before the US Senate on the importance of professional development to the US Economic Security. He is a former adjunct professor at the University of Maryland.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
LinkedIn - everything happens in the inbox and with real relationship building and not through pictures and ads with filters.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I help women in business increase their income, make a bigger difference, and raise their emotional and physical well-being.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I have more conversations about menopause a week than most women have with their significant others in their lifetime. So, it means the world to me that I am able to build that space of trust.
I watched my single, unmarried mother fiercely fight for dignity and respect in life. In 1965 that was tough luck. She was not even able to find a priest who would baptise me. Only one did it under the condition that he perform an exorcism on me.
I was too young, too arrogant, to hurt as a child and young adult to see how hard life was for her. I now have the opportunity to make this right. I want every woman whom I can work with to have it easier than my mother.
That's how we honour our parents. We stand on their shoulders and make a difference in the world. I have the honour and privilege to figure out new ways for my students to make that happen every day.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The vast majority of people have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. So be bold. You can be scared and broke or afraid and well-paid. Your choice.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
Every time I see my clients and students have a breakthrough, I want to find ways of doing it faster and better next time.
In a corporate setting, I used to make changes in months. For example, in Central and Western Europe, my turning around of Berlitz (now Lionbridge) was done in four months. Then I learned how to orchestrate change in four weeks, then four days, and in some cases, I am down to four minutes.
No matter when people work with me in my life, I want them to say: 'I saw him when he was at his best.' For some, that was when I was in my 30s. So, I am working hard, and people will say that when I am in my 90s.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
So many things, it will take a long time to list all, but here are a few:
Both of my sons are super smart and gifted men.
I can have my high school girlfriend, my ex-wife, and my wife in one room, and it will not be awkward for anyone. We would have a great evening with long time companions.
Every single one of my clients is an individual of the finest character. For some reason, I do not attract assholes.
Despite being a college dropout, I was hired by the World Bank into a position that formally required a PhD or an MBA
I have completed the whole weaponless system of Ip Man's martial arts, Wing Tsung, and I trained FBI agents, Hostage Rescue Teams, Special Forces, and Sheriff academies to use it in their work.
I introduced localisation to China. I was the first and only Westerner to speak at the 1st China Localization Forumin 2011 at the invitation of the Chinese government and then introduced Loc World and GALA to key players in China.
Presented my successes to the White House.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I am an extrovert on stage, introvert at home. I prefer to present to a new audience and then have them approach me after. At networking events, I am the guy in the corner with a glass of wine in his hands, being awkward with small talk with people who I do not know. On the other hand, I am easy with people I do know.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Resilience and a focus on positive action. I am a short cutter and fighter. When pushed against the wall, I will fight back harder. If there is a way to do things faster, I will find or create it. My greatest gift (and sometimes curse) is that I physically feel people's energy. I can meet a group of 20 people, size them out in five minutes, and be right on target. Everybody who has ever worked closely with me will confirm that.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I met Bill Gates a few times. I was there when Jeff Bezos needed $5 million to keep Amazon afloat. I worked with billionaires. I was never able to capitalise on those connections because I was too much in my own way. I wish I had known how to not self-sabotage and seek help earlier and often. We all need help sometimes; we all ask for it too late.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Smith Yewell, CEO of Welocalize, has always been an inspiration for me. At one point in his growing the company, he had to let go of a few of his staff members to save the company. He then asked all his friends if they had a job for the people in question. That's leadership and character.
When Welcoalize was already at $250m, Smith paid his band, Fuzzy Match, to play at my fundraiser for the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. He lit the room with an energy that was through the roof. People are still talking about that night. Side note: The band was exclusively made of existing and former staff members.
Give me the name of another leader who possesses and instils so much integrity.
I am also a huge fan of Iris Orriss, Teresa Marshall, and Anna Schlegel. These ladies have shown me by example how to serve. They all ask themselves: 'What is required of me here? How can I be of service?' They all manage relationships with a heart-centred approach. Despite their success in the industry, they have kept their heads on their shoulders and feet on the ground - and keep pushing for more excellence.
I needed to acquire that humbleness that they have in spates.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I am Master Sifu of the martial arts Wing Tsung (Wing Chun). I have taught some of my family members, and my brother-in-law is now the head instructor of Ireland. Outside of that, I am fully focused on creating a new home for my family in Texas.
A year ago, we moved to Austin, TX, from Ireland during the pandemic with just our suitcases.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
Immediately after we went into lockdown, I gathered my current and former clients and friends to give them weekly high-performance coaching on Zoom at no cost. I opened my entire vault of programs to them to help them re-position or pivot.
In turn, I learned how to deliver coaching in a group setting and for it to be more powerful than 1-on-1 coaching. It took a while to figure it all out, but 18 months later, that's now my only offering.
I used to rely on corporate workshops and 1-on-1 coaching. I also went to events for lead generation. All of that went away when the world locked down, and the airport in Dublin was virtually closed. So, I started a creative process that I always knew I needed to go through, but life was too comfortable to make a change.
Financially, there was not much change apart from some ebbs and flows during extreme learning phases. However, I am now making the same money with significantly less work. So, now it's a matter of scaling.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I had a few people in my life who acted as my mentors, but I pushed them away. Because of childhood trauma, I was afraid that they could harm me - even if that was never their slightest intent. Just the mere thought that they potentially could have power over me freaked me out.
I missed so many opportunities, burned so many bridges, tainted so many relationships as a result. It was only later in life when I realised what I was doing and actively started working on myself.
That's why I do not have a mentor still. I have people who support me, but not a mentor in the way I understand and need the role. I would love to be mentored.
I mentor a few people. I am good at giving; receiving still needs mindset work.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Start before you are ready. The old advice for building a coaching business is to first get certified, build a coaching program, and then sell it. But it works in the opposite directions.
You know, Cookie Monster once said: 'When you bake them, they will come.' I say: 'When they come, start baking.'
Be bold.
We all know that one person who knows less than we do is not as nice as we are and less qualified, but makes a ton load of more money. The difference is boldness.
The #1 regret people have when they die and look back at their lives is that they should have stressed less and taken more chances. So don't be that person when you die.
It's better to regret something that you have done than regret something that you have not done.
Permit yourself to follow your dream. Because when dreams live, greatness thrives. Life is not about finding yourself or finding anything, and it's about creating yourself, speaking with Bob Dylan).
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Nobody wants to be seen at the bottom, so they don't ask for help early and often enough.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
The Synergy Company. They have a clear mission, offer the best products in the supplement market, rely on referral sales, will never spam you. Taki Moore's Million Dollar Coach: Clear mission, underpromise, over-deliver.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success is to have the freedom to be yourself. Kathy Kolbe taught me that.