S2 Episode 13: Graeme Thompson - From Elite Sport to Vistage: Graham Thompson on Peer Group Leadership Coaching and Authentic Business Development

From Elite Sport to Vistage: Graham Thompson on Peer Group Leadership Coaching and Authentic Business Development Rebecca interviews Graham Thompson on the Crap To Kickass Coach podcast. Speaking from Indonesia while based in Scotland, Graham explains his work as a Vistage chair running three peer advisory groups (CEOs/business owners/MDs, leaders reporting to CEOs, and smaller business owners) plus an emerging leaders program, combining monthly group days with monthly 1:1 coaching. He shares how his elite sport performance-director background (including curling and water polo) prepared him to coach across industries by focusing on people, mindset, and navigating non-linear growth. Graham recounts entering Vistage via networking in 2019, training moving online in 2020, and the challenge of self-led member recruitment and business development. He describes a referral-led approach using LinkedIn for research and handwritten letters, emphasizing relationships, coffee meetings, and long-term follow-up, and closes by saying he wouldn't change his life given recent personal transitions.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/graeme-thompson92/ https://vistage.co.uk/     00:00 Podcast Welcome 01:05 Vistage Coaching Overview 02:13 From Elite Sport to Business 04:13 Curling Olympics Chat 06:21 Leaving Sport and Finding Vistage 07:35 Learning Business Development 11:52 Building a Referral Engine 12:55 Handwritten Letters Strategy 14:06 Why Letters Convert 15:05 Letter Outreach Results 16:15 Authentic Handwritten Touch 17:19 Follow Up With Confidence 18:37 Make Prospecting Fun 19:00 LinkedIn Over Websites 20:13 Coffee Chats Win Business 21:10 Long Game Relationships 23:07 Coaching Journey Privilege 24:22 Community Beyond Membership 25:19 One Year Left Question 26:07 Warm Farewell