View source for John Whitmore (racing driver)

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox racing driver
| name         = Sir John Whitmore
| image        = John-whitmore-ford-gt-performance-consultants.jpg
| caption      = Whitmore in 2007
| birth_name   = John Henry Douglas Whitmore
| nationality  = English
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|df=yes|1937|10|16}}
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = {{death date and age |2017|04|28 |1937|10|16 |df=yes}}
| death_place  = 
| years active = 1959–1966 (racing) and 1979–2017 (coaching)
| related to        = <!-- list of notable relatives with line breaks --> 
| prev series       = [[24 Hours of Le Mans]]<br>[[British Saloon Car Championship]]<br>[[European Touring Car Championship]]
| prev series years = 1959–1966<br>1961–1963<br>1965 
| titles            = [[British Saloon Car Championship]]<br>[[European Touring Car Championship]]
| title years       = 1961<br>1965
| awards            = 
| award years       = 
| updated           = 
}}
'''Sir John Henry Douglas Whitmore, 2nd Baronet''' (16 October 1937 &ndash; 28 April 2017) was a pioneer of the executive coaching industry, an author and British racing driver.

==Family life and background==
John Whitmore was born on 16 October 1937, the son of Sir [[Francis Whitmore]] and Ellis Johnsen. He was educated at [[Eton College]], [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst|Sandhurst Royal Military Academy]], and [[Royal Agricultural University|Cirencester Agricultural College]]. He inherited The Orsett Estate Company at [[Orsett]], Essex, in 1962, on the death of his father. The inheritance included the family seat of [[Orsett Hall]], from the grounds of which he used to take off and land his plane.<ref>[http://www.basildonuk.com/historydetail.php?id=4444&f=Basildon from ''The Essex Village Book'', written by members of the Federation of Essex Women's Institutes and published by Countryside Books]</ref> In 1968, he sold the house to his friends, [[Tony Morgan|Tony]] and Val Morgan. He married twice, first to Ella Gunilla Hansson, from whom he was divorced in 1969, and later to Diana Becchetti. He had a child from each marriage. He died on 28 April 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodwood.com/grrc/race/historic/2017/5/sir-john-whitmore-1937--2017/|title=Sir John Whitmore: 1937 – 2017|website=www.goodwood.com}}</ref><ref name="Obit">{{cite web|url=http://www.hrkatha.com/news/1314-obituary-godfather-of-coaching-sir-john-whitmore-is-no-more|title=Obituary: Godfather of coaching, Sir John Whitmore is no more|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailysportscar.com/2017/05/05/sir-john-whitmore-1937-2017.html|title=Sir John Whitmore: 1937-2017 – dailysportscar.com|website=www.dailysportscar.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brdc.co.uk/Notice-of-Death---Sir-John-Whitmore-Bt-1937-2017|title=British Racing Drivers' Club|first=MSO.net -|last=http://www.mso.net|website=www.brdc.co.uk}}</ref>

==Early career (in motor racing)==
In his first year in the competition, 1961, Whitmore won the [[British Saloon Car Championship]] in his BMC Mini Minor. In 1963 he drove again in the BSCC and came second in the championship in a [[Mini Cooper]], finishing just two points behind [[Jack Sears]]. In 1965 he won the [[European Touring Car Championship]] in a [[Lotus Cortina]] (KPU392C). He won by finishing first in his class in 8 of the 9 1965 ETCC races (and finishing first overall in 6 of the races).

Sir John drove in the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] for five years between 1959 and 1966. In the first year he finished second in class along with [[Jim Clark]] in a [[Lotus Elite]]. In 1965 and 1966 he raced in a works Ford GT40, but had to retire from the race both years with mechanical problems. At the end of 1966 he retired from racing. He returned later in life to driving in historic car events such as the [[Goodwood Revival]].

==Later career (in business & coaching)==
[[File:Sir John Whitmore, Nigel Cumberland, Philip Beddows, Bonnie Chan and Krishna Kumar.jpg|thumb|Left|Sir John Whitmore receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Coaching|thumb|left|Sir John Whitmore receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Coaching]]
After leaving racing and the world of motor-sports, he became interested in [[transpersonal psychology]] and its emphasis on the principle of will, intention, or responsibility. He went on to apply his learning and skills first to the world of sport and then to [[business]]. In 1970 he studied at the [[Esalen Institute]] in Big Sur, California, with the likes of [[William Schutz]], creator of team development model [[Fundamental interpersonal relations orientation|FIRO-B]], and then trained with Harvard educationalist and tennis expert [[Timothy Gallwey]], who created the Inner Game methodology of performance coaching.

Sir John founded the Inner Game in Britain in 1979 with a small team of Inner Game coaches trained by Gallwey.<ref name="Obit"/> Initially they coached tennis players and golfers but soon realized the value of the Inner Game for leaders and managers of organizations. Sir John spent much of the 1980s developing the methodology, concepts, and techniques for performance improvement in organizations and showed it was possible to improve performance, increase learning and enjoyment, and find a sense of purpose in work.<ref name="Institute">{{cite web|url=http://www.instituteofcoaching.org/sir-john-whitmore |title=Sir John Whitmore |publisher=Institute of Coaching |date= |accessdate=2017-05-06}}</ref>

Sir John is regarded as a pioneer in the field of [[business coaching]].<ref name="Institute"/> Along with [[Tim Gallwey]], Laura Whitworth and [[Thomas J. Leonard]], he is credited with launching modern coaching in the 1970s.<ref>Coaching at Work (2010). "Inside Out", ''Coaching at Work'', Vol 5, issue 3.</ref> For some people, Sir John will always be best known as the co-creator of the [[GROW model]], one of the most established and successful coaching models. He presented at numerous conferences around the world and contributed to many other books such as ''Challenging Coaching''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.challengingcoaching.co.uk/|title=Challenging Coaching|website=Challenging Coaching}}</ref> and ''Coaching at Work''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trainingpressreleases.com/news/european-mentoring-and-coaching-council/2004/coaching-and-mentoring-industry-looks-to-the-future-major-event-draws-professionals-from-across-europe |title=Coaching and mentoring industry looks to the future - Major event draws professionals from across Europe |publisher=Training Press Releases |date= |accessdate=2017-05-06}}</ref>

In the 1990s Sir John was a co-founder, along with Eric Parsloe, David Clutterbuck, David Megginson and Julie Hay, of the [[European Mentoring and Coaching Council]] (EMCC).<ref>{{cite book |first=Jane |last=Renton |title=Coaching and Mentoring: What They are and How to Make the Most of Them |location=New York |publisher=[[Bloomberg Press]] |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MnjX2GSQkY4C&pg=PA107 107] |year=2009 |isbn=9781576603307 |oclc=263978214 }}</ref>

In 2004 he founded Performance Consultants International, a provider of coaching, leadership development and performance improvement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.performanceconsultants.com/sir-john-whitmore|title=Sir John Whitmore - Founder Of Performance Consultants International|publisher=}}</ref>

Sir John was involved with the Professional and Personal Coaches Association (PPCA), an organization that merged in 1998 with the International Coach Federation (ICF).  He served as a Trustee for the ICF Foundation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://foundationoficf.org/|title=Home - ICF Foundation|website=foundationoficf.org}}</ref> until his death in 2017.

==Awards==
[[File:Sir John Whitmore & Nigel Cumberland.jpg|thumb|Sir John Whitmore with coach & author [[Nigel Cumberland]]]]
Whitmore received a number of awards outside his career in motor racing, including:

* A Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Coaching ("IAC") in 2013, presented to him by the IAC President, Krishna Kumar;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://certifiedcoachblog.typepad.com/blog/presidents-message/ |title=International Association of Coaching Blog: President's Message |publisher=Certifiedcoachblog.typepad.com |date= |accessdate=2017-05-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://certifiedcoach.org/2013/10/from-the-president-25/ |title=From the President &#124; International Association of Coaching |publisher=Certifiedcoach.org |date=2013-10-07 |accessdate=2017-05-06}}</ref> and
* In 2007 Sir John received the [[International Coach Federation]]'s President's Award for advancing the profession of coaching.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://coachfederation.org/prdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=1425 |title=Sir John Whitmore Receives President's Award from ICF - Pressroom - ICF |publisher=Coachfederation.org |date=2007-11-13 |accessdate=2017-05-06}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
Whitmore wrote a book titled ''Coaching for Performance''. published by [[Nicholas Brealey Publishing]]. It contains details of his coaching model, known as the [[GROW model]]. The first four editions sold a million copies in 23 languages. The fifth edition was published in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Whitmore|first1=John|title=Coaching for Performance Fifth Edition: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership UPDATED 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION|url=https://www.amazon.com/Coaching-Performance-Fifth-Principles-ANNIVERSARY/dp/1473658128/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8|website=amazon.com|accessdate=8 February 2018|language=English|date=24 October 2017}}</ref>

Whitmore also wrote the foreword to and is extensively quoted in a book called ''Nine: Briefing from Deep Space'' which was published in 2005. The book is based upon interviews with extraterrestrial beings which a group of people including Whitmore, as well as Phyllis Schlemmer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theonlyplanetofchoice.com/authorbio.htm|title=The Only Planet Of Choice Author Bio|website=www.theonlyplanetofchoice.com}}</ref> and [[Uri Geller]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.urigeller.com/uri-geller-the-nine/|title=Uri Geller - The Nine - Uri Geller|publisher=}}</ref> claimed to have had over a number of years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theonlyplanetofchoice.com/whitmore.htm|title=Sir John Whitmore|website=www.theonlyplanetofchoice.com}}</ref> The book and Whitmore himself have been quoted and spoken about on a number of websites which explore such claims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghosttheory.com/2013/01/31/the-council-of-nine|title=The Council Of Nine|date=31 January 2013|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conspiracyschool.com/blog/project-stargate-ancient-aliens-and-cia|title=Project Stargate: Ancient Aliens and the CIA - Conspiracy School|website=www.conspiracyschool.com}}</ref>

==Media coverage==
Sir John has been interviewed numerous times. Some examples include:
* By ''Coaching at Work'' magazine<ref>https://www.performanceconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/images_pdfs_InsideOut.pdf Inside Out, including John Whitmore and Tim Gallwey in conversation</ref>
* At the European Commission<ref>https://www.performanceconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/images_pdfs_Leadership_21st_Century.pdf Leadership in the 21st Century</ref>
* In ''Coaching Magazine''<ref>https://www.performanceconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/images_pdfs_Interview_Whitmore.pdf El Reto del Líder: En busca de los valores. Entrevista a John Whitmore</ref>
* In a book titled ''Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice''<ref>https://ai.wu.ac.at/~kaiser/Coachingjournal/791925930_content-1.pdf The Evolution of Coaching: An interview with Sir John Whitmore</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.emccouncil.org/ The European Mentoring and Coaching Council co-Founded by Sir John Whitmore]
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorsport/2742566/In-the-lap-of-the-gods.html Daily Telegraph Interview on Le Mans]
* [https://www.performanceconsultants.com Performance Consultants International, the company founded by Sir John Whitmore.]

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{{s-sport}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Doc Shepherd]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[British Touring Car Championship|British Touring Car Champion]]|years=1961}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Love (racing driver)|John Love]]}}
{{s-reg|uk-bt}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Francis Whitmore]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Whitmore baronets|Baronet]]<br />'''(of Orsett, Essex) | years='''1962–2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Jason Whitmore}}
{{s-end}}

{{BTCC champions}}
{{European Touring Car Champions}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, John}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Orsett]]
[[Category:English racing drivers]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers]]
[[Category:British Touring Car Championship Champions]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]
[[Category:European Touring Car Championship drivers]]
[[Category:English sports coaches]]
[[Category:English male writers]]
[[Category:English self-help writers]]
[[Category:British male writers]]