Bringing Coaching to the Creative Industries

The Art of Coaching

Les Joynes, PhD is an international educator, innovation coach, entrepreneurship mentor, and scholar who helps organizations develop entrepreneurial capability across cultures. With more than three decades of experience spanning universities, startups, governments, cultural institutions, and innovation ecosystems, he designs and delivers coaching, workshops, and leadership-development programmes for globally minded founders, teams, and emerging innovators.

Les works with organizations seeking to strengthen entrepreneurship, innovation, and collaboration across national, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries. His approach combines practical venture-development coaching with cross-cultural awareness, creative problem-solving, and learner-centred facilitation. He helps participants clarify ideas, test assumptions, communicate across differences, and turn promising concepts into credible, actionable ventures.

Experience

Les supports innovation-driven ventures through Columbia University’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and is a coach selected by the European Innovation Council (EIC), working with founders developing emerging technologies and scalable solutions.

He serves as Coach-in-Residence at AlmaWorks, Columbia University’s incubator in New York. His coaching and mentoring work has also included Columbia Startup Lab, the Impact Entrepreneurship Program at Parsons School of Design, the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise, and NEW INC, the New Museum’s incubator for art, technology, and design.

He has led coaching initiatives for researchers and emerging innovators at Yale University, the University of Melbourne, and California State University. His international teaching and workshop experience includes programmes in the United States, Asia, and Europe, including appointments as a Fulbright Visiting Associate Professor at Visva-Bharati University in India and Guest Professor in Cultural Entrepreneurship at Peking University in China.

In June 2026, Les led a pitch-development entrepreneurship bootcamp for engineers from the National Taipei University of Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University. The programme helped participants transform technical innovations into focused, compelling entrepreneurial narratives for diverse audiences.

Approach

Les creates structured, inclusive learning environments in which participants can explore ideas, learn from one another, and develop solutions relevant to their own cultural, institutional, and market contexts. His work emphasizes inquiry, collaboration, experimentation, reflection, and practical next steps. Rather than imposing a single model of entrepreneurship, he helps participants build on local knowledge, professional experience, and cultural strengths while developing the strategic, communicative, and leadership skills needed to work effectively in international innovation environments.

Background

Educated in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, Les holds a PhD from Leeds Metropolitan University, an M.Sc in Management from the Boston University/Vrije Universiteit Brussel European Management Program, and an MBA from California State Polytechnic University. He also holds graduate degrees in the arts from the University of London and Japan. A multiple Fulbright award recipient, Dr. Joynes brings a longstanding commitment to international academic exchange, public diplomacy, cross-cultural education, and entrepreneurial development.

Testimonials

“Dr. Joynes is a phenomenal coach who influences how I think, plan, and act, to achieve my ambitions and maximize my potential. His methods combine creative and strategic problem solving techniques that ensure that the paths I define and choose simplify complexities and focus on the most important outcomes. Our work has helped me grow as a more impactful partner to my clients and influential leader and member on my teams” — Peter Sun | Consultant, McKinsey & Company

Coaching is recognized today as a value-add resource for international organizations, diplomatic communities and government working in multi-cultural environments. It is my pleasure to recommend Dr. Les Joynes as an experienced and thoughtful leadership coach. Experienced across thirty-five countries, Les works alongside leaders and teams to build strategic goals, team effectiveness, mission focus, and maintain work-life balance. — Anthony Diaz | Chief, Political and Economic Affairs, U.S. Embassy

As a venture capital professional, it's easy to get caught up in a daily routine and relegate career development decisions to our "someday" to-do list. A leadership coach, Dr. Joynes engaged unique approaches to align my professional and personal goals and work-life balance. I highly recommend him. — Hugues Dongmo | Vice President, XBTO Humla Ventures, New York

Les’s unique coaching style blends his diverse training and deep experience in both creativity and management enabling him to work effectively with leaders as they build their pathways towards their professional and work-life balance goals. — Paulette Rao MCC, BCC

Individual and Group Coaching

Working directly with each client, their teams in person, by phone and Zoom.