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Dan Jackson is the General Manager of Player Development & Leadership at the Adelaide Football Club, but he is quick to dispel any notions that he is a guru.

“I can’t teach leadership,” he tells the Leaders Performance Podcast. “I can help unlock what’s already in there.”

On that note, he is certain that leaders are not born. “Leadership is 100 per cent made, but it’s made from a very young age.”

Beyond the origins of leadership, Dan spoke to Henry Breckenridge and John Portch about the importance of prioritising others [10:40]. “Great sustainable teams are built in environments where everyone’s looking to help someone else out,” he adds. “When you fill someone else’s bucket, it fills yours.”

Also on the agenda were the importance of humour and enjoyment [22:00]; the argument against ‘refreezing’ culture [48:30]; and the practical steps that help leaders to manage team operations [32:00].

Henry Breckenridge | LinkedIn

John Portch | LinkedIn

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By John Portch

Hands up: who came to the Kia Oval last month for the Leaders Sport Performance Summit?

We definitely saw some of you there but, if you didn’t make it, don’t worry. We were sat in the front row with a notepad and, having deciphered our handwriting, compiled a list of six factors for turning setbacks into springboards. It was one of the main themes across both days.

The summit wasn’t all that was happening at the Leaders Performance Institute during November and we reflect on insights into the fields of leadership, coaching, data and human performance and pose five questions.

Perhaps the answers will provide one or two nuggets to help you with your next project.

Do you have all the skills you need to lead?

Perhaps you’ve heard of the of the Peter Principle. The concept, devised by psychologist Laurence J Peter, states that people tend to be promoted to their ‘level of respective incompetence’. Think of the supreme technician who, upon promotion, finds themselves overwhelmed as a manager tasked for the first time with leading people.

Carole Mundell, the Director of Science at the European Space Agency, told the audience at the Oval that while she viewed herself as a creative and independent scientist, that wasn’t going to cut the mustard in an organisation designed by engineers.

“I’m learning to think like an engineer,” she said. “All of ESA’s structures and processes and how we operate comes from the mind of an engineer… We have a whole quality assurance system where we set our objectives and we say ‘what will we do?’ ‘What did we say we’d do?’ ‘Did we do what we said?’”

Take time to consider the missing element that might make you a better leader.

What is to be done during losing streaks?

David Clancy, a Learning and Development Consultant at the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group, wrote that the answer lies in purpose. ‘In elite environments, whether you’re a player, coach, or part of the front office, the pressures and expectations are immense,’ he wrote. ‘But the best leaders, those who guide their teams with purpose, know that long-term success is rooted in meaningful work.

‘This drives individuals to not only execute their tasks but also to find value in how those tasks contribute to the big picture. Leaders who strive to inspire meaningful work allow individuals to not just survive pressure, but thrive under it, empowering them to embrace challenges as part of their career journey.’

Clancy highlighted three principles to cultivate meaningfulness in your teams:

1. Reinforce the ‘why’: Constantly remind yourself and your team of the purpose behind the work.
2. Connect the dots: Leaders need to help people see the connection between their day-to-day to-dos and the overarching goals. When team members understand how their role directly influences the organisation’s purpose, they are more motivated, energised and engaged.
3. Celebrate progress, not just results: Recognise the small wins and the milestones achieved on the journey. This acknowledgment reminds individuals that meaningful work is about the process, not just the result.

Who are your friends in high performance?

You don’t need us to tell you how competitive things get at a world championships, Olympics or Paralympics, but there are things that transcend rivalry.

One such area is female athlete health, where the UK Sports Institute, US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Australian Institute of Sport and High Performance Sport New Zealand have clubbed together to form the Global Alliance. This enables them to share resources and insight in this one particular field.

“We are all under-resourced, we’re overstretched in terms of the time that we’re wanting to spend in this space,” said Dr Rachel Harris, the Lead of the Female Performance & Health Initiative at the AIS. “We really wanted to try and allow the people that are working in our sporting organisations to be more proactive.”

Her peers are just as effusive. “I think it’s a natural step to build an international community; and we do have them, but they’ve been a bit ad hoc,” said Dr Helen Fulcher, the HPSNZ Athlete Performance Support Lead. The Global Alliance is, as she added, an opportunity to raise standards across female sport. “The focus is not just on individuals having great connections but what can we collectively do better for this group of athletes that we all care about.”

The Alliance has every expectation that its membership will grow in the near future.

How do you solve a problem like innovation?

Professor Fabio Serpiello, the Director of Sport Strategy at Central Queensland University, told attendees at Leaders Virtual Roundtable that the best way to approach innovation is to start by defining your problem.

To that end, he employs a range of models, including David J Snowden and Mary E Boon’s Cynefin Framework.

‘Cynefin’, which is pronounced ‘ku-nev-in’, is a Welsh word that signifies ‘the multiple factors in our environment and our experience that influence us in ways we can never understand,’ as Snowden and Boon wrote in their 2007 Harvard Business Review essay titled ‘A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making’.

The Cynefin framework, they continued, ‘helps leaders determine the prevailing operative context so they can make appropriate choices’.

Source: HBR

Snowden and Boone identified five operative contexts – simple, complicated, complex, chaotic and disordered. Serpiello touched upon each:

• Simple

Simple contexts are stable and one can observe a clear cause-and-effect relationship (although there is a risk of oversimplification).

• Complicated

Complicated contexts are the world of known unknowns; multiple right answers exist, but they require analysis.

• Complex

Here, there are unknown unknowns; and cause-and-effect relationships are only apparent in hindsight.

• Chaotic and disordered

These are domains of no clear cause-and-effect relationships and high turbulence.

Is your mental skills work simple, relevant and applicable?

Mental skills coach Aaron Walsh wanted to understand the perceived gap between value and impact in his field and embarked on a research project.

It furthered his understanding and, as he wrote in an exclusive column for the Leaders Performance Institute, Walsh alighted on three principles for making mental skills work meaningful:

1. Simple — Psychology is a complex subject; however, there is no need to make the content inaccessible by using language and terms you don’t need to. You don’t need to impress them by demonstrating your knowledge of the subject matter. Additionally, I have made the mistake of presenting too much information. The more information you have, the greater the chances of being confused. If you keep the language simple and try to cover only a little, you enhance the audience’s ability to grasp the key messages.
2. Relevance — Any content we deliver must apply to the athlete’s needs. The athlete cannot integrate irrelevant mental skills into their performance. Not everything you know will be relevant to what they need. One good question for us to ponder is, “What do they need to know that is relevant to the challenges they will face?”
3. Applicable — The content needs to be translated into practical solutions. No one wants to be told they are “doing it all wrong” and then not have a roadmap for growth to occur. They should be able to walk out of a session with some tools they can apply to their performance that meet the demands they will face.

By John Portch

“Are you doing what you want to be doing?” David Clancy asked his audience.

Clancy, a learning and development consultant with the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group, was speaking at the October launch of his new book Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: a Personal and Professional Development Framework at London’s Tate Modern Gallery.

“Maybe this day will make you think a little bit more into that question,” he continued.

The gallery’s East Room, with its panoramic views of London, is a suitable backdrop for some of the brightest minds in sports science and medicine. Each of them knows there’s more to their success than talent.

“When we’re in college, we’re taught the technical, clinical, hard skills, but it’s the soft skills that make a difference,” said Clancy.

Essential Skills is an effort to address that reality, bringing together as it does experts who, in some cases, had never previously met in order to collaborate. “That’s the beauty of the book because it shows we can all get better together.”

The book’s proceeds will go to Children’s Health Ireland [CHI], a cause dear to Clancy and his family given the care they have provided to his four-year-old daughter Grace. “This way I can help people like my daughter and her friends.”

Clancy then introduced his roster of speakers – friends, collaborators and mentors – all of whom had wisdom to share.

Here, the Leaders Performance Institute picks out five thinking points to help you reflect on Clancy’s original question: are you doing what you want to be doing?

1. Define the behaviours that will take you from potential to peak

First onstage was James Kerr, the author of the renowned Legacy, who detailed the lessons leaders can take from New Zealand’s All Blacks.

He explained that the right behaviours are the real “force multiplier”. Good behaviours, whether you’re an athlete, coach or practitioner, will “take you from potential to peak more consistently”.

For the All Blacks, that may mean ‘sweeping the sheds’ but how does that look in your environment? What will enable you to show up more often and apply the right behaviours?

2. Seek to understand, find common ground

Behaviours shouldn’t be separated from your values, but how comfortable are you calling out poor behaviours? Any discomfort you feel may be amplified if you’re a woman trying to progress in a male-dominated environment.

Alicia Tang, the Head of Academy Medicine & Physical Performance at Derby County, recognises this “internal battle” well enough and believes the first step is to speak to the relevant stakeholders. “Seek to understand, find common ground, and then work on the resolution,” she said during the second session.

This view is shared by business consultant Michelle Carney, who said, “If you meet people where they are, you’ll find the right people”. They will not only be colleagues but allies.

“I think it’s definitely empowering when you have those people around you,” says Ashar Magoba, the Lead Academy Physiotherapist at Charlton Athletic, who is also starting to work with the club’s first team. “Perhaps those people can see something in you that you don’t quite yet see yet.”

3. Take a look over the fence

Where do you look for insights and inspiration? Jack McCaffrey, a six-time All-Ireland Senior Football champion with Dublin GAA, enjoys himself in his day job as a paediatric doctor at CHI at Temple Street in Dublin. “I get to hang out with kids all day; and kids are just great,” he told performance coach Ronan Conway during their fireside chat in session three.

In some ways, McCaffrey’s medical career is a sanctuary from his Gaelic football (particularly following a bad result). One could say the players of the strictly amateur Gaelic games in Ireland have a natural separation between the athlete and person that can often be lost in professional sports.

During his intercounty career, McCaffrey’s work also gave him lessons to take back to the Dublin panel, where the training environment was, to all intents and purposes, a professional setting.

“Most of my learning of dealing with high-pressure situations has come from work,” he said. “How to remain cool, how to have feedback loops, how to make sure you’re sticking to algorithms.”

4. Find the information in your trauma

In sport, we continually speak of ‘controlling the controllables’ and yet 95% of human brain activity is subconscious. It is a troubling thought for life coach Mark Whittle, the Founder of the Take Flight performance consultancy, as he told us during the fourth session.

His presentation returned to the question of behaviours, which he said are governed by both our drive towards pleasure and wish to avoid pain. Tied up in that avoidance of pain is fear, which can be born of trauma.

Consider a setback you’ve suffered: how can you learn from that event and respond appropriately? “What can you make it mean?” Whittle asked the audience.

5. Identify your gaps

It takes humility to recognise what it takes to excel in a new role. In the final session, Jeff Konin and Trevor Bates warn of the Peter Principle. The concept, devised by psychologist Laurence J Peter, states that people tend to be promoted to their ‘level of respective incompetence’. Think of the supreme technician who, upon promotion, finds themselves overwhelmed as a manager tasked for the first time with leading people.

For Konin, the important thing is finding your ‘where’ when looking five or ten years into the future. “What skills do you need that you don’t currently possess?” said the Clinical Professor from Florida International University.

Similarly, Bates may be the President & CEO of Mercy College in Ohio, but he has no problem with being the “pupil”. He said: “I might be the one who moves a programme forward, but intellectually I might be a pupil in that space.”

Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: a Personal and Professional Development Framework is available now from Elsevier.

By David Clancy & Alexia Sotiropoulou

“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves”

Eleanor Roosevelt

In the pursuit of high performance, whether in business or sports, there’s an underlying force that goes beyond winning or achieving KPIs: purpose.

Purpose is the north star that guides us through adversity, keeps us focused amidst distractions, and fuels our long-term engagement. When leading yourself and others, the power of purpose cannot be understated. It’s about creating an environment where every individual finds meaning in their role, feels fulfilled in their contributions, and experiences a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves.

Purpose-driven leadership is not just about results. It speaks to human connection; when one feels seen and heard. Great leaders cultivate deep relationships with their teams, which comes by empathy, trust, and support. The connection between a true leader and their team hinges on a shared understanding of what motivates everyone on a deeper level. As John C Maxwell puts it, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

It’s more than just retention

Gallup and studies reported in HBR often highlight that employees who find meaning in their work show increased productivity and retention. One well-cited article is ‘Meaning Is More Important than Happiness’ by Emily Esfahani Smith, which explores the impact of meaningful work on wellbeing, productivity and engagement. Deloitte highlighted in their Global Human Capital Trends Report of 2019 how employees who find purpose in their work are more likely to stay with their employer. That makes sense. A great place to work is a great place to work.

As Simon Sinek, leadership expert and author of Start with Why, says: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” This fundamental concept applies not only to customers but also to team members, colleagues, and leaders. By fostering purpose in yourself and others, you align actions with deeper values, creating a culture where high performance and personal fulfilment coexist.

Meaningfulness: a compass in uncertain times

Meaningfulness isn’t just about liking what you do; it’s about understanding why it matters. In elite environments, whether you’re a player, coach, or part of the front office, the pressures and expectations are immense. The need to win, deliver results, and meet expectations often dominates the narrative. But the best leaders, those who guide their teams with purpose, know that long-term success is rooted in meaningful work. This drives individuals to not only execute their tasks but also to find value in how those tasks contribute to the big picture. Leaders who strive to inspire meaningful work allow individuals to not just survive pressure, but thrive under it, empowering them to embrace challenges as part of their career journey.

Three principles to cultivate meaningfulness:

1. Reinforce the ‘why’: Constantly remind yourself and your team of the purpose behind the work. Whether you’re preparing for a championship match or a decision-making meeting on injured players, help them see how their contributions align with the collective mission. It’s not just about the outcome but the impact along the way. NASA’s famous story of a NASA janitor telling US President John F Kennedy that he was ‘helping to put a man on the moon’ exemplifies how knowing your ‘why’ is big picture stuff, driving engagement and commitment.
2. Connect the dots: Leaders need to help people see the connection between their day-to-day to-dos and the overarching goals. When team members understand how their role directly influences the organisation’s purpose, they are more motivated, energised and engaged. For example, Google uses the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) System to help employees understand how their daily work ties into the company’s broader goals, fostering a sense of ownership and purpose at every level.
3. Celebrate progress, not just results: Recognise the small wins and the milestones achieved on the journey. This acknowledgment reminds individuals that meaningful work is about the process, not just the result. As Bill Walsh said, ‘the score takes care of itself.’ By shifting focus to progress, forward movement and continuous growth, leaders create a culture where learning and development are just as valued as outcomes. Recognition of small victories also fosters a sense of shared accomplishment, strengthening the bond between leaders and their teams.

Fulfilment, fuel for high performance

Fulfilment is about finding personal satisfaction in the work you do. It’s that feeling of deep contentment that comes from using your strengths to their fullest potential and knowing that what you do matters. In high-performance sporting environments, the external pressures can sometimes overshadow personal fulfilment, but when fulfilment is present, individuals feel more locked-in and resilient.

Fulfilment creates a ripple effect throughout the entire organisation. When team members feel fulfilled – filled full if you would like – they bring their best selves to work, inspiring those around them to do the same.

Four ways leaders can foster fulfilment:

1. Encourage strengths-based roles: Fulfilment comes when people are doing what they are good at. Leaders should focus on aligning individual strengths with team needs, ensuring that each person is working in a role that amplifies their talents. You want your team to each play as best possible in their zone of maximal impact, as often as possible.
2. Provide autonomy: Give your team the white space to make decisions, take ownership of their tasks, and bring their creative solutions to the table. Autonomy is closely linked to fulfilment, as it empowers individuals to bring their whole selves to work. Encouraging open communication and inviting team members to share ideas fosters trust and collaboration.
3. Offer opportunities for growth: High performers crave growth. Fulfilment isn’t static; it evolves as individuals develop. Providing opportunities for learning, upskilling, and stretching beyond comfort zones helps pave the way for long-term satisfaction. Encourage team members to set personal and professional goals and support them in pursuing those ambitions.
4. Celebrate achievements, big and small: Recognition is a powerful motivator. Celebrating both team and individual accomplishments reinforces the idea that every effort matters. Remember: it is about the journey, the process – not just the destination.

Case in point, Dennis Rodman. Here is a prime example of where recognition can be seen, by how Head Coach Phil Jackson managed his Chicago Bulls squad during the 1995-96 season. Jackson often recognised Rodman, not just for his defensive prowess, hustle and rebounding, but for his unique role, style and intensity on the court. By publicly acknowledging Rodman’s contributions, Jackson built Rodman’s confidence and reinforced his core value to the team, despite his unconventional approach. This clear recognition played a critical role in fostering trust, thereby maximising Rodman’s performance. The Bulls had a historic 72-win season.

Belongingness, the glue that binds it all

At its core, belongingness is about feeling valued and accepted by the group. High-performing teams that experience a strong sense of belonging operate on a different level.

One of the guiding principles within the All Blacks is the Māori concept of ‘Whānau,’ which means ‘family’, but it extends beyond immediate relatives to include the team as a whole unit. Players are taught to understand that when they put on the famous black jersey with the silver fern, they are not just playing for themselves, but for their teammates, their country, and the generations of players who came before them.

Belonging. Part of something bigger.

It’s a powerful feeling to know that you are a part of something bigger than yourself, like helping to put someone on the moon.

Four strategies to create a sense of belonging:

1. Cultivate psychological safety: Teams perform best when individuals feel safe to express ideas, voice concerns, and take risks without fear of judgment or reprisal. Leaders must create environments where candid dialogue is encouraged, and diverse perspectives are valued.
2. Foster team identity: Whether it’s through shared rituals, moments of reflection, or collective storytelling, the strongest teams have a clear sense of who they are, what they represent and why they exist. The best leaders ensure that every individual feels like they are part of the team’s story.
3. Be intentional about inclusivity: Belonging is about more than fitting in; it’s about being included in meaningful ways. Leaders must actively ensure that every team member feels seen, heard, and valued, regardless of their background or role.
4. Encourage mutual support: Create an environment where team members actively support one another, both professionally and personally. Encourage practices like peer mentoring, buddy systems, or team check-ins, for deeper connections and understanding among team members. When individuals see each other as allies and resources, it enhances feelings of belonging and reinforces a culture of care and compassion.

Final thoughts

Leading yourself and others with purpose is about much more than reaching performance goals. Before you can lead others, you must first lead yourself. Leading with purpose involves setting common value-based goals, staying focused in the choppy seas of collaboration and motivating yourself and your team to stay on track, with eyes on the prize.

To lead yourself with purpose, you need to define your own personal mission, vision and values.

Start there.

These are your guiding principles to help shape decisions and actions aligned with your purpose. You must also set clear goals for yourself and develop a plan to make them happen. This will take discipline and fortitude. Give it a go, starting today.

As with anything in high performance, you need to find what works for you first. So off you go.

David Clancy is a Learning and Development Consultant at the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group. He is also the Editor of Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: A Personal and Professional Development Framework, which is available now from Elsevier.

Alexia Sotiropoulou is a Co-Founder & International Markets Specialist at the The Nxt Level Group. She is also a Public Relations & International Sales Specialist at the Isokinetic Medical Group.

If you would like to speak to David and Alexia, please contact a member of the Leaders Performance Institute team.

By John Portch

How concerned are you about burnout, both for yourself and for those whom you lead?

It’s an ever-pertinent question, whether you hear whispers within your corridors or not, and it is always worth checking in with your people.

During October, with this in mind, we returned to a memorable presentation delivered by Holly Ransom, author of The Leading Edge, who spoke at our February Melbourne Sport Performance Summit about ‘energy audits’ that we can all perform.

Speaking of Sport Performance Summits, our next London edition is just around the corner – specifically the 13 and 14 November at London’s Kia Oval.

Speakers include Stuart Lancaster, the Head Coach of the Paris-based Racing 92; John Longmire, the Senior Coach of the AFL’s Sydney Swans; and Anna Warren, the Head of Science & Medicine at the ECB.

It promises to be another cracker but, if you are yet to reserve your place, get in touch with the Leaders Performance Institute today – or at least after you’ve perused October’s Debrief.

This time we posed a series of questions, starting with energy audits, progressing to wellbeing and mental skills, before alighting on learning, performance analysis, and, in a left-field turn, the weather.

What is an ‘energy audit’?

They probably sound grander than they actually are, which is not to diminish their importance.

When Holly Ransom spoke at Melbourne’s Glasshouse in February, she suggested three questions we should all ask ourselves:

1. What are your natural high energy moments?
2. What are your natural low energy moments?
3. How are you currently employing those moments?

Ransom believes people should tackle their most important tasks when their energy is at its highest so that they “get the return on energy they deserve”.

She also explained that leaders set the tone for the organisation. She said: “The most powerful thing that you could actually do for that group of people that you lead is think about how we influence that energy in that moment so we don’t get the contagion of that negative energy running through more of the day or more of the week.”

Do you feel guilty for focusing on your wellbeing?

You probably have felt guilty at some point and you’re not alone.

Emily Downes, the General Manager of Wellbeing & Leadership at High Performance Sport New Zealand, admitted as much onstage at the Glasshouse.

“We all probably struggle with that at one point in time or another,” she said. “Who else do you need to have on your support crew that helps give you that permission?”

Part of the solution is systems and processes that enable people to step away from their desks.

“The challenge around this is: are you asking for it?” said Downes. “Are you communicating to your manager what support looks like for you or what you might need to be at your best?”

She addressed the leaders in the room directly. “Have you set up systems within your environment to enable people to [step away from their desk]?”

In any case, if you get up and go for a walk or a run, what’s the worst that can happen?

How effective is your mental skills work?

The growing focus on wellbeing is matched by an increased emphasis on mental performance, but in an exclusive column Aaron Walsh, a performance coach with the Chiefs and Scotland Rugby, considered whether that emphasis is being translated into effective work.

It became a focus of his recent research, with Walsh speaking to 35 head coaches and heads of performance. The project revealed four major shortcomings:

1. Lack of support from key stakeholders.
2. The work often became siloed.
3. The provider did not understand the demands of the environment.
4. The information presented was often too complex and not relevant to the needs of the athletes.

Most teams don’t know where to begin and there is a clear lack of application.

He discussed the five approaches open to all teams and encouraged all leaders to ask themselves three questions:

1. Does your team currently have a mental performance strategy?
2. What approach best suits your team and meets the mental demands it faces?
3. Are you setting up your providers to be successful and have an impact?

Are you setting your female athletes up to succeed?

The Sport Wales Female Health & Performance Team are working to address some of the major health and performance considerations that affect female athletes from the grassroots to podium potential.

Prominent among their concerns are myths around the menstrual cycle.

“There are still female athletes who see it as a positive if their periods stop when they’re training,” Dr Natalie Brown, a Research Associate at the Welsh Institute of Performance Science, tells the Leaders Performance Institute on Teams.

“This is because it’s easier and more convenient; they’ve not got to deal with the symptoms or the bleeding.”

Yet the impact on their short and long term health, let alone performance, could be significant. “It’s an indicator that they do not have enough energy for those basic bodily functions.”

However, as Brown said, “even in just focusing on the menstrual cycle you’re ignoring the bigger picture around women’s experiences of sport and how the system that we’ve designed doesn’t enable women to thrive in sport because they’re trying to thrive in a male system.”

More available here.

What are your greatest challenges with performance analysis?

Reliability and efficiency are likely to feature prominently, as they did in this recent virtual roundtable for Leaders Performance Institute members, but have you considered your job descriptions? Do they adequately set out what your organisation requires, both in terms of filling gaps in skillsets and finding seamless integration.

Dr John Francis of the University of Worcester and Dr Denise Martin from Atlantic Technological University in Ireland have conducted research into this space. During the roundtable discussion, they set out recommendations for both organisations and applicants across four areas:

1. Employer familiarity information

Organisation: outline values and goals, provide infrastructure, staffing and philosophy.

Applicant: understand the organisation’s goals and how to contribute.

2. Description of job-related tasks & personal specification

Organisation: list job-specific tasks and required skills; list specific academic or coaching knowledge and software competencies; emphasise evidence-informed processes and the need to understand feedback and learning strategies.

Applicant: gain clarity on role tasks and responsibilities; highlight relevant experiences in application and determine their fit. Identify areas for personal and professional growth.

3. Salary & renumeration

Organisation: clearly present salary bands and rewards.

Applicant: assess job value and potential rewards.

4. Opportunity for advancement

Organisation: detail career progression and CPD activities.

Applicant: make informed decisions about career path within the organisation; consider your long-term aspirations.

Ensuring value capture in applied performance analysis

Martin and her colleagues have conducted research into value capture in performance analysis and alighted on three key questions:

What? Organisational capability to generate, curate and translate data to c0-create knowledge and insight.

How? Skills and contextual intelligence allow practitioners to embed effectively in the performance ecosystem.

Why? These lead to what Martin calls the ‘lightbulb moments’ – where value is added to decision-making processes and contributes to performance.

Additional reporting by Luke Whitworth.

Is yours a good learning organisation?

Lucy Pearson, the Director of FA Education, believes that learning is too important to take seriously.

“As a society, we make a distinction between work and play,” she told an audience at the Kia Oval during the last Leaders Sport Performance Summit. “Work is grown up, it’s serious, it’s important; and play is seen in the adult world as childish, frivolous, a bit inessential, a luxury. But play is the creative process through which we learn.”

This comes with a caveat. “People can be playful at work, yes, but we need to be thoughtful about what we’re looking to achieve in those learning opportunities. Design is deliberate – not accidental – if you want to drive high performance.”

As such, FA Education is on a “journey to design, develop and deliver learning, across a number of different modes, to a range of people who’ve all got different tasks, concerns and priorities.”

Pearson is mindful, however, that people can’t be compelled to learn. “Learning is up to the learner,” she said. “All we can do is create the circumstance in which the learning has the best opportunity to happen.” She likened it to classes at school that we either liked or didn’t like. “The teachers all may have put the same amount of effort in, but it was the all-round environment that you found yourself in, the person leading it, the text that somebody chose – it all needed to be thought-through on your behalf.”

Final thought: how important is the weather in pre-season?

The popularity of warm weather camps, particularly in the depths of winter, is universal, but what about during pre-season?

Tom Cleverley, the Head Coach of Championship Watford, was intent on taking his team to St George’s Park in Staffordshire in July rather than copying his rivals in going abroad.

“You can guarantee that the weather isn’t going to impact training loads,” he told the Leaders Performance Institute. “Sometimes you can go to Spain, Portugal and it’s too hot to get the intensities that you want.”

Cleverley was echoed by Tony Strudwick, the Director of Medical at West Bromwich Albion and by Neil Thompson, the Assistant Manager Sheffield Wednesday. Much like Watford, Albion and Wednesday both visited SGP in July to get that desired balance of suitable weather and a refreshing change of surroundings.

If you live and work in a temperate zone or even somewhere altogether more sunny, is it something you’ve considered?

By David Clancy, Richard Kosturczak & Ronan Conway

‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’

African proverb

Cohesion is an invisible thread that binds high-performing teams together.

Without it, even the most skilled groups falter. As Peter Guber, the CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and Co-Owner of the Golden State Warriors, LA Dodgers and LA FC said, “Without social cohesion, the human race wouldn’t be here. We’re not formidable enough to survive without the tactics, rules, and strategies that allow people to work together.” This principle is as true in modern business organisations and elite sports as it was in our evolutionary history.

High-performing teams aren’t just thrown together without thinking. They are intentionally built through careful design, clear communication, and shared goals. It’s about finding the blend where roles, responsibilities, and diverse perspectives align, allowing every individual to leverage their strengths for the benefit of the collective.

So, how do we achieve that cohesion, especially in environments where team members may not fit neatly into traditional roles? How do we ensure that the whole team operates as a cohesive unit, even when differing opinions and reporting lines exist?

Finding the sweet spot

Cohesive working requires creating an environment where finding the sweet spot means aligning team members’ roles and responsibilities in a way that meets both organisational goals and individual capabilities. It’s about meeting in the middle – ensuring that while everyone contributes their unique expertise, they also respect the collective objective.

Leaders play a pivotal role in facilitating these moments of alignment, ensuring that when opinions or methods differ, the focus stays on finding the most effective solution, rather than reinforcing silos, judgements or personal agendas. In this sense, cohesion is about not just collaboration, but collaboration that works toward shared objectives, adapting as needed to meet challenges in real time.

The building blocks

The foundation of a cohesive team lies in four critical elements:

1. Clear roles: Every member of the team should have a well-defined role, even if that role isn’t conventional or part of a traditional organisational chart. The key is to align the individual’s expertise with their contributions to the team’s goals, ensuring everyone knows what they’re responsible for – and how they contribute to the big picture.
2. Adaptability: In a dynamic environment, roles may shift depending on the context or challenge at hand. Leaders must ensure that team members are flexible and willing to step outside their comfort zones, taking on responsibilities that might not align with typical job titles.
3. Trust: Open lines of communication are mission critical for a team to gel. Trust allows for honest dialogue and ensures that differing opinions or approaches are respected, not dismissed.
4. Decision-making model: A clearly articulated framework for decision-making provides structure and coherence, thus ensuring that everyone understands not just what decisions need to be made, but who is responsible for making them, and how they are executed.

These building blocks allow for cohesion even in complex or unconventional team structures.

Identifiers of high cohesion

How a team clicks: does it work in harmony? Knowing where to look is essential for identifying how well a team is functioning together. Here are some concepts to look at for indexing this sense of ‘teamwork’.

• Role clarity: Are team members clear on their own responsibilities and those of others?
• Conflict resolution: How well does the team resolve differences in opinion, methods or strategy?
• Collaborative decision-making: Are decisions made through collective input, even when the final call rests with one person?
• Mutual accountability: Do team members hold themselves and each other accountable for delivering on expectations?

These markers are crucial for evaluating is a team functioning as a tight unit. You could use these identifiers as a means for tracking and measuring how well the team is doing.

When these indicators are robust, the team’s ability to perform at a high level is elevated.

Ensuring that everyone is on the right bus – and in the right seat on that bus

Ensuring that people have the right roles and responsibilities in a team isn’t as simple as matching a title to a task. Often, it requires rethinking traditional organisational designs. Instead of relying on predefined job descriptions, high-performing teams focus on matching skills, expertise, and interest to the actual needs and musts of a team. This flexibility ensures that individuals are positioned to succeed, even if their role falls outside a traditional org chart.

The best approach is to identify the key outcomes the team needs to achieve and then allocate responsibilities based on who is best suited to drive those outcomes. It’s not uncommon for someone to hold responsibilities that cross functional boundaries, but as long as clarity exists, cohesion can still thrive.

The goal is not to fill predefined slots but to build a dynamic, flexible system that adapts to the needs of the moment, such is the demands of elite sport.

Good on paper vs good in reality

It’s easy to assume that a team looks perfect on paper – each role clearly defined, each person seemingly in the right position. But the reality is often far more nuanced. Good on paper might mean that organisational charts, roles, and responsibilities are technically correct, but it doesn’t account for the personal dynamics, communication styles, or agility of the individuals involved.

Good in reality, on the other hand, refers to teams that function well in practice, in the training room, on the field – when it counts, when pressure comes. This requires fluidity, acknowledging that roles may overlap, opinions may diverge, and people may need to step outside of their ‘assigned’ lanes to help the team succeed. Cohesion in the real world demands malleability, trust, and a willingness to change when necessary.

Managing differing opinions

It’s quite common for teams to have two people with different opinions or views reporting to different leaders. This could be shaped by the individual’s personality predisposition, such as are they more Type A and Type B, for example. These differing views, opinions and traits can create friction – but in high-performing teams, this diversity of thought is seen as a strength, something to be amplified, if positioned well. It pushes the team toward innovation and deeper problem-solving. The key is to ensure that these differing opinions don’t lead to disjointed decision-making and fragmentation.

This is where a decision-making model becomes critical. Leaders should establish processes that guide how decisions are made, who gets the final say, and how differing viewpoints are resolved. For instance, a performance director may not need to make the final call on a return to play decision, but having the A-Z flow will make this decision ‘cleaner’. Each professional stays within their expertise, but they collaborate through a framework that aligns with the team’s overarching goals, such as getting the player back on the pitch after an injury.

Overseeing the decision

Who oversees the decision-making model depends on the structure of the team, but it’s crucial that not every decision needs to reach the top. In well-functioning, cohesive teams, there are levels of authority and autonomy, allowing for faster and more efficient decision-making. Sometimes, well-oiled departments have decentralised command structures, often seen in the military. For example, a doctor doesn’t need the performance director’s approval to prescribe treatment, but the doctor and the PD must work within an established system that ensures consistency and alignment with the team’s overall strategy and vision from a sporting director.

The model should be overseen by those who understand both the day-to-day operational needs and the bigger picture. One needs to be able to zoom in, but also out. This is often a middle ground between front-line team members and senior leadership; this ensures that decisions are informed, timely, and strategic.

Cohesion reading

As a leader, you have likely accumulated a bank of time in teams and groups, from school, university, your organisation, etc. Thus, you have experienced a wide spectrum of people dynamics, cultures and environments. Think of the moments where something felt ‘off’. The energy seemed blunted. People were preoccupied with relational issues, toxic rhetoric, or disgruntlements. In these environments, the task at hand sometimes became secondary. On the flip side, when a team felt closer, it felt ‘right’. In these moments, energy flows… it bends… it adapts like a river. People are locked in, focused on the team vision. Why? Because these relationships are grounded on bone-deep trust and mutual respect.

Call it intuition. Gut feel. Emotional intelligence. This is how you gauge how cohesive a team feels, like a barometer for linkages.

The next time you walk into a team meeting or the changing room, allow yourself a moment to take a reading of the room. Pause and step back. Take a breath. Watch your people. Track their body language and eye contact. How do they greet each other and interact? Listen in. Note the intonation, the laughter, the silence. This is all data.

Is the energy flowing or is it stuck? Notice what you are picking up. Trust it. Take note.

Connection is a separator of great teams

If role clarity, conflict resolution, collaborative decision-making and mutual accountability are the bricks in the house, connection is the cement that binds it all. The quality of our team interactions is heightened when we feel psychologically safe with others, valued and respected. We remain open and engaged and are less likely to shut down or retreat into a corner.

So, how do we foster this connection more?

The elite coaches and managers take no chances in this area. Connection must be intentional. It is not something that one assumes will happen in a performance café or at a team-building Christmas party per se. Just as time is allocated in the weights room to build muscle, elite teams dedicate time to strengthen the collective muscle. This can be bridged by facilitating conversations with individuals to enable them to take stock and interact on a meaningful level. In doing so, they reinforce their connections between teammates, the jersey, their why, legacy and their higher purpose.

A great example of this deliberative connection-building comes from Europe’s Ryder Cup win in 2023 at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. Post victory, Rory McIlroy reflected on when his team started to take shape, under the leadership of Luke Donald, their team captain at the time, and European Captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup. On a practice trip in the lead-up to the tournament, putting greens, driving ranges and tactics boards were swapped for an ‘amazing experience’ around a fire pit. The team reflected on topics like ‘why they love the Ryder Cup so much’, and ‘having parents that sacrificed a lot for them’. This moment helped galvanise the European team.

Now to The Last Dance. In 1998, Phil Jackson, the Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls, gathered Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and co. He asked them to write about what their Bulls team meant to them before each player read aloud to the group. After they all had their turn, Jackson symbolically lit the tin cup filled with papers on fire, and all the Bulls watched on and felt more connected. “One of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen”, said current Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors and former Chicago Bull, Steve Kerr. The rest is history.

Final thoughts

Building cohesion and connection is about far more than getting the right people in the right roles – it’s about finding that sweet spot where collaboration thrives, even when team structures or opinions don’t fit the mould.

The successful teams of the past, whether this is Manchester United Football Club under Sir Alex Ferguson, the All Blacks of 2011 to 2015, or the Red Sox after they broke the curse, they all built strong foundations of trust, clear communication, and adaptable roles.

Teams can become great, making decisions that are informed by a diverse range of perspectives yet aligned toward shared goals. By implementing robust decision-making systems and processes, and fostering environments where flexibility, connection and trust are prioritised, high-performing teams can unlock their full potential…navigating complexity with confidence, and a higher sense of team.

David Clancy is a Learning and Development Consultant at the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group. He is also the Editor of Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: A Personal and Professional Development Framework, which is available now from Elsevier.

Richard Kosturczak is a Market Specialist at The Nxt Level Group and Specialist Physiotherapist.

Ronan Conway is a Team Connection Facilitator, who has worked with teams including the Ireland men’s rugby team and Dublin GAA, Ireland’s most decorated Gaelic football team.

If you would like to speak to David, Richard and Ronan, please contact a member of the Leaders Performance Institute team.

By John Portch

What do the likes of Michelle Obama, Malcolm Gladwell and Matthew McConaughey have in common?

Yes, they’re all respected figures and leaders in their field, but something else sets them apart.

“The most overwhelming thing when you meet these people, when you ask them questions and you start to get an understanding of them, is that they’ve worked on themselves first and they continue to do the work on themselves,” said renowned author of The Leading Edge, Holly Ransom, who has interviewed them all.

She continued: “You can’t actually lead others until you can lead yourself, and you can’t sustain your venture with others unless you’re continuing to challenge the way that you’re leading yourself.”

Ransom was speaking at the Leaders Sport Performance Summit in Melbourne in February where she identified the reason why the Obama approach is easier said than done.

“One thing that’s quite striking is we’re very good at doing the knowing, absorbing, the taking in – and we’re saturated by it. We get constant pings on our phone, we’ve got emails coming in at all hours, we subscribe to all these sorts of channels, people [are] sending us the latest research. Very rarely do we actually pause to go ‘what might that mean for me?’ ‘I’ve just read that really interesting article. What am I going to do with it?’”

It has led, she said, to a gap between leaders’ awareness and application. “Most of us know that there are elements that we could change, that we might want to challenge [but] there’s often a gap with the ‘doing’.”

To underline the point she asked the Leaders Performance Institute members in attendance to join small groups to discuss a time when they changed an opinion or belief in the last 12 months. Most found it difficult to identify an example and one even said the exercise felt “weird”.

Yet here was a room of people whose roles are rooted in leading change (from processes to performance) inadvertently admitting how difficult it is for them to adapt themselves.

For Ransom, who also serves as a Director of Port Adelaide Football Club, the solution lies in establishing good habits. She encouraged the audience to ask themselves: “are my habits still serving me? Are they serving my life? Are they serving my leadership?”

Even if the answer is ‘no’, there are still steps that all leaders can take to re-establish healthy habits.

Manage your energy, not your time

One potential consequence of failing to take care of oneself is burnout, with Ransom revealing that Australia and New Zealand have some of the highest rates of burnout in the world.

She challenged the notion of life as a ‘marathon’ or, if it is, then “it’s a marathon of F45s”. “I think we need to change the way that we’re thinking,” she said. “We need to challenge ourselves to be thinking about managing energy and not thinking about managing time.”

Ransom raised another famous aphorism, that we have the same amount of hours as high achievers such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso or Thomas Edison and therefore others should be capable of similar feats in their own field. “I think the modern version is that we’ve got as many hours as Beyoncé.”

But it doesn’t work like that. As Ransom pointed out, there is a body of research that revealed that the major difference in sports between the world No 1, No 15 and N 105 was not time spent in the gym or in training (that was roughly equal across the board). Instead, “what was really different was how they manage their energy and specifically how they manage their energy to peak at key performance moments”.

Perform an ‘energy audit’

Ransom suggested that everyone in the room conduct a personal ‘energy audit’, which she rooted in three questions:

1. What are your natural high energy moments?
2. What are your natural low energy moments?
3. How are you currently employing those moments?

Ransom believes people should tackle their most important tasks when their energy is at its highest so that they “get the return on energy they deserve”.

She said: “What can you block that out for? What should that be allocated for? Even experimenting with that alone can fundamentally help you change your results and outcomes.” It provides the basis for good habits, whether you’re a morning person or a night owl (most people in the room were morning people).

On the flip side, numerous people (particularly men) report that their lowest energy levels are between 8am and 10am on Monday, which is often when organisations hold team meetings.

“It doesn’t mean you change it, but it does mean that maybe that time can best be used to manage energy,” she added. “The most powerful thing that you could actually do for that group of people that you lead is think about how we influence that energy in that moment so we don’t get the contagion of that negative energy running through more of the day or more of the week.”

With a little help from your friends

If you can self-reflect with help from your peers, all the better. “One of the things I’ve noticed is that people who do this well have certain people in their corner or in their ‘personal cabinet’,” said Ransom, who then outlined ‘four Ss’ for consideration:

1. Supporters: “Think about whether you’ve got these people in your corner; or there could be an opportunity to cultivate some new relationships.”
2. Sages: “Who can you go to and pick the brain of that’s going to help you think through some of the challenges that are on your plate and can be candid and open about how they’ve navigated similar situations before?”
3. Sponsors: you need people to go into bat for you. “The decision about you or the decision about your project or whether your idea often happens in a room that you’re not even in at a time when you’re not even aware that the conversation is going on.”
4. Sparring partners: “Who’s the person that’s actually going to push back and give you that critical feedback and say ‘could you’ve done that differently?’ or ‘I’m not sure that message is going to land if you deliver it like that’. We all need someone that can be our sounding board.”

What protects your energy during the day?

Ransom asked the room to think of things that make them happy, that add value to their life. Whatever the answer for each individual, life invariably prevents people doing those things, particularly in high performance where up regulation is usually the order of the day.

“What I’m saying and challenging around this is do not let ‘perfect’ be the end of the world,” she said, explaining that finding three minutes to deregulate is better than holding on for half an hour.

Instead, she recommended “microbreaks” throughout the day. Her idea was that you may not have time to dance or sing along to your favourite song (if such an idea makes you happy or lowers your heartrate), but you can incorporate desired elements into your day.

“What’s the version, the smallest edible snackable version of the thing that you know will add value to your life?” This can be incorporated into your morning coffee or on your way to grab your lunch.

“It’s an easy way of bringing it into the routine and the rhythm of your life.”

‘Chief role model’

Ransom encouraged Leaders Performance Institute members to view themselves as a ‘chief role model’ for their team. As a starting point, she asked everyone to consider one thing they could try doing for the first time – something that it would be good for people to see from their leaders.

She cited examples that leaders often raise: “‘I’ve not been great at practising self-care. I could do with being a little bit more deliberate about showing that to my team’” and “‘I’m not really good at asking for feedback I could do with getting more critical feedback and having a challenger in my network’.”

It is critical to keep doing the things of which you are proud; the things that you role model well because “you know it makes a difference to the environment you’re in [and] it makes a difference to you”.

By David Clancy & Richard Pullan

“Your network is your net worth.”

Porter Gale, former VP of Marketing at Virgin America and a leading business and marketing advisor

In today’s fast-paced world, high-performing individuals and teams face increasingly complex cognitive demands. These challenges are not just about processing information but also about managing stress, navigating uncertainty, and maintaining clarity amid competing priorities. This is where the power of strategic and intentional network building comes into play.

There are several means available to help build this network. They include purposeful twinning with others, developing an ecosystem of critical friends and identifying a web of second-opinion teammates. Each of these connections provides leaders with the means to make more informed and rounded decisions, make perspective shifts as well as provide objective feedback.

Twinning

‘Twinning’ refers to the practice of forming reciprocal partnerships with other teams or organisations that share similar goals, challenges, or conundrums – perhaps they might even be competitors, if the context makes sense. This is a huge part of what the Leaders Performance Institute does, in fact, forging ‘partnerships’ with teams and individuals. This is how the Houston Texans of the NFL became professional friends with the Texas Rangers of MLB, as an example. This symbiotic relationship allows for mutual learning and growth, where both parties can share best practices, resources, and insights. A term we often hear is ‘collaboration over competition’ – we can all row the boat faster if we are willing to exchange protocols, philosophies and pain points.

Professional sports teams all face their unique set of struggles but, oftentimes, there are numerous similarities with these. Sharing best practices and ways to approach challenges is a significant benefit downstream of this pairing. By ‘linking’ with another team, leaders can expand their knowledge base, reduce the isolation often felt in high-pressure roles, and benefit from other viewpoints.

In terms of innovation, if teams are open to sharing what they do (to a degree), how they do it, etc, they can draw on the experience and solutions already implemented elsewhere. This save them time, effort, and energy. Food for thought.

Critical friends

Critical friends play a unique role in leadership, deliberation and decision-making. A critical friend is someone who offers candid, constructive feedback and is unafraid to challenge assumptions. This is ideally someone outside the team/ franchise. They are trusted individuals who can act as a sounding board for ideas, provide a second perspective, and offer checkpoints when needed.

Creating and nurturing these ‘friends’ requires energy and effort, but the payoff can be huge. As an example, if you are ideating a new return-to-play system and method, bouncing ideas off someone with exposure to this in another environment could help make your system better. A no-brainer if you ask us!

We have witnessed the benefit in relation to cognitive demand also, as critical friends offer a safe space to validate thinking and refine or rethink ideas. Critical friends help prevent blind spots, biases and assumptions by encouraging the leader to pause and reflect before executing a critical task. The best critical friends strike a balance between support and challenge. They are not afraid to disagree, but they do so with the intention of helping the leader grow.

Second-opinion teammates

Second-opinion teammates (teammates being a crucial word) serve a similar purpose, offering alternative viewpoints to ensure a more well-rounded decision-making process, such as another set of eyes on an MRI report and image for a hamstring injury.

Particularly in high-stakes environments, seeking a second opinion reduces cognitive stress by distributing the weight of responsibility and allowing leaders to feel more confident in their choices. Knowing that a trusted colleague has reviewed the same data or proposal with rigour and objectivity can provide a sense of reassurance and clarity.

Strive to stock a bullpen of second-opinion teammates. It’s a game-changer.

Mentorship

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves”, said Steven Spielberg. To create themselves entails helping one to find their way. Consider giving a project to a more junior member of staff from a senior ‘mentor’, rather than the ‘easier’ option, of giving the project to a ‘middle manager’ who has done the type of project before. That’s an example of what this could look like.

Mentorship is a timeless strategy – one for managing both the emotional, physical and intellectual demands of leadership. This is typically someone with more experience who can offer guidance, advice, and lessons learned from mistakes, and successes. Great mentors provide leaders with the tools to think more effectively for themselves, enabling them, giving them their own toolkit; this helps them navigate complexity, prioritise, and mitigate stresses. They leave breadcrumbs behind.

Mentors can help leaders manage cognitive demands by offering perspective on what truly matters, helping to sift through the noise and focus on the signal i.e. what is essential. They also provide historical insight, showing leaders that many challenges they face are not new and can be tackled using time-tested methods. This reduces the sense of overwhelm that comes with thinking one must always reinvent the wheel. The issue you are facing has been faced and solved before.

Moreover, mentors are invaluable in helping leaders manage their wellbeing, as they can provide reassurance and encouragement when times get tough and they can acknowledge that these times come with the intense world of competitive sport.

Building a network

In high-pressure environments, leaders often find themselves juggling multiple competing priorities, balancing short-term, ‘urgent’ demands with long-term, ‘important’ goals.

Here are five reasons for nurturing a network to help with this:

1. Perspective: By offering alternative viewpoints, these individuals help leaders avoid tunnel vision, providing the clarity needed to make more informed decisions. As author John C. Maxwell said: “one of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination”.
2. Stress relief: They provide a safe space to vent frustrations or discuss difficult situations, reducing the emotional and cognitive strain on the leader.
3. Cognitive load reduction: They help leaders prioritise by distinguishing urgent tasks from important ones, easing decision-making and reducing the burden of figuring everything out on their own.
4. Feedback loops: They offer real-time feedback, allowing leaders to course-correct early, reducing the mental load associated with second-guessing decisions.
5. Confidence: With someone experienced offering reassurance or advice, leaders can make decisions with greater confidence, reducing self-doubt, fracturing under duress and mental fatigue.

What makes a good mentor?

The best ones share several key traits that make them invaluable in helping leaders grow and meet the demands of high-performance sport.

Here are five traits we often see:

1. Trustworthiness: A good mentor must be someone the leader can trust implicitly. This relationship relies on openness and honesty and, without trust, it can’t function effectively. Trust hinges on credibility, reliability and that willingness to be vulnerable. Look up the Trust Equation for more on this.
2. Empathy with objectivity: They need to be empathetic to understand the leader’s challenges, but objective enough to provide clear, unbiased feedback. A mentor must challenge, but from a place of care, not criticism.
3. Experience and expertise: Particularly for mentors, having a depth of experience is critical. They need to offer insights that come from having walked the same path or navigated similar challenges.
4. Active listening skills: The ability to listen without immediately offering solutions is key. Great mentors and critical friends give space for the leader to articulate their thoughts fully before stepping in with advice or feedback. ‘Beware the advice monster’, as Michael Bungay Stanier wrote in The Advice Trap. And, as Stephen R Covey proclaimed in his book The Seven Habits of Effective People, ‘seek first to understand, then be understood’.
5. Encouragement to reflect: The best mentors help leaders reflect on their own experiences, pushing them toward self-discovery and growth, rather than always offering the answers themselves.

And let’s not forget that mentors need mentors. This could be your partner at home, as an example.

So, here’s our challenge for you reading this article today – take on a mentorship role in some capacity, to give back…to pass the ladder down, as it were.

Final thoughts

In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving landscape in high-performance sport, a leader’s success isn’t just defined by individual strength – but by the strength of their network. Jobs these days in sport are complicated and complex. It is now rarely possible for one individual to serve a function fully without seeking support from other disciplines, to deliver the final solution to a given problem.

By cultivating relationships through twinning, critical friends, second-opinion teammates, and mentorship, leaders create a support system that fosters psychological safety, collaboration, and continuous learning. These connections enable leaders to confidently navigate complexities, make incisive decisions, and lead afront with impact. After all, just as every great athlete stands on the shoulders of their team, no leader can truly flourish without a trusted network standing behind them.

David Clancy is a Learning and Development Consultant at the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group. He is also the Editor of Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: A Personal and Professional Development Framework, which is available now from Elsevier.

Richard Pullan is a Director at The Nxt Level Group, the Visionary Founder of The Altitude Centre, and leads the training of clients for flash ascents of Everest and other 8,000m peaks, while also preparing professional athletes and elite sports teams. He is formerly of Sporting Health Group.

If you would like to speak to David and Richard, please contact a member of the Leaders Performance Institute team.

By David Clancy

‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn’.

Benjamin Franklin, American statesman and polymath

The motivations behind a learning ecosystem

You must want to create a learning organisation. It needs to be identified as a strategic and cultural pillar, and modelled from the top down. This gives it a chance.

Imagine the locker room of a Super Bowl-winning team: how does this group go from ‘good to great’, to borrow Jim Collins’ words? The answer lies not just in player availability, exceptional talent or game tactics but also in something more subtle: a learning ecosystem.

In environments where the pursuit of knowledge is seen as important as the pursuit of success, teams are not just built, they’re sculpted, layer by layer, through continuous learning, reflection and adaptation. If we want to develop the players to their highest possible level, we need to develop the staff and coaches too.

The drive behind fostering this goes beyond mere survival in a competitive landscape. It’s about thriving, about ensuring that every individual in the team environment feels compelled to grow, not just for their own sake, but for the collective strength of the group. It’s the difference between a team that reacts to change and one that anticipates it, between a team that executes a plan and one that evolves the plan as they go. Some of the reported benefits of nurturing a learning environment include enhanced adaptability, continuous improvement, increased engagement and motivation, better problem-solving, cohesion and innovation.

High-performing teams understand that learning isn’t a box to be ticked; rather, it’s a pursuit of betterment. It’s a culture, an ethos. Simply understanding that when presented with a similar situation, behaviours may change, is a sign of learning. As an example, ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’, an iterative four-stage management method for the control and continuous improvement of processes would lead to refinement of how behaviours take place in situations. When learning becomes a core value across a team and its various departments, it nudges forward-thinking, fosters resilience, and can contribute to sustained success.

Five key elements of a learning environment

Building a culture of learning is like constructing a well-oiled machine, where every part has a role to play. At the heart of this are a few critical parts:

1. Psychological safety: The foundation of any learning environment is the assurance that it’s okay to make mistakes, but to learn from them and to not repeat them is the crux. Without this feeling of safety, creativity and collaboration may not take place, and with it, the chance for true innovation. Psychological safety, the term coined by Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School, encourages one to create a space where ideas are welcomed and failures are treated as opportunities for learning rather than reasons for reprimand.
2. Shared vision: Learning for the sake of learning can lead to aimless wandering, with no clear path as to what and why to learn. A shared vision and mission align individual learning with the team’s broader goals. As an example, if a sports team suffered numerous hamstring injuries in pre-season, the sports medicine and performance department might review their practice and methods – is there a more efficient or effective way? – a better way of mitigating and managing these injuries? The team behind the team might decide to conduct an analysis of trends to look at patterns; a thinktank involving ‘experts’ from other teams to give inputs and create a cross-discipline task force to examine the cases. This becomes learning for a reason – how to improve the management of this hamstring issue. When everyone understands the ‘why’ behind their efforts, which leads to buy-in, their pursuit of knowledge becomes crystal clear, and laser-focused – and their contributions are more impactful.
3. Knowledge flow: In a high-performing team that models learning by example, information doesn’t just trickle down from the top – it flows freely in all directions. This flow of learning and development is sustained through mentorship, open communication channels, and a culture that values the sharing of knowledge capital as much as the accumulation of it.
4. Reflection and feedback: The engine of continuous learning is reflection, both self-reflection and collective, group reflection – call it collective intelligence. Feedback loops with honest and open communication, whether in the form of one-to-one conversations or team retrospectives, provide the insights needed to refine skills, adjust strategies, and become increasingly proactive in the way things are done.
5. Autonomy and ownership: Empowering people to drive learning at different levels is a game changer. When team members feel they have control over their learning journey to a degree, they are more likely to take initiative and seek out new knowledge that can help them with their task at hand, be that player care in a rehab setting, for example, or the various dimensions of bringing a player from another country into the team. Personal ownership of one’s development fosters a deeper commitment to growth and a stronger alignment with team objectives.

Pause for a moment and reflect on these questions:

1. Who has a learning environment that you know of?
2. What does it look like?
3. Imagine: how would it feel or how does it feel?

A further question:

How do you take these components and breathe life into them?

Five strategies to implement

The following strategies are as much about mindset as they are about action:

1. Lead by example: Leaders must embody the learning culture they wish to see. This means not only encouraging learning but actively participating in the process, whether through visible personal development efforts (e.g. being present during a learning lab), or by sharing lessons learned from their own mistakes if they feel comfortable doing so, revealing vulnerabilities and admitting that they may not have all the answers.
2. Encourage curiosity: Curiosity is the lifeblood of a learning culture. Cultivate it by celebrating inquisitiveness and making space for variations and exploration. Whether through dedicated innovation time (e.g. sharing of ideas over a creative breakfast every Monday), cross-functional projects, or learning stipends, give your team the tools and white space to pursue their interests and passions.
3. Integrate learning into the workflow: Don’t treat learning as something that happens outside of work only, or as a special task, or at the end of the season. Integrate it into the day-to-day when possible, whether through regular knowledge-sharing sessions, peer coaching (e.g. a buddy system), or embedding learning goals into project objectives. It must be seen as important, otherwise urgent tasks will keep encroaching and make it difficult to happen. Allocating time blocked off gives learning the best chance to happen, with little feeling of overwhelm; this is critical especially in environments where there is a feeling of chaos, busyness and intensity in-season.
4. Embrace cognitive diversity: Some of the best learning environments are those that welcome different perspectives, those ‘rebel ideas’, as author Matthew Syed once wrote. Encourage diversity in hiring, but also in the day-to-day – seek out voices that challenge the status quo and ways things are done. Can you create structures that allow these voices to be heard and valued?
5. Measure learning: As management consultant Peter Drucker once said, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. If you are trying to create ‘buy-in’ to the idea of developing a learning culture, you must articulate how you will measure its impact. Examples could include monitoring relevant key performance indicators (i.e. completing X amount of continuous professional development courses to stay certified), player performance metrics, and injury rates and recovery times. Other areas to appraise could be staff engagement and retention rates, regular assessment and feedback loops – and adjusting tactics based on data and information (e.g. how a learning path has informed a new protocol in the training room). Create a system for housing your knowledge, a learning management system, to use as a repository and index of resources. Use it also for learning initiatives, courses and paths that can be linked to the measurement strategies above.

Three typical obstacles and how to overcome them

No journey of learning is without its hurdles. Here are some common roadblocks and why they may emerge:

1. Complacency: When teams reach a certain level of success, the hunger for learning can fade. They’ve won; why keep learning at the top of the mountain? This feeling often emerges from a false sense of security, believing that what got them to this point will keep them there. The best way to combat complacency is by constantly raising the bar, setting new challenges, and fostering a mindset that views success as a milestone, not a finish line. Look at the New Zealand All Blacks from 2011 to 2015 and the current South Africa Springboks for exemplars of this worldview; that you must keep raising the bar of standards and execution.
2. Overwhelm: With the fast pace of modern work, finding time for learning can feel impossible. This challenge emerges when learning is seen as an ‘extra’ activity rather than a core part of roles and responsibilities in a job spec. Integrating learning into the daily routine as a habit and breaking it down into manageable, incremental steps can help overcome this sense of it as a heavy burden.
3. Siloed knowledge: When knowledge is hoarded rather than shared, the collective intelligence of the team suffers. Oftentimes this leads to groupthink, a practice of thinking or making decisions as a group, resulting usually in unchallenged, poor-quality decision-making. This boxed off and not shared knowledge often stems from competitive environments or unclear incentives. The remedy is a culture that rewards collaboration, connection and transparency, where knowledge sharing is seen as a mark of confidence in knowing your area of expertise, rather than a loss of personal power.

Navigating the obstacles

Resistance to learning initiatives is almost inevitable, but it’s how you respond to this resistance that counts. When faced with pushback, consider the following:

1. Understand the root cause: Resistance often emanates from fear: fear of change, fear of the unknown, or fear of being exposed as less competent and skilled at your job. Take the time to understand what’s driving the resistance. Is it a lack of confidence? A fear of losing relevance? Job insecurity? Perhaps it’s simply a misunderstanding of the purpose and key initiative? Once you know the root cause, you can tailor your approach to address it.
2. Reframe the story: Often, resistance comes from a perceived misalignment between the learning initiative and the individual’s or team’s goals. Reframe the narrative to show how learning aligns with personal and professional growth. Highlight success stories, provide clear examples of how learning has led to tangible benefits, and make the value proposition irresistible.
3. Start small: Change agency can be intimidating, especially if it feels like a massive overhaul. Start with small, manageable initiatives that demonstrate quick and easy wins, like embedding learning into daily activities. These successes build momentum and energy – and make the case for larger changes down the line when needed.
4. Involve the team in the process: As well as a commitment from senior leadership (signified by protection of time, shaping of intent and the financial commitment to learning and development), people are more likely to buy into a change if they feel they have a stake in it. Involve the particular team in shaping the learning culture; solicit their ideas, incorporate their feedback, and make them co-owners of the process as the system matures.

Final thoughts

Creating a culture of learning for high performing teams is not just about setting up training sessions or mandating workshops. It’s about embedding learning into the fabric of the team’s identity, mission and their values. Potential outputs range from staff skill enhancement and personal impact development to staff retention, less attrition and increased internal promotions. Increased unity around a performance philosophy and its implementation comes from ‘breaking bread’ over learning moments. The potential for opportunities for horizontal working with coaching, player development and scouting departments is another positive by-product.

If you want to do this right, you need to grasp an understanding of the deep motivations that drive people to grow, to build the structures and processes that support that growth, and to navigate the inevitable obstacles with agility, courage and empathy. High-performing teams aren’t just good at what they do, they keep getting better by reviewing what they do, learning from that and finding the right inputs to move forward.

Systems, processes and people development: it begins with a culture of learning.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.’

David Clancy is a Learning and Development Consultant at the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group. He is also the Editor of Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: A Personal and Professional Development Framework, which is available now from Elsevier.

If you would like to speak to David, please contact a member of the Leaders Performance Institute team.

By Luke Whitworth

‘Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.’

This powerful quote from the legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson rings as true today as it did in his 1995 book Sacred Hoops.

Trust is a fundamental component of team cohesion – a topic that formed the basis of August’s Leadership Skills Series session for Leaders Performance Institute members.

That session features prominently in this month’s Debrief but, before we get into it, we wanted to thank those of you who have already completed our Future Trends in High Performance survey.

As members of our Institute and community, we’d love for as many of you as possible to complete the survey and, in doing so, gain access to the insights we unearth. You can complete the survey here.

Without any further ado, let’s reflect on some of the key moments for members at the Leaders Performance Institute.

Growing cohesion, quickly

‘Cohesion’ is defined by Gain Line Analytics as ‘the level of understanding between the component parts of a team system’.

Gain Line – who have worked with elite teams in business and sport for the past decade – contributed to last month’s Leadership Skills Series session, which explored the dynamics of team cohesion and the datapoints that can help you to build that cohesion at speed.

They express their findings through an equation: Skill x Cohesion = Capability. They suggest that even if a team has highly skilled individuals, their overall capability will be limited if they lack cohesion. Conversely, a team with lesser skill levels but high cohesion can outperform more skilled but less cohesive teams.

Leaders Performance Institute members were invited to share ways in which they feel cohesion can improve performance. They suggested:

• Knowledge of strengths.
• Communication.
• Willingness to accept challenge from each other.
• Empowerment.
• Shared understanding of strategy.

What works when growing cohesion at pace? Here are five recommendations:

1. Create a strong sense of belonging

Send strong belonging cues from the outset and develop your inclusive leadership skills. In fostering belonging, allow people to share their personal story and cultural background, widening your ‘us’ story to encompass everyone’s unique background. It’s important to not overlook the past, so look at connecting the team to its heritage. Shine a light on key moments and individuals from which we can draw inspiration or lessons. Finally, ensure you create a shared vision together for the legacy this generation want to leave behind.

2. Acknowledge shared responsibility for building high trust relationships

Relationship mapping is a practical way to reflect on your relationships with other members of your team and encourages shared responsibility. Base your score on how well you know each other, your openness to each other’s thinking, and the quality of your collaborations. Where are you areas for opportunity to elevate trust or relationships?

3. Teaming skills: speaking, listening and psychological safety

The fastest way to improve collaboration is to get individuals to think about their part in the process and getting good at the balance between speaking and listening within the group. Are people speaking up? Do we have that level of psychological safety? Are they listening?

4. The use of ‘getting to know each other’ questions

Skilled questioning can be powerful in developing relationships and cohesion. What are some examples of ‘getting to know each other’ questions? Here are some examples:

• Can you think of something challenging you’ve achieved which you’re proud of?
• A behaviour you would like to change, which you recognise can frustrate others?
• A strength you’d like to make more use of in your role or in life?
• What is something you admire in others that you’d like to make a strength of yours?
• What is something that has helped shape who you are today? Share how it has shaped you.

5. Increase knowledge of your ‘A-Game’ strengths and weaknesses

What do your athletes and staff do when they are on their ‘A-Game’? When you are bringing you’re A-Game, what is it that they are bringing too? Knowing this allows everyone in the team to know what they are looking for – then the team has a collective responsibility. Equally, when you are not on your A-Game, what do you see?

Addressing the challenges surrounding performance analysis in high performance environments

Nearly three-quarters of practitioners believe that their organisations could be better at using data to make decisions.

That is according to a straw poll of attendees at a recent Virtual Roundtable hosted by the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences [BASES] and the Leaders Performance Institute.

We have collaborated with BASES on a three-part series called Advances in Performance Analysis. We then kicked things off with a first session titled ‘The Influence of Performance Analysis on Organisational Strategy’.

Leading the conversation were Natasha Patel, the Director of Sporting Analytics at US Soccer, and Simon Wilson, the Director of Football at League 1 side Stockport County.

They began by leading a discussion of the biggest challenges facing people who use data analysis in sport. There were four that stood out:

1. Integration: it is difficult to set up efficient datasets that allow different data points to intertwine. One attendee referenced performance analysis and skill acquisition as particular sticking points. The sheer volume of metrics collected can lead to a lack of clarity and inability to prioritise.
2. Communication of data: data should tell a story but, at present, it is hard to visualise and communicate to athletes in a way that ensures data or analysis is understood and actionable.
3. Buy-in: as one attendee observed, those in charge of the budget occasionally lack the understanding around the value of performance analysis so won’t invest in it or see value in other disciplines. Similarly, head coaches often call the shots but do they truly buy-in? There is also the question of how you measure impact. Departments are being encouraged to demonstrate the influence of their work.
4. Data management: it is a time-consuming process to regularly assess data quality, validity and reliability – time many simply don’t have. A participant observed how one can get stuck in a mindset of data collection versus the type of analysis that can truly have a performance impact. In fact, knowledge translation is another sticking point, particularly given the general lack of education around performance analysis.