{"id":1268,"date":"2019-03-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:36","slug":"leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &#038; Intuition"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- blocks\/hero-editorial -->\n<!-- inc\/hero-editorial -->\n<div class=\"hero es-hero__editorial hero--var-1\" role=\"banner\">\n\t<div class=\"hero__image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1043105746-e1551871353421.jpg);\">\n\n\t\t<div class=\"hero__overlay grad-overlay content-bottom\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero__content\">\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero__content__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                            <p class=\"es-label es-label--md\">\n                                Mar 05, 2019                            <\/p>\n                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\" class=\"theme-dark hero__back-link back-link es-label es-label--sm\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"icon icon--md icon--arrow-left\"><\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"hero__title\">Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &#038; Intuition<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n        \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <section class=\"es-section theme-light hero__sidebar-wrapper container\">\n        <div class=\"hero__sidebar\">\n                            <div class=\"category-list\">\n                  <div class=\"es-label es-label--sm\">Category<\/div>\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/category\/data-innovation\/\" rel=\"tag\">Data &amp; Innovation<\/a>                <\/div>\n                            <div class=\"share-list\">\n                  <div class=\"es-label es-label--sm\">Share<\/div>\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/\">Facebook<\/a>\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/&#038;text=Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &#038; Intuition\">Twitter<\/a>\n                  <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Here's a Leaders In Sport article for you &amp;body=Check out this article: Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &#038; Intuition. https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/\">Email<\/a>\n                  <a href=\"#copyLink\" id=\"copyButton\" class=\"copy-link-clipboard\">Copy Link<\/a>\n                  <div id=\"textToCopy\" class=\"font-hidden\">https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/<\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n<!-- blocks\/section -->\n<section\n  class=\"es-section flexible-section  text-only theme-light\"\n    >\n                <div class=\"container\">\n                                    <div class=\"bg-striped-pattern__inner section-padding-top section-padding-bottom\">\n                <div class=\"es-section__inner col-parent col-parent--stack-sm\">\n                                            <div class=\"es-section__sidebar es-section__sidebar--sticky col col--12 \">\n                                                            <p class=\"es-section__label es-label es-label--md\">An online meeting of Leaders Performance Institute members on 19th February 2019.<\/p>\n                            \n                            \n                            \n                                                            <div class=\"es-section__text content-area\">\n                                    <p><h4>It is always one of the most common questions from our ongoing research: &#8216;how to best blend data and intuition?&#8217; Some organisations favour one over the other, but the majority are striving for a balance of the two. We wanted to delve into how you and your organisations are thinking about this topic.<\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><b>The group discussed:<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How data is a reinforcement tool for intuition.<\/li>\n<li>The importance of language across interdisciplinary teams to provide clarity surrounding data collection and interpretation.<\/li>\n<li>There are still opportunities to create processes to simply the presentation of data to both coaches and athletes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>Recommended Reading: Leaders Performance Institute<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance\/cracking-the-data-code\/\"><u>Cracking the Data Code<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance\/using-data-make-decisions\/\"><u>Using Data to Make Decisions<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance\/seattle-mariners-high-performance-model\/\"><u>How the Seattle Mariners Involve their Players in the Ongoing Development of their High Performance Model<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>Future Thinking:<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>How can we create a shared language when it comes to interpretations of data for both the playing and non-playing staff?<\/li>\n<li>How can we better educate the athletes in this process without merely having one-on-one conversations?<\/li>\n<li>We now work in a much more complex world with more problem-sets, so a \u2018stay in your lane\u2019 or more hierarchical structure isn\u2019t always possible or desirable. Having a functioning team within the wider team is\u00a0so powerful in achieving higher levels of performance.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><b>Key Thinking Points<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>1. Challenges around data and intuition<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How intelligence can be used more for competitive advantage, as well as how to present that intelligence to decision-makers and better operate as a collective.<\/li>\n<li>How the balancing of data and intuition works with different generations of coaches.<\/li>\n<li>How to most effectively pick out the nuggets of all the information that is collected. We immerse ourselves in too much data and trying to navigate that and present something meaningful for coaches is a big challenge.<\/li>\n<li>The turnover of coaches in sport is high and every coach has different intuition based on what they see;\u00a0and the data for one head coach may not be meaningful to the next. You can\u2019t change the data collection and reporting system; there must be stability to the process.<\/li>\n<li>How\u00a0do you encourage\u00a0intuition and individual thought \u2013 where&#8217;s the balance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>2. Balancing data and intuition<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Data should be used to reinforce coach\u2019s intuition; simulate some data around that intuition. Nine times out of ten these skills\u00a0coaches\u2019intuition is spot-on &#8211; so the data should bolster that.<\/li>\n<li>Set up small-scale studies to show the coach that they\u2019re\u00a0really good at what they do and one time out of ten we\u2019re going to use this to adjust and make ourselves better.<\/li>\n<li>Clubs are looking everywhere for that 1%. Top teams balance it evenly between coaching intuition and the numbers \u2013 where there is a focus on looking outliers in the data rather than letting data dictate.<\/li>\n<li>Marry up the objective data with the desired objectives and outcomes of the players and coaches.<\/li>\n<li>People are\u00a0looking at GPS stats and gym loading but they don\u2019t necessarily look at what the cost of that data is; that could be a morning wellness score or heartrate variability, which is overlooked as being too hard to understand. Internal cost versus external output is\u00a0really important.<\/li>\n<li>We need to acknowledge what the skills coaches and technical coaches have seen.<\/li>\n<li>Consider observing the technical staff at the start of the season; what are they looking for, how do they phrase things; we can get a grasp of their language e.g. \u2018explosiveness\u2019rather than \u2018accelerate\u2019. Get into the circle of their language.<\/li>\n<li>Language is crucial for the sports science department, the trainers, the strength coaches and athletic trainers. It can be difficult using data-based decision-making to get buy-in from a traditional, intuitive culture: it\u2019s a very individual decision-making style.<\/li>\n<li>Do you, say, in daily reports, give the information without penalising the player but giving the coach\u00a0the information they need?<\/li>\n<li>Do you use a red, yellow, green system so the data stays within the sports science team and the coaches only get the key information for is the athlete ready to play or\u00a0not.<\/li>\n<li>The ongoing challenge is to blend data collection with self-reporting, especially when it puts the player in a vulnerable position where they might not be completely honest, as they\u2019re thinking about playing or contracts.<\/li>\n<li>Red, yellow, green is an interesting one because the athlete might think it\u2019s a problem if it\u2019s red and it might not be a problem; it\u2019s just a signal to be wary.<\/li>\n<li>Player education is essential when giving players information, finding the right way to communicate with them. involve the players in every decision and if we don\u2019t get their buy-in then there\u2019s no point in doing it.\u00a0Five-minute chunks at the start of each week \u2013 this week is recovery \u2013 was the best approach.<\/li>\n<li>At its core, information is about being able to digest it; it\u2019s a tool to help and supplement decision-making. Sport continues to evolve and so does society in terms of the information that is available to us.<\/li>\n<li>This is not a science that is sport \u2013 it\u2019s an art \u2013 and the human element is never going to go away; the intuition and gift of human feel but the corral of what the information is for decision-making.<\/li>\n<li>Some coaches are used to the amount of data that we have so the biggest thing for us is to allow the coaches to use their intuition while supplementing them with key information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>3.\u00a0<\/b><\/strong><strong><b>Where does the overarching conversation around data sit in the relationship with athlete and people wellbeing?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There are challenges surrounding cultural differences in this process \u2013 especially the interpretation of language? How can we better educate the athletes in this process without purely having one-on-one conversations?<\/li>\n<li>How can we find the common ground on this? With sport being time poor, it is difficult to give dedicated time to these one-on-one conversations that would ultimately be a stronger tool of educating. How can we be creative so combat a challenge like this?<\/li>\n<li>There is a big opportunity in the on-boarding process to map out this language and create a continuity across the team.<\/li>\n<li>Trust is also a huge element in the distribution of data across teams \u2013 if we have better relationships and understandings of each other\u2019s role, the communication of the data can be much clearer.<\/li>\n<li>Do you have someone focused on communicating the culture of the team \/ club through language? This can positively impact both those thoughts on communication and trust both for players and staff.<\/li>\n<li>We now work in a much more complex world with more problem sets, so a \u2018stay in your lane\u2019 and more hierarchical structure isn\u2019t always possible. Having a functioning team within the wider team in so powerful in achieving higher levels of performance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n                                <\/div>\n                            \n                            \n                            \n                                                    <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"col visibly-hidden col--flex-align-right\">\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &#038; Intuition. An online meeting of Leaders Performance Institute members on 19th February 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1269,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[23],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-1268","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-innovation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &amp; Intuition - Performance Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/leaders-virtual-roundtables-balancing-data-intuition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &amp; Intuition - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leaders Virtual Roundtables: Balancing Data &amp; Intuition. 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