{"id":29574,"date":"2025-02-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=29574"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:21:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:21:17","slug":"soft-skills-ai-and-psychology-the-skills-that-will-define-the-practitioner-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/soft-skills-ai-and-psychology-the-skills-that-will-define-the-practitioner-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft Skills, AI, and Psychology: the Skills that Will Define the Practitioner of the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 27 Feb 2025 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Soft Skills, AI, and Psychology: the Skills that Will Define the Practitioner of the Future <\/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
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/soft-skills-ai-and-psychology-the-skills-that-will-define-the-practitioner-of-the-future\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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In this Virtual Roundtable, brought to you in partnership with ESSA, Robin Thorpe and Lyndell Bruce explored four areas where the practitioner of the future will need to excel.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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An article brought to you by<\/p>\n

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By John Portch & Luke Whitworth<\/h6>\n
Dr Robin Thorpe has instant reservations when performance departments describe themselves as \u2018integrated\u2019.<\/h6>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become a new trend or buzz term in high performance,\u201d said the former Director of Performance at Red Bull. \u201cI\u2019d be really interested to see how many self-proclaimed integrated departments and processes actually are.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a truly integrated department, he argued, there has to be \u201cpositive and respectful challenge between staff and then between the disciplines\u201d and he is unconvinced that this is always the case in many environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to be controversial, but I would think that in some of the areas or places where true integration is preached, there might actually not be any collaboration whatsoever,\u201d Thorpe added. \u201cAnd so, without collaboration, there might not be any friction points or any challenge, so it might only be perceived<\/em> as an integrated process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorpe was speaking at the first session of \u2018The Future of Performance Sport\u2019, a three-part Virtual Roundtable series brought to you by the Leaders Performance Institute and Exercise & Sports Science Australia. The first session explored the \u2018future practitioner of high performance\u2019.<\/p>\n

He was joined on the virtual stage by Deakin University\u2019s Dr Lyndell Bruce, who harbours similar reservations when it comes to integration.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cSo often we see with these integrated teams that an athlete has poor performance. So they throw everything that\u2019s been working really well out the window to try and solve why we\u2019re not winning \u2013 and that suggests that it\u2019s really not an integrated team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future practitioner will need to find the answers and, here, we detail four considerations, including better integration, that will help to stand them in good stead.<\/p>\n

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  1. Combined technical knowledge and \u2018soft\u2019 skills<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Both Bruce and Thorpe believe that the future practitioner will combine technical knowledge and softer skills<\/p>\n

    \u201cPeople call them \u2018soft\u2019 skills \u2013 I like to call them transferable skills, complementary skills,\u201d said Bruce. She also pondered how they might be taught. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging because it takes time, it takes effort, and it takes resources. It\u2019s too easy to say students will get that in their work, integrated learning, because we know it\u2019s not the case. They don\u2019t all go to the same environment and we can\u2019t control those environments.\u201d<\/p>\n

    There are questions to be answered on the technical side too, with Thorpe emphasising the importance of detailed and applied research. \u201cWe delve into research articles which might be relevant to what we do, but we also see how they associate with the work that we do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

    Thorpe also believes that generalists will continue to have their place. \u201cAlthough specialisation will offer a lot more opportunities for younger students and practitioners going forwards, I hope that we don\u2019t lose the more generalist skills that I think are very, very effective currently.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. The impact of AI and technology<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Thorpe sees AI as a potential time-saver, but with caveats. \u201cI think we know that AI can certainly support us with is enhancing processing times when it comes to using and working with data that we have,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve come into this era of plug-and-play technology, which means that our ability to cope with data has become stretched.\u201d<\/p>\n

      However, he added, \u201cI certainly don\u2019t believe it\u2019ll ever be the silver bullet to a lot of our performance problems or challenges or questions.\u201d It is no surprise that he preaches caution. \u201cI think we still probably need to think about some of the principles of why we’re collecting some of that data in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

      At Deakin, Bruce and her colleagues have gotten used to students using AI to craft responses. She said: \u201cThe conversations are leaning towards how we teach students to use this in an advantageous way.\u201d<\/p>\n

      And, as she observes, \u201cmany organisations are using those machine learning models to create outputs, look at different tactical and technical elements of match play, to understand the physiological data that they\u2019re receiving, so I don\u2019t think that’s unique; and I think there\u2019s still a way to go in terms of how we use that and how we implement that more effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      1. The growth of psychology and mental performance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Wellbeing \u2013 and psychology as part of wellbeing \u2013 continues to grow in prominence, with all staff members called upon to play their part.<\/p>\n

        \u201cIt\u2019s not a once-off conversation because they flagged on the wellbeing this week and then two weeks later they\u2019re back in their normal range \u2013 we continue that conversation and check-in,\u201d said Bruce of her work Deakin. She also noted the growing specialisation in how psychology is used in sport. \u201cWe use psychology from a performance perspective and also a clinical perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Thorpe was responsible for mental performance in his most recent role. \u201cIt was very much a pivotal learning opportunity for me; to understand the continuum of how mental performance operates,\u201d he said. This included performance under pressure, helping athletes to deal with increased mental loads in training and competition, and psychological profiling.<\/p>\n

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        1. Integration<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Integration is increasingly difficult in a world of growing specialisation with so many inputs to reconcile, but Thorpe and Bruce both offered some tips.<\/p>\n

          For his part, Thorpe emphasised objectivity, particularly given the different \u2018languages\u2019 that individuals in different fields will speak. He says: \u201cHow can we use objectivity as a common language? Good objectivity \u2013 not AI-based reams and reams of data \u2013 but really solid precision-based objectivity is our vehicle to integrating approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

          High performance teams need to understand the desired outcome, then, as he asked, \u201chow do we then fit these experts and specialists to those outcomes rather than coming at it all individually?\u201d<\/p>\n

          Bruce then argued for consistency. “[The high performance team] operates irrespective of performance, while you might need to innovate and make adjustments along the way,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t change because of poor performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          <\/p>\n

          Sports Science Research: the Strengths, Weaknesses and Opportunities<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n