{"id":29599,"date":"2025-03-03T11:56:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T11:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=29599"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:10:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:10:46","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/","title":{"rendered":"The Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 3 Mar 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

The Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute<\/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 Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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From integration to performance under pressure, we shine a light on the topics that engaged our high performance community in February.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch & Luke Whitworth<\/h6>\n
\u201cWhat makes a good coach?\u201d asked Collingwood Captain, Darcy Moore, at the Leaders Sport Performance Summit in Melbourne last month.<\/h6>\n

\u201cThe coach knowing their players, having good relationships and understanding what they need \u2013 this sets you up for success. They also let talented people around them do their jobs. This is particularly important when the pressure comes and you need to remember that everyone is there for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

With those words, Moore, a renowned orator amongst AFL players, neatly captured some of the performance conversations happening across the Leaders Performance Institute.<\/p>\n

Here, we pose five questions, all of which were answered in some shape or form during February. We hope these to help you on the path to being a better coach or leader.<\/p>\n

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  1. Are all elements of your performance team truly integrated?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Dr Robin Thorpe has instant reservations when performance departments describe themselves as \u2018integrated\u2019.<\/p>\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

    Thorpe was speaking at the first session of \u2018The Future of Performance Sport\u2019<\/a>, a three-part Virtual Roundtable series brought to members by the Leaders Performance Institute and Exercise & Sports Science Australia<\/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\u00a0perceived<\/em>\u00a0as an integrated process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. What does it take to prepare for when the pressure is on?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      There\u2019s plenty those goes into it, as high-performance specialist Rachel Vickery said during a Leaders Virtual Roundtable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      For one, a coach\u2019s words and actions are critical in high-pressure moments. \u201cAs soon as something is set up as a threat \u2013 \u2018if we don\u2019t win this we\u2019re not making the playoffs\u2019 \u2013 the stress response kicks off,\u201d said Vickery. \u201cIf we can flip that to opportunity \u2013 and I\u2019m not talking about rainbows, crystals and unicorns \u2013 I\u2019m talking about intentional language; \u2018how clean can we play this?\u2019 The language is really important in those moments.\u201d She also spoke of a Premier League coach who worked to de-escalate his own arousal state before giving half-time team talks. It also important for coaches (and their teams) to not fall prey to the notion or narrative that an undemonstrative touch line figure is somehow disinterested.<\/p>\n

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      1. Where does AI (appreciative inquiry) fit in your planning?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Appreciative inquiry is a social constructivist-informed model that seeks to engage people in self-determined change. The model, which was devised in the 1980s by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva, is inherently positive. It focuses on discovering and amplifying the best of what already exists (individually and collectively) within a system or organisation.<\/p>\n

        The idea was discussed in great detail at our most recent Leadership Skills Series<\/a> session.<\/p>\n

        Appreciative inquiry stands in contrast to most change models, which tend to identify problems and seek to fix them.<\/p>\n

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        1. What is the key to bridging the generation gap in teams?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The generational gap in sport applies to athletes and coaches, but the term just as readily applies to coaching and performance staffs, as was discussed in this Leaders Virtual Roundtable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          One environment, in preparation for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, is asking its athletes and coaches a series of questions as they seek to bridge the generational gaps.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWe\u2019ve been getting athletes into a room and asking \u2018how are you experiencing this environment?\u2019\u201d said the attendee who shared the story. \u201cWe ask \u2018do you feel like you\u2019re developing? And do you feel like you\u2019re successful along with your wellbeing is being looked after?\u201d They ask coaches: \u201cWhat is your intention in terms of the environment or the experience that you\u2019re trying to create for athletes?\u201d<\/p>\n

          There has been some positive outcomes. \u201cThis insight has led to some activities that coaches and athletes can engage in to bridge that gap and make it more likely that people are collaborating efficiently and effectively on the path to get that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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          1. Do you platform terrible ideas?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            It may sound counterintuitive, but you really should.<\/p>\n

            David Burt, the Director of Entrepreneurship at the University of New South Wales, delivered a presentation at the Leaders Sport Performance Summit<\/a> in Melbourne in which he lauded the value of exploring \u2018terrible ideas\u2019. His rationale was sound: it reduces the negative emotions that can cloud creativity and reduces the impact of power dynamics in a team environment.<\/p>\n

            Burt said: \u201cTerrible ideas allow you to develop new skills and meet different people in the process. There is a surprising amount of value in implementing a little bit of resource in them to drive another layer of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

            \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":29600,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[20],"pathway":[295],"topic":[318,309,298],"sport":[300],"class_list":["post-29599","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership-culture-performance","pathway-leadership-development","topic-alignment","topic-collaboration","topic-communication","sport-olympic-paralympic-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute - 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\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T05:10:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1697769825-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/\",\"name\":\"The Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute - Performance Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1697769825-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-03T11:56:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T05:10:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-12\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1697769825-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1697769825-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Darcy Moore of the Magpies celebrates after the 2023 AFL Grand Final match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Brisbane Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 30, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. 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