{"id":30869,"date":"2025-08-04T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=30869"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:10:38","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-17","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-17\/","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 4 Aug 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 Coaching & Development<\/a>, Human Performance<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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In July the art of listening, coach and staff wellbeing, and the postpartum return of athletes were top of the conversational agenda.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
England\u2019s Lionesses retained their European title in dramatic fashion last month.<\/h6>\n

Nestled in between the myriad elements that contributed to their success was the team\u2019s sense of being \u201cproper English\u201d.<\/p>\n

The trope was first aired in February following England\u2019s 1-0 defeat of Spain (who were also their opponents in the Euro 2025 final), with defenders Millie Bright and captain Leah Williamson hailing a \u201cproperly English\u201d performance.<\/p>\n

Winger Chloe Kelly repeated it during the Euros, and several players were asked to define what it meant as the tournament went on. No-one gave exactly the same answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that we give everything, we run ourselves into the ground,\u201d said midfielder Keira Walsh. For forward Alessia Russo it means \u201cwe\u2019ll stick together\u201d. For defender Lucy Bronze it means \u201cif push comes to shove, we can win in any means possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

For England\u2019s Dutch Head Coach, Sarina Wiegman, it means \u201cpassing with purpose\u201d.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it doesn\u2019t really matter one way or another. Much like words on the wall of your changing room, it is more about the feelings they generate than the actual words used.<\/p>\n

That is certainly the opinion of Dan Jackson, the General Manager of Player Development and Leadership at the AFL\u2019s Adelaide Crows. He has spent his post-playing career working with teams on their culture<\/a>. The words on the wall are often a focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI probably spend the least amount of time worrying about whatever words they\u2019ve got,\u201d he told the Leaders Performance Institute in an article that appeared last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften, I don\u2019t even bother changing them because if you want \u2018connection\u2019 or \u2018unity\u2019 or \u2018team first\u2019 or \u2018family\u2019, it doesn\u2019t really matter. What I want to know is the behaviours you\u2019re going to commit to, your system of accountability, and how you drive those behaviours.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was one of several nuggets of insight on offer, member to member, across the Leaders Performance Institute in July.<\/p>\n

Are you a soldier or a scout?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the skills of adaptive leadership are more obvious, but that doesn\u2019t make them easier to learn,\u201d said John Bull.<\/p>\n

The Director & Lead for High Performance Research at Management Futures hosted the third and final session of our Virtual Roundtable series entitled \u2018Leading in Complexity\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bull wanted to encourage Leaders Performance Institute members to reflect on their own role as an adaptive leader and pinpoint some areas for self-development.<\/p>\n

He introduced the table to the work of philosopher Julia Galef, who has outlined what she calls \u2018scout\u2019 and \u2018soldier\u2019 mindsets<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A scout mindset, such as when a scout might draw a map, is essential when learning and adapting. \u201cIt\u2019s about acknowledging we might know some elements of the map, but large parts of the map are still undrawn,\u201d added Bull. \u201cIt\u2019s not ignoring that we have expertise, but it\u2019s looking for what\u2019s missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, a soldier mindset is counterproductive because, as Bull said, \u201cmost of our energy is going to influencing other people to see things our way as opposed to learning from what we\u2019re missing.\u201d It can also help, as Shona Crooks, a colleague of Bull\u2019s from Management Futures says, to \u2018put your brain in neutral\u2019.<\/p>\n

What kind of listener are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a question posed by Management Futures\u2019 Jeff Pagliano during July\u2019s Leadership Skills Series session.<\/p>\n

There are at least four different types of listener<\/a>, as Pagliano pointed out, but anyone can become better at listening at depth.<\/p>\n

He illustrated his rationale with this graphic:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually when we\u2019re trying to persuade someone, it\u2019s all about sharing our perspective. We call that \u2018advocacy\u2019,\u201d said Pagliano. Your advocacy will be made up of the facts known to you, things you see as important, and any assumptions you make about the other person.<\/p>\n

That person will have facts, thoughts and assumptions of their own, which is why we must add \u2018inquiry\u2019 to help bring those to the fore. \u201cAnd when you bring those two things together that\u2019s where you get that shared pool of insight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening at depth has other benefits too:<\/strong><\/p>\n