{"id":31039,"date":"2025-08-26T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=31039"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:10:38","slug":"transparency-empathy-and-empowerment-five-ways-teams-are-serving-their-people-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/transparency-empathy-and-empowerment-five-ways-teams-are-serving-their-people-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Transparency, Empathy and Empowerment: Five Ways Teams Are Serving their People in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\t
\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n 26 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

Transparency, Empathy and Empowerment: Five Ways Teams Are Serving their People in 2025<\/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
\n
\n
\n
Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a>, Data & Innovation<\/a>, Human Performance<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
\n
Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/transparency-empathy-and-empowerment-five-ways-teams-are-serving-their-people-in-2025\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Teams as diverse as the Philadelphia 76ers, Gotham FC and USA Gymnastics explain that if you discount the people on your teams you will inevitably harm their performance too.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

By the Leaders Performance Institute team<\/h6>\n
Inevitably AI was top of the agenda at the Leaders Sport Performance Summit in Philadelphia last month.<\/h6>\n

Michael Jabbour, the AI Innovation Officer at Microsoft Education, was on hand to explain that while our futures will look different, there will be simple steps we can all take within our daily practices to integrate AI in useful and supportive ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuality use of AI comes from communication,\u201d Jabbour tells the audience at the Wells Fargo Center, while running through some of the different types of AI, from simple to advanced and from retrieval to autonomous.<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, he speaks to the human side of AI usage. Jabbour is a firm believer that with the right prompts AI is a superb teaching tool. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to fight for friction in order to grow,\u201d he continues. Content generation, summary, code generation and advanced search are all areas where the right prompt can reap dividends.<\/p>\n

Whatever the AI\u2019s form, however you use it, \u201cgreat communicators are excellent in what they get out of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same can be said for coaching and high-performance work in general, with speakers from teams including the Philadelphia 76ers, Flyers, Gotham FC, USA Gymnastics and US Soccer joining the University of Pennsylvania and the American School of Ballet to discuss how we can better support the people we serve.<\/p>\n

Here, we pick out five things to think about in promoting better alignment, more people-focused approaches to performance, and more thoughtful use of data.<\/p>\n

1. Be transparent in your decision making<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is perhaps only in retirement from competition \u2013 and in going on to assume admin positions in sport \u2013 that Yael Averbuch West and Li Li Leung fully understood the value in organisational transparency.<\/p>\n

West has been the General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations at Gotham since 2021, while Leung has served as President and CEO of USA Gymnastics since 2019 (before that she was a Vice President at the NBA).<\/p>\n

Both have enjoyed success and endured tough times during their tenures and both explain that without transparency, there can be no alignment. And without alignment, you\u2019ll never be able to establish your priorities, set a course and make big decisions.<\/p>\n

There is opportunity in moments of hardship, as Leung explains. \u201cNever let a crisis go to waste,\u201d she says, repeating the words of American political theorist Saul Alinsky. There are obvious moments when it\u2019s right to make a change and align people behind a strategy but, Leung adds, \u201cit\u2019s tougher when you\u2019re deciding whether you need to push through and commit to a process or change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decisions I\u2019m most proud of are the ones that were the most difficult to make \u2013 and often they\u2019re the ones with the clearest answer\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Yael Averbuch West<\/pre>\n
\u201c\u2026 and you\u2019ll still get crucified for it.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Li Li Leung<\/pre>\n
\u201cIt can be difficult to commit to a process and find a way, rather than start again, but it\u2019s often the right thing to do.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Li Li Leung<\/pre>\n
2. Cut through the noise around the athlete<\/strong><\/p>\n
Alignment is key because the simple fact is that athletes increasingly ask for support beyond their sport and performance. Everyone must be on the same page.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think the modern athlete has changed or has it always been like this, but as performance staff, have we failed to notice it?\u201d asks Simon Rice, the Vice President of Athlete Care at the Philadelphia 76ers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it is 50:50 as there is no denying that they are more informed because of more information being available,\u201d he adds, \u201cbut this does create noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remedy requires trust as players in the modern era tend to ask for an explanation more often. The Sixers talk to their players and they talk to them early as they seek to understand what\u2019s important to them. \u201cDo not shut things down right away, work with them to find solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is, however, a limit. \u201cIt is important to have your non-negotiables so they know where the line is too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guiding light is that everything that we do needs to help players thrive at NHL level,\u201d says Ian McKeown, the Vice President of Athletic Performance & Wellness at the Philadelphia Flyers, who sat next to Rice. \u201cWe are being very intentional in using [the concept of] \u2018thriving\u2019 in our language.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is important to meet athletes where they\u2019re at, understand their wants and needs, and to involve them in the decision-making process.<\/p>\n
And lean into change. See it as comforting \u2013 it doesn\u2019t automatically mean that what you did before didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the person overseeing the performance programme, it is important to listen well and be curious about what is going on across different departments and relationships in that environment. I sought to explore the physical barriers and other impacts of what was going on and I intentionally adapted the flow of the environment to change this.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Ian McKeown<\/pre>\n
3. Better leader = better human<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cSocial and cultural connection is the secret to our success as a species.\u201d<\/p>\n
So says Dr Michael Platt, the Director of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. \u201cIf you want to be a better leader, be a better human.\u201d<\/p>\n
He speaks to the importance of the social brain network, which is a set of interconnected brain regions involved in understanding, interpreting and responding to social information. This could be recognising emotions, understanding others\u2019 intentions or navigating social interactions.<\/p>\n
To that end, he encourages leaders to employ perspective thinking. This can be as simple as writing down five things that illustrate your point of view before then attempting to think about them from another person\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
Platt also encourages eye contact and deep, rich conversations as starting points on the path to greater connection. Neuroscience explains that good relationships emerge when our brains are synchronised and there is a pattern of activity aligned to the other person.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour social brain network is like a muscle: the more you use it, the bigger it gets, so it\u2019s critical to exercise it.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Michael Platt<\/pre>\n
4. A programme should protect and empower<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ian McKeown at the Flyers made the point about helping players to thrive. Similarly, the notion of holistic support underpins the work of the American School of Ballet with its students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want students to develop so that they are thriving and not just training,\u201d says Katy Vedder, the school\u2019s Director of Student Life, when speaking of their Whole Dancer Approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe acknowledge their adolescent brain and try to create a sense of belonging as they discover who they are and what they value. We want to support their humanistic needs too and their competencies beyond performance, including self-awareness, peer connections and a healthy comparison framework.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wellness isn\u2019t supplementary \u2013 it\u2019s central to performance, identity and longevity.<\/p>\n
Integral to this reframing has been a realignment of performance priorities, with re-education around cross training and strength & conditioning helping to reduce injury rates while better considering wellness and recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t work in silos,\u201d says Aesha Ash, the school\u2019s Head of Artistic Health & Wellness. There were several nodding heads in agreement around the room. \u201cThe dancers have to be at the artistic centre and we have to work to collaborate in support of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur students are not just artists or athletes, they intersect both and need a support system that honours their full, true identity.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Katy Vedder<\/pre>\n
\u201cWe have to challenge the definition of success at a systemic level. We celebrate those not pursuing becoming a professional dancer, widening the parameters of success.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Aesha Ash<\/pre>\n
5. Use data, but don\u2019t discount the person<\/strong><\/p>\n
We close the circle by returning to the question of technology, specifically data.<\/p>\n
Both Sam Gregory, the Director of Data & Analytics at US Soccer and John Boyles, the Director of Research & Development at the Sixers, make the point that data isn\u2019t here to take from a coach\u2019s systems or expertise, but to elevate it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to help you do what you\u2019re best at and take away the parts humans aren\u2019t as good at,\u201d says Gregory. \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to replace the system and the expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n
That means presenting data in robust but useful formats that never lose track of the human subjects at the centre. With this in mind, it is a good practice to exhibit caution in overcommunicating the data and what the numbers are saying.<\/p>\n
Analysts should focus on connection, communication and clarity, especially with those departments and individuals who perceive data as a challenge to their daily workflows.<\/p>\n
Finally, infrastructure readiness is critical. There is a lot of noise in the ether when it comes to data and technology, with numerous vendors trying to pitch the exclusivity of their datasets. To abate the noise it is important to build robust strategies and infrastructure to ensure that the noise doesn\u2019t find its way into programmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe aim is to get to the point where data is available to support every decision made, even if it\u2019s not used for every decision.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sam Gregory<\/pre>\n
\u201cWe need to think about the importance of what\u2019s visible when discussions are happening. The insight displayed can have an effect on the conversation.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
John Boyles<\/pre>\n
What to read next<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019ve Lost Athletes Because of this\u2019: When Support Descends into Surveillance<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n