{"id":33842,"date":"2026-03-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=33842"},"modified":"2026-03-01T09:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T09:35:01","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-23","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-23\/","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 2 Mar 2026 <\/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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In February, high performance specialists from across the sporting landscape wrote and spoke about a range of topics including performance systems, coach wellbeing and organisational alignment.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that\u2019s an answer in and of itself,\u201d said Eileen Gu.<\/h6>\n

The Chinese-American star, who had just won silver medals in the slopestyle and big air at the Milano Cortina Olympics, had been asked at a press conference if she saw those medals as \u201csilvers earned\u201d or \u201cgolds lost\u201d.<\/p>\n

She chastised the journalist for his \u201cridiculous perspective\u201d but her wider comments were more telling.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else\u2019s expectations rise, right?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m showcasing my best skiing. I\u2019m doing things that quite literally have never been done before. So, I think that is more than good enough, but thank you.”<\/p>\n

It called to mind the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was similarly exasperated in a press conference when he was asked about the Bucks\u2019 \u2018failure\u2019 upon their elimination from the 2023 NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no failure in sports,\u201d he responded. \u201cThere\u2019s good days, bad days, so days you are able to be successful \u2014 some days you\u2019re not. Some days it\u2019s your turn, some days it\u2019s not your turn. That\u2019s what sports is about. You don\u2019t always win \u2014 so other people are going to win, simple as that. We\u2019re going to come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gu, it must be said, won gold in the halfpipe just days later (making it three golds and three silvers in two Olympics) but she and Antetokounmpo (who won the NBA Cup with the Bucks in 2024) hinted at how unhelpful it is to frame high performance as anything less than first place or a gold medal.<\/p>\n

Setbacks are inevitable, but as Gu and Antetokounmpo show, athletes, coaches and programmes can choose how they meet the moment. Those that prepare smartly, with the right focus and guidance, can give themselves improved chances of success.<\/p>\n

These ideas came up time and again at the Leaders Performance Institute in February. Here is a flavour of what was said.<\/p>\n

Insight of the month<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Winter Olympics are on the agenda across the Performance Hub, with high-performance specialist Richard Young<\/strong> telling us what happens when teams stray from their mission:<\/p>\n

As the event approached, small adjustments began to appear. Plans were refined again. Extra conversations were added. Senior leaders checked in more frequently. None of it seemed dramatic, yet the clarity that had carried them started to dilute. The athletes felt it before anyone articulated it. The system became busy, and when the moment came the performances were close but the medals did not follow.<\/em><\/p>\n

The issue was not effort; it was the absence of a shared and protected standard. When everything feels important, the essential things lose their edge. The debrief circled around marginal gains, yet the real margin had slipped much earlier.\u00a0 At some point the team stopped asking whether each decision truly met gold medal quality.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Quote of the month<\/strong><\/p>\n

This month its Peter Hodgkinson<\/strong>, who wrote of his time working as Build Operations Manager for the INEOS Britannia<\/strong> sailing team during the 37th<\/sup>\u00a0America\u2019s Cup<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Given the youth and inexperience of his build team, psychological safety and intent-based leadership<\/a> were the order of the day. He wrote:<\/p>\n

Surprises are for birthdays and Christmas, in my book. I wanted this young team under pressure to speak up. I wanted them to feel that it was wrong not to say something if they were concerned about a part or a process or were having a problem. I wanted to hear what they had to say, I was desperate to hear what they were thinking, and it was important that I responded productively when they did bring me bad news.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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INEOS Britannia in action at the 37th America’s Cup. Photo: Getty Images\/Fiona Goodall<\/p><\/div>\n

Good to know<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pressure doesn\u2019t make you better, but it does reveal what is already here.<\/p>\n

That is according to high-performance specialist Rachel Vickery<\/strong>, who led a virtual roundtable for members looking at how they can reduce their athletes and coaches\u2019 allostatic load \u2013 that is the cumulative \u2018stacking\u2019 of stressors over time that erode the amount of physiological \u2018space\u2019 an athlete has between their current arousal level and their personal stress threshold.<\/p>\n

The stressors in question can be personal (e.g. a lack of sleep), organisational (e.g. misalignment), performance-based (e.g. being outside your comfort zone), or physiological (e.g. reduced ability to hear or absorb information).<\/p>\n

Crucially, as Vickery explained, \u201cas long as your arousal state stays below your threshold, your negative performance will not show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coach wellbeing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though often neglected, members of the Leaders Performance Institute<\/strong> gathered to share ideas on how they can better support their coaches.<\/p>\n

In one particular World Cup-winning environment, when athletes wanted specialist help, they were asked to book appointments. There was no 24\/7 service.<\/p>\n

This, their former manager explained, not only developed the self-reliance of the players, but also served to protect coaches and staff members who were all too ready to put themselves out, whether for out-of-hours appointments or \u201c2am emails\u201d.<\/p>\n

Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aussie rules<\/strong><\/p>\n

In early February we welcomed many of you to Brisbane for Leaders Meet: Australia<\/strong>, where organisations including the Brisbane Lions<\/strong>, Cricket Australia<\/strong> and World Rugby<\/strong> tackled the challenges of the day.<\/p>\n

Chief amongst those was the ever-pressing need for alignment.<\/p>\n

The Lions\u2019 Senior Coach Chris Fagan<\/strong> favoured strong relationships with senior management; Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry<\/strong> espoused the value of psychological safety in cricket; and World Rugby<\/strong> Chair Brett Robinson<\/strong>, as an executive, emphasised trust built on clarity from the top.<\/p>\n

We picked out five elements<\/a> for your consideration.<\/p>\n

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Chris Fagan (centre) in conversation with Michael Maguire (right) and moderator Rachel Vickery. Photo: Albert Perez<\/p><\/div>\n

One you might have missed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ben Ashdown<\/strong> and Dr Mustafa Sarkar<\/strong> of Nottingham Trent University<\/strong> pondered the behavioural elements of resilience in young players at football academies in this exclusive interview.<\/p>\n

Their research has identified six resilience behaviours:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Their hope is to use these six to fashion a tool to help academy staff identify and develop resilience behaviours in their young athletes.<\/p>\n

Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s coming up for members<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Leaders Meet: The Art of Strategy<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n