{"id":35144,"date":"2026-06-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=35144"},"modified":"2026-06-02T09:47:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:47:36","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-26","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-26\/","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 Jun 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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Alignment, the question of performance outcome vs performance growth, learning and adaptive leadership were all on the agenda of the Leaders Performance Institute in May.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
Arsenal\u2019s 22-year wait for the Premier League title came to an end in May, although there were moments during the campaign when it seemed as far away as ever.<\/h6>\n

Take the club\u2019s 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth in early April, which was widely perceived as one of the team\u2019s worst performances of the campaign.<\/p>\n

The team looked and felt exhausted, which was not necessarily helped by their Manager Mikel Arteta\u2019s ferocious work ethic and increasing demands on the training pitch. It was a period when injuries mounted too.<\/p>\n

But as reported in the Independent, Arsenal attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, approached his boss and told him in so many words: \u2018we can do this, but we need a bit of space\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

To his credit, Arteta listened and though they lost at rivals Manchester City the following weekend, there were shoots of promise in that performance. Arsenal would win their remaining five matches and clinch the title by seven points from City.<\/p>\n

They then came within a penalty shootout of winning the Champions League in Budapest.<\/p>\n

Arteta swore in the aftermath that Arsenal will be back; and one suspects he might listen to his players a little more readily in the future.<\/p>\n

Which brings us on to happenings at the Leaders Performance Institute in May, where a consistent theme has been the prioritisation of athlete needs, hopes and expectations.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig into it.<\/p>\n

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

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A lot of coaches are either overdoing the teaching so there\u2019s not any learning taking place or there are too many missed opportunities for the teaching and learning. It\u2019s also changing the perception of the teacher; I\u2019m doing it to you versus facilitating learning.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So said the head of coaching at a British university. He then raised the question of timing. \u201cDo you jump in straight away? Do you wait till the end of the session and reflect? Do you wait till the next day and do some teaching and learning?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an important consideration for a Leaders Virtual Roundtable that focused on what it takes to create an impactful and effective learning environment.<\/p>\n

Read the breakdown here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

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We\u2019ve actually had our coaches start to record 10 to 15 minute videos, send them to players beforehand, and then the actual talk becomes them being able to reflect and digest the information.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So said a player development manager from Major League Baseball at a Leaders Virtual Roundtable where members discussed working with younger people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Younger generations of athletes (as well as coaches and other staff members) are digital natives and teams would do well to lean into this.<\/p>\n

Another voice from MLB, a sports scientist, told the table:<\/p>\n

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I think there\u2019s definitely a difference in terms of how I have had to learn to communicate with them and include them in various decisions and thoughts along the way \u2014 and I\u2019ll be the first to say I fumbled royally multiple times at first.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Read the full session summary here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

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But not everything is collaborative. I think we oftentimes confuse it, but we don\u2019t want collaboration all the time.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So says Teena Murray, the Senior Vice President of Integrated Performance Support at US Soccer. She made the point that when a team has a shared mental model, individuals understand their domain, they know where there\u2019s overlap and where there\u2019s room for collaboration.<\/p>\n

She wants her staff to be able to ask themselves \u201cwhen am I the leader? When am I working in collaboration with another area, whether it\u2019s nutrition, mental performance or sports science with strength & conditioning?\u201d The answers provide \u201ca clear understanding of who owns what but ultimately knowing what it is that we\u2019re trying to deliver upon and what are the target outcomes that we\u2019re really trying to reverse-engineer with all of our processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

We caught up with Murray as US Soccer prepared to make its new National Training Center in Fayetteville, Atlanta operational.<\/p>\n

She explained why US Soccer aims to be ‘radically aligned and seamlessly integrated<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n

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

Jeff Pagliano of Management Futures hosted a virtual roundtable where he gave members some tools to help them become better adaptive leaders.<\/p>\n

In part, it means recognising issues when they emerge and tackling them in a calm and methodical manner.<\/p>\n

He shared with the table the two types of problem that tend to exist in high performance and what makes each distinct:<\/p>\n

Pagliano then gave the table a series of hypothetical performance problems and asked them to decide if their nature was technical or adaptive. They were:<\/p>\n

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  • Performance is consistently dropping off in the last quarter due to competitors fatiguing less<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Despite having the same athletes and same coaches, attack strategies are no longer working as well<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Increase in pre-season training is leading to more injuries<\/em><\/li>\n
  • You have a new gameplan which the team buys into, but they are struggling to execute consistently<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u201cThese are the kinds of exercises I find to be really insightful because it helps me as a facilitator get a sense of where they\u2019re coming from when they\u2019re approaching leadership and change management,\u201d said Pagliano.<\/p>\n

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

    Finally\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Paul Downes, the GM of Basketball New Zealand, described his approach to his first hundred says on the job. He argues that the idea that a new or transitioning leader can transform an organisation in the first 90 (or 100) days is unrealistic.<\/p>\n

    Read the first instalment of Downes\u2019 miniseries here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"\"

    Image used courtesy of Basketball New Zealand.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Coming up for Leaders Performance Institute members:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The Sport Performance Summit New York<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n