{"id":35412,"date":"2026-07-01T10:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=35412"},"modified":"2026-07-01T10:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:55:31","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-27","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-27\/","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 1 Jul 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 June, members of the Leaders Performance Institute delved into the question of sustaining success, striking the right balance between outcomes and growth, and answered the question of how much integration a performance team truly needs.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
Could Mirra Andreeva become only the fourth woman to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back?<\/h6>\n

There is every chance that the Russian\u2019s Wimbledon campaign has ended by the time you read this, but her emphatic victory on the clay in Paris last month underlined the 19-year-old\u2019s continued rise and, whatever happens in SW19 over the coming fortnight, promising future.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course the feeling [of winning a grand slam] is unbelievable,\u201d Andreeva told the press conference after her first round defeat of Magda Linette. \u201cBut on the other side, you expect more from yourself, feel more pressure. People expect you to do well. Next time I will try to block out those thoughts, because I was thinking about that a little bit. But a win is a win, even though I was complaining a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The topic of sustained success was just one on the Leaders Performance Institute agenda in June where, as ever, members convened for a series of roundtable discussions that culminated in our Sport Performance Summit in New York.<\/p>\n

The takeaways are coming soon. In the meantime, here is your usual debrief.<\/p>\n

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

If you were trying to win sailing\u2019s America\u2019s Cup, your first move would not necessarily be to discard the world\u2019s best racing yacht designer. Yet that is exactly what Peter Blake, the founder of Emirates Team New Zealand, did back in the 1990s, as John Bull told us.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Blake\u2019s] founding principle was we want to combine insights from sailors and the designers,\u201d said Bull, the Head of High Performance at Management Futures, when presenting at a virtual roundtable that explored the facets of organisations that have been successful over a long period of time.<\/p>\n

This approach did not sit well with Team New Zealand\u2019s designer, Bruce Farr.<\/p>\n

Bull continued:<\/p>\n

Farr decided he didn\u2019t want to listen to sailors messing with his design and, very courageously, Blake said, \u2018well, that\u2019s fine. Then you\u2019re not the designer for our campaign\u2019; given that Farr was the best designer in the world, that was pretty courageous.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That was in the early 1990s; Team New Zealand has since gone on to win the America\u2019s cup five times, including the last three editions.<\/p>\n

What Blake sought \u2013 which Farr seemingly failed to appreciate \u2013 was a disruptive edge. To use an old line from GB Sailing, he asked \u2018what will make the boat go faster?\u2019<\/p>\n

Bull explained that long-term success depends on preserving what works while embracing challenge and evolution.<\/p>\n

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

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

One of the things that I see is that I think that often the concepts that are associated with skill acquisition get stated with too much certainty; that there is really clear, solid evidence that everybody should do a certain something. That worries me because I just don\u2019t think that there is the strength of evidence to support some of the statements that are made.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So said a coach development specialist working in the British system at a recent Leaders Virtual Roundtable on the topic of skill acquisition.<\/p>\n

It is a conundrum that no one claims to have solved in its entirety, but members did set out their challenges and opportunities over the course of two sessions in April and June, respectively.<\/p>\n

You can read the report of both sessions here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

We return to New Zealand for the second time in this debrief; this time to the All Blacks, specifically their former General Manager Darren Shand.<\/p>\n

He asked Leaders members at a Virtual Roundtable in early June:<\/p>\n

Are we trying to win the next match or are we trying to build an environment that keeps winning for the next decade?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shand, who led a session that explored the balance of performance outcomes and performance growth, is in no doubt that championship teams (his New Zealand won back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015) combine both.<\/p>\n

His work is guided by four principles:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Winning is never enough<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cI often hear the myth that you have to lose to learn, but I don\u2019t agree with that,\u201d he said, adding that the All Blacks would ask themselves: \u2018are we still learning or just winning?\u2019. Your environment should incentivise learning because \u201cgrowth will actually protect your future performance\u201d.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Clarity drives alignment<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Shand posed a question: \u201cWhat are you currently not saying clearly because it creates pressure or accountability?\u201d In his experience, \u201cmost teams under-communicate ambition because they fear the discomfort, tension and challenge\u201d. This cannot become an excuse. \u201cIf there\u2019s ambiguity, it destroys execution in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      1. The more pressure increases, the more simplicity matters<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        When the pressure mounts, complexity can harm performance. Learning and growth come from simple structures and consistent reflection. The key for the All Blacks was everyone to become what Shand called a \u201cdoer\u201d \u2013 someone that can make decisions based on available information. \u201cWe took this notion of being \u2018productively paranoid\u2019 so that by meeting little and often we\u2019d connect, we\u2019d continue our growth, and we could help each other grow too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Sustainable success requires both outcomes and growth<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \u201cWe\u2019ve got to have that outcome discipline,\u201d said Shand, \u201cbut we\u2019ve got to couple it with a growth mindset.\u201d He added: \u201cThe best teams don\u2019t choose between outcomes and growth \u2013 they create systems where growth drives outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

          Best advice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          When it comes to performance teams, there is a dual risk of being too independent and overly integrated.<\/p>\n

          The balance, as ever, is somewhere in the middle. The performance directors at\u00a0 the roundtable suggested five solutions, which we illustrate below in the form of direct, anonymised quotes:<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Introduce decision-making frameworks<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            It\u2019s been really impactful having really clear three-step, four-step decision making frameworks to help move groups from that really consensus-driven, high-support, low-challenge environments towards more of that facilitative optimal environment.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

              \n
            1. Adopt systems thinking<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              With a systems focus where you\u2019re planning properly, some of the tension points become non-factors\u2026 if someone wants to raise their hand and say, \u2018hey, maybe we look at this system\u2019, I think that\u2019s a productive way to approach it; and if nine out of ten people say, \u2018well, you\u2019re missing this point\u2019, maybe the complexity is resolved to some extent.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

                \n
              1. Clear ownership and leadership<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                We look across problem-solving type, problem-solving approach and decision-making approach; and that dictates in a lot of cases whether we need to have an expert just making a unilateral decision or we need a group to discuss things.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

                  \n
                1. Selected, purposeful collaboration<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  We\u2019ll get to certain points where there are bigger picture discussions or the leadership or certain individuals need to collaborate on this part of this project or this certain segment of the season. As long as it\u2019s spelled out ahead of time and those individuals are aware, it\u2019s been much more successful for us and for me particularly.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

                    \n
                  1. Continuous monitoring<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    We have gone to a place that has been sticky for a lot of our staff around what\u2019s mission critical for helping to try and find that sweet spot of integration, collaboration and accountability. All of these words that we\u2019re talking about keep coming back to what\u2019s mission critical and being a bit more intentional with the who, the why, the what and the \u2018so what?\u2019 of meetings and the people in the room.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

                    Dr \u00c1ine MacNamara<\/strong> of Dublin City University<\/strong> explains why \u00a0successful transitions depend on a young athlete\u2019s psychological characteristics of developing excellence<\/a>; and Paul Downes PhD<\/strong>, the GM of Basketball New Zealand<\/strong>, wraps up his miniseries looking at the performance and leadership challenges<\/a> posed to a new programme on the world stage.<\/p>\n

                    Coming up<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    <\/p>\n

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