{"id":36407,"date":"2026-10-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=36407"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:38:06","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-30","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-30\/","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 Oct 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

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In September, Leaders Performance Institute members tackled topics including AI, alignment and strategy.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
In leading the AFL\u2019s Brisbane Lions to a historic \u2018three-peat\u2019, Chris Fagan has once again challenged accepted coaching norms.<\/h6>\n

He remains the only senior coach to have won a premier (let alone three) without having played at elite level in the AFL or its predecessor, the VFL. Fagan suspects he won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s plenty of people out there that could be like me if they were able to get that opportunity,\u201d he told Fox Footy\u2019s AFL360 programme. \u201cCoaching is just a little bit more than how you played the game \u2013 it\u2019s a lot about how you teach people, how you develop people, how you give them confidence, how you give them a sense of belonging. All of that comes together in those big performances in finals \u2013 it\u2019s not just as simple as knowing a lot about the game, and being a good player.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the good things for me is that I couldn\u2019t rely on my reputation as a player; I\u2019ve had to develop other skills that have helped me be able to communicate with my players and get the message through. I\u2019m proud that I\u2019ve been able to do that, and I just hope others do get the chance at some stage to do the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have very little to add to that other than to point you in the direction of Fagan\u2019s appearances onstage at the Leaders Sport Performance summit here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a> and offer our warmest congratulations to the man and his organisation, who have long-been esteemed members of the Leaders Performance Institute.<\/p>\n

Right, let\u2019s round up the happenings at the Leaders Performance Institute for September where the discourse ranged from AI and alignment, to problem-solving and strategy.<\/p>\n

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

Remember\u2026 AI will not palpate a hamstring. It will not notice the hesitation in a player\u2019s voice. It cannot carry the moral weight of a return-to-play decision. It cannot rebuild trust after a setback. But\u2026 it can place the right information in front of the right people. It can preserve why a decision was made. It can return hours to practitioners\u2026 give some white space back into a crammed calendar. Free up headspace and offset cognitive load. It can help a department learn from every case rather than simply move on to the next one.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

David Clancy of The NXT Level Group and Ivan Peric of Peric & Partners penned a guest column exploring how artificial intelligence can help your performance team to see more clearly, remember more accurately \u2013 and learn more quickly.<\/p>\n

They make their case using the Premier League. Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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(Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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

Darren Shand, the former General Manager of the New Zealand All Blacks, posed a question at a recent Leaders Virtual Roundtable: how does your plan unfold when you\u2019re not there? His argument is that he should be able to visit at hear, see and feel your plan in action. However, that can only be the case is everyone is bought in and, as he explained, clarity and alignment are not the same thing:<\/p>\n

If we\u2019ve got clarity without belief, we\u2019ve just got compliance. We\u2019ve just got people doing what they think they need to do. But if we\u2019ve got clarity with belief, we\u2019ve got a much deeper commitment to whatever that plan is\u2026 The more we could create things together, the better we were\u2026 it forced us as management to make the plan even simpler because we had to fit with their way of thinking and their way of being rather than ours.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

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(Photo by David Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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

Were you aware that McDonald\u2019s tried to introduce \u2018McSpaghetti\u2019 in Italy in the late 1980s?<\/p>\n

They held back because, when they put it on the menu, no one ordered it. The idea failed but it was a cheap failure. McDonald\u2019s\u2019 approach in this instance certainly compares favourably with Google\u2019s expensive first-generation Glass product.<\/p>\n

John Bull, the Head of High Performance Research at Management Futures, shared those two examples at another Virtual Roundtable that explored the idea of empowering others to solve. He said:<\/p>\n

The key trap that we fall into is, when faced with uncertainty or sudden change, we feel pressured to come up with the answer. That is deeply misleading if we don\u2019t know what works\u2026 A lot of us are conditioned to think of strong\u00a0 leadership as being linked to having the ability to give clear direction; and when you are in a time of uncertainty, if results aren\u2019t going as you would expect or like or the expectation on you, a lot of people will look to their leaders for guidance\u2026 Faced with uncertainty, sudden change, we feel pressured to come up with the answer, but if we don\u2019t know what works, we should move into an \u2018empower to solve\u2019 response rather than defaulting to directive leadership.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out the full report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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(Photo by Daniel Carson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

One pitfall to avoid:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What makes a good strategy? Members of the Leaders Performance Institute answered that question at another Virtual Roundtable, which you can read about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is a story one performance director shared about their organisation\u2019s penchant for a quick measurement at the expense of long-term development:<\/p>\n

I was in an environment where the executive team focused heavily on the number of athletes coming through the facility. The problem was that there wasn\u2019t really a clear plan behind it and trust started to erode among the staff working closest to the athletes. What actually drove success \u2013 delivering a world-class service \u2013 wasn\u2019t being recognised or measured in the same way. So it was a good example of how a strategy can look clear on paper but still struggle because of issues elsewhere in the system.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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(Photo by David Ramos\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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

<\/p>\n

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