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High-Performance Leadership is contagious. Neuroscience tells us that how you as a leader think, feel, and act “infects” your team as reliably as any virus.
I certainly witnessed this in elite sport – the coach who would confidently tell me that, while they were “nervous as hell” about how their athletes would perform at the Olympics, no one would ever know that was true.
Only to have their athletes tell me the exact opposite: I just avoid Coach in the final minutes before my competition because he keeps trying to give me a bunch of advice. And the way he talks just makes me more nervous.
You can try to “armour up” and pretend all is well, or maybe you occasionally “bleed out” your anger or irritation with the justification that if staff just performed better, I wouldn’t have to get upset.
The first strategy, armouring up, saps your energy and confuses the people who see through the armour, like those athletes who saw through their coach. The second strategy is not a performance enhancer, but instils uncertainty in your people and makes you look volatile and unpredictable.
The solution lies in cultivating your self-awareness and self-management skill. It is the more effective alternative to either armouring up or bleeding out.
If you want to learn to be more productively or inspirationally “infectious,” I partner with you to coach the mindset and behaviour shifts that can get you there.
First, know that you are not alone. These are common mental traps for high performers.
Years of working with elite athletes and coaches in “performance on the day” situations have shown me what true and sustainable high performance looks like from the inside. And what undermines it.
The problem with anything “high performance” is that, from the outside, we only see when it works out. The successful outcome, the job promotion, the news headlines.
Pretty much anyone can kick one goal without a lot of preparation. But to be a perpetual high performer is a different game, most of which happens behind the scenes…or internally, in our minds.
High-performance coaching in this instance is more than asking good questions to help you unearth your inner high performer. It’s about teaching you the inner physical (yes, there are physical aspects to high performance in any domain) and mental keys that allow performance to come (and stay) more easily.
High-Performance Mindset Coaching Areas of Concentration
Preparation for any challenging endeavour includes clarifying the outcome, mapping the terrain and process goals, visualizing both success and overcoming difficulties, and working out who you need on your team – for learning and support.
People often overlook practice, except in areas requiring physical skills. In this context, practice could be about developing your technical competence and strategy, but my primary focus will be to help you develop your mental fitness with secondary emphasis on the physical basics underpinning being your best.
Performance is about every day AND the moments that matter most. The skills of high performance include knowing what your job is (and what it is not), accurate and agile self-awareness, and exquisite self-management skills. No one can guarantee success in every endeavour, but we can always increase the odds.
I work with my coaching clients for a period of time that you choose, from 3 to 6 to 12 months. By investing in a period of development time rather than paying per session, you make more substantive shifts.
My coaching programs include:
Fortnightly sessions with me (virtual or in-person) where we unpack your situational context and your way of operating, identify the performance gaps and the work to be done…and you do the work.
Hogan Work Personality Assessments and Debrief, to include:
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) describes normal, or bright side personality – qualities that describe how we relate to others when we are at our best.
The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) describes the dark side of personality – qualities that emerge in times of increased strain and can disrupt relationships, damage reputations, and derail people’s chances of success.
The Motives, Values, and Preferences Inventory (MVPI) describes personality from the inside – the core goals, values, drivers, and interests that determine what we desire and strive to attain.
This suite of inventories is psychometrically designed to give you individualized feedback about how others perceive you, both when you are at your best and when you are under stress. Moreover, you will learn about your core drivers and motivations.
A copy of my book, When Grit is Not Enough, which provides insights and strategies for how to cope in times of change and uncertainty.
In between sessions, I will make myself available for updates and check-ins. Consider me your coaching partner on your journey to more sustainable high performance.
©2024 by Dr Kirsten Peterson.
