April 4, 2025 Hi Reader You've read the books. Attended the courses. Maybe did a post-grad. You follow the experts. Do site visits. Yet something's missing. The gap between average, good and great leaders often isn't found in what everyone talks about. It hides in the wide open ā in principles so fundamental they're nearly invisible. I've spent years studying sports leaders who consistently outperform their peers. The difference, largely, isn't talent or resources. It's their unconscious...
7 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 5 min read
March 28, 2025 Hi Reader I think we've all seen it happen. You might well have felt (of feel?) it yourself. A talented head-coach with a decade of experience still makes the same mistakes they made in year one. A sports director who claims "extensive experience" but shows little growth in actual wisdom. The shocking and sad truth? Many sports leaders don't have ten years of experience. They have one year, repeated ten times. This isn't about intelligence, aptitude or work ethic. It's about...
14 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 5 min read
March 21, 2025 Hi Reader The crowd says play it safe. But the crowd is very often wrong. How often do you see leaders & their teams make decisions their rivals call "career suicide" or even "competitive malpractice."? Those same rivals quite quickly then quietly model those exact approaches. This isn't about being different for show. It's about having the courage to see what others miss. Because here's the truth most won't admit: In sports leadership, following best practices guarantees...
21 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 6 min read
March 14, 2025 Hi Reader Ever notice how you can often feel stuck? But that the men and women you consider to be successful sports leaders seem to see things others miss? In my own career and in working with head coaches, managers & other leaders within sports teams/clubs Iāve seen that it's rarely about having better answers. It's about asking better questions. The gap between the chasing pack and the good & great often hides in plain sight - in the questions you never thought to ask. The...
28 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 5 min read
March 7, 2025 Hi Reader Have you ever felt like you're running harder but moving slower? Yeah, Iāve been there too. Both with the clients I coach and in my own life. Itās more common than anyone thinks; youāre having a good season or staring at trophies youāve just won. Success markers everywhere. But inside? You feel a bit empty, kinda joyless and like youāre on a downward slide. Complete burnout in other words. It might feel like it but this isn't about failure. It's about the invisible...
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 5 min read
February 21, 2025 Hi Reader One of the great benefits of what I do professionally is that I get to work with smart people and I come out of our conversations with pages full of notes that act as reminders & prompts for myself and fuel for sharing in this newsletter. Recently, I sat down with a client, a Division 1 manager. He shared something surprising after a 3-0 loss. His team's performance metrics looked really good - more possession, more shots on target, better passing accuracy. But...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 4 min read
February 14, 2025 Hi Reader Happy St.Valentines Day ā¤ļø I watched a client, Sarah, make a Ā£22 million decision in under a minute last week. No spreadsheets. No committee meetings. No endless pros & cons and debating. I sat at the back of a boardroom, observing. The room fell silent. It was fascinating. A few senior executives shifted in their seats, clearly uncomfortable with the speed and weight of what just happened. But here's what interested me ā Sarah was smiling. Not the nervous smile of...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 5 min read
February 7, 2025 Hi Reader I think curiosity is great. But sometimes mine takes me down unusual rabbit-holes. A catchy story synopsis title caught my attention last Sunday; āSherlock Holmes and The Dog That Didnāt Barkā. Of course I had to go deeperā¦.but Iām glad I did because it reminded me of a lesson that I needed a refresher on. And Iām pretty sure youāll value it too. Bear with me for a second. Imagine this. Itās match day. Your stadium or ground is humming. Your team/club is locked in...
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 6 min read
January 25, 2025 Hi Reader I'm a day late this week - apologies. I spent yesterday travelling back on a circuitous route from the UK to Majorca but it did give me time to revisit one of the most interesting chats I had this week. A head coach I work with shared an interesting concern with me on Monday afternoon. Jump into her world for a second. Sheās standing on the sideline, watching her team warm up for an important match. Theyāve worked hard and well all week. Sheās set the tactics and...
3 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 6 min read