Hi Reader

Have you ever felt like you're running harder but moving slower?

Yeah, I’ve been there too.

Both with the clients I coach and in my own life.

It’s more common than anyone thinks; you’re having a good season or staring at trophies you’ve just won. Success markers everywhere. But inside? You feel a bit empty, kinda joyless and like you’re 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 barriers that trap even the most successful leaders.

Most people seek logical solutions. They analyse. They strategize. They add more effort. But what if the answer lies somewhere unexpected?

I’ve come to understand through first-hand experience and through guiding others, that the best approach doesn’t lie in more doing, but in a radical shift of seeing.

Let's look at a few ways to part the clouds and let your performance shine....

Your Read Time today is = 5 minutes..Remember to connect with me on social channels like X and Instagram​

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The Psychological Puzzle of Performance

Performance, yours or that of the people you lead, isn't a math problem. It's a story. A human story.

When you hit a wall, your brain does something fascinating. It wants and seeks familiar patterns. Safe routes. Predictable solutions.

But growth? Your growth rarely resides in the predictable. It lives in the uncomfortable spaces between what you know and what you're about to discover.

Think of your current struggle like a chess game. In once heard chess legend, Gary Kasparov, say that most players focus on the pieces. Top players & masters see the entire board.

So, instead of thinking and acting in a linear fashion (just like 90%+ of the sports leaders out there), it’s really rewarding to think psycho-logically and get creative about reversing out of your downward spiral.

Instead of conforming to convention what if you thought more counterintuitively?

Three Counterintuitive Insights

1. Comfort is Your Real Enemy

There does come a time when your greatest strength becomes your biggest vulnerability. The strategies that elevated you now hold you back.

What worked yesterday won't work tomorrow.

2. Small Shifts, Massive Changes

Forget grand transformations. Tiny, precise adjustments create breakthrough momentum.

Imagine adjusting the course plot of a satellite by millimetres. Those small corrections change entire trajectories.

3. Your Weakness is Your Hidden Power

The trait frustrating you? It's could well be your secret weapon. The thing that, managed and cultivated, could give you real stand-out.

Learn to listen to it, tune it & refine it. Not eliminate it.

Still with me? Each point is worthy of a full newsletter – but today I want to share not just the valuable insight, but how you can take action and make ground, today.

You could look to leverage all three of these….but for now go with the one that speaks most to you.

And then immerse into a reset.

Your Practical Reset Strategies

10% Principle

Choose one element of your day.

Something where the dip or slide seems obvious and evident.

Improve it slightly. Not dramatically. Just 10%.

Don’t try to boil the ocean. Start with a boiling a cup-full.

Why? Confidence grows through small wins.

Subtraction Method

Most leaders add. Top performers remove.

They seek out what is not making their boat go faster. And then they eliminate it or delegate it.

Keep the important things, the important things.

Three questions helpful to ask today:

• What's truly slowing me down?
• What can I stop doing?
• Where am I making things complex?

Energy Audit

Measure activities by energy, not productivity.

I know from actually measuring performance and performers (using an objective, individualised and validated physiological reference point) that with 66% of the working week gone that many head coaches, managers etc are running on fumes and instinct.

They’re trying to squeeze a 9-out-of-10 performance out whilst feeling, and operating at, a 5 or 6-out-of-10 level.

All because you’re draining your battery and not restoring it.

Today after each task ask, interaction or meeting ask: "Did this energise or drain me?"

Plot all of those episodes on a page and see a revealing pattern emerge.

Finally.....An Unspoken Truth

When you’re experiencing that confusion, dissonance and burnout, it really feels like you are ‘stuck’. Or that you’re spinning your wheels.

I’m sharing this overview to help you regain positive momentum.

But momentum is a bit misunderstood.

Momentum isn't speed. It's a force of direction and energy.

Focus on being directionally correct and moving at pace.

Combined, that’s your potent performance force-multiplier.

More than that, you’re not looking for linear progress. A positive trend will do just fine and will see you stand out and stay ahead of 90% of your peers.

Very final thing….cut yourself some slack.

Maybe you're not quite as stuck as you think. Perhaps you're tacit wisdom is already taking control? If you’re the type of person to read this then you’re already recalibrating and you don’t even know it!

The ‘Reset’ process is never easy. A little more help, prompt and assistance might help.

Want my "Momentum Reset" guide? It’s coming soon and I’ll offer you complimentary access. Just drop me a quick email to paul@theleaders.coach and I’ll send it on to you in the coming 1-2 weeks.

Interested in more leadership strategies, insights & frameworks to help you perform better?

Have you had a look at my online Leadership Course where we focused on 6 proven principles that will help you stand out as a leader - you can get more detail here and use 'Leader33' discount code for your exclusive community discount.

Also check out my YouTube channel: Paul Clarke - The Leaders Coach.

Let’s connect: On X and Linkedin

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A Master's Voice....

Who is your 'goalkeeper'? Not in literal terms, but in terms of being the person who gives you and your team/club/organisation the launch platform for great performance and sustainable success? Who is the person who quietly goes about their business but with inversely correlated results? The person without whom regression, frustration and defeat would be staring you in the eye. Very often, the key link in your chain operates in the shadow of others. Find them, nurture them and value them. They are the difference that makes the difference.

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Thank you for being part of the Leaders Coach community. The work on how to lead better is something you have to do alone. But you don't have to do it on your own. Onward and Upward, Paul Clarke

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Beechmount Vale, Navan, Meath C15
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