Row Your Business Boat: Olympic Coaching Wisdom for Leaders

Dan Moore, Olympic high-performance coach for the GB men's rowing team, takes us behind the scenes of his recent success at the Paris Olympics, where he guided the men's four and men's pair to bronze and silver medals. Having started coaching at just 16 years old, Moore brings over half a lifetime of coaching wisdom to this conversation about team dynamics and leadership.

The discussion reveals a fascinating paradox at the heart of high-performance teams: "People tend to want to be right more than they want to win." Moore explains how this natural human tendency creates challenges when bringing together exceptional individual performers who must function as a cohesive unit. His provocative insight that "one bad idea executed together is better than four good ideas executed separately" challenges conventional thinking about team effectiveness.

Moore's leadership philosophy centers on connection rather than control. Through personal experience, he learned that talking with team members rather than preaching at them creates the trust necessary for authentic leadership. This approach proves especially valuable when navigating vulnerability and failure - two inevitable aspects of high-performance environments. Rather than avoiding discussions about potential setbacks, Moore advocates "previewing" failure by establishing team protocols for response before challenges arise. This preemptive approach builds resilience and accountability while minimizing finger-pointing when things don't go as planned.

Ready to transform your leadership approach? Subscribe to the People and Performance Podcast for more insights from experts across sports and business who understand what it takes to build high-performing teams in challenging environments.

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Talking About Ways To Improve Company Culture and People Performance

The People and Performance Podcast is a show that dives into all things related to raising performance in the working world around us. We investigate how technology and HR processes are inextricably linked to the employee experience and the bottom line.

Chris Bjorling, Co-host

Christopher Bjorling is President at Fidello Inc., a consulting and services firm specializing in improving human performance.

For over 30 years Chris has led Fidello in creating unique talent management solutions. Through the products and services he and his team have created over the years, his organization has helped clients design, develop, implement and integrate talent management processes and systems.

Bill Banham, Co-host

Bill Banham, Publisher at The HR Gazette, Host of the popular HRchat Podcast and Organizer of events such as DisruptHR London.

Bill has worked with lots of business tech and HR-focused brands in the UK and North America including HRreview, TalentCulture, HRmarketer, Sprigg HR, and Team Fitness Tool.

Contact us to learn more!