Elite Team Talks Elite Team Scalers

Hi everyone,

Today we welcome ST, otherwise known as Simon Thomas, a high-performance consultant from New Zealand.

In this episode he shares his experiences and learnings from working with the world's most successful rugby club, the Crusaders, and his time with the Māori All Blacks.

In this episode, we discuss what ancient Māori wisdom has taught him, how to create a story that unites your people, how to ensure you have the right people on the bus in the first place, and how to create a culture where people put the organisation’s success before their own self-interest.

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, rate, subscribe and share it with others.

Thanks, as always, for listening and I hope you enjoy it.

00:00 Intro
01:34 The Power of Purpose in High Performance
6:01 The Impact of Storytelling on Team Culture
17:22 3 Steps To Align Your People
26:22 Scaling Connection & Belonging
31:11 The Maori All Blacks Culture
44:01 How To Identify The Right People
50:29 Staying Aligned To Your Strengths & Values
53:20 Whole-Person Approach
1:00:00 Connecting People Remotely
01:07:15 How To Retain Your Best People
01:15:06 First Steps In A New Environment
01:22:59 Word Association
1:27:31 Summary & Takeaways

Hi everyone and welcome back.

In this episode, I discuss all things storytelling, creativity and inspiration with Ben Potvin, ex Creative Director for Cirque Du Soleil and now Chief Creative Officer at The Liminal Collective.

As business leaders, it's often our ability to influence and connect people that underpins our company's success. Whether it's selling to clients or building a high-performance workforce.

In this episode, you can expect to understand;

- How to build a culture of innovation
- How to inspire and align your people
- How to create deep levels of connection at work
- And how to sustainably, outcompete your competitors

As always, if you enjoyed this episode and want to be the first to hear when new episodes drop, please like, rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.

Most importantly, thank you for watching and listening. This podcast was created for you and I hope you enjoy the episode.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:35 Introduction and Background
06:55 Creativity: Exploration and Curiosity
25:36 AI and Creativity: Enhancing Ideas
34:33 Creating a Safe Space for Self-Reflection and Sharing
42:04 Collaborating Based on Strengths and Weaknesses
47:24 Reflecting on Values and Identity for Personal and Team Growth
58:40 Creating Deep Connections and Meaning within Teams
01:11:16 Embracing Diversity for Personal Growth and Creativity
01:23:38 Making Time for In-Person Interactions and Authentic Conversations
01:29:35 Word Association
01:31:53 Summary & Takeaways

Hi everyone,

Join us this week as we dive deep with Dr. Preston Cline, co-founder of the Mission Critical Team Institute (MCTI).

With a background that intertwines academic rigour with real-world experience, Dr. Cline is at the forefront of developing high-stakes teams operating at the edge of human performance.

In this episode, we unpack the science and psychology behind mission critical teams, those groups for whom failure could mean the difference between life and death.

From Navy SEALs to surgical units, discover how these teams prepare for the unpredictable, manage risk, and make decisions under extreme pressure.

Dr. Cline shares insights from his extensive research and fieldwork, offering lessons on leadership, teamwork, and resilience that apply far beyond the battlefield or the operating room.

Whether you're leading a team, part of one, or simply fascinated by human performance under pressure, this conversation will change the way you think about teamwork in critical missions.



From this episode you can expect to understand;

- The system used by the Navy Seals to develop their people

- How to avoid promoting the wrong leaders

- Why psychological 'safety' isn't what we're actually after

- And what humans really require for sustainable success



As always, if you enjoyed this episode and want to be the first to hear when new episodes drop, please like, rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.

Most importantly, thank you for watching and listening. This podcast was created for you and I hope you enjoy the episode.



00:00 Episode intro

00:35 Introduction and background

01:04 Preston's journey and research focus

03:22 Lessons from mission critical teams for ambitious companies

06:31 Achieving resilience and thriving in uncertainty

08:37 The risk or safety paradox

20:09 Creating a universal language and the role of guides

25:49 The DR5 model for optimising performance

29:01 Pattern recognition and conditioning in training and performance

31:18 The power of a shared language for effective intervention

34:45 Finding balance and richness in life with the 'third thing'

41:17 The role of eldership in guiding and supporting younger generations

52:05 Creating authentic community and connection in organisations

57:15 Word association

59:30 Summary & takeaways

Hi everyone and welcome back.

I'm excited for you to listen to our episode with Brad today.

Personally, he was the first coach I worked with during my time in New Zealand and he has gone on to do wonderful things since then.

This episode is packed full of nuggets and insights, so expect to understand;



- How to create lived, not 'part time', values

- How to achieve sustainable success

- The 3 steps you can take to get the best out of your team

- And, how to effectively lead through a storm



As always, if you enjoyed this episode and want to be the first to hear when new episodes drop, please like, rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.

Most importantly, thank you for watching and listening. This podcast was created for you and I hope you enjoy the episode.



0:00 Episode intro

0:36 Going from a lawyer to coaching the All Blacks

08:25 What makes the All Blacks world-class

09:07 How to create a legacy of sustained success

10:13 How to succeed under pressure

13:14 How to maximise your company’s training time

14:28 The 3 steps process for getting the most out of your
team

15:46 The importance of psychological safety and
vulnerability

17:25 Leveraging diversity for innovative solutions

18:43 Lived vs ‘part-time’ values

22:44 Why the best teams are full of custodians

27:55 How to lead through a storm

30:48 Embracing scrutiny & high expectations

32:38 Understanding your culture

37:01 The first step he takes when joining a new team

37:37 Seeking other perspectives to build your toolbox

44:55 How to switch gears and recover hard

48:00 What the best in the world all do

51:01 How the All Blacks select team members

55:29 How to onboard new hires

1:02:21 Brad’s coaching and leadership philosophy

1:09:05 The highs and lows of leadership

1:09:57 Word association

1:11:40 Summary & takeaways

Following a career spanning three Olympic games with Team GB, and several leadership roles within collegiate and professional US sport, Duncan French became the inaugural Vice President of Performance for the UFC when they founded the world-famous UFC Performance Institute in 2017.



Since then, the team has grown into a global, multi-cultural
entity, with recent performance institutes opened in Mexico City and Shanghai. The team are now recognised as a world-leading authority on human performance, with Duncan leading the charge.



You can expect to understand;

 

• How to build an innovative culture that breaks status quo

• How to create an environment that breeds high performance

• How to identify the right qualities for an industry-leading team

• And how to create a culture that's admired by some of the world's best teams



PS. we experienced a few sound issues during the first 5
minutes, but it’s smooth sailing after that - and packed full of insight we hope you agree.

 

00:00 Intro

00:59 Diversity and depth of experience

04:09 Science and art in building world-class teams

09:37 Successfully challenging status quo

14:00 Riding the rollercoaster of success & failure

16:38 How Duncan reverse engineers success

24:18 Creating an industry-leading team & culture

35:26 How Duncan identifies the right people

44:07 Connecting a global, multi-cultural team

50:47 The 3 things people need to thrive

53:05 Reframing COVID as an opportunity

58:20 Prospect theory & leaning into risk

1:03:02 How to innovate with minimal time

1:07:30 The cost of leadership and loneliness

1:11:05 Stepping into roles you’re not ready for

1:14:35 Developing a network of peers

1:17:00 The advice he’d give to himself and others

1:21:50 How Duncan’s evolved as a leader

1:23:00 Word association

1:25:01 Three takeaways & action points

Welcome back. Our guest today is Dr Ben Rosenblatt.

Ben has coached athletes to every Olympic Games since 2008, worked in Olympic gold medal winning teams and for the last seven years, led England football’s physical performance department as part of Gareth Southgate’s backroom team

Most recently, he founded his own company, 292 performance, who provide high-performance support to high-performing individuals.

In this episode, we discuss;

- The 5 necessities for a high performing team
- How Gareth Southgate’s leadership team successfully engineered culture change
- His most memorable moments with the England Football team
- Why, in his opinion, identity eats culture for breakfast

You can expect to understand;

- How to deeply motivate your people
- How to successfully lead culture change
- How to use failure as a competitive advantage
- And how to create sustainable, high performance

As always, if you enjoyed the episode and want to be the first to hear when new episodes drop, please like, rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.

Most importantly, thank you for watching and listening. This podcast was created for you, and I hope you enjoy the episode.

00:00 Podcast intro
00:51 Guest intro
01:42 Ben’s story
04:30 What attracted him
05:33 His ‘why’
06:28 Art vs science
10:06 Advice for new leaders
16:37 Winning Olympic gold
19:03 Importance of celebrating success
19:36 Integrating your vision, values and behaviours
21:08 Decentralised leadership & ownership
24:42 Importance of living your values
27:10 Owen Eastwood’s book ‘Belonging’
27:30 Storytelling over slogans
29:07 Identity eats culture for breakfast
29:52 Pink inflatable unicorns & EAST
34:00 Gamifying development
34:43 5 necessities for high performing teams
39:00 Understanding your team’s needs
40:46 Best moments with England
43:03 Importance of small wins
46:00 First step in turning the ship around
48:28 Importance of awareness and desire for change
50:03 What underpins team’s actions
51:00 Successfully challenging status quo
54:44 The COM-B model of behaviour change
58:00 The issue with culture
58:50 The culture change trade-off
1:00:12 Aligning your mission & values with your identity
1:04:20 Detaching yourself from the outcome
1:07:16 Traits of the world’s best athletes
1:09:17 Mindfulness for sustainable success
1:13:20 Opportunity vs threat mindset
1:16:00 Traits of the world’s best leaders
1:16:58 Hiring vs developing mindset
1:21:23 Word association
1:23:45 Summary & insights
1:36:58 3 key takeaways