The Built For Pressure Podcast

Will Foden
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This podcast is for leaders, business owners and executives to find their next 1%. This podcast will educate those who want to regain their edge, consistently perform during times that matter and turn potential into performance. - Human Optimisation - Peak Performance - Elite Mindset Strategy - Personal Development - Communication - Leadership Performance - Business Growth These are all parts of the bigger puzzle for the modern leader. This podcast is designed to connect and remodel what modern day leadership needs to become. We are placing the human at the forefront of the performance.

  1. 5d ago

    One Bad Night: The Exact Protocol I Follow When Sleep Is Not an Option

    Last night my son decided sleep was optional. By 1:45 in the morning, I had given up on the idea of rest entirely. This morning my Garmin told me I had 4 hours and 5 minutes and a sleep score of 40. On paper, I was cooked. On paper, I also had a full business day waiting for me. In this episode I am not talking theory. I am walking you through exactly what I did, in real time, to manage a compromised day without losing ground. From the moment I stepped outside half conscious into the morning light, through to how I triaged my cognitive load, adjusted my nutrition, managed my caffeine window and used NSDR to bring my nervous system back from the edge. This is the conversation nobody has about high performance. Not the highlight reel. Not the optimised morning routine. The raw reality of running a business, raising a family, and still refusing to let one bad night become a bad day. If you are a founder, a CEO, or a leader who knows what it feels like to be on the floor before the day has even started, this episode is for you. Because being compromised is not the problem. Not having a system to manage it is.

    8 min

  2. May 21

    Why Elite Performers Struggle to Grow (And What To Do About It)

    The better you get, the harder growth becomes. Not because you are less capable. But because the game changes, and the version of you that was built to win the last game is not automatically equipped to win the next one. In this episode, Will Foden gets personal about the specific kind of friction that every elite performer hits at least once in their career, and why most of them do not have a framework for it when it arrives. Drawing on his own experience navigating the transition from professional rugby player to performance practitioner to founder of Built For Pressure, Will breaks down the science of why high performers stall during growth phases, and what to do about it. At the centre of this episode is the work of performance scientist Steve Magness and the concept of broad versus narrow identity: why the focused, singular identity that drives elite performance in the early stages becomes the very thing that creates friction when the game evolves. You will come away from this episode with a clear understanding of why this friction is not a weakness signal but a growth marker, how to audit where your identity is currently anchored, and the three-step framework Will uses in real time to keep moving while the identity catches up to the new game. This one is for the leader, the founder, the athlete, anyone who is performing at a high level and feeling a weight they cannot quite name. The discomfort is not the problem. It is the price of admission. If you're going through this same specific situation right now, I'd like to hear from you. If I can help, I'll give you some links to what it means to be able to keep pushing your limits. DM me the word MAY, and I'll send you a few tools you can put straight into your process.

    15 min

  3. May 14

    Once An Athlete, Always An Athlete

    My wife Rach was seventh in the world at 100 fly. On Saturday, she crossed the finish line of her first 70.3 Ironman. This episode is not a race report. It is an honest look at what happens to high performers when they leave elite sport and never redirect what it built in them. The athlete wiring does not switch off. It goes dormant. And without a target worthy of it, that same drive that built your edge starts working against you. I talk about what Rach demonstrated on that finish line, why founders and senior leaders who came from sport need a challenge outside the business, and why the pull you feel toward something hard and physical is not indulgence. It is a performance signal worth listening to. If you have shelved that part of yourself because your responsibilities changed, this episode is a direct conversation with you.

    10 min

  4. May 6

    The Executives Guide To Performing On The Road

    Most executives fall apart the moment they leave their routine. Here is why that is a systems problem, not a willpower problem. In this episode, I am recording on the go as we head to Mallorca for my wife Rachael's 70.3 Half Ironman.  Rachael competed for Great Britain in 100m freestyle swimming from the age of 14 and missed out on the Olympics by a tenth of a second. Now she is a mother and she is still holding the standard. That matters. But this episode is not just about Rachael. It is about how high performers travel without losing the plot.  How do you protect your physical output, your nutrition, your focus, and your presence when everything around you is outside your control? I cover: - The minimum effective dose principle for training on the road and why most people overcomplicate it completely. - Travel nutrition without obsession, why tracking your food has nothing to do with fat loss and everything to do with data - Hydration on flights and why this is the most overlooked lever in executive performance. - The dimmer switch model of performance and why elite performers are never fully on or fully off. - How to remain present with your family without guilt destroying your focus or your identity - Why your performance infrastructure has to travel with you, not wait for you at home The BFP Capacity Index is now live. If you want to know which of your seven performance pillars is costing you the most right now, drop me a message. 🔗 Connect with me:Linkedin: @willfodenInstagram: @willfodenWebsite www.builtforpressure.net #LeadershipPerformance #Highperformance #ExecutiveMindset #PeakPerformance #BusinessLeadership #EnergyManagement #ResilientLeadership #OptimizeYourself#mentalclarity #peakperformance #PersonalStandards#SuccessUnderPressure #EntrepreneurLife #ElitePerformance #ProductivityHacks #CEOHealth #sustainablesuccess  #leadershipdevelopment  #worklifebalance  #trainsmart #masteryourenergy

    10 min

  5. Apr 28

    The Performance Gap That No CEO Talks About With Max Learmonth

    Most CEOs think pressure is the problem. It is not. The problem is the lack of infrastructure to handle it. In this episode, I sit down with Max Learmonth, founder and CEO of Forge Talent which is currently the fastest growing finance and accountancy recruiter in the UK, as well as a current client of mine.  Max is a former elite athlete, a CEO on a mission to change an industry and on a charge to take him and his team to another level.  The reality of pushing your limits means that you're always going to be living on the knife edge of pushing yourself to expand your capacity.  But when we first connected, that was not the full picture. Max was up at 3:45 in the morning. Running ten kilometres before the sun came up. Burning off the previous night's client dinners. Getting home and being physically present but mentally absent. Running on adrenaline, black coffee, and the same mindset that had served him on the rugby pitch but was quietly slowing down his capacity to lead. He did not have a business problem. He had a self management problem.  And he had no idea that he was constantly living on the edge of burnout. This conversation is one of the most honest I have recorded. We go into what it actually looks like when a high performer is running on empty, why the same traits that build elite businesses can quietly erode the person running them, and what changes when you start treating yourself like the most important asset in the company. We cover: - Why being fully committed and being well managed are not the same thing, and why confusing them is costing you more than you realise. - How reactive leadership is a product of a depleted system, not a character flaw, and what Max did to shift from reacting to responding. - The role of data, routine, and recovery in giving a full-send personality the capacity to actually sustain the pace. - What presence at home actually has to do with performance at work, and why most leaders get this completely backwards. - Why asking for guidance is not a weakness when you are operating at this level. It is the highest leverage decision you can make. This is not a conversation about balance. Neither of us believes in it. This is a conversation about building the physical and psychological infrastructure that allows you to stay on the knife edge, sustainably, and lead with clarity when it matters most. If you are growing something, if you are fully attacking and starting to feel it, and if part of you knows that the way you are operating right now is not going to hold, this one is for you. Listen. Take one thing. Act on it. Built For Pressure works with founders, CEOs and senior leaders who are serious about performing at the highest level, for the long term. If that is you, DM me the word PRESSURE and let us have a conversation. TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Introduction and who is Max Learmonth03:20 From elite sport to building the fastest growing recruiter in the UK08:45 What it actually felt like to be fully attacking with no off switch14:10 Max routine, including how he used to manage his growth and performance.19:30 The moment Max knew something had to change24:00 From reactive to responsive: how real leadership behaviour shifts31:15 What tracking data actually taught a man who hated the idea of wearing a whoop38:40 Nutrition, sleep and the basics that nobody talks about seriously enough44:20 Why presence at home is a performance variable, not a soft one50:05 What Max would tell himself at the start of the journey55:30 The one thing that would accelerate any CEO watching this 🔗 Connect with me:Linkedin: @willfodenInstagram: @willfodenWebsite www.builtforpressure.net #LeadershipPerformance #Highperformance #ExecutiveMindset #PeakPerformance #BusinessLeadership #EnergyManagement #ResilientLeadership #OptimizeYourself#mentalclarity #peakperformance #PersonalStandards#SuccessUnderPressure #EntrepreneurLife #ElitePerformance #ProductivityHacks #CEOHealth #sustainablesuccess  #leadershipdevelopment  #worklifebalance #masteryourenergy

    47 min

  6. Apr 22

    Man Alive Podcast | Will Foden: What Actually Builds Mental Toughness

    Most people talk about resilience like it's something you read about. Mine was built on a rugby pitch, in a hospital in Hereford, on a sofa in Doncaster at 2 in the morning, and in four weeks watching my dad go from cycling 12 kilometres a day to unfortunately passing away with us by his side. This conversation with Colm on the Man Alive Podcast covers a lot of ground.  Professional and semi-professional rugby.  Signing my first contract at Doncaster Knights and having a horse kick both legs through my knee eight weeks later.  Being told I would never play again. Coming back ten months later.  Playing seven more years across England, Singapore, and Australia. Leaving a relationship I had outgrown years before I was brave enough to admit it. Moving to Singapore with 700 quid. Losing my dad in four weeks to lung cancer when he was in the best shape of his life. None of that is the story. Those are just the conditions. The story is about what happens to a man when everything he built his identity around gets taken away, and what it takes to not let it bury you. - We talk about why men lose themselves when they leave elite sport.  - Why being all in professionally is often the thing that destroys everything else.  - Why self-awareness and self-management separate good from elite, not pedigree.  - Why your gut has been telling you what to do for years and you are still not listening to it.  - And why the men who are most stuck are not lacking motivation, they are lacking a system. Built For Pressure was not built in a boardroom. It was built in every moment I had a choice between sinking or getting back on the pitch. This one covers all of it. Very lucky to be on the podcast with Colm. The Yana mission is something men across the world need to take note of, be part of, and talk about more, because this game is extremely lonely if you let it be. I hope this message can help someone who's in a dark place pull themselves out of the ashes and start moving forward without losing themselves. Start talking  🔗 Connect with me:Linkedin: @willfodenInstagram: @willfodenWebsite www.builtforpressure.net #LeadershipPerformance #Highperformance #ExecutiveMindset #PeakPerformance #BusinessLeadership #EnergyManagement #ResilientLeadership #OptimizeYourself#mentalclarity #peakperformance #PersonalStandards#SuccessUnderPressure #EntrepreneurLife #ElitePerformance #ProductivityHacks #CEOHealth #sustainablesuccess  #leadershipdevelopment  #worklifebalance  #trainsmart #masteryourenergy

    1h 1m

  7. Apr 16

    Capacity Is The Only Currency For Leadership Performance

    Most leaders in 2026 are performing at 60 to 70 per cent of their actual capacity.  The question is why? And more importantly, what to do about it? In this episode I am talking about the one variable that separates leaders who sustain elite performance from those who gradually erode.  Not a strategy. Not talent. Capacity. I cover why the leadership environment has fundamentally shifted, what is actually driving the performance gap most executives are sitting in right now, and why the vast majority of support available to leaders fails to address the real problem. I also introduce the Built For Pressure Capacity Index. A diagnostic framework built around seven systems that together determine a leader's ability to perform under sustained pressure.  I am not going into the full detail here. That happens next Thursday at the Corporate Athlete Workshop with Deep Sky. But I want you to understand what it measures and why it matters before we get in the room. If you are a founder, CEO, or senior leader and want to come and join the workshop heres the link to register: https://readytorise.global/main-event  WHAT WE COVER- The question every leader struggles to answer honestly why they can't push to their next limit? - Why capacity is the only leadership currency that matters in 2026. - What is actually breaking down inside high performing leaders right now. - Why existing platforms are not solving the problem. - Introducing the Capacity Index and the seven pillars of leadership performance See you next Thursday. 🔗 Connect with me:Linkedin: @willfodenInstagram: @willfodenWebsite www.builtforpressure.net #LeadershipPerformance #Highperformance #ExecutiveMindset #PeakPerformance #BusinessLeadership #EnergyManagement #ResilientLeadership #OptimizeYourself#mentalclarity #peakperformance #PersonalStandards#SuccessUnderPressure #EntrepreneurLife #ElitePerformance #ProductivityHacks #CEOHealth #sustainablesuccess  #leadershipdevelopment  #worklifebalance  #trainsmart #masteryourenergy

    9 min

  8. Apr 8

    The Three Drivers of Leadership Performance Most Founders Completely Ignore

    Most leaders are white knuckling their way through performance. More meetings, more output, more pressure. And wondering why nothing changes. In this episode, I break down the three drivers that actually determine how well you lead yourself under sustained pressure.  I Recorded this in the Peak District before I went for a wild swim. I needed to talk about how to lead yourself as we're headingin to a time where most are going to struggle to keep up with the pace needed to perform in this time.  The key part to this is understanding what separates leaders who stay sharp from those who quietly fall apart behind closed doors. What you will learn: - Why physiology is the foundation of every leadership decision you make - How measuring your ego by output is quietly destroying your capacity - Why creating space is not a luxury, it is a performance requirement - How to train for pressure before it arrives, so you stop being reactive when it does If you are a CEO, founder or senior executive who has hit a plateau, feels the frustration of not performing at the level you know you are capable of, or is running on willpower alone, this episode will reframe how you think about your own performance infrastructure entirely. The aim is to help you see a clear path of what three levers to pull that drive leadership performance, and the honest audit of which one is currently costing you the most. If you're running a company and know that you feel you're plateauing in your performance, follow the links below and I'll show you how: 🔗 Connect with me:Linkedin: @willfodenInstagram: @willfodenWebsite www.builtforpressure.net #LeadershipPerformance #Highperformance #ExecutiveMindset #PeakPerformance #BusinessLeadership #EnergyManagement #ResilientLeadership #OptimizeYourself#mentalclarity #peakperformance #PersonalStandards#SuccessUnderPressure #EntrepreneurLife #ElitePerformance #ProductivityHacks #CEOHealth #sustainablesuccess  #leadershipdevelopment  #worklifebalance  #trainsmart #masteryourenergy

    9 min
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About

This podcast is for leaders, business owners and executives to find their next 1%. This podcast will educate those who want to regain their edge, consistently perform during times that matter and turn potential into performance. - Human Optimisation - Peak Performance - Elite Mindset Strategy - Personal Development - Communication - Leadership Performance - Business Growth These are all parts of the bigger puzzle for the modern leader. This podcast is designed to connect and remodel what modern day leadership needs to become. We are placing the human at the forefront of the performance.

Information

  • Creator
    Will Foden
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    76
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2021