Language of Leadership Playbook: Six Lessons from The Changing Room to the Boardroom

45 minute read
30 June 2022

There are profound parallels between elite sports and high-performing businesses and organisations – both need to motivate, inspire and nurture the success of their teams. While the parallels are clear, what are the differences in how those in elite sports develop teams into winners? 

Our new playbook, 'The Language of Leadership: Six Lessons from the Changing Room to the Boardroom' aims to connect the power of sport to business in a new way and examines the language sportspeople use for clues to their success.

We have partnered with sports psychologist Charlie Unwin, who has helped coach both top athletes and executives from major corporations, to provide you with a series of practical and tangible lessons:

  • Lesson 1: Strive for constant self-improvement
  • Lesson 2: View failure as a positive force
  • Lesson 3: Channel the power of confidence
  • Lesson 4: Create a culture of mutual respect
  • Lesson 5: Be tenacious
  • Lesson 6: Lead by example

All six lessons provide both a fascinating insight into the minds of the coaches and business leaders running and competing at the very top of their sports and industries, and provide practical reflections leaders of organisations can use to adapt their language and performance accordingly to enable their leadership to drive team success.

Our playbook is based on research from over 500 data sources, and comparative analysis between interviews and articles from 130 board-level executives at listed businesses in the UK and beyond, and more than 150 elite sports coaches.

Through this analysis of natural language we've discovered key characteristics that make a successful high-performing team in both sports and business, through the words used by the C-Suite of FTSE 250 companies and elite sports coaches.

Enter your details below to download 'The Language of Leadership Playbook: Six Lessons from the Changing Room to the Boardroom' and find out more.


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