Fixing and Facilitating

[Part 4 /5] 

Early in my career, I made a simple error.
I thought my job was to 'fix' these elite athletes.

Maybe it was arrogance.
Maybe it was naivety.

It took years to learn:
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲.

Doesn't matter if they are an NFL quarterback or a Fortune 500 CEO.

What you 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 is remove what's blocking them.
Create conditions where they can function.
And know when to step back entirely.

There are 'handbrakes' and 'potholes'
Hand brakes - Internal beliefs and behaviors
Potholes - External issues that will deteriorate performance  

The best coaches I've worked with understood this instinctively.
They weren't healers.
They were architects of environment.

All you can do is:
Design the environment
The environment creates an 'experience' for the person
The 'experience' provides a 'stimulus'
And the person interprets the 'stimulus'
And THAT is adaptation   


𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗧:
Eliminate stress (and shouldn't—stress drives adaptation).
"Solve" an individual's stress (that's their Life Model's work).
Bypass recovery (there are biological rules).
Force engagement from a depleted system.
Change someone's Life Model directly.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗔𝗡:
Remove roadblocks to recovery.
Reduce unnecessary stressors (lower allostatic load).
Distinguish manufactured stress from inherent stress.
Provide interpretive frameworks (helps faint).
Create safety signals (helps all states).
Allow time without demands (helps freeze).
Make resilience a team function, not individual burden.
Build systems that distribute load.
Recognize the cascade before overwhelm.
Maintain functional reserve through proper load management.

𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:
Either:
A model where work doesn't chronically threaten core drivers.
Or
External support systems that restore what work depletes.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲.

That's the equation.

Before adding wellness programs -
Ask "What can you remove?"
FIRST

(Some wellness programs create added stress!)



Most organizational stress is manufactured.
Poor decision architecture.
Unclear authority.
Information hoarding.
Ambiguous priorities.



𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.



Leaders can't fix people.
But can fix the system.


Create systems where people can be elite.

How Leaders Influence Stress

The most remarkable teams I've worked with didn't manage stress better.
They experienced less of it.

Same opponents.
Same stakes.
Same external pressure.

But internally?
Different.

Team culture had shaped how players interpreted threat.
Team system supported it.

What triggered survival responses in other organizations barely registered.

That's when I understood:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

It's about understanding the holistic context and being proactive

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 (𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻):
Ice baths.
Rudderless meditation.
Breathwork apps.
They all manage stress AFTER it exists.

It's temporary relief.
Creates breathing space - but it doesn't restructure anything.


𝗨𝗽𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 (𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸):
Life Model reshaping
Culture and environment shaping.
Guided meditation with specific focus.
CBT and intentional cognitive restructuring.
Influence what BECOMES stress.
Address root architecture.
Permanent change possible.

Methods aren't useless.
They create breathing space.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲.


Rudderless method → temporary relief → return to baseline → need method again.
Intentional method → breathing space → model-level work → structural change.

Some methods—guided meditation, prayer, intentional practice -
Theses ARE model-level interventions when done with purpose.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

But you can use methods to create space for model work.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵:

CULTURE
Affects threat perception:
What does this environment signal about safety?
How are mistakes treated?

CLARITY
Reduces unnecessary ambiguity:
Clear decision authority prevents processing overwhelm.
Defined thresholds and protocols.

BEING VALUED
Reduces attachment threat:
Belonging isn't contingent on performance.
Failure doesn't mean exile.

AUTONOMY
Reduces independence threat:
Agency over how work gets done.
Voice in decisions.

STABILITY
Reduces security threat:
Predictability where possible.
Transparency about uncertainty.

APPROPRIATE LOAD
Maintains functional reserve:
Recovery built into the system.
Load distributed.

This is a dynamic systems problem.

The deepest leadership opportunity isn't managing stress responses ...

It's shaping the environment.