Performance Breakthrough

Performance Breakthrough: 16th February 2023 - Biweekly newsletter

Learning Moment

A number of conversations this week highlighting the potential distraction of following a plan to the letter. Some athletes and coaches can focus on achieving exactly what is written on paper.

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A plan is a compass only, it is not a script. We are not rehearsing a play that we need to memorise. We are ‘having a play’ and focusing on what needs to be remembered (learned).

The word ‘remember’ is Latin for re-mindful.? A plan is a direction that prompts us to pay attention and learn. I see many plans in sport carry one problematic assumption: that someone has the answer and it is in the plan. The answer is not in the plan. It is in the learning!

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Jamie Oliver turned so many people (and us) onto cooking with his ‘check the recipe and just ‘grab a Pinch’ and throw it in’. A compass to help us create. If you are an expert in high performance (which you are, it may just be over-cluttered) your creativity is your power, and a plan robs your creativity. Check it, grab a pinch, throw it in and pay attention to what happens. The learning moment.

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What did we expect (the plan), what happened and what did we learn? Vs. What does the plan say and have we done it?

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We see this often in schools where memorisation and multiple choice are the main focus for a subject. To win you ‘follow the plan’.? ?With some teachers at the front after years showing the same slides in the same order. Following the plan. And the marks come off. But at what cost to energy, learning, creativity and joy!

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Sustained high performance is different. It is a learning game, not a rigid planning game. Planning focusses on predictive accuracy. Learning focusses on adaptive capability. Learning moves with the context! When conditions are uncertain, I know which athlete I would bet on in the final.

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Simplicity in high-performance sports means let plan give some direction but focus on the learning while we are in action.? This is ‘get the basics right’ in action. It's about understanding what works for you and your system, and keeping things simple and straightforward. ?It is planning simplicity!

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From experience across multiple Olympics, teams and countries here are some reasons simplicity improves learning:

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1- Less is better: When we simplify we can focus on the essentials and notice any unnecessary elements. We can see the non-performance related activity that is normally hidden in clutter and complications. We are free to concentrate on what matters most.

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2- Reducing mental clutter: When we eliminate the clutter, we free our minds and our energy. We have reduced the mental load that exhausts so many performers. It is complexity of our own making that causes the problems. We clear our minds to focus on the learning in front of us rather than how close we are to following a plan. Often a plan is to help make a complicated world seem manageable.

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3- Increased consistency: Like a good training system parts need to be repeated often. Simplicity allows us to focus on the basics and execute them consistently. When we have a consistent routine, we can build and maintain the momentum rather than looking for where the magic might be. The magic is often in the routine in front of us!

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4- Increased adaptability: Simplicity give us space and energy to adapt. How many areas in your world feel so crowded with ideas, gear, theories, practices that adaptability is impossible? ?Simple approaches are easy to modify and adapt to different circumstances crucial in high-performance sport where rate of adaptability wins the game.

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Sustained performance is ‘planning to learn’ and the best in the game learn better and faster than the rest!

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Go well and go clear,

Onwards,

Richard

For more….

To find your breakthrough to sustained performance :

- 2022 Masterclass Series (Reply to find out more)

- Intro webinar each month.?https://bit.ly/35I5Fqk

- Free summary papers on?www.simplify2perform.com