Episode 69: A Journey from Street Hockey to Coaching Thriving Teams with Andrew Sillitoe

Guest Bio

In 2012, after a historic Pool B Gold medal and promotion into the A-Pool as Head Coach, I found myself knee-deep in the business landscape, advising corporate leaders on how to build a winning team.

Having studied an MSc in Organisational Psychology, I realised that not all sports principles translate to business.

Regardless of a company’s industry, background, or challenges, there were specific steps that needed adding to building a winning team in business.

I considered how useful this could be for many leaders and teams worldwide. More than that, I asked why some teams succeed and others fail and if there is a formula.

After analysing 100s of teams, I realised there was a process behind it all, and teams must follow it correctly to ensure they can achieve their goal. A clear pattern for building high-performing teams emerged, and some nuances needed to translate from sports to business.

In 2013, I distilled all my team-building knowledge into my first book, Managing The Mist, and began sharing it with the broader leadership community.

The Get Your House in Order framework was built to simplify the team coaching process and create a consistent way to develop leaders and teams. To empower whoever has the passion and desire to lead and create a high-performance culture where people can thrive, feel inspired and live life to their full potential.

Recap & Takeaways

Key Takeaways

• • [00:00 – 05:30] Introducing Andrew Sillitoe, author of Managing the Mist, business psychologies, performance coach, and founder
  • Humble beginnings in street hockey to the professional leagues and applying that experience to business and advertising
  • How are we freeing teams to be healthier, better humans inside and outside work
  • Giving your team learning opportunities to wing it, looking back fondly on the autonomy offered working at Yellow Pages
  • What are you prepared to let go of short-term for long-term benefits
  • Coaching clarity and avoiding assumptions
  • Two benefits to coaching, a non-player perspective, considering the Eisenhower Matrix and prioritization
  • The differences between mentoring away from the game and coaching in the game
  • Six steps of how to design training
  • Finding balance with your team, looking for the best idea, not the boss’s idea
  • Andrew’s books about creating clarity and driving flow in teams, managing stress, and transformation (Managing the Mist, The Four Keys)
  • The vulnerability of sharing your story, a movement in wellbeing and navigating difficult times
  • A new generation of the workforce that prioritizes psychological safety, mental health, and constructive feedback
  • Mental health, physical health, and the routines that reinforce them (nutrition, rest, etc.)
  • Ikigai, the blue zones, and nutrition’s role in flow
  • Distributed leadership and aligning vision so teams show up to tackle problems, tactical decision-making toward achieving objectives
  • A purpose statement doesn’t have to be grandiose; make achievable objectives for your team
  • Clarity around purpose statements and distributed leadership