Elite Sport and Leadership

Mindset, Culture, and Sustainable Performance

Chris Sheppardson, Izzy McHattie

• Publisher: Goodfellow Publishers
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781917433976
  9781918901009
• eBook ISBN:
  9781918901016
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

Elite Sport and Leadership: Mindset, Culture, and Sustainable Performance uses the high-stakes world of elite sport as a lens to examine how mindset, identity, culture, and human behaviour shape leadership and success. Drawing on narrative case studies from athletes, coaches and teams, it expands into deeper explorations of key leadership themes, from attention and decision-making to resilience, identity, and team dynamics. Divided into four parts, the book first looks at how individuals manage decisive moments under pressure, then examines the subtle accumulation of excellence through small, deliberate improvements. The third section delves into the psychological weight of identity and expectation, while the final part explores how team culture and leadership architecture influence long-term success. Drawing on examples from iconic athletes like Lewis Moody, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt, and Clive Woodward, it provides strategic insights that apply to both hospitality and corporate leadership. Elite Sport and Leadership: Mindset, Culture, and Sustainable Performance will help you to: • Gain a deeper understanding of performance beyond tactics, focusing on mindset, resilience, and culture. • Learn from real-world examples of elite athletes and their leadership strategies, applicable to business and hospitality contexts. • Develop stronger frameworks for leadership, decision-making, and team dynamics in high-pressure environments. • Reflect on the psychological and cultural forces that drive long-term success, beyond short-term results. Chris Sheppardson is the Founder of EP Business in Hospitality, a global platform and consultancy working across hospitality, foodservice and leadership development. Izzy McHattie is a writer at EP Business in Hospitality, specialising in performance psychology, leadership thinking and the intersection between sport, mindset and business culture.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Part One: Attention Under Pressure
• 1 The Quiet Eye
• 2 When the Lights Change
• 3 The Courage to Stay Present
• 4 Seconds that Shape Everything
• Part Two: Built in the Margins
• 5 Clive Woodward's 1% Theory
• 6 The Jackie Stewart Principle
• 7 Staying a Student
• Part Three: 4 The Weight of Identity
• Part Four: The Environment Shapes the Outcome
• 12 Accepting Rejection, Accepting Failure
• 13 America’s Relationship with Sport Sets a Standard
• 14 The Yoghurt Theory of Coaching
• 15 The Power of Four
• 16 What If the Secret to Winning Starts Years Before the Game?