Dr. Michael Gervais, renowned high performance psychologist behind the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl win and mental coach to Olympic athletes and NASA jumpers, reveals the often-ignored psychological drivers behind elite sales and leadership performance. This episode challenges revenue leaders to rethink competition—not as a zero-sum game, but as a relentless pursuit to be their very best while elevating teammates.

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Key chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Dr. Michael Gervais and His High-Performance Psychology Impact
(02:30) - Finding Mastery: Mental Training for Peak Performance
(04:30) - Seahawks Legacy: Building Optimism and Mental Toughness in Teams
(08:00) - The Power of Input Focus: Clarity and Culture Over Outcome Obsession
(12:00) - Compete to Create: Redefining Healthy Competition in Sales and Sport
(18:30) - The Teammate Mindset: Bill Russell’s Blueprint for Winning Together
(22:30) - Stress and Survival: Why Leaders Struggle to Foster Collaborative Environments
(26:00) - Recovery Practices in Business: The Missing Link for Sustainable High Performance
(29:30) - The 92-Second Morning Mindset Routine: Setting Your Signal Amidst the Noise
(34:30) - Neuroplasticity in Leadership: Training Optimism and Confidence as Learnable Skills
(37:00) - Felix Baumgartner’s Mental Mastery: From Panic to Space Dive Success
(42:00) - Shifting from Performance-Driven to Purpose-Driven Leadership Identity
(47:00) - Purpose as the North Star: Aligning Thought, Word, and Action Under Pressure
(49:30) - Journaling, Conversations, and Meditation: Practical Steps to Discover Your Why
(52:00) - Introducing FOPO: Overcoming the Fear of People’s Opinions
(56:00) - The Evolutionary Roots and Neuroscience Behind FOPO
(59:30) - Navigating the High-Stakes Sales Ecosystem: Combating Insecurity and FOPO
(01:03:30) - Balancing Caring and Worry: Constructive Feedback vs. Destructive Noise
(01:06:00) - The Framework to Overcoming FOPO: Unmask, Assess, and Redefine
(01:09:30) - Leading Teams Through FOPO: Building Trust and Psychological Safety
(01:12:30) - From Insight to Action: Applying Gervais’ Mental Strategies in Your Sales Leadership

E44: Psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais on Mastering the Mental Game of Leadership

The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton