Performance is the Connector

My consulting did not change because I abandoned what I knew. It changed when I saw how the pieces connected.

Observation

Early in my career, I understood many of the individual pieces of consulting.

I understood theory, psychological processes, assessment, case conceptualization, mental skills, and intervention planning. What I did not always understand clearly was how those pieces connected. The shift came when I began starting with performance.

Instead of only asking what concern(s) the client was experiencing, I began exploring the performance itself with the athlete.  

• Key tasks 

• Focus and Decisions

• How concerns were showing up

That changed how I conceptualized the need. A concern was no longer isolated from the performance.  The performance gave much needed clarity around the concern.  A space to look at common training practices, skills gaps, opportunities for skills and routines.  

Performance was the connector.

Once those connections became clearer, the rest of the consulting process became clearer as well.

• Assessment became more purposeful. 

• Case conceptualization became more precise.  Intervention planning became more connected to what the performer was actually being asked to do.  

• Monitoring became less about whether a strategy was used and more about whether performance was being supported.

I did not need to abandon psychology or replace the approaches I had learned.  I needed a clearer organizing context.

For me, performance became that context.

It helped me see relationships that were previously difficult to recognize and gave the different parts of consulting a more coherent place within the process.

Actionable idea

When a client presents a concern, resist the urge to conceptualize the concern by itself.  Reflect on how you are exploring the performance with the client. 

Where are your opportunities to slow down and gather more performance context during your conceptualization process?