How to Address Human Needs for Optimal Performance

The Two Pillars of High Performance: Value and Safety Look beyond the spreadsheets and the Gantt charts for a moment. The secret to a truly high-performing team isn't just in the strategy; it's deeply rooted in how people feel. The magic formula boils down to two fundamental human needs: the need to feel valued and the need to feel safe. We often pour resources into training, tools, and processes, yet we sometimes overlook the essential human infrastructure. When team members feel genuinely valued, they understand their contribution is irreplaceable. They know their unique skills are recognized, their ideas hold weight, and their hard work directly fuels the mission. This recognition transforms a job into a purpose. It doesn't just motivate them to show up; it motivates them to go the extra mile, offering discretionary effort and creative thinking. Equally critical is psychological safety. This means creating an environment where people feel absolutely safe to speak up, challenge the status quo respectfully, ask "silly" questions, admit mistakes, and experiment without the fear of harsh public judgment or career reprisal. A safe team is a candid team. It’s where the best and sometimes most uncomfortable ideas are discussed openly, allowing for rapid learning and true innovation. Without safety, creativity stifles, difficult feedback is withheld, and hidden problems fester. Imagine a workplace where every individual knows they are valued for who they are and what they bring, and where they feel completely safe to be vulnerable and take intelligent risks. That isn't just a nice place to work; it is the most powerful engine for sustainable excellence. As leaders, our most vital task is to cultivate this fertile ground. It requires empathy, active listening, consistent communication, and a clear commitment to fostering trust above all else. When we prioritize making our people feel valued and safe, high performance stops being a goal we chase, and becomes the natural, inevitable outcome.

Your best people are failing. And it's not their fault. As an Olympian, I learned this truth: When athletes underperform: - We don't question their talent - We check their support system Business got this backwards: - We blame the people instead of examining what they need to succeed. I spent years frustrated with "underperforming" teams. The real problem? - I was giving tasks, not tools - Assigning work, not purpose - Expecting Olympic results with recreational support The truth: - Your people want to deliver the best they can. - They took this job to contribute something meaningful. - When they're struggling, they're probably more frustrated than you are. ❌ The question isn't "Why aren't they performing?" ✅ The question is "What support are they missing?" 8 Things You Can Do Right Now: 1. Ask them directly: ↳ "What's blocking you from doing your best work?" ↳ Then listen without defending 2. Clear the path: ↳ Remove one bureaucratic barrier they face daily. Just one ↳ Watch what happens 3. Give context, not just commands: ↳ Explain the why behind every request ↳ People perform better when they understand the mission 4. Invest in their growth: ↳ Send them to that conference. Buy that course ↳ Your investment shows you believe in their future 5. Create psychological safety: ↳ Make it safe to fail, question, and suggest improvements ↳ Innovation dies in fear 6. Provide the right tools: ↳ That software they've been requesting? That upgraded equipment? ↳ Stop seeing it as an expense. It's an investment in results 7. Set clear expectations: ↳ In sport, vague goals kill performance ↳ Be specific about what success looks like - just like a coach setting clear race times or technique benchmarks 8. Recognize effort, not just outcomes: ↳ Acknowledge the work they put in, especially when external factors affect results ↳ Be amazed by what your team can achieve The best leaders I know - like the best Olympic coaches: ❌ Don't manage people ✅ They remove obstacles ❌ They don't control outcomes ✅ They create conditions for peak performance Remember: 💡 Your team isn't broken. 💡 They're waiting for you to help them shine. What's one thing you'll change today? Share your experience below ⬇️ ♻️ Repost to help others advance their teams 🔔 Follow Eva Gysling, OLY for more

My year end retrospection went through the lens/framework of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs... In leadership coaching, we often talk about goals, strategy, and performance. But sustainable performance starts much deeper — with human needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs offers a powerful framework for leaders to understand what truly drives behavior at work. When these needs are unmet, no amount of motivation talks or performance metrics will create lasting engagement. Let’s look at this through a coaching lens: 👓Physiological Needs — Can people function well? This includes fair compensation, reasonable workloads, breaks, and the ability to disconnect. Chronic exhaustion blocks focus, creativity, and decision-making. Leaders influence this more than they realize through expectations and role design. 👓 Safety Needs — Do people feel secure and psychologically safe? Beyond job stability, safety means being able to speak up, admit mistakes, and challenge ideas without fear. Coaching leaders here often involves shifting from control to trust, and from blame to learning. 👓 Belonging — Do people feel included and valued in the team? Humans are wired for connection. Teams with strong relationships collaborate better and manage conflict more constructively. Leaders create belonging through everyday behaviors: listening, inclusion in decisions, and genuine interest in people. 👓 Esteem — Do people feel recognized for their contributions? Recognition is not just about titles and bonuses. It’s about feedback, visibility, and knowing that your work matters. Coaching at this level helps leaders move from task-focused management to people-centered leadership. 👓 Self-Actualization — Are people growing and using their potential? This is where innovation, leadership development, and purpose come in. When leaders align work with strengths and aspirations, engagement and accountability rise naturally. For leaders, Maslow’s model becomes a diagnostic tool: When performance drops, instead of asking “What’s wrong with this person?”, we ask: 👉 “Which need might not be met right now?” In coaching conversations, this shifts leaders from fixing behavior to designing better conditions for success. ❌ High performance is not created by pressure alone. ✅ It is created when people feel safe, valued, capable, and challenged. As coaches and leaders, our role is not just to drive results — it is to build environments where people can consistently bring their best selves to work. And when that happens, results take care of themselves. #LeadershipCoaching #PeopleDevelopment #HighPerformanceTeams #MaslowsHierarchy 🙏 On a personal note, I am deeply grateful to all the mentors and coaches who have brought out the best in me and instilled in me the mindset of continuous learning. Your guidance has shaped not just my skills, but my way of thinking, leading, and growing. Thank you for being constant reminders that development is a journey, not a destination.

🔍 We need to toss out old ideas like "sustainable high performance" and the belief that people can be consistently going "above and beyond" or always be "exceeding expectations" in their roles. This is especially important for #Neurodivergent folks, whose natural rhythms and energy cycles may fluctuate and change more often. Research from Culture Amp that found only 2% of people sustain “high performance” across review cycles, highlighting the fact that performance is rarely linear and consistent. If we want people to be able to consistently perform at their best, we need to acknowledge that "best" is going to fluctuate, human rhythms are not going to be the same, all the time. AND - we need to acknowledge the role the work environment plays in facilitating and supporting people in showing up at their best. 6️⃣ Ways Leaders, Managers, HR folks, and everyone can make workplaces conducive to people showing up at their best: 1. Design Roles for Clarity & Alignment During onboarding, make sure people really understand their role, why it matters, and how it aligns with company goals. Ask for feedback early: what’s confusing? What assumptions were made that didn’t land? Use that to improve role design. 2. Set Outcome-Based Goals Ludmila Praslova, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, Âû calls this “outcome focus,” and it supports flexibility. Co-create goals with team members, especially those with neurodivergent perspectives, so they can work in ways that match their strengths. 3. Build a Robust Feedback Culture Encourage regular feedback, not just once a quarter. High-performing teams give and receive feedback much more frequently. Train managers on how to deliver feedback that’s specific, actionable, and psychologically safe. 4. Center Psychological Safety Create spaces (1-on-1s, team check-ins) where people feel safe speaking up, disagreeing, and owning mistakes. Make your feedback loops two-way: not just “tell me what I need to fix,” but “how are we doing? Where do I fall short as a leader?” 5. Enable Flexible, Justice-Oriented Work Design Drawing on Praslova’s “Canary Code” principles: Participation: Involve employees — especially neurodivergent folks — in designing how they work. Ask them what supports them. Flexibility: Let people choose when and how they work. If someone is more productive working 25-minute sprints or late at night, let them do it. Organizational Justice: Promote transparency, dismantle arbitrary rewards, and build checks for fairness. 6. Redesign Recruitment & Performance Systems Use work-sample tests instead of (or alongside) traditional interviews. Let people demonstrate the actual tasks they’ll be doing — not just how they present themselves in an interview. Build systems that account for “peaks and valleys" and don't expect people to consistently exceed expectations across review cycles. 💥Bottom line: Let’s lead not by finding exceptional people, but by designing exceptional environments. 💥#Neuroinclusion

10 Actions for Building Wellbeing at Scale  Strong People, Strong Performance (Save this post) Across my work with Tech/Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Hospitality, the same core needs keep surfacing, regardless of company size or maturity. Structural, systemic, and operational changes are needed in order for wellbeing to improve. Personalize this framework to meet your organizational needs and goals. 1. Set clearer expectations across the organization Ambiguity burns capacity. Clarity restores it. Define what good work looks like, who owns what, and how decisions get made. 2. Redesign workflows to reduce brain strain Simplify handoffs, approvals, and information flow. If a process forces people to hunt, interpret, or redo, fix the process, not the people. 3. Standardize communication norms Decide as a company: • what channels are used for what • response-time expectations • when async beats meetings • what “complete” communication looks like This alone reduces stress more than most “wellness initiatives.” 4. Train managers in modern leadership skills Capacity, tone, and trust start with them. Give managers tools for clarity, feedback, prioritization, and emotional tone-setting. 5. Build recognition into the operating rhythm Not performative praise. Systematic acknowledgment tied to values, behaviors, and outcomes. Frequency matters more than ceremony. 6. Protect focus time and reduce interruptions Create team-level agreements around: • meeting-free blocks • notification boundaries • deep-work windows • fewer, shorter, better meetings This is where productivity jumps. 7. Align workloads with real human capacity Audit workloads quarterly. Fix the roles where expectations far exceed available capacity. No amount of resilience training can fix structural overload. 8. Give people growth pathways that are real Clear skill tracks. Clear advancement criteria. Clear access to development, not a guessing game. 9. Close the loop on employee feedback Say what you heard. Say what you’re doing about it. Say when it’s happening. Silence does more damage than bad news. 10. Build systems that create fairness, not disengagement Fairness is the foundation of wellbeing. Update your processes so employees see consistency, transparency, and follow-through. Putting it all together: Teams with higher wellbeing show stronger execution, better decision-making, and steadier performance in volatile markets. The kind of stability you can’t fake and competitors can’t easily copy. What would you add to this list? 👇🏻

Rome wasn't built in a day - or alone. Building a strong team foundation is vital for long-term success. Your team's engagement and wellbeing is the engine that powers outcomes, not the other way around. Meeting these 7 basic human needs unlocks the natural drive to excel: 1. Problem-Solving Power ↳ Teams consistently outperform individuals on complex tasks ↳ Clear communication and coordination amplify collective intelligence 2. Psychological Safety ↳ Teams that feel safe to speak up innovate more frequently ↳ Trust and emotional support drive calculated risk-taking 3. Performance Optimization ↳ Right tools + clear responsibilities = streamlined workflows ↳ High-impact work happens when expectations are crystal clear 4. Growth Engine ↳ Match tasks to individual strengths ↳ Provide targeted learning opportunities based on aspirations 5. Burnout Prevention ↳ Balance workloads based on team capacity ↳ Build in recovery time between intense project phases 6. Change Resilience ↳ Strong team dynamics enable quick pivots ↳ Shared understanding helps navigate uncertainty 7. Motivation Multiplier ↳ Address interpersonal needs to boost satisfaction ↳ Create feedback loops that reinforce positive behaviors Want sustained high performance? Start by mapping your team's specific needs in each area. Then build your leadership approach around meeting them. P.S. If you found this valuable, repost for your network ♻️ Join the 12,000+ leaders who get our weekly email newsletter: https://lnkd.in/en9vxeNk Lead with impact.

Peak performance isn't about working more hours. It's about optimizing the human operating system. The founder performance paradox: 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 60% 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴. The performance optimization stack: 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿: 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝙎𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥: 7-8 hours non-negotiable (your brain literally cleans itself during sleep) 𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: 30 minutes daily (cognitive function improves dramatically) 𝙉𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: Stable energy, not energy spikes and crashes 𝙃𝙮𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: Your brain is 75% water - dehydration kills decision-making 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿: 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨: 90-120 minutes of uninterrupted time for complex thinking 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜: Group similar decisions to preserve mental energy 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙩: Limit inputs during your peak performance hours 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨: 10 minutes between high-intensity tasks 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿: 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: Regular practices that reset your nervous system 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: Quality time with people who energize you 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: Regular check-ins that your work serves your values 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: Acknowledging wins, not just focusing on problems What this looks like practically: 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜: Review week's priorities during peak energy (9-11 AM for most people) 𝘿𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙮: One 90-minute deep work block on most important task 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮: One day with minimal meetings for strategic thinking 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙮: Performance review - what's working, what's draining energy 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗢𝗜 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: A well-rested, focused, energized founder makes better decisions, thinks more clearly, and leads more effectively than an exhausted founder working 80-hour weeks. You can't build a sustainable business with an unsustainable lifestyle. What's one element of your performance stack that needs immediate attention? 𝘉𝘛𝘞 - 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀! ⏰ Most organizations are built on a fundamentally flawed assumption: that every single brain operates on the exact same clock. 🔥 Whether it is the standard 9-to-5 in the US or the 9-to-6 in France, our corporate schedules assume that everyone is ready to perform at their absolute best at the exact same time. But science tells a completely different story... 🚩 Evolutionary biology shows that variations in our "chronotypes" (whether you are a morning lark or a night owl) actually evolved to keep human groups safe, ensuring someone was always awake to stand watch at night. Today, ignoring that biology is costing us dearly. ☝️ This isn't just an office worker problem. Over 16% of the workforce operates on non-standard schedules, making the understanding of natural rhythms a universal necessity, not just a corporate perk. 💡Creative output is significantly stronger when a task aligns with a person's chronobiological peak. Aligning work with our natural rhythms isn’t just about making people comfortable; it’s about understanding the reality of how human beings actually work, according to a new interesting research published by Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and Slalom using data 📊 from a panel of US workers. ☝️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: I really love the findings because it exposes a fundamental truth about human performance: the brain is not uniformly optimized across the day, the season, the month, or under varying stress conditions.Yet, most corporate schedules completely ignore this biological reality. We can't just rely on self-reporting or let employees "guess" when they work best. This is a massive opportunity for organizations! If we want individuals and teams to generate more and better ideas, we need to rely on validated scientific measures to support truly personalized ways of working. By referring to a task-by-chronotype matrix as shown in this research , we can determine exactly when different types of work should ideally happen. As the researchers noted, even a simple change, like shifting a meeting by a single hour, can lead to drastically more meaningful participation and breakthrough thinking. High-performing organizations recognize that timing is a cognitive variable. Aligning work with neural readiness isn’t a wellness perk; it is a hard-hitting performance strategy. 🙏 Thank you Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and Slalom researchers team for these insightful findings: Elizabeth Johnson, PhD Elizabeth Beard, Ph.D. Natalie Richardson Rene Putz Ryan McCreedy, PsyD Kevin Nunley Michael Platt 🔑Are we building workplaces that manage the clock, or workplaces that maximize human potential? #ReturnToOffice #FutureOfWork

High performance is not only about physical energy. It is about cognitive and emotional energy. In elite sport, we carefully manage physical load before competition. But one variable is often underestimated: Mental fatigue and its interaction with physical fatigue. Research shows that after prolonged cognitive effort, performance drops. And it drops not because the body cannot continue, but because effort feels harder. The key mechanism? Perception of effort. Athletes mentally fatigued: • Reach exhaustion sooner • Make slower decisions • Show reduced technical precision • Experience impaired tactical coordination Even when physiological markers remain unchanged. Now step outside sport. What happens in organizations? Long meetings. Continuous decision-making. Multitasking. Conflicts. Constant digital stimulation... Mental energy is a limited resource. Whether on the pitch or in the boardroom, performance depends on: - Attention regulation - Decision speed and accuracy - Emotional control - Self-regulation under pressure The question is not whether you are busy. The question is: Are you protecting your cognitive resources for the moments that truly matter? High performance — in sport or business — requires managing mental load as intentionally as physical load.

After lifting for 16 years and working as a personal trainer, I hired a sports performance coach to minimise three major constraints. One of my current goals is to maximise performance and recovery through a multimodal approach. Training, sleep, nutrition, mobility, stress—all integrated and aligned. But as I started refining my system, I realised three things consistently stood in the way: • Time • Energy • Cognitive load Not lack of knowledge. Not motivation. But the invisible drag of managing everything myself. Time is the most obvious constraint. The more you try to stack health behaviours around work, family, and life admin, the more inconsistent they become. If your training and recovery are squeezed into leftover hours, they lose impact. The solution is not to find more time. It is to build structure that protects it. Energy is subtler. It is not just physical fatigue, but the psychological toll of context switching, decision-making, and under-recovery. Energy does not come from doing less. It comes from doing the right things in the right order, with the right inputs supporting them. Optimising energy is what allows high performance to be repeatable and not just occasional. Cognitive load was the constraint I did not fully see until I removed it. Every micro-decision—what to train, how to adjust, when to rest—was costing me bandwidth. I was holding too much in my head. By offloading the plan to someone I trusted, I created space to do what I do best: train hard, recover well, and focus on execution. In this case, you can’t outsource effort. But you should remove friction so effort can be applied at full force where it counts. When you reduce these three constraints, performance stops being a grind and starts becoming a rhythm. Your inputs become consistent. Your outcomes improve. And your healthspan expands—not through intensity, but through intelligent system design. Because high performance and recovery is not just earned through effort. It is sustained for a lifetime by clarity.