The Performance Pyramid

The volume by which we are surrounded

With endless moments and clips

Of high performance

Might lead one to believe

We are in -

Or should be in -

High performance and winning mode

All the time.

But living, working, creating, and leading in this way

Comes with a short burn rate

And can easily destroy the essence of living a fully engaged life.

So last summer, while coaching a young leader, I paired together two performance concepts into a single model that visually identifies our positions and options in the pursuit of better performance - it's called The Performance Pyramid:

At the outer points of the Performance Pyramid, we see three key areas of performance - Game Time, Practice Time, and Recovery Time.

On the inside, we set a progression that helps us to see how to strategically move around the pyramid with intention:

Training To Train

Training To Compete

Training To Win

The top of the Performance Pyramid - Game Time and Training To Win - is a small space meant to be entered and departed relatively quickly, which means...

Not everything can be high priority or an urgent demand.

But for what is,

Energy and resources committed to the lower parts of the pyramid are exactly

Where we find the freedom

And capacity

To experience our “Elevated Moments.”

So, we have to choose to descend down

And put in the work

At the lower levels of The Performance Pyramid -

The part of the pyramid that houses the initial steps of our Wave Surfing Progression - Basic Speed, Direction, & Wave Selection.

To invest more attention and resources closer to Practice Time and Recovery Time and in modes of Training To Train and Training To Compete

Not only changes our disposition for ascending to the top

But also increases the effectiveness of our resets and major transitions,

Especially the unexpected ones.

The ability to prioritize within the pyramid comes down to Discernment.

Discernment leads to Agility

Agility introduces Free Energy.

So, let's get clear about what does not belong in Game Time and the mode of Training To Win

Because

Our success will not be defined by how we perform at the top of The Performance Pyramid;

Our success WILL be defined by how we move our actions and ourselves to the lower parts of the pyramid to do the consistent and daily work...

Where the long game is won.

With gratitude, Joe

PS - My friend, Founder of Briefcase Coach, and Thinking In Waves reader, Sarah Johnson, recently interviewed me for her wonderful column, Curated Career Conversations. I loved sharing all about The Performance Pyramid but it was far from the most popular concept we discussed.

I hope you will take a few minutes to read the full interview --> HERE.

See you on the Wave.🌊

–

​Joe Jacobi​

Olympic Gold Medalist | Performance Coach | ​Author​

Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves