Learned Excellence: Leadership Lessons from the Navy SEALs | Dr. Eric Potterat
Feb 12, 2024
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Dr. Eric Potterat, a retired US naval commander and performance psychologist, shares secrets to achieving success and fulfillment. Topics include improving performance, mindset shifts for success, recognizing the right path, learned excellence, valuing identity over reputation, importance of writing out identity and behaviors, unpacking failures with after action reviews, and the power of reframing.
Excellence can be learned by anyone by shifting from valuing reputation to valuing identity and aligning core principles.
Mindset can be deliberately chosen and developed for each role, emphasizing positive self-talk, thought management, and alignment with values.
Optimal performance requires a balanced life with multiple pillars supporting different areas such as work, relationships, health, hobbies, spirituality, and legacy.
Deep dives
Learned Excellence: Unleashing Your Full Potential
Dr. Eric Potterat, a leading performance psychologist, and his co-author Alan Eagle discuss their book 'Learned Excellence, Mental Disciplines for Leading and Winning from the World's Top Performers'. They share insights into how excellence can be learned by anyone and is not solely reliant on innate talent. The key lies in shifting from valuing reputation to valuing identity, where one's values and core principles are aligned. They emphasize the importance of incrementally pushing outside one's comfort zone and embracing failure as a learning opportunity. After each performance, they recommend an 'After Action Review' to reflect on what went well, what could be improved, and the processes necessary for growth.
Mindset and Performance: Shaping Your Success
The podcast explores the power of mindset in improving performance. It highlights that everyone is a performer in various roles and that mindset can be deliberately chosen and developed for each role. The guests discuss the importance of transitioning mindsets between different roles and the value of positive self-talk and thought management during performance. They also emphasize the significance of aligning one's actions with their values and moving away from a purely reputation-based mindset. The importance of deliberate practice, visualization, and pre-and-post-performance routines is highlighted as key tools for managing stress and optimizing performance.
Finding Balance and Recovery for Optimal Performance
The podcast delves into the topic of balance and recovery in relation to optimal performance. The guests use the metaphor of a beach house, highlighting the importance of having multiple pillars supporting one's life rather than being solely reliant on one aspect. They encourage listeners to consider different areas of their life, such as work, relationships, health, hobbies, spirituality, and legacy, and assess how they allocate their time and resources to each. The discussion highlights the dangers of solely identifying with one's professional or performance-related roles and the potential consequences when it's time to transition or retire. They emphasize the need for self-care, reflection, and investing in multiple areas of life to maintain a healthy and fulfilling balance.
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Focus on values and process, not just outcomes
It is essential to distinguish between values and outcomes. While outcomes can be tied to reputation and success, values are about the actions you can take every day, regardless of the outcome. By focusing on values and process, one can maintain consistency and performance, even in the face of failure or unfavorable outcomes. It is crucial to have a solid process and to make decisions based on one's values rather than external opinions or pressures.
In today’s episode, we tackle learning excellence with Eric Potterat and Alan Eagle. Eric is one of the world's leading performance psychologists, a retired US naval commander, a lead psychologist for the US Navy Seals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and co-author of Learned Excellence: Mental Disciplines for Leading and Winning from the World's Top Performers. His co author, Allan Eagle, is a colleague of Dr. Potterat’s at Google and best selling author himself. He was blown away by Dr Potterat’s lessons and wanted to co-author a book To share Eric's knowledge with the world.
How can the mental disciplines used by the world's elite performers transform not just your career, but how you connect with others? We uncover the secrets to achieving unparalleled success and fulfillment, learning from experts who've coached the best, from Navy SEALs to top business leaders, on learning excellence, becoming visible in elite circles to unlock career opportunities, and the 6 pillars of performance you need to master to become elite.
What to Listen For
Introduction – 0:00
What simple exercise can you do to improve your performance in every area of your daily life?
The mindset shift most that causes most people to give up – 14:00
What do you do when effort and hard work are not enough to perform at your best or reach your goals?
What is the key to becoming excellent at anything you choose to pursue, even if you’re currently terrible at it?
How do you know if you’re on the right path – 27:20
What can you look for to figure out if you’re on the right path or using the right process to solve your problem?
What can you do to get yourself ready before a big speech or pitch to manage stress, and how do you manage the stress in the moment?
How do elite performers take valuable experience from everything they do – 37:50
What are the 6 pillars you should always maintain in life to create the greatest resilience before life inevitably kicks you in the face?
Unlocking elite performance in your children – 45:54
How do you help your children learn excellence?
What questions can you ask your kids everyday to achieve their potential?