Performance Intelligence Podcast #136 Being Calm Under Pressure + How the Penrith Panthers have Won 4 Grand Finals in a Row - Dan Haesler
The Penrith Panthers' 4 consecutive Grand Final wins are a testament to their exceptional skill and unwavering mental fortitude. This week on the Performance Intelligence Podcast, we delve into the secrets of their success with Dan Haesler, their Mental Skills Coach. Dan shares his unique approach to fostering a winning mindset, both on and off the field.
Dan Haesler is a Performance and Mental Skills Coach who's worked with elite athletes from the Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games Teams, the Penrith Panthers, and the NSW Swifts. He's also the Director of Cut Through Coaching and hosts the "Habits of Leadership" podcast.
In this episode Andre and Dan discuss:
2:00 How Andrew and Dan met through different Rugby teams, Dan growing up in the Postman Pat village and finding a love of teaching in high school after helping with a P.E. lesson.
8:35 The rough school Dan first worked at, the strong team bond the teachers at that school had and the start of Dan looking in to mental skills.
13:35 Why Dan is only interested in working with people he can create genuine connections with, learning empathy while teaching and Andrew and Dan’s shared hate of the word “hack”.
18:35 Most athletes don’t know who they are without a footy in their hands, decoupling sport identity from personal identity and Dan’s I am/what I do exercise.
26:10 How Dan stays calm, present and flexible during a Penrith game, the importance of mental recover in addition to physical recovery and how mental skills can give you the edge in an otherwise even league.
33:30 It’s not just about your content but also how you deliver it, Dan’s core values of excellence and belonging and reframing imposter syndrome as humility.
38:15 Asking questions about the way things operate in an organisation, what an average week looks like at the Penrith Panthers and a key learning from Olympic gold medallist Jess Fox.
46:55 What Dan does in an average week, Ivan Cleary’s natural curiosity and not being intimidated working with him.
48:55 How Dan’s work with the Tigers and Cronulla led him to working with Penrith, the first meeting Dan had with the leadership group at Penrith and being given time to observe before jumping in with a program.
57:45 Most of Dans work is just listening, how Dan gets the team excited after 4 straight years of success and the importance of having good goals and goal setting processes.
1:04:40 Athletes feeling empty after reaching their goals, the difference between working with a male team and a female team and taking things from different domains and sharing them with other organisations.
1:12:15 Using gratitude to realign your thoughts in a helpful direction, making a habit of staying off phones in the home and Dan’s view on mindfulness.
1:20:50 Being in the game until the very last play, Dan seeing himself as only a small part of the Panther’s success and sport is a working lab where you can test out ideas in an objective way.
1:28:45 Where Dan sees himself in the next 5 years, what Andrew has come to change his mind about and where you can find Dan.
You can find Dan at his Website:https://danhaesler.com/
Or at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danhaesler/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhaesler/?originalSubdomain=au
Buy a copy of Dan's book: https://www.actofleadership.com/
View the image Dan mentions here: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/THIS-ISNT-THE-GOAL.png
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