Leaders: An Athlete’s Mindset?


Grant Alexander partnered with the latest conference hosted by consulting firm Unyck, on the theme of the athlete’s mindset—a subject close to our hearts!
On October 8, Grant Alexander was a partner of Unyck’s event “Leader: An Athlete’s Mindset”, which brought together several speakers for a roundtable discussion to share experiences and debate this much-discussed concept.


Deeply attuned to the mental dimensions that enhance performance—dimensions we integrate daily through our Athlete Thinking® philosophy—Grant Alexander was naturally a committed partner of this event. We were delighted to associate Véronique Bounaud with it. Her testimony as a current HR Director using the tool was invaluable—especially as she had contributed to the creation of the Athlete Thinking® methodology five years ago.


A warm thank you, Véronique!


Before an audience of 70 HR Directors and business leaders, the following participants shared insights on the parallels between their daily lives as executives and the mental aptitudes of top-level athletes:


Bertrand de Broc, renowned skipper
Leonor Boulte, CEO of Belfor
Jean-Claude Pla, CEO of Vingeanne Group
Véronique Bounaud, HR Director of Mersen


The debate was structured around three sequences:
1: The start of a competition
How does one experience the beginning of a competition? What mindset is required?
2: Managing complex and unforeseen situations
How are such situations navigated? What mindset is needed? What emotions are felt?
3: Successes and failures
How do we experience success and failure? What emotions arise, and how can they be harnessed?

This was an opportunity to recall that a strong mindset is a subtle combination of emotional intelligence and behavioral skills—and, like any skill, it can be developed and learned!
Throughout the exchanges, Véronique Bounaud highlighted the clear correlations between the mindset of a champion and that of a leader. She also emphasized the various levers executives can work on to grow and reach their optimal level of performance.


This is precisely the conviction we uphold at Grant Alexander, embodied in the Athlete Thinking® philosophy and methodology.


Like champions, we support our candidates, organizations, and leaders in reaching their highest level of performance—by working with them on exploring and developing their mental dimensions.


For more information:
annelaure.pams@grantalexander.com