“The bottom line is this: if you don’t talk it out, you will act it out.” - Joseph Grenny

There are three problems that coaches and leaders face: they’re often dealing with high stakes, there’s strong emotions or opposing opinions. The solution is knowing how to stay centered, poised and composed, that way everyone benefits from these crucial conversations.

Dr. Cassidy Preston is a mental performance coach and the founder of Consistent Elite Performance. He helps elite athletes, teams, and businesses increase their performance and well-being. He hosted a panel during the Virtual Hockey Summit to help coaches deal with bad attitudes, hostility, cultural virus, stress and underperformance, so teams can share in collaboration and growth, trust and respect, cohesion and enjoyment to maximize performance.

Joining Preston for this conversation on conversations is Hayley Wickenheiser, Senior Director of Player Development with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dave Smith, Head Coach of the NCAA’s RPI Engineers, and Ben Cooper, Assistant Coach of EC Salzburg.

Wickenheiser, Smith and Cooper all share their unique perspective on how they deal with these conversations, during separate interviews with Preston. There are plenty of great takeaways overall, including how to prepare for crucial conversations, how to ensure safe and healthy dialogue, and how to optimize action and accountability.

This 28-minute presentation also dives into an “open door policy” and how to make sure it’s as effective as intended.