There is a lot of confusion about the differences between leadership capacity and leadership capability. In this discussion Angela Poon and Andrew May give people a clear understanding of what leadership capacity is, and more importantly – how to train it!

Leadership capability is the skills, knowledge and attributes to effectively lead others. Leadership Capacity is the ability to manage energy, perform consistently under pressure and regulate emotions to effectively lead yourself. In this episode Ange and Andrew discuss:

2:00 There isn’t a lot of information on leadership capacity, and how Ange built this into her life after working at KPMG and catching up with what she has learned over the past few years.

8:30 How Andrew evolved his philosophy on leadership capacity, the difference between leadership capability and leadership capacity and the most common challenge Andrew sees leaders facing.

19:30 How Commbank CEO Matt Comyn manages his energy, how most people aren't aware of how to manage their own energy and try a 21 Day Challenge to get started and feel better everyday.

26:10 How Manly Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold builds down regulation into his day, techniques you can use to down regulate and when your brain is calm your body follows.

33:10 How Andrew discovered the concept of performance moments while working at KPMG, how Warrant Officer Ken Robertson shifts state between work and home and how you can consciously shift state between performance moments.

39:55 High performing teams give feedback regularly, and how Compass Group CCO Shelley Roberts uses the Better Week to manage energy and focus on what matters in a high intensity global role.

43:50 How Ange coaches clients around the Better Week, Andrew plans his Better Week at the start of every week and the difference between a  Better Week, a survival week and a recovery week.

48:00 How firefighter Sam Monaghan stays calm and regulates his emotions, being calm isn’t being soft (it’s being ready) and the inverted U hypothesis of performance and arousal.

53:45 Being able to pull the appropriate performance levers when you need them is essential, Andrew’s summary of leadership capacity and sign up for our free masterclass on the Performance Intelligence website.

View the Inverted U model here: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Dynamic-Energy-Model-02-scaled.jpg

Listen to the episode with Matt Comyn: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/94-matt-comyn
Listen to the episode with Seibs: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/128-anthony-seibold
Listen to the episode with Ken Robertson: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/106-ken-robertson
Listen to the episode with Shelley Roberts: https://tinyurl.com/ydahb4zc
Listen to the episode with Sam Monaghan: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/111-sam-monaghan

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/

Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details.

Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/
Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/

Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/

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