What Can Elite Athletes Teach Us About Building Stronger Medical Teams? More Than You’d Think.

In this episode, we sit down with a two-time Olympian, World Cup competitor, and former co-captain of the U.S. Women’s Rugby Sevens team to explore what high-performance sport can teach medicine about culture, resilience, and sustaining excellence under pressure.

From her unlikely entry into rugby to winning an Olympic bronze medal in Paris, she shares how elite teams build identity, maintain standards, and navigate the emotional weight of leadership. We dig into the power of predictive culture design, the role of sports psychology in performance, and how accountability can transform a team’s trajectory.

She opens up about the burnout that comes with leadership, the moments that nearly broke her, and the breakthrough coaching that reshaped not just her performance, but her mindset. And she offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how world-class teams recover, communicate, and rebound from setbacks—lessons that map directly onto clinical environments where pressure, fatigue, and rapid decision-making are part of daily life.

We explore:

• Why relationship-driven culture beats skill alone in high-stakes environments
• How routines and feedback loops keep teams anchored—even in low moments
• The mental shift from emotion to action that unlocked new levels of performance
• Why recovery isn’t optional and what medicine can adopt from elite sport tomorrow
• How leaders can hold standards without breaking themselves in the process

Whether you’re leading a clinical team, working in a high-acuity unit, or striving to foster a culture where individuals can flourish and endure, this conversation offers a roadmap rooted in the lived experiences of elite athletes.

Have thoughts or ideas sparked by this episode? Reach out to the team at Arena Labs.

Got thoughts, questions, or big ideas? Reach out to the team at Arena Labs.