Power of emotion: Mel Marshall

Using emotion, vulnerability and connection to fuel powerful performances. Mel Marshall is a former world number one swimmer turned coach. She’s been coaching Adam Peaty since he was 14 and Adam is one of the greatest swimmers of all time (2016 Olympic champion, eight-time world champion and world record holder in the 50 and 100 metre breastroke). Adam says Mel developed him into the man he is today.

Mel is all about relationships and talks about the love she feels for the people she works with and the swimmers she coaches. It is that emotion and connection that can help people find an extra 10%. Having honest and vulnerable conversations can actually release feel-good hormones that can help people perform better. That human touch, that is easy to overlook and undervalue, really can make a huge difference.

Mel also talks about managing down, sideways and up. She shares some gems about managing up in particular, using what she calls her 'invisible leadership skills'. She talks about the value of working out what your work capacity is and sticking to that, and the importance of finding balance.

Mel and Simon also discuss the power of belief, that intangible yet crucial quality. Also the difference between personality and character and the similarity between Adam Peaty and Michael Jordan.