Listen On Apple

Listen on Spotify

Behind the Lionesses’ extraordinary success isn’t just talent or tactics – it’s elite performance psychology.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Kate Hays, Head of Women’s Performance Psychology at the Football Association, to pull back the curtain on how high-performing teams succeed under pressure and without burning out.

This is a powerful conversation about teamwork, purpose, and sustainable success, and how the same principles used at the very top of elite sport can help ambitious women lead, perform, and thrive at work and at home.

If you’ve watched the Lionesses’ success over the last few years, you’ve probably been captivated too.

How have they been so successful?

Why do they look like they’re genuinely enjoying themselves even in high-stakes games?

And how do they cope with the pressure – especially those nail-biting, to-the-wire penalty shootouts?

In this episode, you’re in for a real treat as we pull back the curtain on what really sits behind sustained elite performance.

Kate works at the very heart of high-pressure, high-stakes environments – where performance matters, consequences are real, and success must be sustainable.

In our conversation, she shares the psychology behind success that lasts, and how these same principles can be applied by ambitious women navigating leadership, work, and motherhood.

This conversation isn’t about pushing harder or simply coping better. It’s about building the right foundations so you can perform under pressure without sacrificing your wellbeing, and actually find joy along the way.

Why listen to this episode?

This episode is for you if you’re ambitious, capable, and know you have more to give but don’t want success to come at the cost of your health, relationships, or sense of self.

You’ll gain:

Insight into what really sits behind the Lionesses’ sustained success – beyond talent or tactics

A clear understanding of how elite teams perform under pressure through connection, clarity, and trust

A powerful four-part framework for sustainable success: People, Purpose, Method, and Environment

Practical tools such as identifying super strengths and boat sinkers, and building genuine connections within teams

A new perspective on purpose – why it must be bigger than outcomes, and how that protects long-term wellbeing

Above all, this episode offers a new model of success: one where high performance, meaningful teamwork, and wellbeing can coexist.

About the guest: Dr Kate Hays

Dr Kate Hays is a sport and performance psychologist with nearly 25 years’ experience working in elite, high-pressure environments.

She is currently Head of Women’s Performance Psychology at the Football Association, working closely with England head coach Serena Wiegman and the Lionesses. Her previous roles include leading national psychology support at the UK Sports Institute through the Rio and Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic cycles, and working across professional rugby, Olympic sport and high-performance teams.

Kate is the author of How to Win: Lessons in Success from the Front Line of Performance Psychology, and is widely recognised for her work in creating environments that enable world-class performance while protecting mental health, sustainability, and joy.

Links in this episode –

Dr Kate Hays Website

How To Win: Lessons in Success from the Front Line of Performance Psychology

Click here to read the transcript