“Thriving Under Pressure”: Dave Alred Shares His Formula for Success

Dave Alred is a world-renowned performance coach and the author of The Pressure Principle, celebrated for transforming elite athletes into high-pressure winners.

As a top leadership speaker, he brings unrivalled insight into how focus, resilience, and bold preparation drive success.

With years spent working in rugby, boxing, and beyond, Dave’s expertise centres on redefining how leaders—and teams—perform under intense pressure. His methodology equips individuals to embrace chaos, adapt swiftly, and execute with clarity.

In this exclusive interview with The Champions Speakers Agency, Dave Alred reveals how his performance philosophy applies far beyond sport—showing business leaders how to cultivate peak performance, refine mental toughness, and thrive through disruption.

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Q: What parallels do you see between athletic excellence and business success?

Dave Alred: “Well, I think the first thing to remember is, when you’re looking at top athletes, because of the way the media produces it, what you don’t see are the mistakes, the angst in training, the amount of hours. It’s a bit like the iceberg – you just see the top, but you don’t see everything else.

“I think that sometimes people are in awe of top athletes, and to an extent I can understand that, but they need to understand, if I said you’ve got an elite attitude, it means you’re somebody that is totally committed to doing the best they can and constantly improving.

“That’s essentially what athletes have to do, because people run faster, go longer, or whatever – so it’s a constant improvement on the previous self.

“I think that’s one thing people in business should note – they’re not kind to themselves when they do actually make progress and improve. They don’t celebrate it; they’re almost just pleased that they didn’t make mistakes. I find that’s so prevalent among businesses – don’t make mistakes, rather than trying to achieve. That curtails a lot of potential.”

Q: How can business teams sustain high performance while avoiding burnout?

Dave Alred: “That’s really good, actually, because I think burnout can be prevented if you keep mentally refreshing. One of the things I’ve found, having worked with companies like Aston Martin and Mercedes, is using the tool of management by affirmation.

“The first thing I do is ask them – sit them down and say, “Okay, tell me what you’re really good at.” And it’s like getting blood out of a stone, because people aren’t used to actually saying, “Gosh, yes, I’m good at this.”

“I think part of preventing burnout is constantly reinforcing what’s good and what you’ve achieved. When things don’t go to plan, think of it as, “I didn’t match my intention, now I need to do it differently,” rather than, “I made a dramatic mistake, I’m going to be in trouble,” and all that consequence.

“Right next to burnout is negative avoidance. As you get tired, you think, “Oh, I don’t want to make a mistake,” rather than, “Actually, I can do this,” refreshed with your own competences, and really have a go at it.”

Q: What are some common mental barriers that can prevent people from reaching their full potential?

Dave Alred: “I think that if you’re under five, maybe four and a half, there aren’t many mental barriers. When somebody is young and exploring, they’re full of excitement about learning, and if it doesn’t go quite right they’re nonplussed. When it does go right, they get excited and want to show Mummy and Daddy.

“Somewhere between that beautiful age for learning and taking challenges, we then get to a stage where we think, “I know what I’m not good at.” There are things we avoid because we feel embarrassed or don’t want to make mistakes. That very fear is what stops people reaching their potential.

“I use what I call “green arrows” – always firing green arrows. The first thing I try to say to anybody is, “What’s going well?” For example, if I’m working with a golfer who hits a shot badly, I’ll find something that’s right first: “Your stance is fantastic, I love the way you transferred your weight. Now let’s just look at the club face and adjust slightly.”

“Instead of going straight into the mistake, I reinforce the positives. Otherwise, the person thinks, “I don’t want to make a mistake again,” and the negative avoidance sets in. Sadly, for all sorts of reasons – and I don’t think social media helps – that is the real thing that stops people reaching their potential.

“If you ask me why I’m still coaching, it’s because I love taking people where they’ve never been before. I’ve brainwashed myself into looking at somebody and going, “Wow, just think how good they could be.” That person often looks at themselves and only sees the mistakes and shortcomings. We don’t reach our potential because we don’t look up – we look back and make sure we don’t make mistakes.”

Q: What do you hope audiences take away from your public speeches?

Dave Alred: “I’d like them to understand the power of language. Even if they just say, “Right, whatever happens now, I’m not going to use any more deletions.”

“In other words, I’m never going to ask somebody to not do something; I’ll ask them to do something that makes the unwanted action impossible. Just getting that right is key.

“There’s a great example – I say to people, “From now on, nobody must think about a green elephant.” That’s the most ridiculous thing to say, because if I ask you not to think about it, you’ll immediately think of it. Deletions don’t work – yet we do it all the time, particularly under pressure.

“In coaching especially, in tense environments, people say “don’t do this” instead of taking a split second to reframe: “What do I want you to do?” The brain is a productive tool, not a deletion tool.”

This exclusive interview with Dave Alred was conducted by Chris Tompkins of The Motivational Speakers Agency.