The book · Routledge · August 2026
The Psychology of High-Performance Sports Organizations
Culture, Safety, and Leadership
“It’s built practice-up—not theory-down.”
From the preface
How it came to be
“Madeline kept producing. I kept asking. The cycle ran for years.” By 2022: “We should just write a textbook.” It was half a joke. We’d been building one without realizing it.
What it does
“It’s built practice-up—not theory-down. Every chapter starts with what practitioners see in the field, then asks what the evidence says about it, and then translates the answer into something an organization can use on Tuesday morning.”
Read a sample
Preface and Introduction · read online
The idea
Seven questions. Seven layers.
The High-Performance Culture Operating System. Each layer answers a question and depends on the ones beneath it.
Layers 1–3
Diagnostic
Map the terrain. Find out whether truth can travel. Name what is broken.
- Layer 1: What are we actually dealing with?Landscape
- Layer 2: Can anyone here tell the truth?Foundation
- Layer 3: What is actually broken?Diagnosis
Layers 4–5
Operational
How the organization decides, leads and treats its people.
- Layer 4: How do we decide when it matters?Operating system
- Layer 5: Are we listening—and using what we hear?People systems
Layers 6–7
Protective
Holding it under outside pressure, and past the people who built it.
- Layer 6: How do we stay grounded when everyone is screaming?Ecosystem
- Layer 7: Will this survive us?Sustainability
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All eleven chapters, plus the Preface, Introduction, Acknowledgments and notes, Epilogue and Glossary. Sign in with the email that received your listening link. Book buyers can also submit a receipt to request access and receive an email when it is approved.
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The seven questions, worked through with your team.
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