3 February 2026
๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐. And brought to mind one of my leadership coaching heroes.
Not flashy.
Not a LinkedIn influencer.
An unlikely hero.
๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐๐ฒ๐.
Back in the 1970s, Gallwey was a tennis coach in California. Like most coaches at the time, he relied heavily on instruction:
โGrip the racquet like this.โ
โRotate your shoulders.โ
But he noticed something counter-intuitive.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ. ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
They tightened up.
They overthought.
They lost flow.
Thatโs when he landed on a deceptively simple idea:
We all have ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ at play.
โข ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ญ - the analytical, judging voice. Useful in planning and practice. ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐
๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
โข ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ฎ - the intuitive, capable doer. It senses, adapts, and performs when left alone.
When ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ญ got loud, performance dropped.
When ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ฎ was trusted, performance soared.
Gallwey captured it perfectly in The Inner Game of Tennis:
๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ = ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น โ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
Donโt add more instructions.
Reduce interference.
His players improved dramatically. So did their enjoyment.
The book sold over a million copies. And Gallwey went on to apply these ideas far beyond tennis, from orchestras to boardrooms, working with organisations like Apple and Coca-Cola.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ
We ๐ด๐ข๐บ we want empowered people.
But when results wobble, what do many leaders do? They:
โข Add more process
โข Increase oversight
โข Micromanage
โข Double down on instruction
Which createsโฆ more interference.
Anyone whoโs coached kidsโ sport recognises this instantly.
Yet we repeat it in organisations every day.
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ. They:
โข Create clarity of purpose
โข Set simple boundaries
โข Communicate expectations clearly
โข ๐๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
โข But then, critically, ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐
They quiet ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ญ.
They trust ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ฎ.
Thatโs where real performance lives.
๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Where might I be adding interference instead of unlocking potential?
Still one of the best leadership lessons I know. ๐พ
Written by Jonathan Stern
ICF Certified Coach | Gallup CliftonStrengths Certified | Former MuleSoft ANZ Leader
I coach high-potential leaders and high-potential scale-ups.
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