In this episode of the Danish-language podcast Den Nye Standard, we’re joined by Klaus Veile, inspirational speaker, adjunct professor of performance psychology and CEO of Sapiens Performance. The conversation is about how you, as a person, can develop a so-called high performance mindset.
As well as running his own company, Klaus works day to day as a coach, helping leaders, CEOs and athletes put teams together and build a work culture that drives performance.
The episode starts with Klaus’s career as a professional rugby player. That’s where his interest in performance leadership took root. His great talent and passion for rugby took him to France, where the chance to study psychology came along. During his studies, Klaus realised he wanted to help people make performance and wellbeing go hand in hand. That was the start of Sapiens Performance.
High performance mindset
In the episode, Klaus introduces the idea of high performance as part of leadership. According to Klaus, high performance leadership is about getting the best out of employees by creating a culture and a working environment built on trust. That leads Klaus on to why roles and responsibility matter so much in leadership.
You develop a high performance mindset by reflecting every day on what works and what doesn’t. Building on that, Klaus started #LetsSetTheStandard on LinkedIn, among other places, where every week he shares a problem he has faced. The aim is for the standard of our lives to be higher than the problems we meet along the way.
Best practice is the past, not the present
As part of high performance leadership, Klaus works on putting teams together and building them up. High performance is very much about lifting the whole team’s performance, for example by measuring behavioural tendencies. According to Klaus, best practice is built on the past and isn’t necessarily what works best today.
As a regular part of the podcast, Nicolai and Klaus look at the flip side of always focusing on development. According to Klaus, the road to success is about the small compromises you have to make in life. He also shares some advice on how to look after yourself on the way to your goals. In a world of constant change, Klaus encourages us to keep getting to know ourselves and to reflect on what matters most to us.