HBR IdeaCast
HBR IdeaCast
Harvard Business Review
How Top World Cup, NBA, and NFL Coaches Make Better Decisions Under Pressure
31 minutes Posted Jun 30, 2026 at 11:09 am.
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Show notes
When the stakes are high and the clock is ticking, how do great leaders make the right call? Sports performance consultant Alan McCall and sports scientist Johann Bilsborough say that leaders can improve decision-making before, during, and after critical moments, based on lessons they've learned from elite sports coaches. They share research on why preparation matters more than instinct, how to filter signal from noise, and why trust and relationships often determine the quality of decisions long before a crisis occurs. McCall and Bilsborough are coauthors, along with Adrian Wolfberg and Ricard Pruna, of the HBR article "How Elite Sports Coaches Make High-Pressure Decisions."