Slice of PIE

Another year, and another Slice of PIE first.

We  get to speak to Niels Feddersen, Associate Professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Science - and we get to speak to him at two points in time ! First in 2020, during his move from Denmark to Norway, and then again in 2023 - where we have a conversation and reflection on the first conversation ! I can't take credit, it was Niels' idea...
 
We talk about some of his important research studying sporting organisations and their cultures, and slingshot into multiple interesting threads concerning values, societal changes, the tipping point for speaking up, social bubbles and organisational consensus on what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour - among many other topics.

You can follow Niels here:

Social networks:
https://twitter.com/niels_moving
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsfeddersen/?originalSubdomain=no

Norweigan School of Sport Sciences:
https://www.nih.no/english/about/employees/nielsbf/

Email address:
nielsbf@nih.no

For all of those interested in the topic of organisational life in sports organisations, see below.

These are the papers underpinning our conversations, but more to come!

Large scale culture changes
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2020.1771306

Power in organisations
https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2020-0119

Destructive/Toxic Cultures
https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2021-0077
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2019.1680639

Slice of PIE is back with some exciting personal and professional news.

We also get to speak to Dr. Jamie Barker, former chair of the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology (DSEP) and 'Pracademic' with over 20 years of experience.

In this episode we dig into his experience working with the British Paralympics team in Rio, and from working in sport to business to the military and many other performance environments.

Jamie is also the author of multiple books including The Psychology of Soccer: More Than Just a Game - which came out in 2020, in partnership with Joe Dixon, Richard Thelwell and Ian Mitchell (see link below).

Jamie is also one of the nicest blokes around, and kindly gave enough time to fill two episodes’ worth of insight and experience. This is 'part two' of our conversation.

You can follow Jamie here:

Social networks:
https://twitter.com/DrJamieBarker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jamie-barker-1154a12b/

Loughborough University Profile:
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ssehs/staff/jamie-barker/

Link to work with the RAF:
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/national-rehabilitation-centre/news/developing-veterans-resilience/ 

The Psychology of Soccer: More Than Just a Game
https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Soccer/Dixon-Barker-Thelwell-Mitchell/p/book/9780367350284

Upcoming book:  The Psychology of Golf Performance Under Pressure
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7093506674430197760?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7093506674430197760%29

It's Part Two time ! A chance to return to our conversation with Elliott Newell, former Pathway Scientist at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and now Senior Athlete Support Advisor at UK Sport.

You can hear the first part of our conversation here: https://www.sliceofpiepodcast.com/987202/5419588-sport-psychology-on-the-road-elliott-newell-part-one

You can find Elliott here:

Elliott's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ElliottSportPsy

EIS - Performance Pathway Learning Hub:
https://pphub.eis2win.co.uk/landing

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

Gouttebarge et al (2019) meta analysis on elite athlete mental health:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/11/700

Counselling Skills Handbook for the Sport Psychologist:
https://shop.bps.org.uk/counselling-skills-handbook-for-the-sport-psychologist

Slice of PIE has been shortlisted in the 'Wellbeing and Performance' category in the 2022 Sports Podcast Awards. You can help by voting for Slice of PIE here:
https://www.sportspodcastawards.com/categories/11

In this episode we speak to Jack Apperley,  a London based choral conductor.  Jack studied at the University of Birmingham where he was mentored by Simon Halsey CBE, and then went on to train at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Patrick Russill (Patrick Russill founded the Royal Academy of Music’s Choral Conducting department in 1997).

He is now the conductor of University Upper Voices at the University of Birmingham and Music Director of the Imperial College Chamber Choir. He is the Music Director of Concordia Voices and also directs workplace choirs for the Royal College of Physicians, Silicon Valley Bank and the Workplace Choir Company. He is the Interim Musical Director of Goldsmith’s Choral Union.

In the conversation we discuss his journey into music, the factors that make a motivated and happy choir, as well as the similarities between conducting and goalkeeping !

You can contact, or keep up to date with Jack in the following places:

Website:
https://jackapperley.com/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jdeapperley

Join me for the second in a two-parter we recorded last year - a conversation about Social Identity.  In fact, with the Euros in full swing, this is a great time to revisit the first part (here) as well as Gareth Southgate's recent interview on the High Performance Podcast (here).

Dr. Matt Slater from Staffordshire University and Chris Hartley from the University of Stirling spend a lot of time thinking about groups, identity and leadership.

Dr. Matt Slater is Associate Professor of Sport & Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, a chartered Psychologist and an active researcher with interests in the psychology of leadership and team functioning in performance contexts. He is also the Author of the book ‘Togetherness: How to Build a Winning Team’, published in 2019.

Chris Hartley is also a chartered and HCPC registered practitioner in sport and exercise psychology, and a Lecturer in sport psychology at the University of Stirling (Scotland, UK). His PHD research adopted a social identity theory perspective, where he aimed to understand how a social identity and the self-categorisation process underpins the provision and receipt of social support. Chris has also previously worked in performance academies, University Scholarship programmes, and consulted with several sport NGBs and a range of individual clients. He’s helped organise the 2nd International Conference on Social Identity in Sport (ICSIS) which took place in June 2019 in Stirling.

Matt and Chris join me for the SECOND part of the first ever group discussion on Slice of PIE - and we talk about identity, leadership, the transience of groups and the powerful wellness impacts of social groups amongst many other topics.

This is Part 2 of the discussion so make sure to check out Part 1 when you can.

You can find more about Matt and Chris here:

Dr Matt Slater
https://twitter.com/DrMattSlater
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Slater3

Matt's book:
https://www.bennionkearny.com/book/togetherness-how-to-build-a-winning-team-book-ebook-matt-slater/

Chris Hartley
https://twitter.com/DrChrisHartley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hartley-4981aa102/

The New Psychology of Sport & Exercise:
https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/the-new-psychology-of-sport-and-exercise/book265588#contents

In this episode we speak to someone who has worked, and is currently working in professional football and rugby. Joe Dixon is a fellow graduate of the MSc Sport & Exercise Psychology Masters as Staffordshire University and now performance psychologist at Stoke City Football Club and Bath Rugby. Joe had a career in Occupational Psychology before he pivoted into sport, working in HR and as a consultant. This took him as far away as Western Australia and the buzzing industries circulating around natural resources. As we’ll hear in the interview, the call came one day to pack up the Australian life and move back to the UK to enter the world of professional football....

Sign up for Joe's upcoming webinar:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/580921885799891214

Joe's website:
josephdixonpsychology.com

Contact Joe:
joseph@josephdixonpsychology.com

Follow Joe on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DrJosephDixon

Check out the Psychology of Soccer:
https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Soccer/Dixon-Barker-Thelwell-Mitchell/p/book/9780367350284

I am joined in this episode by chartered Sport Psychologist Jo Davies. Jo runs a sport psychology consultancy, based out of Reigate in Surrey, and is the sport psychology lead at The Army Elite Athlete Performance Centre, working with the Army Target Shooting and Army Boxing Teams. She is also a sport psychologist for TASS (the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) and previously worked with the academy athletes at Surrey County cricket. She also supports several scholars at British Universities and is a guest lecturer at undergraduate and masters level sport psychology programs. How does she fit it all in…!?

In our conversation we talk about Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and its applications in Sport - in particular the role of values, and how clarity over these can be beneficial for both individuals and teams.

You can find Jo here:

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jdpsychology?lang=en

Website:
http://www.jdpsychology.co.uk/

My guest this week is Ismael Pedraza, or 'Isma'.

Isma is a performance psychologist working as a practitioner and researcher in Germany, who has come via Finland, Australia and his home country of Colombia where he played a high standard of football.

He’s currently the performance coach for Rogue, a professional eSports team in Europe that participates in the League of Legends European Championship. He is also on the managing council of ENYSSP, the European Network of Young Specialists in Sport Psychology. ENYSSP is a fantastic network for practitioners young and old, interested in sport and performance psychology and pre-COVID, their conferences were a key staple in the sport psychology calendar, based at stunning locations around Europe. See a link to ENYSSP below.

If like me, you are slightly in the dark about this juggernaut that is eSports, this discussion will be a useful eye opener in to the culture, language and pressures that exist in this environment.

Links to Isma:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isma_pedraza
- Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ismael_Pedraza
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ismael-pedraza-06475bbb/
- Website: http://thementalcraft.com/

Weldon Green's 'Mind Games':
- https://www.youtube.com/c/MindgamesGg/

In this episode I speak to Cath Bishop. A speaker, consultant, executive coach and author on developing success in leadership. Cath is also a former diplomat and former elite rower for Great Britain, representing at 3 Olympic games, achieving World Champion status twice as well as an Olympic Silver Medal in partnership with Dame Katherine Grainger in the coxless pair in Athens.

A cursory glance at Cath’s Wikipedia or LinkedIn might give you the impression of one word… SUCCESS. Yet it’s the notion of what is defined as success which sits at the heart of her new book The Long Win. Is success the outcome or the journey towards it? Is it the medals and quarterly targets or the skills and growth you gain along the way? And why is our culture obsessed with winning?

I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Cath and getting deeper into some of the topics within the book. If you are interested I’ve left a link to the book in the description below, along with a host of other books I've read and have been recommended in the world of psychology, organisation culture, wellbeing and performance.

In our conversation we jump straight into the themes from the book and the implications for building psychologically informed environments. We only lightly touch upon Cath's own Olympic and athletic journey, but if you’d like to find out more I’d invite you to listen to Cath's interviews with Simon Mundie on Don’t Tell Me the Score and Steve Ingham on The Supporting Champions podcast to learn more. Again, see these links below:

The Long Win:
https://cathbishop.com/the-long-win/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/thecathbishop

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cath-bishop-a0029847/

Recommended books:
https://www.petejackson.co.uk/sport-psychology/books

Cath Bishop on Don't Tell Me The Score:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08k52g6

Cath Bishop on Supporting Champions:
https://supportingchampions.co.uk/post/2020/09/23/072-cath-bishop-on-the-long-win/

In the spirit of speaking to different types of experts I have been wanting to a) speak to people in the world of consulting that help companies improve team effectiveness and develop leaders, and b) speak to people that have worked in teams in the furnace of the military environment. With this episode's guest Richard Waddell, I am fortunate to get 2 for the price of 1 … !

After passing through officer training at Sandhurst, Richard was in the UK one moment, and 48 hours later on the ground in Basrah commanding a troop of soldiers, some of whom were far older and more experienced in the military. After navigating this and many other challenges, Richard eventually came out of the military and entered the world of consulting - working for large firms and starting his own businesses in talent identification, recruitment and leadership development amongst other things.

In this episode we talk about leadership styles in different contexts, military insights applied to sport and business, recruitment, talent identification and consultancy, psychometric profiling tools…

You can find Richard in the following places:

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardwaddell/

Hanover
https://www.hanoversearch.com/leadership-solutions/

Operation Encounter
https://operationencounter.com/

In episode 4 of season 2, we speak to Jenna Woolven.

Jenna has got a very impressive list of experiences across many environments, both as an athlete and a sport psychology consultant. She played national level and junior international level hockey before transitioning into sports marketing, and then into her sport and exercise psychology. Jenna then went on to work for sports and management consultancy Lane4, where she worked with various businesses and sports organisations, including a year where she was embedded into the Football Association and based at St George’s Park.

She’s now an independent consultant and passionate about helping people to realise their potential, achieve their goals and live more fulfilled lives. In this conversation we talk about consulting with sporting or business teams, being embedded in organisations, and how to help bring about meaningful engagement with sport or work.

You can find Jenna here:

Websites:
mindmattersconsulting.co.uk
yellowtailgroup.co.uk

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jennawoolven 

In the third episode of Season 2 I get to talk to Pathway Scientist at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) - Elliott Newell. Elliott's conversation with Dan Abrahams on The Sport Psych Show was the first time I had heard of the 'PIE' so you can largely credit Elliott with the title of the podcast.

Elliott is a sport and performance scientist (BASES Accredited/Science Council Chartered) with specialism in psychological support. He works in high performance sport with a focus on talent development, and using talent development knowledge and strategies to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of performance pathways. He's a huge advocate of personal growth and development, and this is evident in our conversation. Elliott racks up a lot of miles collaborating with athletes, coaches and talent pathway coaches, traveling far and wide to connect the dots within his sphere of the high performance system - hence the title, 'sport psychology on the road'.

This is part one of a two part conversation with Elliott, so look out for part two when it is out.

You can find Elliott here:

Elliott's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ElliottSportPsy

EIS - Performance Pathway Learning Hub:
https://pphub.eis2win.co.uk/landing

In the second episode of season two we talk to Sport Psychologist in Training Louise Byrne. As well as training towards psychology chartership, Louise also works in finance, and we touch upon the interesting cross-application of performance psychology and wellbeing strategies in the corporate sector.

The first 30-35 minutes is also a great deep-dive in to that mystical notion of 'balance' we're all striving for. Training as a psychologist whilst working another job is no mean feat, and this context provides a great backdrop with which to discuss what balance actually is, what it means to different people, what it means at different points in our lives, as well as strategies for trying to achieve or maintain it.

It was a great conversation. You can find Louise online here:

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LBPerformPsych

Web:
https://www.louisebyrne.uk/

Her study into organisational stressors:
https://twitter.com/LBPerformPsych/status/1280977561431015425

Other links from the episode:
Frontiers in Psychology: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01627/full 

Season TWO of the Slice of PIE podcast kicks off with former chair of the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology (DSEP) and 'Pracademic' with over 20 years of experience. That's experience in consultancy, lecturing, research, presenting and working in all manner of domains from premier league football and academy cricket to supporting the British Paralympics team in Rio, and from working in sport to business to the military and many other performance environments. Jamie is also the author of multiple books including The Psychology of Soccer: More Than Just a Game which came out this year (2020) in partnership with Joe Dixon, Richard Thelwell and Ian Mitchell (see link below).

Jamie is also one of the nicest blokes around, and kindly gave enough time to fill two episodes’ worth of insight and experience. This is 'part one' of our conversation.

You can follow Jamie here:

Social networks:
https://twitter.com/DrJamieBarker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jamie-barker-1154a12b/

Loughborough University Profile:
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ssehs/staff/jamie-barker/

The Psychology of Soccer: More Than Just a Game
https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Soccer/Dixon-Barker-Thelwell-Mitchell/p/book/9780367350284

Ahead of Season 2 of Slice of PIE, I thought it would be first worth looking back and reflecting on the recurring themes in Season 1.

If you want to read the associated blog post, you can find that here:
https://medium.com/@petejackson/the-psychologically-informed-environment-p-i-e-59e3b7814c35

If you want to follow the guests mentioned in this end of season summary, you can find them here:
https://twitter.com/MusSarkar
https://twitter.com/LeonLloyd13
https://twitter.com/Josephineperry
https://twitter.com/ProfMarcJones
https://twitter.com/ThinkBPerform
https://twitter.com/KrisSoutar
https://twitter.com/Emma_Vickers91
https://twitter.com/HStoyel
https://twitter.com/DrJonKatz

If you have any thoughts, comments or feedback please get in touch with me via the website:
https://www.petejackson.co.uk/

In this last episode of Season 1 we put the Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) under the microscope with Dr Jonathan Katz. He's a former fencer turned fencing coach, a former counselling psychologist turned sport psychologist, and a veteran of 4 Paralympic games, Team England Head Coach for the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Fencing Championships, BPS accredited supervisor and Business & Executive Coach as well. 

That’s some CV.

It was great to hear a first-hand perspective from someone who has worked through the first wave of interest and adoption of psychology in sport, and has an insightful and panoramic view on how the profession and industry has evolved over the last decade or so.
 
We discussed the impact of Tokyo Olympics moving to 2021 in forensic detail - examining the implications for younger and older athletes, those closer to retirement, the access to training and preparation facilities, and the communication web between NGBs, the BOA and IOC. We also chatted about depth and breadth of consultant experience, the importance of integrating psychology within multi-disciplinary teams and how to prepare for situations with a host of unknowns.

You can find Jonathan here:

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DrJonKatz

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/DrJonathanKatz/

Email:
JKatz@PinM.co.uk
 

Hannah Stoyel is a HCPC registered Sport & Exercise Psychologist, and the founder of Optimise Potential, a sport psychology consultancy based in London. She wears many hats: As well as doing her PHD at University College London looking at athletes and eating disorders -  She is also the lead sport psychologist for Swim England, she works as a sport psychology consultant for Millfield school, delivers sport psychology content for UK Athletics, and is a Sport Psychologist for the Reading FC Academy. Pretty impressive resume. 

In my conversation with Hannah her passion for all things psychology is evident, in any age any competitive level or any sport, however I was particularly struck by her enthusiasm for developing young people and her insights in to how elite academies, NGB pathways, parents, coaches and other support staff can support our young athletes as they navigate the whirlwind rollercoaster of childhood, puberty, adolescence and young adulthood. Therefore if you’re a coach, parent, support staff or even a young athlete this episode will be particularly interesting for you.

You can find Hannah here:

Consultancy website:
https://www.optimisepotentialsport.com/

Consultancy social media:
https://twitter.com/OP_Sport_Psych
https://www.instagram.com/optimise_potential/

Personal social media:
https://twitter.com/HStoyel
https://www.instagram.com/hannahstoyel/

British Swimming - Optimal Athlete Development Framework (OADF):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1Usd_O8ghC0q8LCcTQhkIhnQuVwlRY1pn/view?rm=minimal 

Dr. Matt Slater from Staffordshire University and Chris Hartley from the University of Stirling spend a lot of time thinking about groups, identity and leadership.

Dr. Matt Slater is Associate Professor of Sport & Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, a chartered Psychologist and an active researcher with interests in the psychology of leadership and team functioning in performance contexts. He is also the Author of the book ‘Togetherness: How to Build a Winning Team’, published in 2019.

Chris Hartley is also a chartered and HCPC registered practitioner in sport and exercise psychology, and a Lecturer in sport psychology at the University of Stirling (Scotland, UK). His PHD research adopts a social identity theory perspective, where he is aiming to understand how a social identity and the self-categorisation process underpins the provision and receipt of social support. Chris has also previously worked in performance academies, University Scholarship programmes, and consulted with several sport NGBs and a range of individual clients. He’s helped organise the 2nd International Conference on Social Identity in Sport (ICSIS) which took place in June of last year in Stirling, and you can find a link to information on the next conference below.

Matt and Chris join me for the FIRST ever Slice of PIE group discussion - and we talk about identity, leadership, the transience of groups and the powerful wellness impacts of social groups amongst many other topics.

This is Part 1 of the discussion so make sure to look out for Part 2 when it is released in Season 2.

You can find more about Matt and Chris here:

Dr Matt Slater
https://twitter.com/DrMattSlater
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Slater3

Matt's book:
https://www.bennionkearny.com/book/togetherness-how-to-build-a-winning-team-book-ebook-matt-slater/

Chris Hartley
https://twitter.com/psychlin

The New Psychology of Sport & Exercise:
https://twitter.com/alexanderhaslam/status/1270546170033520640

ICSIS conference 2021:
https://twitter.com/Simonfozkawycz/status/1184820519998230530

Paul McVeigh left his home town of Belfast at the age of 16 to sign for Tottenham Hotspur. He made his first start for Spurs up front with Teddy Sheringham, scoring on his debut in 1997, and going on to represent Tottenham as well as Norwich City, Burnley, Luton Town and Northern Ireland. Since then he has worked in the media for the BBC, SkySports, BeinSports and TalkSport amongst many others… he’s authored a book ‘The Stupid footballer is dead’, got his Masters in Sport & Exercise Psychology from Staffordshire University, and has been a performance psychology coach at a premier league football academy. Now he spends his time as a global keynote speaker, delivering keynotes and corporate training for the likes of Barclays, PWC, Microsoft and a truck load of other blue chip companies. Paul shares his insights on mindset, teamwork and leadership - both from his playing days and also from his perspective as a coach and consultant. He is also a big advocate for perspective, values and striving for balance in life. You can find Paul here:

Website:
https://www.paulmcveigh.co.uk/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmcveighkeynotespeaker/

Twitter:
https://lnkd.in/eze8_b6

Facebook:
https://lnkd.in/e6Jm2Vn

Instagram:
https://lnkd.in/eZNEmbb

YouTube:
https://lnkd.in/eYhUyjh

Paper on gratitude:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301826526_Does_gratitude_writing_improve_the_mental_health_of_psychotherapy_clients_Evidence_from_a_randomized_controlled_trial

Dr. Emma Vickers is the research lead for TASS – (The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) …an organisation at the heart of supporting athletes managing dual careers, but also at the heart of developing and pulling together research to understand how these different demands impact, affect, conflict or compliment each other. Emma was an elite student-athlete herself, amongst the top 3 nationally in her sport by the age of 15, and soon competing in junior Olympics and international senior competitions… she was a TASS sponsored athlete herself and has first hand experience of juggling all the training, travelling and performing along with the small matter of completing a university degree. The perfect guest then to give us an insight in to this world, as well as discuss the broader topics of dual careers, building a broad self-identity, managing multiple endeavours and the support needed to take on these challenges. You can find out more about Emma and TASS here:

TASS Website:
https://www.tass.gov.uk/

TASS Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TalentedAthlete

Emma's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Emma_Vickers91

The Happiness Trap:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-happiness-trap/russ-harris/9781845298258