001 The Importance of Mental Toughness

Demystifying Mental Toughness is for people who want to reach their goals faster and are curious what high performing athletes and professionals do to fulfil their potential. David Charlton shares insights, strategies and stories from leading athletes, coaches, psychologists and specialists to help you perform to your optimum level on a more consistent basis. If you’re a motivated athlete, coach, sport psychologist, mental game coach or executive listen in for proven and practical advice in this podcast. This is an exciting day! Today is our first podcast and I’m fittingly joined by Doug Strycharczyk. Doug is viewed as a rock star in the Mental Toughness world. He has pioneered the application of the mental toughness to a wide variety of sectors. He’s seen as one of the leading authorities worldwide on the application of the 4Cs Mental Toughness model, Doug works in the Occupational, Educational, Social Work, Sports and Health settings in more than 80 countries. He’s the CEO for AQR International and an experienced author who has contributed to a number of books that look at developing mental toughness and resilience with individuals and at an organisational level, with youngsters through to leaders. The development of psychometric tests are also a feature of Doug’s work. In this, the first episode, Doug and David go on to introduce what Mental Toughness is and why it is misunderstood by many people. Doug shares the background behind the highly evidence based 4Cs Mental Toughness model and the importance of Mental Toughness. We also discuss the current climate and the impact additional stress and pressure can have on people, leaders and organisational culture. Essential Learning Points From This Episode • Mental Toughness is not a macho or masculine quality. • Mental weakness is not the opposite to mental toughness. • Mental toughness runs on a continuum and people who are not mentally tough have a lot to offer. • Mental toughness and resilience are very different, with mental toughness a wider and more valuable concept. • Mental Toughness is made up of 8 factors that are part of the 4C’s (commitment, challenge, control and confidence) model. • Without self awareness mentally tough people can falter. • Mental Toughness can be measured using psychometric testing such as the MTQ Plus questionnaire. • The Mental Toughness profiles in leadership teams are passed down to impact the culture of organisations. • Developing mentally tough qualities in staff is high on the agenda of “caring” organisations now as they are concerned about their staff and the impact Covid-19 has had on them. Useful Resources: Developing Mental Toughness Developing Employability and Enterprise Developing Resilient Organisations Developing Mental Toughness in Young People