The Elite Athlete secret to performance

We’re conditioned to believe that better results come from more effort. Push harder. Dig deeper. Increse your mental resilience..

But some of the biggest performance gains don’t come from adding force at all. They come from reducing drag.

That smart insight was planted in my mind years ago by an ex-partner, a pro swimmer who holds multiple international records, and it stuck.

We were talking about marginal gains and what really makes a difference at elite level. I expected to hear about training volume or mental toughness.

Instead, he talked about minimising friction.

When performance is limited by resistance, not effort

In open water swimming and sailing alike, performance isn’t only about power. It’s also about resistance. A boat covered in crustations moves slowly, it’s dragging unnecessary resistance through the water.

Clean the hull and suddenly, with the same effort, it moves faster. No extra horsepower required.

That idea stuck with me because it applies so cleanly to how most of us work and lead.

Where drag shows up in everyday work

Most professionals and leaders are not lacking drive, capability or ambition. Quite the opposite. They’re already pushing hard.

What holds them back is often drag disguised as procrastination, poor relationships, or “just how things are”.

Things like:

• That conversation you’ve been putting off for weeks, but think about every day

• A decision that technically sits with you, but hasn’t been made

• A process everyone knows is clunky, but no one owns fixing

• A role boundary that’s blurred, creating constant low-level friction

• A commitment you’ve outgrown but haven’t let go of

None of these require you to work harder. They require you to remove resistance.

Have a think for yourself, what is something that pops up every day and slows you, causes friction, or lives rent free in your mind?

Why we keep pushing instead of clearing drag

Clearing drag is rarely glamorous.

It often involves:

• Awkward conversations

• Letting go of sunk cost

• Saying no

• Stopping things that once felt important

• Blocking time to do some work you'd prefer to avoid

Pushing harder feels active.

Cleaning the hull feels… fiddly. Easy to postpone. Until you realise how much energy it’s costing you every day.

A different performance question

Instead of asking:

“How can I do more?”

Try asking:

“What is slowing me down that shouldn’t be there?”

Or even:

“If I removed just one source of drag, what would suddenly feel easier?”

For individuals, that might be one unresolved issue you finally tackle. For leaders, it might be a policy, meeting, reporting line or expectation that creates more friction than value.

The quiet power of removal

Elite performance isn’t only about acceleration. It’s about efficiency.

• The swimmer who reduces drag moves faster without burning more energy.

• The leader who removes friction creates space for their team to perform without burnout.

• The organisation that simplifies outperforms the one that endlessly adds.

  
  

Sometimes progress doesn’t come from pushing harder. It comes from cleaning the hull.

A couple of questions to sit with

Q - What’s one thing in your work or leadership that’s creating drag right now?

Q - And, if you removed it, what would immediately feel lighter or faster?

OK, when can you schedule tackling it?

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At Bold Consulting, we work with leaders and organisations on strategic analysis, operating model design and transformation work that helps remove friction, clarify priorities and unlock sustainable performance. Performing smarter, without simply pushing harder.