Published 27 Oct 2026
S5. Ep 19. Talking with David Misson about what Business can learn from Elite Sport about Leadership, Culture, Developing people and Building Better Teams
Your best performer gets results, but makes life difficult for everyone else. Where do you draw the line?
That's one of the questions we get into with David Misson on The Building Talks Podcast. David's career spans Australian cricket (with Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW), AFL (Sydney Swans, St Kilda, Melbourne Football Club), rugby league (Sydney Roosters) and other elite sporting environments. Through his business, Universal Performance, he now brings those experiences into the corporate world. We talk about why some teams achieve more together than others with better individual players, and what construction, property and engineering businesses can learn from that.
We also get into leadership, culture, developing future leaders and understanding what helps different people perform at their best. David shares his perspective on handling talented people whose behaviour hurts the team, and creating an environment where people actually want to do a good job. And it's not just a conversation for the boss. There's plenty to think about for anyone wanting to improve their own performance and make a stronger contribution.
Takeaways:
- ✅Why better players don't always make the better team
- ✅What to do when your strongest performer is making everyone else's job harder
- ✅Developing the next generation of leaders
- ✅Building a culture where people want to give their best
- ✅Taking responsibility for your own performance
Chapters:
- 03:34 - From a Sporting Family to a Career in Elite Performance
- 07:10 - High Performance as a Balance of Art and Science
- 10:44 - Why Success Starts with Leadership at the Top
- 16:59 - Succession Planning and Developing Future Leaders
- 25:45 - Why Connected Teams Can Outperform Individual Talent
- 31:33 - Leadership Development Beyond the Annual Workshop
- 37:37 - Emotional Intelligence and Leading People as Individuals
- 44:19 - Supporting High Performers Through the Daily Grind
- 49:34 - When a High Performer Damages the Team
- 51:49 - Role Clarity, Feedback and the Support People Need to Perform
- 59:20 - Building Culture and Psychological Safety
- 1:03:41 - The Three Systems Behind High-Performing Teams
- 1:07:18 - Daily Habits and Recruiting Beyond the CV
- 1:14:39 - Practical Lessons for Construction Leaders and Final Thoughts
Hit play to hear what elite sport can teach us about leading people and being someone others want on their team.
Hope you enjoy the podcast!
#DavidMisson #UniversalPerformance #HighPerformanceTeams #EliteSport #ConstructionLeadership #TeamCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #PeopleManagement #ConstructionCareers #BuiltEnvironment #BuildingTalksPodcast
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