ISF Podcast7 Loka 2025

S36 Ep7: Dr. Amy Athey - Under Pressure: Leadership & High Performance

In today’s episode, Steve sits down with Dr. Amy Athey, founder of Athey Performance. Her mission is to make the tools of elite performance accessible and human. Amy is a nationally recognized performance psychologist and executive coach with more than two decades of experience working with NCAA champions, Olympians, Navy SEALs, Fortune 500 leaders, and individuals navigating complex lives. She shares how business leaders can help their teams feel more connected to their organization’s purpose and talks about what drives high-achievers. Steve and Amy also discuss stress in the cybersecurity industry and why rest is absolutely crucial for success.
Key Takeaways:

Leaders can address rising anxiety, burnout, and disconnection across all levels of their organization by fostering empathy, trust, and a stronger sense of shared purpose.
Work with elite athletes and special forces has taught Athey that in high stress environments, recovery and rest are as essential to peak performance as hard work.
Prioritize foundational wellness habits — consistent sleep, movement, hydration, and play — for sustainable performance and resilience.

Tune in to hear more about:

Impact of the grind (2:56)
Technology and human disconnect (6:29)
Keeping it simple (22:17)

Standout Quotes:

“What we came to learn and implement and certainly we've seen the results for, is that role of recovery is just as crucial as the tactics or the strategies you're using to solve that problem, the rehearsal and maybe it's the communication or in that performance domain, what you are drilling all the time to be able to execute.” - Amy Athey
“And even to the extent that situation permits, how can you take a step away, even turn your back on your computer, even if it's for 90 seconds? Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. We've seen the return of energy stores just from that disconnection in that moment. So when you're sympathetically engaged, basically you're in that fight or flight response, you're trying to solve that problem.” - Amy Athey
“And so keeping it simple with each of those. If people wanna take deep dives, certainly I could share the value of that. But some of the culture around hacking and like the quick fixes, that's what I will push up against until I'm blue in the face. Building in wellness as a foundation for performance isn't about a quick fix, if we could do just 80% of this, like how can you reduce some of the processed foods in your diet? How can you make sure you're hydrating? Movement. Then that active recovery..” - Amy Athey

Read the transcript of this episode
Subscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts
Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter

From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(358)

357: Legal Owl Podcast: Steve Durbin on AI, Geopolitics and Legal Cyber Resilience

We’re back with the second part of Steve’s appearance on John “Jock" Brocas’ podcast “Legal Owl”. Today, Steve and Jock discuss artificial intelligence, the global powers shaping the cyber landscape, ...

6 Loka 25min

357: Legal Owl Podcast: Steve Durbin on Cyber Risk in the Legal Industry

The tables turn in this episode, as Steve becomes the guest on “Legal Owl,” a podcast by John “Jock" Brocas, the executive coach whom you might remember from one of our shows earlier this year. In thi...

22 Syys 23min

356: From the archive – Communication, Listening and Being Heard

In this episode, ISF Chief Executive Steve Durbin talks with Dame Inga Beale, the former CEO of Lloyd’s of London, about the role that listening played when she became the first (and only) female CEO ...

15 Syys 27min

355: Eric O'Neill – Hackers Don't Break In, They Log In: Trust as the New Perimeter

Today, Steve is joined by former FBI agent Eric O’Neill. Eric is a cyber security expert and author, but he’s probably most well-known as the man who brought down Peter Hanssen, a Russian spy who beca...

1 Syys 31min

354: SUMMER LISTENING: Emerging Threats for 2026

Today, Steve looks toward the horizon, at the threats and challenges that enterprises and business leaders will face in 2026 and beyond. He also gives advice on how everyone, from the board to the pra...

25 Elo 28min

353: SUMMER LISTENING: Rest After Stress: The Psychology of High Performance

Today, Steve speaks with Lauren Farina, psychotherapist and founder of Invited Psychotherapy & Coaching. Lauren and Steve discuss how wellness is becoming a bigger part of the workplace and how we can...

18 Elo 26min

352: SUMMER LISTENING: Geoff White – Ransomware Is a Business and It's Competing Against You

In today’s episode, we welcome another ISF veteran: journalist Geoff White. The last time Geoff was a guest on the podcast, it was 2024 and he had just released a book about how the tech industry laun...

11 Elo 28min

351: SUMMER LISTENING: Steve Durbin – How Quantum and Geopolitics Are Redefining Resilience

Today, Steve returns to Business Matters with Juliette Foster. In this conversation, Steve recaps 2025 in cyber and shares what he sees as the biggest risks heading into 2026. The two also discuss res...

4 Elo 27min