ISF Podcast7 Okt 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

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

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