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

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.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(353)

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 Aug 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 Aug 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 Aug 27min

350: SUMMER LISTENING: Alex Bovee – Identity in the Age of Agentic AI

In this episode, Steve speaks with Alex Bovee, co-founder and CEO of C1, a technology company focused on identity security online. Steve and Alex discuss why identity still often is an afterthought wh...

28 Jul 23min

349: Steve Durbin – When Governments Shift: Reimagining UK Cyber Strategy and Business Resilience

Today, Steve returns to Business Matters with Juliette Foster. The United Kingdom has a new Prime Minister: Andy Burnham, and Steve speaks with Juliette from a cyber and business perspective about wha...

21 Jul 29min

348: Geoff White – Ransomware Is a Business and It's Competing Against You

7 Jul 28min

347: Alex Bovee – Identity in the Age of Agentic AI

30 Jun 23min

346: James Wilkson - The Human Factor: Leadership, Risk and the AI Era

Today, Steve speaks with James Wilkson, managing partner at AEC Global Search Consultants, an executive search and advisory firm. James and Steve discuss why today’s leaders must be flexible and emoti...

23 Jun 21min