Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? with Olympic Gold Medallist, Ben Hunt-Davis

What if a single question could transform how your team works? Olympic gold medallist Ben Hunt-Davis shares how the philosophy behind “Will it Make the Boat Go Faster?” can help leaders and teams align, focus, and perform at their best, in sport, business, and beyond.

About the Guest

Ben Hunt-Davis MBE is an Olympic gold medal-winning rower from Sydney 2000 and co-author of the bestselling book Will it Make the Boat Go Faster?. Following his sporting career, Ben co-founded a leadership performance consultancy that helps organisations build clarity, alignment, and high-performing cultures. In this conversation, he shares lessons from his rowing turnaround story, how to foster a people-first performance mindset, and why being kind and high-challenge are not mutually exclusive.

This Episode Covers

• The turning point: how a painful 7th-place finish led to radical change and team transformation
• Performance vs. results: why you should focus on what’s within your control
• Alignment over assumption: building shared goals and buy-in across teams
• Culture that counts: a high-performance environment means high challenge and high support
• Kindness ≠ softness: how tough conversations and feedback build trust and progress
• From sport to business: translating elite habits into sustainable leadership practices
• Lessons in accountability: learning to own outcomes and support others in change
• The danger of boiling it down: why “Will it Make the Boat Go Faster?” isn’t about working faster — it’s about working smarter
• Planning for the next season: why now is the time to reset goals and rally your team

Links

Website: https://willitmaketheboatgofaster.com/

Programmes: https://willitmaketheboatgofaster.com/programmes/

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/will-it-make-the-boat-go-faster-ltd/

Ben’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhuntdavis/