Leading High-Performance Teams with Kate Richardson-Walsh

On this episode of Build Better Brands, I spoke to Kate Richardson-Walsh, former GB hockey captain, Olympic gold medallist and record holder for the most caps for her country. Kate captained England and Great Britain for 13 years and helped build the team culture that took GB to gold in Rio. These days, she uses what she learnt on the pitch to help businesses build stronger teams, and I couldn’t wait to hear how it all translates.

We started with one of the toughest moments of her career. During London 2012, Kate broke her jaw and needed surgery mid-tournament. She told me she’s not sure she would have got through it without the people around her. Her team, in her words, gave her all their energy. It’s a powerful reminder that nobody does anything great on their own, whether that’s on a hockey pitch or in a business.

What surprised me was that Kate never saw herself as a leader. Growing up, leadership looked like one person at the front shouting orders, and as a shy teenager, that felt completely alien to her. Over time, she realised leadership can look very different. For her, it’s about connecting with people, understanding them and creating spaces where everyone can contribute. Sometimes that even means not speaking at all, taking time to think, then bringing your ideas back to the group. I love this, because so many business owners think they need to be the loudest voice to build a strong brand. You don’t. You need to be a clear one.

The culture Kate helped create in the GB team meant that everyone was leading themselves and leading the team at the same time. But it didn’t happen overnight. Before London 2012, their vision was simple: gold. Yet some of the players couldn’t even say the word, because they’d failed so many times before and the fear of failing again was real. Things only started to change when they built a behavioural framework. Suddenly, everyone could see what they were holding each other to, and what they should be celebrating.

That led to my favourite part of our conversation. Kate shared that only around 10–11% of organisations turn their values into actual behaviours. Most mission statements and values live on a piece of paper or in a single meeting, then get forgotten. The ones that work are the ones you keep talking about until they shape how people behave, how they treat each other and how they show up for customers. This is exactly what I see with brands. Your values aren’t what you write on your website; they’re what your team does every day. If nobody can tell me how your values change the way you work, they’re not really values yet.

We also talked about the moments we both wish we’d spoken up more. Kate was honest that when she’s witnessed homophobia, sexism, racism or ableism, there have been times she stayed quiet, and it’s something she’s working to get better at. For her, real progress only comes when people feel safe to share what they’re experiencing, and when the rest of us are willing to challenge what we see. Her view is simple: we should celebrate our differences, not shy away from them. The same is true of brands. The ones that stand out are the ones that are brave enough to be different.

My big takeaway from this episode is that great teams and great brands are built the same way. Know what you stand for, turn it into how you behave, and keep talking about it until it sticks. That’s when people start to believe in it, inside and outside your business.

Remember, you don’t need to be Nike to build a great brand. If you’d like help getting clear on what your brand stands for, get in touch today.