# The Real Reason Your Team Isn’t Performing, And It’s Not What You Think

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-leader-s-playbook-6409231/the-real-reason-your-team-isn-t-performing-and-it-s-not-what-you-think
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-leader-s-playbook-6409231/the-real-reason-your-team-isn-t-performing-and-it-s-not-what-you-think.md
Podcast: [The Tech Leader's Playbook](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-leader-s-playbook-6409231)
Published: 2026-01-09T18:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetechleaderplaybook/episodes/The-Real-Reason-Your-Team-Isnt-Performing--And-Its-Not-What-You-Think-e3dduhg
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/e2d189bc/podcast/play/113752048/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-9%2F415808064-44100-2-c7b87a35a4723.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-tech-leader-s-playbook-6409231/episodes/the-real-reason-your-team-isn-t-performing-and-it-s-not-what-you-think
Duration seconds: 2383

## Resource

For more thoughts, clips, and updates, follow Avetis Antaplyan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avetisantaplyan In this compilation episode of the Tech Leaders Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan brings together three powerhouse voices from the world of elite sports and leadership: Rex Kalamian, assistant coach in the NBA and head coach of the Armenian National Basketball Team; Dr. Jen Welter, the first female NFL coach and a pioneer in sports psychology; and Dick Vermeil, Super Bowl-winning NFL coach and Hall of Famer. Through their stories and reflections, these leaders offer raw, actionable insights on team building, ego management, mental resilience, and human-centered leadership. Rex shares how he galvanized a culturally fragmented team into national champions. Jen dives into the emotional intelligence required to coach high-performers and handle personal struggles as a leader. Dick gives hard-won lessons on delegation, trust, and building deep team culture through consistency and care. The episode blends sports and business in a way that reveals timeless truths about leadership, identity, and performance under pressure. Whether you're a founder, executive, or aspiring leader, this is a masterclass in cultivating winning teams without losing your humanity. Takeaways Effective leadership requires upfront emotional investment—build trust before you ever coach performance. Winning cultures start with clarity: build, enhance, then sustain. Ego management is critical. A coach’s first job is to neutralize ego—both theirs and the player’s. Killer instinct can’t be taught; it must be identified early and nurtured over time. Great leaders don’t motivate the unmotivated—they hire self-starters and avoid demotivating them. Being human and apologizing authentically creates deep…

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