Happy Monday!

I want to give each of you a heartfelt "thank you" for forwarding this newsletter to those you know who love to get better, and for sharing it on social media. I would love this to be a source of support for as many people as possible!

Here are your messages. Hope you have a great week!

Justin Su’a

PS - If you want to connect with me, simply reply to this email and we'll be in touch.

For Athletes: Experiment

This week, I spoke with an athlete who’s been feeling stale. He’s finding it harder than usual to embrace the boredom of consistency.

During our conversation, we created a simple experiment to help him move the needle. For the next two weeks, every night before bed, he’s going to ask himself one question: How did I get better today?

To find the answer, he’ll scan his day and look for any improvement—technically, tactically, as a teammate, or in his health. The goal is to go to bed better than he woke up. He’ll measure success by identifying specific ways he’s improved.

Many of my clients use this same framework to accelerate growth. They begin by identifying the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Then they come up with a small behavior to close that gap and measure their progress daily.

That’s how the best get better—one experiment at a time.

Exercise: Design Your Performance Experiment

Try this help you identify and test a small, intentional change that moves you forward.

Step 1: Identify Your Gap​
Ask yourself:

• Where in my performance am I getting stuck?
• What part of my game or mindset feels inconsistent?

Write it down in one sentence: “I want to get better at __________.”

Step 2: Create the Experiment​
Pick one specific behavior or strategy to test.
Examples:

• "To improve focus, I'm going to take one deep breath before every serve."
• "To build confidence, I'm going to remember all of my best plays before the game."
• "To improve leadership, I will give one piece of positive feedback to a teammate today."

Step 3: Set Your Timeframe​
Commit to testing it for 7–14 days.

Step 4: Measure Your Progress​
Ask daily:

• Did it help me perform or feel better today?
• What changed in my mindset, effort, or energy?

Track your notes after each practice, game, or workout.

Step 5: Reflect and Adjust​
At the end, review your notes:
What worked? What didn’t? What surprised you?
Keep what helps, adjust what doesn’t, and design your next experiment.

For Coaches: Fountains and Drains

As a coach, you’re either being a fountain or a drain.

Fountains are givers. They give energy, perspective, comfort, peace, and insight.

Drains do the opposite. They suck the life, energy, and positivity out of the environment. They complain, blame, and make excuses.

Being a fountain or a drain is more of a state than a trait; depending on the situation, you can be one or the other.

Your responsibility as a coach is to be a fountain. You might be thinking, "A fountain of what?" Your best traits. Those values and behaviors that are your gifts—hard work, perspective, optimism, wisdom, humor, etc.

Pour into others by being the best version of yourself.

Celebrate fountain behavior on your team. Who consistently gives energy? And when you notice drain behavior, call it out.

Your culture will reflect the energy you allow, and great teams are built by coaches who protect it and multiply the fountains.

Exercise: One-Word Fountain or Drain Feedback

The purpose of this exercise is to help you stay aware of the energy you bring to your team each day.

At the end of each day, ask yourself one question: “Was I a fountain or a drain today?”

Then write one word that describes how you showed up—your energy, attitude, or impact. If you were a drain, decide one small thing you’ll do tomorrow to flip it and be a fountain.

It's simple: One question. One word. One change.

For Parents: Your Family Culture

One of the best parts of my job is walking into the buildings of various professional sports teams and feeling their culture the moment I step through the doors. I can feel it in the energy, the way people walk around, and how they interact with each other. Culture isn’t accidental; it’s designed, cultivated, and protected by the leader.

The same is true at home. As a parent, you’re the head coach of your family. The culture of your home is built through what you celebrate, what you tolerate, how you handle stress, how you make decisions, and how you treat one another.

So here’s the question: have you intentionally created your family’s culture? If someone asked, “What’s the culture of your home?”—what would you say?

If you don't create your culture by design, it will happen by default. Identify your family’s values, behaviors, and standards. Because just like championship teams, strong families don’t stumble into great culture; they build it on purpose.

Exercise: Your Home Culture

Step 1: Name It​
Gather your family and ask: “When people walk into our home, what do we want them to feel?”​
Write down 3–5 words everyone agrees on (e.g., calm, fun, respectful, disciplined).

Step 2: Define It​
For each word, describe what it looks like in action.​
Example: Respectful = We listen when someone’s talking.

Step 3: Live It​
Post your list somewhere visible.
Each week, choose one value to focus on and talk about how each person lived it.

Step 4: Protect It​
End each week with one question: “What strengthened or hurt our culture this week?”​
Celebrate progress and reset together.

Message of the Week:

Communication is one of the most important qualities of high-performing coaching staffs. But it’s not just about more communication; it’s about the right kind of communication. As with most things, quality matters more than quantity. To ensure your communication is high-quality, think of the acronym PACT:

P- People

Ensure that the right people receive the information they need. Whenever you receive information, ask yourself, “Who else needs to know this?”

A – Accurate

Ensure the information is correct. There is non-information (what everyone already knows), misinformation (incorrect information), and accurate information (what is both true and relevant). Aim for accuracy.

C – Clear

Avoid jargon and complexity. The goal is not to sound smart; it is to be understood. Communicate so clearly that others cannot misunderstand it.

T – Timely

Timing matters. Information that arrives too late is costly.

Communicate at the right time, when it can make the greatest impact. When communication is shared with the right people, is accurate, clear, and timely, that is when a coaching staff builds alignment, trust, and momentum.

At the Performance Advisory Group, we partner with coaching staffs, executives, and athletes across professional sports and college athletics to elevate leadership and performance. If you’d like to explore how we can support you, reply to this email and I’ll be in touch.

​

If this email was forwarded to you and you want it to come directly to your inbox, click here to subscribe

​About Justin Su'a | Instagram | Linkedin | X​

​Click to listen to the "Increase Your Impact Podcast"​

​