Dan Haesler is a performance and leadership coach who specialises in Mindset, Mental Skills & Leadership.
He has worked with athletes from a wide variety of sports including members of the Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games Teams. He is the Performance & Leadership Coach at the 4xNRL Premiers, the Penrith Panthers and the NSW Swifts in Super Netball. Dan also works with members of the Wallabies and the Socceroos and many other athletes across a range of sports.
As a Director of Cut Through Coaching, Dan also works with corporate organisations across the Asia Pacific, including the likes of Boston Consulting Group, Roche Diagnostics Australia, CHEP, People’s Choice and Boston Scientific as well as schools and educational institutions.
Since its release in 2021, Dan’s book, The Act of Leadership has been the best-selling Australian-authored business title (perhaps because it’s about people not business) and has been described by James Kerr, the best-selling author of Legacy as a book that will, “Change your life”.
He is the host of one of Australia’s most popular management podcasts, The Habits of Leadership, which sees him engage with the world’s most respected experts, researchers and thinkers on leadership theory.
As a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, Dan Haesler marries the rigour of the research with his experience of working with high performers, some of whom are - literally -amongst the best in the world at what they do. He prides himself on his ability to ensure your audience is not only provided with an entertaining, motivating experience, but it’s also empowering with immediately actionable insights.
Talking Points
Own the Moments That Matter
Whether it’s orchestrating a comeback in a Grand Final or closing a large client, taking the game-winning shot or managing difficult people, we all experience moments that matter.Own the Moments That Matter
Dan Haesler will share with your audience key insights, frameworks and techniques that have helped the athletes, teams and organisations he works with to develop their capacity to perform at their best when the pressure is on.
Key themes: Performing Under Pressure, Mental Toughness, Mindset, Mental Skills, Emotional Intelligence, High Performance, Self Leadership
Audience Take-Aways
- Learn to perform under pressure and bring your best in the moments when your best is required.
- Learn to cultivate a resilient mindset and maintain focus, even in unpredictable or high-stress scenarios.
- Emotional Regulation Skills: Understand how to manage emotions for clearer thinking and optimal performance under pressure.
Duration & Format: This can be a 60 or 90 minute Keynote, Interactive Workshops or a Whole Day Program.
Dan will work closely with you to design the perfect presentation tailored to your audience.
Leading High Performing Teams - The Secret Sauce
Dan Haesler will explore the #1 essential element required for teams to create and sustain a high performance environment. Leading High Performing Teams - The Secret Sauce
By digging into some research as well as their own lived experience, the audience will be encouraged to consider how they could immediately start influencing their environment and conditions in order to bring the best out in their people. (Hint - it's not about talent, resourcing, money or free muffins in the kitchen.)
Key themes: Leadership, Team Dynamics, Culture, Belonging, Psychological Safety, Wellbeing, Emotional Intelligence, High Performance, Self Leadership
Audience Take Aways:
- Learn the importance of Psychological Safety and explore practical steps for fostering trust, respect, and safety within teams, leading to stronger collaboration and innovation.
- Learn how to develop emotional intelligence in leadership and teams to create a more connected and engaged team environment.
- Build a High-Performance Mindset. Explore the foundations of a high-performance culture that goes beyond extrinsic incentives to truly motivate team members.
Duration & Format: This can be a 60 or 90 minute Keynote, Interactive Workshops or a Whole Day Program.
Dan will work closely with you to design the perfect presentation tailored to your audience.
Think Like an Athlete - How Mindset & Mental Skills Impact Performance
The greatest athletes train their mind as deliberately as they train their physique and technique. Yet few outside the realm of high performance sport have even heard the phrase, Mental Skills. Think Like an Athlete - How Mindset & Mental Skills Impact Performance
What if you could train confidence? What if you could cultivate a sense of calm on demand? What if you could learn the mental skills required to become more present in your professional and personal life?
What would it mean for those you work with and lead (or those you live with and love) if you were able to show up as the best version of yourself when it matters most?
Key themes: Growth Mindset, Mental Skills, Emotional Intelligence, High Performance, Self Leadership, Motivation.
Audience Takeaways:
- Learn some fundamental frameworks that elite performers use to as a foundation for their way of being
- Learn specific tools and techniques to enhance your ability to be calm, present and flexible to meet the demands of your professional and personal worlds.
- Create your own framework for personal and professional high performance.
Duration & Format: This can be a 60 or 90 minute Keynote, Interactive Workshops or a Whole Day Program.
Dan will work closely with you to design the perfect presentation tailored to your audience.
"Why don't they just do their job?" - Motivation, Mindset & Belonging
Often we see motivation or mindset as an individuals' responsibility. Dan Haesler will set out to challenge that notion and explore the importance of understanding and creating an environment and a culture in which people can authentically engage."Why don't they just do their job?" - Motivation, Mindset & Belonging
Together with the audience, Dan Haesler will explore Self Determination Theory - the foremost theory on human motivation and use it as a lens to consider how you can engage & empower more of your people, more of the time.
Key themes: Motivation, Belonging, Leadership, Learning, Emotional Intelligence, High Performance, Self Leadership
Audience Takeaways
- Learn how to leverage Self Determination Theory to cultivate environments that naturally enhance motivation, engagement, and commitment in teams.
- Learn how to promoting Authentic Engagement through Belonging as well as strategies to foster a sense of purpose and belonging within teams to enhance job satisfaction and staff engagement and retention.
- Come to see motivation as a shared responsibility and explore steps leaders and organisations can take to address systemic factors that influence engagement.
Duration & Format: This can be a 60 or 90 minute Keynote, Interactive Workshops or a Whole Day Program.
Dan will work closely with you to design the perfect presentation tailored to your audience.
How to Coach - And Why (Even if you’re not a coach)
Being more coach-like extends beyond techniques, frameworks, or acronyms; it is a unique 'way of being' that fosters an environment of growth, learning, and connection. It’s as useful in personal relationships as it is in professional ones. How to Coach - And Why (Even if you’re not a coach)
Together the audience will explore the 'coach-like' mindset and how it can profoundly impact interpersonal relationships, team dynamics, and organisational culture. By embodying this approach, leaders can unlock immense potential within their teams, fostering resilience, innovation, and enhanced performance.
Key themes: Coaching, Motivation, Belonging, Leadership, Learning, Emotional Intelligence, High Performance, Self Leadership
Audience Key Takeaways:
- Learn why approaching leadership with a coach-like mindset nurtures development and autonomy.
- Learn techniques for using coaching principles to enhance problem-solving and resilience across teams.
- Understand how to foster interpersonal connections that promote trust and high performance, both in professional and personal interactions.
Duration & Format: This can be a 60 or 90 minute Keynote, Interactive Workshops or a Whole Day Program.
Dan will work closely with you to design the perfect presentation tailored to your audience.
The Leading Light - Educational Leadership
In the pressure cooker of education with so many competing priorities, principals are responsible for ensuring the wellbeing and performance of their teachers, students and wider community. This is hard even during the best of times, let alone during a Global Pandemic, staffing crisis and budgetary changes! As a result it's not uncommon for principals to end up prioritising everyone else over themselves.The Leading Light - Educational Leadership
In this keynote, Dan Haesler will encourage principals to take a moment to think about themselves for a change. He will shine a light on some fundamental truths that, in the cold light of day, we all know; but in the heat of the moment, we tend to forget. Based on his experience of working with people from all walks of life, Dan will share insights, techniques and tools that principals can use to enhance their quality of life and relationships with those they work with and lead, and those they live with and love.
This is High Performance on a Human Level.
Key Audience Takeaways:
- Learn recovery techniques to address mental, emotional and physical stress.
- Learn to perform well in high pressure moments.
- Explore the importance of decoupling who you are as a person from your role as a principal.
Duration & Format: This can be a 60 or 90 minute Keynote, Interactive Workshops or a Whole Day Program.
Dan will work closely with you to design the perfect presentation tailored to your audience.
The Power of Psychological Safety
Dan Haesler will explore the importance of fostering Psychological Safety in order for teams to create and sustain a high-performance environment. The Power of Psychological Safety
By digging into some research as well as their own lived experience, the audience will be encouraged to consider how they could immediately start influencing their environment and conditions in order to bring the best out in their people. Hint - it's not about talent, resourcing, money or free muffins in the kitchen, but rather whether or not people feel they have permission for open, honest and frank conversations.
Key themes: Leadership, Team Dynamics, Culture, Belonging, Psychological Safety, Wellbeing, Emotional Intelligence, High Performance, Self Leadership
Audience Takeaways
- Learn the importance of Psychological Safety and explore practical steps for fostering trust, respect, and safety within teams, leading to stronger collaboration and innovation.
- Learn how to develop emotional intelligence in leadership and teams to create a more connected and engaged team environment.
- Identified specific behaviours they can immediately adopt to enhance psychological safety in their team.
Video
Dan Haesler - Performance & Leadership Expert
Dan Haesler | Intro | Saxton Speakers
Performance coach Dan Haesler shares practical strategies to cultivate mindset, mental skills and psychological safety—drawing on his work with elite athletes, corporate teams and educators. Do you want to be able to: - Foster a high‑performance culture using mindset‑first leadership - Build resilience, confidence, and focus under pressure - Create environments of psychological safety and well-beingDan Haesler | Leading High-Performing Teams – The Secret Sauce | Saxton Speakers
What makes a team truly high performing? In this keynote teaser, performance and leadership coach Dan Haesler offers a glimpse into the practical mindset and leadership strategies he shares with elite teams, including the NRL’s Penrith Panthers and the NSW Swifts. This session gives event audiences the tools to: - Strengthen team mindset and trust - Build psychological safety and resilience - Lead with clarity, confidence and purpose If you’re planning an event focused on performance, leadership or culture, this is just a taste of the outcomes Dan delivers on stage.Dan Haesler | Own the Moments That Matter | Saxton Speakers
In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure environments, it’s the small moments that define performance, leadership and culture. In this short teaser, performance coach Dan Haesler shares a glimpse of what your audience will experience in his keynote, Own the Moments that Matter. Drawing from his work with elite sporting teams and executive leaders, Dan equips audiences to: - Recognise and maximise high-impact moments under pressure - Respond with clarity, focus and intention - Build the habits that drive long-term performance and wellbeing This keynote is ideal for organisations looking to empower leaders and teams to perform when it counts.Dan Haesler | Think Like an Athlete | Saxton Speakers
What if your people approached work the way elite athletes approach performance? In this teaser for his keynote, Think Like an Athlete, high-performance coach Dan Haesler shares a preview of how mental skills training, mindset, and preparation can transform the way leaders and teams perform under pressure. Audiences will walk away with strategies to: - Build focus, confidence and resilience using proven mental skills - Apply elite sporting principles to business and leadership - Improve consistency, clarity and decision-making in high-stakes environments Dan has coached some of Australia’s most successful sporting teams and now brings those frameworks to the boardroom, classroom and beyond.Dan Haesler | Why Don't They Just Do Their Job? | Saxton Speakers
Ever wondered why some people disengage, resist change or avoid accountability? In this teaser for his keynote Why Don’t They Just Do Their Job?, performance coach Dan Haesler explores the real drivers behind team behaviour—and what leaders can do about it. In the full keynote, Dan equips audiences to: - Understand the mindset barriers to engagement and performance - Shift from blame to ownership, clarity and connection - Build cultures of responsibility, trust and sustained motivation Grounded in evidence and real-world leadership experience, this session is perfect for organisations wanting to lift performance without burnout or blame.Audio
Dan had a lasting high quality impact on a wide ranging group of leaders from the Australian arm of our ASX 20 listed company. The feedback was the highest for any external contributor over ... keep reading CHEP
Dan was warm and engaging from the first moment, weaving big ideas in to entertaining anecdotes and activities. He gently challenged our audience to define who we are outside of our day jobs, which turned out to be a more challenging exercise than expected. We've had great feedback from attendees, and we are already looking at opportunities to have Dan back.
Dan was one of the real highlights of our Senior Leaders Day. He tackled concepts like emotional intelligence and psychological safety in a way that was very relevant for corporate leaders, whilst still leaving us laughing. Thank you!
The presentation was fantastic and received really positive feedback from all of our delegates, including the post event survey. So thanks to Dan once again for all his work, he was brilliant!
The presentation was definitely the highlight of our training event. He was able to entertain and connect with the audience for the duration of the presentation. I would highly recommend Dan Haesler as a speaker and presenter for future training events.
The feedback on Dan was very positive from participants & our senior leaders. Dan was easy to deal with in the lead up & on the day, he was engaging not only on stage but with our people. Dan's content is thought provoking & provided many points to takeaway for any leader to adopt in their day day practices.
Dan was absolutely fantastic, and booking him was one of the best choices we made for our event. He kept our 200+ attendees captivated (quite an achievement given that he was the final keynote in a LONG day) with his delivery and provided inspiring, actionable insights that can and will lead towards personal and professional growth. Absolutely stoked to have had him.
My team & I have been working with Dan and his team for almost two years. He initially gave a keynote on psychological safety to my team (200 people) that people still quote to this day!
