Leadership workshop
KEYNOTE
Win the round you're in.
What Boxing Teaches Us About Winning Under Pressure
Sales professionals operate under constant scrutiny, rejection, and time pressure. In those moments, performance doesn’t depend on effort alone, it depends on composure, adaptability, and focus.
In this high-impact 50-minute keynote, Els uses boxing as a powerful metaphor for performing under pressure. Because boxing makes one thing clear: you're alone in the ring, but not in the win.
Winning comes from mastering moments not overpowering everything at once. Blending behavioural science, applied neuroscience, and boxing principles, this keynote delivers practical tools professionals can use immediately. Short, professional micro-drills are woven throughout to re-energise attention and embed learning.
50 minutes
ROUND 1
Stand Tall
Lead Strong
Movement Interaction
Participants walk away with
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Greater energy, focus, and mental clarity
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Tools to regulate pressure and recover quickly
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Stronger presence and adaptability in high-stakes conversations
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A shared language for resilience, performance, and teamwork
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Because success isn’t about winning the whole fight.It’s about winning the round you’re in.
THE WORKSHOP
Els Kolster, a seasoned boxing coach and corporate athlete (Google , Amazon, Sky) blends corporate insight with boxing precision to deliver high-impact leadership skills that create bold, focused, high-performing teams. Using the principles of boxing; adaptability, mental discipline, resilience, and presence, alongside how the brain wires focus and composure under pressure, your leaders will learn to perform with clarity and confidence when it matters most. Trusted by teams at BT Sport, Sky, Standard Chartered, Facebook, Barclays, DHL and more, these sessions leave leaders energised, engaged, and ready to win.
90 minutes
Into action!
Get your branded gloves
THE ACTIVITY
ROUND 1
Stand Tall
Lead Strong
Let's energise the body, sharpening focus, and bringing everyone fully into the moment. Paired exercises build trust, awareness, and quick response. Stance and posture become powerful cues for ownership and accountability. We level the playing field, inviting everyone to step in equally no matter their title or background
Inclusion, team connection, personal power, priming the brain and body for focus, trust, and presence.
ROUND 2
Think Fast
Move smart
We shift into adaptability and awareness, training the brain (muscle memory) and body to spot patterns, react fast, and adjust in real time. Drills sharpen focus, boost agility, and build the capacity to stay present, anticipate change, and hold composure under pressure. Reflection moments connect these skills directly to decision-making and leading through uncertainty
Agility, change-readiness, self-leadership, growth mindset . Training cognitive flexibility and rapid pattern recognition under pressure
ROUND 3
Lead when it counts
We tap into their inner fighter. Through a energetic team challenge, they step into real boxing roles: fighter, coach, trainer, cornerman, building trust, ownership, and leadership in motion. This activates the brain’s social wiring for connection, coordination, and shared purpose. Resilience, confidence, and clarity rise as leadership shifts from theory to lived experience. It’s not about throwing punches, it’s about who steps up, who listens, who trusts, and who leads when it matters most
Team cohesion, inclusive leadership, resilience under pressure, shared responsibility. Activating social wiring for trust, coordination, and collective decision-making
THE KEY TAKEAWAYS
What you’ll leave with. Skills that stick under pressure
Resilience under pressure
Boxing build real psychological toughness
Not just toughness, but smart toughness
Training balances resilience with self-awareness and aggression control.
Belonging through shared adversity
The people you train with are the ones you grow with and rely on—shared struggle builds unshakable trust.
Real-life spillover
The mindset, clarity, and empathy built in a session show up in team dynamics and daily interaction.
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Energises teams to lead, adapt, and win under pressure
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Experience at Google, Amazon, and Sky in culture, leadership, and growth
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Fuses corporate insight with boxing mindset and discipline
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Applies neuroscience principles on building habits under pressure
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Builds confidence, resilience, agility, and impact where it matters most