Speaking Business Podcast

What does it really take to achieve and sustain high performance when the pressure never lets up? In this episode, I'm joined by two-time Olympian, six-time World Champion and Britain's most successful female kayaker, Anna Hemmings. Since retiring from elite sport, Anna has built a leadership and performance consultancy, working with organisations that want to stay at the top of their game year after year. We explore what changed for her after winning her first World Championship title, why the second one brought even more pressure, and the mindset shift required to keep raising the bar when everyone else is chasing you down. Anna shares how working with a sports psychologist shaped her approach to confidence, preparation and controlling the controllables, and how a career-threatening illness forced her not to "bounce back" but to bounce forward. For speakers, there's plenty here on building a serious business. Anna talks openly about how 50% of her work now comes from speaker bureaus, how long that t