A six-week guided course for leaders and teams navigating pressure, uncertainty and change. Participants build practical skills to regulate emotion, adapt their thinking and make better decisions when it matters.
What is mental agility?
Mental agility is the capacity to move flexibly between demands, tasks, roles and relationships while staying grounded, effective and adaptable under pressure.
It combines cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, learning effectiveness, and psychological hardiness.
Unlike technical capability, mental agility influences whether people can access what they know when pressure rises. It can be strengthened through awareness, practice, feedback and repetition.
What Participants Build
By the end of the course, participants have a clearer understanding of how they respond under pressure and a practical set of tools they can apply in real work.
Participants learn to:
- Recognise when pressure is narrowing their thinking
- Create space between stimulus and response
- Use more constructive self-talk after setbacks
- Support cognitive performance through movement, nutrition, sleep and recovery
- Acquire, retain and apply learning more effectively
- Approach challenge with greater commitment, control and adaptability
Begin with the PQ Index
Before the course begins, participants complete the PQ Index, Performance Intelligence’s diagnostic for physical and psychological performance capacity.
The Mental Agility domain provides a baseline across cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, learning effectiveness and hardiness. It helps participants understand their strengths and identify the areas that may be limiting their performance under pressure.
At an organisational level, aggregated insights can help identify shared priorities and inform how the course is introduced and reinforced. Where remeasurement is included, progress can be compared over time.
The Course
Six lessons. One practical system.
Each lesson builds on the last. Participants explore one element of mental agility, apply it in their work and reflect on what changes before moving to the next lesson.
- Understanding the brain under pressure
Recognise when pressure shifts thinking into protection and practise returning to a clearer, more deliberate state.
- Optimum physiology
Use movement, nutrition, sleep and recovery to create the biological conditions for clearer thinking.
- Personal identity
Strengthen self-talk, build a more flexible sense of identity and anchor performance in purpose rather than outcomes alone.
- Emotional regulation
Notice activation earlier, treat emotion as useful information and create a deliberate pause before responding.
- Learning effectiveness
Improve how information is acquired, retained and applied through retrieval, reflection and deliberate practice.
- Hardiness
Develop commitment, control and challenge so difficulty can be met with greater flexibility and sustained engagement.
How the Course Works
Mental Agility is delivered through PQ Academy over six weeks.
Each lesson includes:
- A short expert-led video
- Supporting notes and practical resources
- A workplace activity or reflection
- Time to practise before the next lesson unlocks
Depending on the engagement, the course can also include an onboarding session, facilitated group coaching and reinforcement within a broader Performance Intelligence program.
Led by Experts in Psychology and Human Performance
Jacqui Louder is a clinical and performance psychologist with extensive experience supporting elite athletes, sporting organisations and professionals working in high-pressure environments.
Andrew May is an exercise physiologist, coaching psychologist and the founder of Performance Intelligence. He has spent more than two decades helping executives, teams and elite athletes perform under pressure.
Angela Poon is a Performance Intelligence coach who guides participants through the course, helping translate the learning into practical application.
How Organisations Use Mental Agility
Mental Agility can be used:
- Within PQ Foundations program: selected in response to the organisation’s aggregated PQ Index results
- As a targeted course within Leadership Capacity or Executive Performance programs
- As a standalone six-week experience for teams operating under pressure, ambiguity or rapid change
- As structured follow-through after a keynote, masterclass or workshop
Frequently Asked Questions
What is mental agility?
The capacity to move flexibly between demands, tasks, roles and relationships while staying grounded, effective and adaptable under pressure. It combines cognitive flexibility, learning effectiveness, emotional regulation and psychological hardiness.
Who is this Mental Agility course designed for?
The course is designed for leaders and teams operating under sustained pressure, uncertainty, or rapid change. It is delivered as part of standalone experience or within a broader Performance Intelligence program.
Is Mental Agility a self-paced course?
Participants complete the digital lessons independently through PQ Academy, with one lesson released each week. Depending on the engagement, the course can also include onboarding, group coaching and facilitated reinforcement.
How is it different from a single workshop or keynote?
The six-week structure gives participants time to apply each concept in real work, reflect on what happens and practise again. This supports application and reinforcement beyond a single live experience.
How is progress measured?
The Mental Agility domain of the PQ Index provides a baseline before the course begins. Where remeasurement is included, results can be compared over time alongside participant reflection and application.
Can the course be delivered on its own?
Yes. Mental Agility can be delivered as a standalone guided course or incorporated into PQ Foundations, Leadership Capacity, Executive Performance or post-keynote reinforcement.
How much does it cost?
Pricing depends on the number of participants and the level of live support required. Contact Performance Intelligence to discuss the right structure for your organisation.