They react instead of respond.
Under pressure they tighten when they should communicate, and manage when they should lead.
In-person · Friday 16 October 2026
Sydney Leadership Breakfast
Lead Yourself First. Especially When the Pressure Is On.
Under pressure, even great leaders react when they should respond. Spend one morning with Dan Rixon learning how your mind works when it counts, and leave with practical tools you and your leadership team can use the same day.
Friday 16 October 2026
8:00am networking · 8:30 to 10:30am session
Rydges Sydney Central, Sydney CBD
Barista coffee and full breakfast included
Small room, kept small on purpose for real conversation. Back at your desk before 11am.
Bringing your leadership team? See team optionsWatch Dan explain what the morning covers (2 min).
Leaders from these organisations have worked with Prime Mind Performance
Ray WhiteDisney Studios AustraliaWorldFirstBig RiverCompliant CustomsArchivoreWattsNext ElectricalDLB Insurance + Risk SolutionsEnvistaReilly & AssociatesKayderSharewiseCraft Group
The problem
Capable Leaders. Hard Work. Why Doesn't It Always Show Up in Results?
Most businesses don't have a strategy problem, and most leaders don't have a skills problem. The gap between capability and performance is almost always about self-leadership.
You've hired good people, set the targets and built the processes. And yet the same issues keep coming back. Teams talking past each other. Leaders who manage through pressure instead of clarity. People who are busy but not aligned. Big calls made on gut feel instead of intention.
Here's what's going on underneath. Under pressure, the brain drops into survival mode. The part that reacts fires faster than the part that thinks clearly. Most leaders have never been shown this, let alone given tools to manage it. The good news: once you understand it, you can work with it.
Communication breaks down when it matters most.
Under stress, how something is said lands louder than what is said. Messages land very differently from how they were meant, and over time those gaps become ‘just how we do things here’.
Burnout is spreading quietly.
Burnout isn't a motivation problem. It's a nervous system problem. The team feels it long before it shows up in a review.
Self-doubt is pushing good people away.
Leaders who doubt themselves overwork and over-control. High performers leave when they stop feeling trusted.
The load keeps moving up to you.
When the leaders below you aren't performing, the work doesn't disappear. It lands on your desk. That isn't a leadership structure. It's a bottleneck, and it caps what the business can do.
“The problem isn't effort. Most leaders are working as hard as they can. No one has shown them how their own mind works under pressure, and what to do when it gets in the way.”
The cost of leaving it
Leadership Gaps Don't Stay the Same. They Compound.
When the root cause is never dealt with, the symptoms don't go away. They get more expensive, and the bill lands with you.
Reactive calls create rework.
Decisions made in survival mode ripple out into confusion, rework and lost trust. Trust takes far longer to rebuild than it took to lose.
Messages get misread.
Leaders who don't notice their tone and body language under pressure are constantly misread, and they rarely find out.
Burnt-out leaders are expensive.
Losing a senior leader means recruitment, lost momentum and a team left unsettled. The cost runs well past the job ad.
It all comes back to you.
Every gap below you becomes your problem to fix, which leaves less of you for the work only you can do.
One morning that changes how your leaders think costs far less than another year of the same patterns.
Book Your SeatThe solution
A Practical Morning. Not a Motivational Talk.
Dan Rixon, Director of Prime Mind Performance, walks you through what actually happens in the brain under pressure, why it matters for how you lead, and exactly what to do about it.
You'll cover:
- The 360-degree leadership model, and why leading yourself comes before leading anyone else
- The science of leading under pressure: why your reactions beat your judgement to the punch, and how to get the order back
- An honest look at burnout, self-doubt and the communication mistakes that quietly damage culture
- Tools you can use the same day: the Power of the Pause, emotional labelling, the Meta Model, and the Thermostat vs Thermometer framework
- An introduction to the 5 Pillars of the Authentic Leader
- A full working breakfast and relaxed networking with leaders dealing with the same challenges
No lecture. No forced sharing. Two hours that show you what becomes possible when you understand how you work under pressure.
The framework
The 5 Pillars of the Authentic Leader
Everything in the session ties back to these five. They aren't theory. They're the foundations of leading well, consistently, when the pressure is on.
360-Degree Leadership
Most leaders are trained to manage outward and upward. The work that makes the real difference starts inward. Lead yourself first, earn trust outward, then create alignment upward.
Wired vs Trained
Every day your survival wiring competes with the leader you're trying to be. Understanding the difference is where leading with intention starts.
Pressure Blindness
Stress changes how you communicate, decide and show up. It's invisible to you and obvious to everyone around you. Learn to spot it, interrupt it and lead through it.
True North
High performance without purpose is just burnout with better results. Is the way you're leading right now taking you where you want to go?
Intentional Communication
The words are only part of the message. Tone, timing and presence do the rest, whether you're aware of it or not. Learn to read the room and create clarity before confusion fills the gap.
The breakfast introduces all five. The full Prime Mind Performance program goes deep on each. This is where it starts.
Learn all 5 pillars liveBook Your SeatThe outcome
What You'll Walk Away With
This isn't about adding more to your plate. It's about clarity that makes everything else easier.
For you as a leader
- A clear understanding of how your brain works under pressure, and what to do about it
- Practical tools you can use in your very next meeting
- The Thermostat vs Thermometer framework: set the temperature in the room instead of reacting to it
- Clarity on which of the 5 Pillars matters most for you right now
- A clear pathway for becoming the leader you want to be
- New connections with leaders working on the same things
For your business
- Leaders who understand what drives their behaviour and own how they show up
- Better decisions under pressure
- Communication that lands the way it was meant
- A shared language across your leadership team for what good leadership looks like
- A clear picture of the next steps, including the Incubator, Accelerator and Community programs
Bring your leadership team
Leadership Sticks Better When You Learn It Together.
The breakfast is built for leadership teams. When you and your leaders hear the same ideas in the same room, you walk out with a shared language for what good leadership looks and feels like. Conversations back at the office get easier, feedback gets clearer, and the tools actually get used.
2 seats for $149
Bring your second-in-charge or a leader you're developing.
Bringing 3 or more?
Book multiple seats, or contact Dan to organise your group.
Your whole leadership team
Want the whole leadership team in a dedicated session? Dan runs private seminars for organisations.
The leadership breakfast
A Room of Leaders. A Breakfast Done Properly.
You'll be in the room with other owners and leaders working through the same challenges. The format is built for real conversation, not name-badge networking. Most people arrive not knowing anyone. They leave with a few good contacts.
What's on the table:
- Barista coffee, your order, your way
- Fresh pastries and seasonal fruit
- Granola, yoghurt and juices
- Served from 8am at Rydges Sydney Central
Real participant feedback
Hear From Leaders Who've Been in the Room
“The breakfast alone was worth showing up for. Proper barista coffee and a fresh spread. But what stuck with me was the bit on how your brain reacts under pressure. I left with two tools I used in my very next meeting.”
NickPowerdata
“I expected a sales pitch. I got a genuinely useful session and a great feed. Dan's framing on self-leadership shifted how I walked into the rest of my week. Easily the best two hours I have spent on leadership this year.”
MarkBusiness Owner
Past participant · Business Owner & Leader
Past participant · CEO & Executive Leader
Your facilitator
Meet Dan Rixon
Director, Prime Mind Performance
Dan brings three careers into every room: high-level sport, high-performance coaching and teaching. That mix gives him a grounded, practical understanding of how people think, behave and perform under pressure. Not in theory, but where decisions matter and performance is on the line.
He's worked with leaders and leadership teams across real estate, finance, construction, insurance, entertainment and more. His style is direct, evidence-based and practical: what's getting in the way, and what you can do about it today.
“Self-leadership first. Practical tools second. Lasting change third.”
Secure your place
Reserve Your Seat at the Leadership Breakfast
Friday 16 October 2026 · 8:00 to 10:30am · Rydges Sydney Central. The room is kept small for real conversation, so seats are limited. This is the last breakfast date this year.
Single Ticket
$99 AUD
- 1 seat
- Barista coffee and full working breakfast
- All session materials and toolkits
Duo Ticket
$149 AUD for 2 seats
Bring a leader from your team. You'll leave with a shared language and a plan to use it.
- 2 seats
- Barista coffee and full working breakfast for both
- All session materials and toolkits for both
Bringing 3 or more leaders, or want a private session for your whole leadership team? Email dan@primemindperformance.com.au or call 0410 342 339.
Questions We Get Asked
Who is this for?
Business owners, CEOs, GMs, senior managers and team leaders. Anyone responsible for other people's performance who wants to understand what's getting in the way. It also suits people being prepared for leadership roles who want the right foundations from the start.
I think I'm doing okay. Do I really need this?
Fair question. The session suits two kinds of leaders: those who know something needs to change, and those who are performing well and want to stay ahead of the pressure. You don't need to be in crisis to get value from it. Curious is enough.
Is this just a sales pitch for a bigger program?
No. Dan will explain the wider Prime Mind Performance programs so you know what's available. But the session stands on its own. You'll leave with real tools whether or not you take another step.
Will I be put on the spot or asked to share personal things?
No. There are no awkward icebreakers and no forced sharing. Take part as much or as little as you like.
What if I don't know anyone there?
Most people don't. The format makes it easy to meet people without it feeling forced.
What's included in the ticket?
Barista coffee, a full working breakfast, the two-hour facilitated session with Dan, all materials and toolkits, and a clear picture of the development pathway. No hidden extras.
How long does it run?
Doors open at 8am for networking. The session runs 8:30 to 10:30am. You'll be back at your desk before 11.
Can I bring my whole team?
Yes, and we recommend it. Teams who attend together leave with a shared language that makes the tools stick. Use the Duo ticket for two, book multiple seats, or contact Dan on dan@primemindperformance.com.au or 0410 342 339 to organise a group or a private session.
How is this different from other leadership training?
Most training focuses on skills and strategy. This session starts one layer deeper: how your brain works under pressure and how that shapes every decision and conversation. Until leaders understand that layer, skills training rarely sticks.
Is this only for senior leaders?
No. The tools apply at every level. Emerging leaders often get the most out of starting with the right foundations.
Leadership breakfast · Sydney
One Morning Can Change How You Lead.
Picture your leaders pausing before they react. Conversations that land the way they were meant. A team that shares the same language for what good leadership looks like, and a little less of the load landing on your desk.
That starts with one morning. One session won't change everything overnight. But it can change how you and your leaders see yourselves, and that's where everything else starts.
Friday 16 October 2026 · 8:00 to 10:30am · Rydges Sydney CentralBringing your team? Duo tickets from $149Questions? Call Dan on 0410 342 339 or email dan@primemindperformance.com.au