The Inner Game Process-Focus Method
Redirect attention from anxious outcomes to controllable actions and sensations
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
The Inner Game method improves performance by changing the performer's object of attention. Anxiety directs awareness toward desired or feared outcomes—winning, avoiding a mistake, or earning approval—which increases self-conscious interference without controlling execution. The coach instead asks what the performer notices when things go wrong and selects a neutral, immediate cue connected to the process: pushing from the pitching rubber, watching a stroke, or keeping the tongue moist while playing the tuba. The performer then observes or executes that cue without constant criticism, praise, or technical micromanagement. This calmer attention allows trained capabilities to operate more naturally. Because the intervention concerns mental state and attentional control, a coach can sometimes use it across domains without possessing deep technical expertise in each activity.
Origin
Extracted from Masters in Business during Michael Lewis's account of Tim Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis and its influence on modern performance coaching.
Core principles
- 01Performance deteriorates when attention fixates on feared outcomes
- 02Criticism and praise can both increase harmful self-consciousness
- 03Direct attention toward controllable physical or procedural cues
- 04Use observation and imitation instead of excessive verbal instruction
- 05A coach can improve performance by managing attention without mastering the domain
How to run it
- 1
Surface the feared outcome
Ask what the performer is trying to prevent or force. Identify the result-oriented thought consuming attention under pressure.
Pro tip Listen for phrases such as “don't miss” or “I have to succeed.”
Watch out Do not argue with the fear; redirect attention instead.
- 2
Observe the failure state
Have the performer notice physical sensations, timing, or environmental signals that accompany poor execution. Keep the observation descriptive rather than judgmental.
Pro tip A small bodily cue may be more useful than a broad technical diagnosis.
Watch out Analysis can become another form of self-conscious interference.
- 3
Select one controllable cue
Choose an immediate action or sensation linked to execution but separate from the final result. Make it simple enough to hold in attention during performance.
Pro tip Prefer cues the performer can sense directly.
Watch out “Win,” “relax,” and “play better” are outcomes or commands, not usable process cues.
- 4
Perform without judgment
Ask the person to focus only on the selected cue while allowing the larger action to unfold. Minimize praise, criticism, and mid-attempt correction.
Pro tip Demonstration and imitation may work better than a long technical explanation.
Watch out Too many simultaneous cues recreate the original overload.
- 5
Review and refine
Compare how execution felt and what changed, then retain or adjust the cue. Repeat until effective performance becomes calmer and less self-conscious.
Pro tip Evaluate curiosity and attentional quality alongside the objective result.
Watch out Do not turn one successful attempt into pressure to reproduce the outcome perfectly.
In the wild
A Houston orchestra's tuba player worried that his notes lacked fullness. Tim Gallwey asked what he noticed physically and learned that the player's tongue became dry. Gallwey told him to stop listening for the outcome and focus only on keeping his tongue moist; the resulting performance earned a standing ovation from the orchestra.
→ A simple bodily process cue released a markedly better performance without technical tuba instruction.
Instead of thinking “please throw a strike,” a pitcher directs attention to pushing powerfully off the rubber. The cue places attention on a physical action that influences the pitch rather than on the feared result.
→ The pitcher executes with less anxiety and greater control.
Common mistakes
Coaching the scoreboard
Telling someone to win, avoid failure, or achieve a result intensifies attention on something they cannot directly control.
Overloading with instruction
Multiple corrections force the performer to consciously manage movements that may work better automatically.
Using praise as pressure
Praise can make performers monitor how they are being judged and become as distracting as criticism.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for skilled performers whose execution degrades under pressure or excessive self-monitoring.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the performer lacks foundational technique, faces unsafe conditions, or needs explicit technical correction first.
From the transcript
“criticism and praise are both often counterproductive”
“What you want to be thinking is, um, push off the rubber, you know, really push when you you're thinking about physical things that actually…”
“just focus on your tongue. Well, just keep the tongue moist. Don't worry about anything but keeping the tongue moist.”
From the episode
Michael Lewis on the Power of Intelligent Leadership (Podcast)