Sinclair’s “Dialed In” is Chock-Full of Good Advice

Dr. Dana Sinclair’s Dialed In: Do Your Best When It Matters Most offers a comprehensive look at specific strategies that can be used to optimize performance. Sinclair, a performance psychologist, has worked with a broad spectrum of people, helping them with whatever barriers they face. As examples, her advice has been used by athletes seeking to make their mark in the pro leagues, surgeons who want to be their best in the operating room, and a person with a debilitating disease looking for strategies to maintain their health and strength as long as possible.

Sinclair is well positioned to speak to high-pressure situations. As a former high performance athlete with the Canadian women’s field hockey program, she knows the internal and external pressures that can accompany the quest for excellence. Sinclair’s practical experience lends her insights deeper credence when she talks about her work with high-level athletes in tennis, golf, football, basketball, hockey, downhill skiing, and other sports.

Sinclair’s book is broken into two sections. In Part One, titled Myth Busting, she addresses some misconceptions related to performance. Among other things, she argues that confidence is overrated, that motivation is something that must come from within, and that one’s efforts are better placed focussing on specific performance-related key points rather than relying on superstitions (and athletes have a lot of them!) to carry the day.

In the second part of the book, “How to Perform Under Pressure,” Sinclair provides specific, practical guidance. She talks about how to identify one’s own “hot spots” when it comes to performance, some key skills for staying calm and focusing on doing the right things, and strategies for developing a plan and sticking to it. In addition to sharing information, she also gives examples based on individuals she has worked with (changing the names to protect their identity). Some of these individuals are athletes, but others come from the corporate world. The book concludes with “fun homework” that readers can use to develop their own plans for performing better. The guidelines are flexible enough to pertain to the board room or the baseball diamond, the surgical suite or the swimming pool.

Written in a readable, relatable, and interesting manner, with enough humour worked in to keep things light, Dialed In is both entertaining and instructive. Though reading the book for review purposes, I was able to apply Sinclair’s advice to a stressful situation I was faced with, and felt that doing so enhanced my performance. If you need further convincing, the book’s dust jacket includes endorsements from tennis star Billie Jean King, NBA standout and former Toronto Raptor Kyle Lowry, and baseball legend Don Mattingly, among others.

Written in a readable, relatable, and interesting manner, with enough humour worked in to keep things light, Dialed In is both entertaining and instructive … A book I wish had been available to me earlier in life.

Dialed In is a book I wish had been available to me earlier in life. Regardless, I still see many applications for Sinclair’s teachings in my current endeavors. I’d recommend Dialed In to anyone looking for ways to be better at what they do, regardless of the size of the stage they perform on.

Dr. Dana Sinclair is a founder and partner of Human Performance International, a Toronto-based management consulting firm. She’s been working with athletes in pro hockey, baseball, basketball, football, and soccer since 2000, as well as high-level medical and corporate organizations. She is a registered psychologist and holds doctorates from the University of Cambridge and the University of Ottawa. She is a clinical assistant professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and is a member of the American Psychological Association.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 2, 2024)
Hardcover 9″ x 6″ | 256 pages
ISBN: 978-1-9821-8187-1

Lisa Timpf is a retired HR and communications professional who lives in Simcoe, Ontario. Her writing has appeared in New Myths, Star*Line, The Future Fire, Triangulation: Habitats, and other venues. Lisa’s speculative haibun collection, In Days to Come, is available from Hiraeth Publishing. You can find out more about Lisa’s writing at http://lisatimpf.blogspot.com/.