Dean Leak is an international keynote speaker and performance strategist who specialises in building high-performance cultures, leading change, and mastering the art of productive disagreement - transforming workplace tension into a team’s ultimate competitive advantage.
Dean’s track record spans Olympic gold-medal teams, FTSE 100 boardrooms, and government-level advisory work. He has partnered with some of the world’s most respected organisations - including the British Army, IBM, LinkedIn, L’Oréal, Baker McKenzie, Specsavers, Les Mills and more - distilling two decades of elite performance, research, and psychology into practical frameworks leaders can immediately apply.
His signature playbook equips organisations to create cultures that unlock trust, drive accountability, spark innovation, and fuel sustainable excellence.
In elite sport, Dean supported champions such as Jade Jones and Joe Clarke, ran UK-wide Olympic talent searches, and built environments that produced multiple world and Olympic medallists. Today, he translates that expertise to the corporate arena, helping leaders and teams achieve clarity under pressure, disagree well, and embrace accountability, not through mandates, but movements.
Dean’s thinking is shaped by world-class mentors and training: he studied under Psychiatrist Professor Steve Peters (The Chimp Paradox), learned from UK special forces leaders and hostage negotiators, and graduated from one of the UK’s most prestigious sports leadership programmes. This unique blend of science, psychology, and lived experience makes him a trusted authority on relationship-building, influence, and cultural transformation.
He shows leaders how to create safe, challenging spaces for disagreement, equipping them with practical tools to navigate tension, challenge ideas constructively, and strengthen relationships. His approach reframes conflict from a performance blocker into a catalyst for growth and change.
Dean’s philosophy centres on one core mission: helping organisations build healthy, human-centred cultures that thrive under pressure, embed accountability, and lead meaningful change. Dean champions the belief that true change starts within: by cultivating mental resilience, harnessing self-awareness, and embodying the change you want to see, leaders and teams can unlock extraordinary performance
Understand how disagreeing well with peers/colleagues/superiors can lead to a higher functioning team dynamic.
The recipe to leadership; Trust, Clarity and Autonomy. Trust is your foundation. Clarity is your direction. Autonomy is your accelerator. Learn how using these three components can lead to effective leadership!
Dean is an empathetic performance disruptor who believes in creating a culture of performance enablement, empowering individuals and teams their full potential.
His focuses on human connection, effective communication, and cultural excellence has led to significant transformational changes to both individual and system levels
He has worked with Olympic sports teams, fortune 100 companies, the British Government and C-Suite executive leaders, helping them build healthy, high performing results.
Imposter syndrome is your superpower. Dean educates us, through his lived and learned experiences, in turning doubt into career success.
Using empathy as a secret weapon to establish trust and influence.
We hear from Dean regarding what it takes to be emotional resilient and the impacts a 'fit' mind has on performance.
Dean offers an array of different teachings and methods to enhance growth and development. He does this from learnt experiences and academic research.