Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Could you lead with clarity, train with passion, and live with purpose all in the same day?
I’ve been living that tension for years. As a leadership coach, speaker, and triathlete, I juggle boardrooms, training lanes, team strategy, and rest. Over time I’ve realised that intentional balance in leadership isn’t a myth or a nice idea, it’s a muscle you build through daily choices.
How sport sharpened my view of leadership
When I picked up triathlon, I didn’t expect it to inform my leadership work. But the parallels hit me fast. In the world of leadership development, there’s a concept called “leadership fitness”. Not skills, but deeper capacities you condition over time. One article names balance, strength, flexibility, and endurance as the four capacities leaders must develop. This article describes them in depth.
Think about it: when pressure hits, how fit are you mentally? How far can you go before you crack? These capacities behave like muscles. They wear, they recover, they grow.
In sport science, the role of transformational leadership shows up in performance and cohesion. In one study, coach-athlete relationships influenced team resilience through the coach’s transformational leadership style. This study digs into it. That tells me something: leadership doesn’t live just in the boardroom, it emerges in tension, trust, and teamwork under stress.
Another piece of research explored how leadership within a team (not only formal roles) correlates with resilience and performance. This article shows how perceptions of athlete leadership quality reduce vulnerability under pressure. That resonates with what I see daily in executive teams: people who step up informally carry weight, influence behaviour, and anchor culture.
The reality of balancing training and leadership
Some people tell me: “You must be crazy to try both.” My answer: I don’t treat them as separate tracks. They bleed into each other.
On a training day when my legs feel heavy, I remind myself: if I demand too much from my team today, they’ll snap. That awareness comes from feeling the edges of my own. On leadership days when the heat is high, I lean back into my breathing, my pacing, my internal rhythm. The same skills I bring to swim sets.
When I reflect on balancing training and leadership, I view them as two expressions of discipline, listening, triage, rest, and recovery.
How I sketch balance into my weeks
I’m transparent about this. Some weeks tip more one way than the other. But I run a few guardrails to maintain stability.
- I protect non-negotiables. One rest day, one family dinner, one hour for deep thinking, no matter what breaks loose.
- I build focus blocks in my calendar. If I don’t book thinking time, I get buried.
- I pause midweek and ask: “Am I reacting or choosing?” That split second resets intention.
- I shift gears when a role demands too much. I don’t force all roles full tilt at once.
How SPEAK SAFE fits into balance
One of the easiest cracks in balance shows up in communication. Stress pushes silence, defensiveness, hurried words. That erodes trust and drains energy. In my SPEAK SAFE workshop, I guide leaders to express, invite, pause, follow, evolve so that safe conversation becomes default. If you want to deepen how you balance communication and performance, consider joining the next session.
Where you go from here
If this sits with you and if part of you wants space to lead with purpose, I’m keen to help. Let’s begin with a conversation. Use our contact page or book anton directly.
I don’t offer formula. I offer commitment. Let’s find your balance together.
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If you would like to learn more about Anton or The Guinea Group, please click here to book into Anton’s calendar, to:
UPGRADE your Mindset
UPSKILL your Leadership
UPLIFT your Teams