Neil Buchanan - Formula-1 level decision making and development of expertise

How do you develop such expertise that you are able to perform at so high level under so many obstacles and  pressures as Sebastian Vettel did in the 2012 Brazil GP? Sebastian was leading the championship 13 points ahead of Alonso before the race. In the first lap, Sebastian collided with Bruno Senna and spun, whilst Alonso made his way up in the pack, looking like the title favourite then at the wet conditions. Sebastian seemed to do all the right things after the disastrous start. How is this possible? How is one able to "do the right thing" in chaotic and complex situations? Why deliberate experience is better for developing expertise than deliberate practice? 

In this episode I got the chance to talk with a long-standing colleague, great coach and academic, Dr. Neil Buchanan. We discussed most of the time about expertise - what it is and how to develop it, and brought about some practical examples from the corporate and sport world - including Sebastians´ race in 2012. For a more detailed record of what happened in that race, please listen to the man himself in this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5ahzPxMmI

Dr. Neil Buchanan did his PhD in expertise and talent development. He is currently director for the performance psychology programme at University of Edinburgh. Neil also works as a performance coach for Hintsa Performance and has his own consultancy Overmind. Neil is a family man with wife and a daughter, who enjoys hill walks in beautiful Scotland. 

The specific topics we covered include narratives and their roles in our lives & expertise, routine expertise vs. adaptive expertise, psychological flexibility, fusing and defusing with thoughts and emotions, naturalistic decision making and more. Enjoy the episode!