04 — Research
The research behind the work, written for leaders, not reviewers.
Everything I use with teams rests on research I have done or tested. Each piece below has a 2-page summary in plain language: what I asked, what I did, what I found and where the limits are.
Featured · 2026
The performance you are hiring for is already on your payroll.
Roughly half of the differences in job performance sit inside the same person, between their better and worse weeks. Hiring cannot reach that half. My current paper puts a number on it and compares hiring and development on one monetary scale.
Psychological Delta: The Within-Person Performance Reserve and the Limits of the External Talent Market · XIX Vanguard Scientific Instruments in Management conference, Sep 2026 · under journal review
The research line
Pressure, physiology and performance at work.
Before the psychological delta, my research asked what happens inside a person under pressure, and whether it can be trained. Five pieces, from the first paper to the PhD.
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PhD dissertation · 2025
Pressure at work shows up in the heartbeat and people can learn to steady it
A practical method that pairs a simple heart measure with coaching, so people can see and train how they handle pressure.
“Methodology for improving personal performance in the organization” · Defended April 2025
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Conference paper · 2023 · Best Paper Award
HR programmes may sharpen thinking through the body A model linking well-being, HRV and cognition
A model suggesting that well-designed HR programmes can support clearer attention and judgement by helping people handle pressure better.
“A Strategic Human Resource Management Approach: Leveraging Heart Rate Variability to Enhance Cognitive Performance” · Published 2023
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Conference paper · 2026
Train the breath first, then the thinking A 12-session method for performing under pressure
A structured coaching method that pairs body data with interviews, so people can stay clear-headed when the pressure arrives unannounced.
“Methodology for improving personal performance based on heart rate variability analysis” · Presented June 2026 · proceedings forthcoming
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Journal article · 2024
Measure stress and flow together, not apart A questionnaire toolkit tested with 137 people
Most tools measure stress or performance on their own. This study builds one instrument that captures stress, flow and performance together.
“Methodological tools for studying stress and personal performance in a work environment” · Published 2024
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Journal article · 2020
Your body's state shapes the quality of decisions The starting point of my research line
Before anyone can change how leaders decide under pressure, they need a model of what pressure does inside the body.
“Physiology of performance” · Published 2020
Summaries are written in plain language and state each study's limits. Full papers are sent on request for personal study.
Put it to work
Find out how much of the reserve your organisation can reach.
The Performance Reserve Diagnostic applies this research to your own teams in 3 weeks, starting with data you already hold.