Effective performance under pressure is generally underpinned by guiding structures that provide both a clear overview and practical detail. Performance is not all or nothing: the effectiveness of what we do varies with the difficulty of the task and the level of pressure that we are under at the time. Usually, our performance is not 0 or 100% but is somewhere in the middle. This implies that there is usually room for improvement.

In competitive situations, small gains in performance can have significant implications in terms of the outcome.

The prime issue in performance is the control of attention: if we know what to place our attention on at any one time and can do this successfully, we have the greatest chance of success. Therefore, the key to effective performance is having a clear framework or structure that guides where our attention should be placed to complete a task.

In this way, structures can be seen to provide both the overview and the detail. They allow the individual to see or know where they are in the process and what they should be doing to be effective.

Frameworks or structures that can be drawn as a diagram are more practical because visual memory is recognised as being the most powerful. Visual frameworks or maps are of great value in guiding behaviour, particularly when the user is under pressure, such as in pressured sporting, classroom or boardroom environments.

Maps are practical devices designed to generate movement and the concept of movement is important in performance. Poor performance generally occurs when people experience a state of overwhelm or get diverted. In these circumstances, people either withdraw or expend their energy in a poorly focused effort. Maps have the potential for summarising information in an extremely efficient and practical way by using landmarks, hierarchies and routes.

Structured approaches to performance are particularly important when humans operate in pressure environments. When faced with stressful conditions, humans tend to revert to what is familiar. If there is no clear structure to revert back to, clarity is lost and movement slows or stops. Maps are an example of structures of frameworks that guide thought and action in conditions of uncertainty, and get things moving again.

Understanding Maps

Everybody understands how to use maps. People can: (1) identify where they are on the model (location); (2) identify where they want to go (the destination);

(3) work out the pathway(s) to get to the desired destination; (4) identify potential hazards along the way;

(5) make choices about next steps;

(6) see the overview, which gives a sense of control; and

(7) also see the detail around any one area, which provides practical information necessary to implement meaningful action.

Maps of the real world include hazards as well as helpful pathways. Similarly, for maps of performance to be helpful in pressure situations, they should address not only the main determinants of success, but the main causes of failure. Making these links explicit helps the map user to avoid the traps inherent in pressure situations.

There are important psychological reasons why people find it easy to use ‘maps’ as a way of learning and improving performance: we do it naturally. As long ago as the 1940’s research was conducted to show that when we find ourselves in new surroundings, we mentally ‘locate’ things around key landmarks to form mental or ‘cognitive’ maps, so that we can remember our way. These maps are

an internal representation of the way objects and landmarks are arranged in there environment. Put simply, humans find it very practical to arrange information spatially inside their heads. We locate ourselves in a particular place and think about how to move to where we want to go. Gazing taps into this natural tendency for humans to learn and organise complex spatial information around landmarks by developing maps of the main landmarks of human performance.