Tips for high performance leadership and teamwork: The power of 'what if?' – Mental rehearsal techniques
- mikemason100
- Sep 8
- 4 min read
"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy." This famous line from military strategist Helmuth von Moltke is a favourite of ours and it captures a hard truth: no matter how well you prepare, reality has a way of surprising you. The enemy always gets a vote.
The more "what ifs" you can consider beforehand, the better prepared you'll be when things do start to deviate from the plan. Those who mentally rehearse are rarely caught completely off guard.
A lesson from the cockpit
In military aviation, preparation is part of normal life. Before every mission, fighter pilots spend a great deal of time walking through the "what ifs."
What if the engine fails after takeoff?
What if the cloud closes in to the airspace ?
What if an aircraft in the formation loses a radio?
This isn’t pessimism, it’s insurance. Through anticipating possible challenges, rehearsing responses, and then embedding them into muscle memory, pilots free up cognitive bandwidth when things really do go wrong. The results are quicker, calmer decisions under pressure. One of the most powerful tools I've carried from the cockpit into the corporate world is this practice of structured "what if" thinking.
Why "what if" matters in business
Corporate teams may not be dodging missiles or bullets, however at the same time, they face their own high-stakes environments: competitive markets, tight deadlines, unexpected crises. The problem is that most teams prepare for the ideal outcome. They build beautiful plans only to find themselves scrambling to catch up when reality doesn’t match.
That’s where "what if" comes in. Mental rehearsal techniques help teams:
Anticipate disruption instead of being blindsided.
Reduce stress by creating familiarity with potential scenarios.
Improve agility by embedding fallback options.
Strengthen confidence by proving to themselves that they can adapt.
"What if" rehearsals are not about dwelling on failure. They are about preparing to succeed even when things don’t go to plan.
How it works: The mental rehearsal process
Visualisation. Close your eyes and picture the scenario in as much detail as you can. For an athlete, this might be running the perfect race. For a business leader, it could be presenting to a skeptical client.
Introduce disruptions. Now, ask: what if something goes wrong? What if the client asks a question you weren’t expecting? What if your supply chain breaks down? What if a key team member is absent?
Rehearse your response. Walk through how you would respond. Picture yourself staying calm, adapting, and executing the solution.
Embed and repeat. The more often you rehearse, the more natural the response becomes. You’re not predicting the exact scenario, you’re building resilience of thought.
Aviation’s Mental Toolbox: ANCA
In flying, we used the simple framework of ANCA:
Aviate – Fly the aircraft (focus on the immediate priority).
Navigate – Point the aircraft where you need to go.
Communicate – Tell others in your team what’s happening.
Administrate – Follow up actions.
This simple prioritisation drill, rehearsed endlessly in "what if" scenarios, means that when things go wrong, we default to clarity instead of chaos.
Business teams can adopt the same principle: establish clear priorities ahead of time, rehearse them, and fall back on them when disruption hits.
Using "what if" with your team
Here are three practical ways to bring mental rehearsal into your organisation:
Scenario planning workshops. Bring the team together and brainstorm "what if" scenarios. Pick one (or more if you have time) and walk through how you’d respond. This encourages shared problem-solving and surfaces blind spots.
Red Teaming. Assign someone in the group to play the challenger role: "What if this assumption is wrong? What if this timeline slips?" This builds resilience into plans without adding negativity. Read a more detailed blog on Red Teaming here.
Personal rehearsal. Encourage individuals to spend 5–10 minutes before key meetings or presentations rehearsing mentally: What if I get challenged? What if the unexpected happens? What information might the client ask for? This boosts confidence and reduces nerves.
The psychological safety angle
For "what if" rehearsals to work, the team must feel safe to imagine failure. If people are afraid of blame, they won’t raise the real risks. That’s why creating a just culture – where honesty and learning are valued over punishment – is vital.
When leaders show vulnerability by asking, “What if I’m wrong?” they model the very mindset they want their teams to adopt.
A business example
If you're a leading a corporate team preparing for a major product launch. Instead of only rehearsing the perfect rollout, ask:
What if the competitor releases early?
What if our supply chain breaks down?
What if customer feedback is negative?
The answers you get from your team will be eye-opening. They'll identify risks you hadn’t even considered and you can then build contingencies. None of us are as smart as all of us.
On Target Tip
Before your next big project, run a "what if" drill with your team. Choose two likely risks and walk through your response. See how much clarity and confidence it creates.
Final thought for high performance leadership and teamwork
Mental rehearsal doesn’t mean living in fear of failure. It means respecting reality. It means understanding that things will go wrong and you can trust yourself and your team to adapt.
From the cockpit to the boardroom, "what if" is more than a question. It’s a mindset. And, as any fighter pilot will tell you, it’s one of the most powerful tools out there for building resilient, high-performance leadership and teamwork.
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Mike Mason and Sam Gladman are the co-founders of On Target, a leadership and team development company that brings elite fighter pilot expertise into the corporate world. With decades of combined experience in high-performance aviation, they specialise in translating critical skills such as communication, decision-making, and teamwork into practical tools for business. Through immersive training and cutting-edge simulation, Mike and Sam help teams build trust, improve performance, and thrive under pressure—just like the best flight crews in the world.
If you'd like to learn more about how On Target can help your team, contact Mike and Sam at info@ontargetteaming.com
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