2026 Community of Human and Organizational Learning 32nd Annual Conference

In the final two minutes of the championship game, during a special operations raid, or amidst a cascading alarm failure in a control room, the environment changes, but the human machinery required to survive and thrive does not. Whether you are a quarterback, a Navy SEAL, or an industrial operator, individual mental toughness is only half the equation. The true competitive advantage lies in collective agility—the ability of a team to learn, adapt, and execute as a single organism under pressure. Dr. Jon Metzler (CMPC) bridges the gap between these high-consequence worlds. Drawing on experience with the US National Teams, the US Army, and corporate leadership, this session deconstructs the psychological frameworks used to win championships and survive battlefields. We will explore how to move beyond relying on "heroic" individuals to building systems of organizational learning where mental performance is culturally embedded. We will also examine the "who" behind the "how"—introducing the Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) not just as a coach for individuals, but as a cultural architect qualified to engineer the shared mental models and psychological safety required for high-reliability performance.