Monday 18th August 2025
High performance under pressure is the same, wherever you see it
Cooper Cronk knows all there is to know about nailing your performance on the sporting field. And he sees the same high-pressure execution in his new interest, the financial advice field.
There’s a certain buzz that comes with pressure and most athletes know it well. For me, the responsibility to make a split-second decision and the pressure to deliver in a moment was the attraction to elite sport. Could I sieve through the noise, handle the chaos, and focus on what was truly important in that moment? Nothing is ever guaranteed but preparation is the key to success.
Now, entering the financial services space, particularly wealth management, I have realised that buzz doesn’t just exist on the footy field. The pressure’s still there, it just looks different and the way you manage it is remarkably similar.
In sport, there is no secret formula to winning. It’s executing the basic fundamentals with high detail, laser focus and perfect execution better than the opposition. By executing these fundamentals repeatedly, it helps build confidence and momentum within your team, and the opposition feels that pressure building and starts to look for shortcuts. In this moment is where the opportunity to win presents itself, and the same applies to wealth management.
The leading advisers aren’t chasing short-term wins that could compromise long-term goals. They’re focused on mastering the fundamentals, understanding their clients inside-out, constructing bespoke strategies that withhold economic pressure, and refining those strategies with discipline and consistency.
At Viola Private Wealth, this discipline translates into strategies designed for wealth preservation, secure intergenerational transfer, and consistent growth.
What truly carries over from sport to wealth management is how you deal with pressure. On the field pressure comes in many forms, the opposition, the crowd, the result, all external forces distracting you from the job at hand. The key is to work through the external forces and zero in on the deliverables needed in that moment. If you are outcome focused it will distract from the process, but if you’re driven by process, it will deliver the outcome.
In wealth management, the distractions are different, there is the market speculation, sensational headlines, and global events. The best firms block out the noise. They return to their process: staying close to the client, sticking to the agreed strategy, keeping risk in check, and making decisions based on long-term objectives, not short-term market swings.
When markets crash, when interest rates spike, or when governments make policy shifts overnight, the advisers who excel are the ones who can read the moment without reacting emotionally. They can guide clients through uncertainty, not by overcomplicating the situation, but by simplifying it and making complex financial matters clear and actionable.
It comes down to trust. In sport, you trust your preparation. In wealth management, clients trust your judgement. That trust is built over time by doing the fundamentals, by showing up, and by keeping decisions aligned with a client-first ethos.
Whether it’s the final minutes of a grand final or the middle of a market downturn, the same principles apply: preparation, discipline, and the ability to keep perspective when the stakes are high.
Cooper Cronk is brand ambassador at Viola Private Wealth
