Leaders can inspire the kind of mindset and build the kind of teams that drive organizations to adapt, overcome, and win as one in the face of times of extreme challenge and change. Robyn Benincasa, world champion adventure racer, 2014 CNN Hero, full-time firefighter, and 3x Guinness World Record Endurance Kayaker, shared the mindset and strategies that create consistent breakthrough performances, speaking to her life's experiences at the 2023 CREW conference this week in Atlanta.

She made a career in what she described as a "super silly, ludicrous sport" where events are 600 to 1,000 miles long and do not involve engines.

Sleep is part of the strategy, and participants typically average 1.5 hours per day while competing sometimes for nearly two weeks straight. Teams of five compete and all team members must stay within five miles of each other.