Helen Richardson-Walsh
Team Behavior and Value Expert uses her sports experience to explain her thoughts on team psychology and behaviors
Reasons to book Helen Richardson-Walsh
- She has helped the women’s hockey team to an historic first Olympic gold medal.
- Helen delievers a unique personal insight into team behavior, mental health and overcoming career-threatening injuries by gaining psychological and physical strength.
- She reflects on how she coped with mental health struggles where she provides her advice, how she sought help and why she wishes she had done it earlier.
Non-binding request for Helen Richardson-Walsh
Former GB hockey player shares insides on team behaviors and mental health
Helen started her international career in 1999 at the age of 17 and became the youngest ever woman to represent GB hockey at an Olympics in Sydney the following year. She went on to compete at four Olympic Games and as part of the senior leadership group played a central role in propelling the women’s game to victory on the world stage at Rio 2016. As she stepped on to the podium alongside her team mate and wife, GB captain Kate Richardson-Walsh, they also entered Olympic history as the first same sex married couple to win an Olympic medal playing for the same team.
Helen Richardson-Walsh is an Olympic gold medallist, former Great Britain and England hockey player, author, and trainee sport psychologist. With an elite international career spanning 18 years, Helen competed in four Olympic Games, amassing 293 caps and 19 major medals, including gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She played a decisive role in the final, scoring during the tense penalty shootout and cementing her legacy as one of the sport’s greats.
What truly sets Helen apart is not just her sporting achievements, but the leadership and cultural transformation she helped drive within Team GB. As part of the senior leadership group for over a decade, she was instrumental in turning a struggling team into a consistent medal-winning force. Her passion for understanding what makes teams thrive led her to earn two Master’s degrees in Organisational and Sport Psychology, blending Olympic-level experience with academic insight.
Helen now channels her expertise into helping organizations foster high-performing, resilient, and inclusive cultures. Her keynote speeches offer practical tools and strategies around leadership, team dynamics, psychological safety, diversity, and mental wellbeing, delivered with authenticity and inspiration.
Whether you're looking to elevate team cohesion, build stronger leadership, or empower individuals to perform under pressure, Helen delivers real-world lessons that drive results. Book Helen Richardson-Walsh for your event to equip your audience with the mindset, skills, and motivation to succeed at the highest level - just like an Olympic champion.
Keynotes
Keynote by Helen Richardson-Walsh:
Winning Together: How to ‘win’ as people and teams.
The power to be a consistently high performing team lies within you and all of your people. Helen shares how an empowered team driven culture with aligned vision, values and behaviours was key to the success of both individuals and the collective team. In a team where every person had value, and an important role to play, culture was defined by the collective.
She will explore the processes they went through to achieve this, alongside the psychological tools used to help increase awareness of self and others which are as valuable today as when Helen competed in the team. Through this work people were enabled to manage their state, perform consistently, and live their super strengths.
Unlocking this power in your team can help you win together.
Keynote by Helen Richardson-Walsh:
The Inner Game: Mental Tools from Elite Sport.
Having taken a penalty in an Olympic final to win gold, Helen knows exactly what it means to perform under extreme pressure. With compelling stories and evidence-based insights from sport psychology, Helen shares powerful mental strategies used by elite athletes and translates them into practical tools to help individuals and teams stay composed, adapt to challenges, and deliver when it matters most.
This is a talk for anyone looking to raise their game, unlock potential, and build sustainable high performance under pressure.
Keynote by Helen Richardson-Walsh:
Belonging Drives Performance: The Power of Inclusion in High-Pressure Environments
As one half of the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic gold, Helen shares her lived experience of inclusion at the highest level of sport. Speaking with authenticity, she explores how psychological safety and belonging unlock individual potential and team cohesion. By being able to bring her whole self to the team, Helen thrived – and so did the group. Helen offers practical insight into building inclusive cultures where people feel seen, valued, and free to perform at their best.
A powerful message for leaders aiming to create environments where diversity is celebrated and performance flourishes.
Keynote by Helen Richardson-Walsh:
Strong Enough to Struggle: Resilience and Well-being in High-Pressure Environments
Helen has spoken openly about her struggles with mental health following career-threatening injuries, bringing a powerful authenticity to this keynote. Drawing on her own journey through recovery and elite performance, she explores how true resilience isn’t about just pushing through – but about acknowledging challenges, building healthy habits, and seeking support.
With practical tools and real-life insight, Helen helps leaders and teams understand how to protect well-being in high-pressure environments and foster cultures where people feel safe, supported, and able to perform at their best.
What happens when relationships collide in sport? Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh share their story
Helen Richardson-Walsh on EIS and Mental Health Support
