I love the Olympics.
I love the athletics and the plots and the preparation and the inspirational moments and the psychology and the history… and so much more.
Olympic Torch – As I’ve talked to people during the Games, I’ve found that even people who aren’t usually sports fans can find something that interests them during the Olympics (winter and/or summer).
However, whether you’re a sports fan or not, there are valuable lessons to be learned when you look at the efforts and results of these incredible athletes from the perspective of leadership and peak performance.
And that is my focus in this article: to see the efforts of these athletes through the lens of leadership. They are achieving and performing to the best of their potential. Isn’t that what you want for you and your team?
Here are five important lessons you can learn from the Olympics and apply immediately (and for the rest of your life) to your work as a leader.
They keep count. In a recent blog post, I wrote about how the Olympics remind me of the importance of measuring and tracking, but let me keep it simple here. Olympic athletes know how they are doing all the time. They have ways of measuring both actual results and measurable progress throughout the process. They can correlate your progress and success because they keep score accurately and strategically. If you want higher performance, you should follow their lead. How do you keep score? How happy are you with your recent results?
They have clear goals. Every Olympian has different goals. For some, they achieved their goal by making it to the Games, and everything on the site is a bonus. Some are chasing their first medal, no matter the color, for others, nothing less than gold can satisfy them. Regardless, everyone has a focus on achieving their personal best when it matters most. This is not a comment on which is the best target – I can’t judge theirs any more than I could or would judge yours. The point here is clarity of goal. Are your goals as clear as theirs?
They practice. And practice. And practice. They don’t expect world-class performance after only occasionally exerting themselves in training. They know that to give their best they must practice in a focused and strategic way to achieve their goals. I assume you’re shaking your head at this point, perhaps even wondering why he would make such an obvious point. The point is not so obvious if you are using these athletes as your mentor for your own peak performance. Do you train like a champion? Are you as diligent and consistent in learning the skills that will help you succeed as they are?
They play to the end. World-class athletes know where the finish line is and play their way to it. If they fall down during their skating program, they get back up. If they are injured, they continue (if possible). Even if they miss the opportunity to reach their goal, they continue. How often do you hear them in interviews blaming others, the judges, or the conditions? Not as often as you probably hear people in your office talking about that problem being “engineering’s fault”, or due to “the economy” or some other external factor. Olympians play to the end, remaining singularly focused on their effort. You?
They have trainers. Have you ever heard of a world-class athlete who doesn’t have a coach? Even if you’ve never played a sport, you likely recognize the importance of training at all levels of athletic performance, even when the athletes are the best in the world. Is there something that makes our job as a leader so different that we don’t need coaching? If you want to improve and you haven’t made the progress you need or expect, do you have a coach? If not, this is the only thing you can do (and help those you lead) to create a meaningful improvement. Do you have a trainer?
Your job probably won’t involve skis, skates, snowboards, or brooms, but these lessons should be clear to you. If you’re serious about creating higher performance for yourself and those you lead, read this list again and ask yourself, how will I apply them starting today?
There are immediate actions you can take, and taking them is important. However, it is your dedication to these principles and their application over time that will help you achieve Olympic-sized improvements in your results.