How can we learn from our athletes currently preparing for
the Olympic Games?
By exploring 5 of the core principles these elite performers
work to in the world of sport, we can translate these into practical strategies
for success in the world of work.
Have a clear vision
of where you want to go
Successful sports teams have a specific moment in time when
they want to achieve their goals. Usually in business we have to deliver
consistently great performances throughout the year in order to achieve our
strategic goals. So how do we do this?
Making sure we understand the overall vision of the
organisation is vital, as well as agreeing clearly defined goals for ourselves
which align with these strategic goals and help us to develop as individuals.
The challenge here is to make the time to re-visit these goals on a regular
basis and review our performances in the context of these goals throughout the
year.
Focus on what really
matters
Elite sports men and women will ask the question of every
process or action they take, will this add value? Will doing this make me jump
higher, run faster, throw further?
Once you have total clarity on your goals and where you are
going, the key then is to ensure that you focus your time and energies on
activities that are congruent with those goals. How good are you at saying no
to demands on your time which do not ultimately contribute to the performance
indicators you have in place? How well do we prioritise our time to deal with
tasks which we may not enjoy so much but which are critical to achieving our
goals?
Another key phrase from sport, “Control the Controllables” relates to this concept too. Once you
have clarity on what really matters and the ability to stick to that, it’s also
really helpful to be realistic about what’s in your sphere of influence and
work hard to avoid getting bogged down on the things you can’t make an impact
on.
Work to strengths
Maximise what you’re great at and ensure your players are in
the right positions. This practice of constantly analysing core strengths and
moving the team around accordingly is second nature within sport.
In business we potentially have less flexibility to be able
to adjust our roles and responsibilities every week. But, just having a regular
review of your strengths can mean that putting yourself forward for projects,
secondments or just covering a colleague's work provides you with great
opportunities to maximise your performance and maintain your motivation.
Do things differently
Only by innovating and challenging the norm can you gain a
competitive advantage in sport and business. Look at Dick Fosbury and his
controversial innovation in the high jump, which led to the adoption of the
'Fosbury Flop' as the accepted technique to enable an athlete to jump as high
as humanly possible. Hard to imagine now that before Fosbury competitors used
to scissor jump over the bar!
In the commercial world this openness to doing things
differently is of course equally vital. It’s easy to get stuck in routines and
be blocked by the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset. Fresh thinking generates great new ways of
doing things, and builds engagement and motivation at the same time.
Lead from the front
Whether it’s Usain Bolt’s trademark strut, the quiet
authority of Steve Redgrave or the sheer grit of Kelly Holmes, the persona we
project has a huge impact on those around us.
A simple code to live by is to always model best practice.
Set the tone with your own brand, your communication, your body language and
each one of your interactions. Constantly ask yourself what impact your
behaviour and language is having on others, and focus on making it a positive
and inspirational one.
With 6 months to the games, Team GB is close to realising
their potential, and the great news is that these lessons from their endeavours
can be applied directly to our roles and our teams. By emulating these high
performance traits you can ensure you produce gold medal winning performances.
