Whether you are an Olympics geek or not, there are some foundational, which is to say critically important, leadership concepts we can learn from the Olympics. In my current state of ongoing recuperation from my injuries, I spent a lot of time watching the Olympics while doing my PT exercises. My favorite sports include cycling, archery, shooting sports, fencing, decathlon and pentathlon. For that matter, rugby, field hockey… come to think of it, almost any sport that wasn’t getting all the sexy prime time treatment. Whatever the sport, these leadership components stood out over and over again.
1. TEAM!
Even in the “individual” events the competitors repeatedly mention the support of their team. There is a sense of esprit de corps, camaraderie, that propels people to perform their best. When it is all said and done, there is genuine respect, affinity, and dare I say love for their teammates. Even when their teammate won gold and they won silver or bronze.
On your team, or the team you lead, are you fostering that same sense of support? Does it exist on your team? How do you respond when you don’t get the promotion, or someone else’s idea is chosen? The best performing teams have the best performing people and those people are rooting for the team to win, even if it means they don’t win a gold medal.
2. Mental Fitness.
There is just no way to get around the fact that performance is directly correlated with our emotions and attitudes. Yes, athletes spend thousands of hours developing muscle memory and skills so they can perform the tasks at the highest level possible. They also spend thousands of hours developing neural muscle memory so they can perform in a state of “flow” under intense pressure, and respond to surprises, mistakes, and disappointments with minimal emotional turmoil and distraction.
This was highlighted again and again across all of the sports. Skeet shooters maintain their composure after a missed shot. Archers find the center of the target after a low scoring shot. Hammer throw competitors coming back to launch a personal best after sending their previous throw into the safety net! The ability to stay composed and focused are critical to executing the skills that were honed.
Nowhere was this more evident, or loudly proclaimed, than in the commentary surrounding Symone Biles as she competed in women’s gymnastics. To be sure, her teammates, coach, and hours of practice contributed to her success. Yet, as we saw Symone falter in the Tokyo Olympics, without mental fitness all of the other success factors fade and performance suffers. In fact, not only in gymnastics but in so many other events I heard coaches and athletes talk about the importance of having fun and doing what you love to do. To the extent of smiling, laughing, and clowning around.
The ability to perform under pressure, to remain joyful, and to even love what you are doing are all products of mental fitness. How’s your mental fitness? Your team’s mental fitness? Do you love what you are doing and do you find joy throughout your day?
3. Trust.
I lost count of how many times coaches and athletes said, “It’s all about trust.” Trust allows people to stay relaxed and not get stressed under pressure. Whether you trust yourself, or the person next to you, your performance and your team’s performance are directly correlated to the trust you have in each other.
Trust can be broken down into four “safeties”: physical safety, relational safety, respect safety, and directional safety. When people are not worried about their physical safety, when they feel secure in their friendships, when they are confident that their efforts will be respected, and when they have clarity about what is expected of them and from their teammates, then people and teams perform at their highest levels. Trust bolsters mental fitness and mental fitness bolsters trust. The two are like conjoined twins.
What is your level of trust, or feeling of safety? Our brains crave safety and when they don’t get it they will do anything to find it. Rarely does that go well because our brain is often in a bit of a panic and operating sub-optimally. Do you feel safe on your team? Are you a safe person for the people on your team? What can you do to foster team and interpersonal safety?
4. Vision.
It has been said that without a vision the people will perish. Every one of the Olympic athletes and coaches has a clear vision of their destination. Many, certainly most of the athletes I heard interviewed, commented that competing in the Olympics was a “dream come true.” Think of it as directional safety.
It is fair to say that without a vision teams perish, employees perish (leave), profits perish, and businesses perish. Where are you leading your team? Does your team have a vision that is clear and compelling? What can you do as a leader or team member to keep that vision clear and compelling? For that matter, do you have a vision for your own life that you find clear and compelling?
Thanks for taking a couple of minutes to consider these lessons. I hope you found this helpful and provocative. At Anderson Leadership Resources we love to help people and teams achieve wild success. From small businesses to fortune 500 companies, we are a trusted resource for building leaders and teams. If you struggled to find answers to the questions above or would like to know more about how to build great teams, please reach out to learn more about our in depth training and services on the topics above and more.
OK, if really pressed to pick only one “favorite sport” at the summerOlympics, my answer this year is fencing. What’s your favorite summer Olympic event?