Gold Medal Leadership: 5 Winning Lessons From Olympic Sports

Every four years, the Olympic Games bring a spectacular display of sporting prowess to the world. They also showcase the power of human endeavor and the importance of teamwork, along with a host of positive role models. For that reason, they are a source of powerful lessons for leaders:

1. Embrace your butterflies

Several years ago, triple Paralympic medallist, keynote speaker and executive coach Stef Reid MBE talked to students at a London school about being a blade-running Paralympian. A young girl pulled her aside and asked for advice on overcoming butterflies. But Reid couldn’t help because even after 15 years, hers were still there. “Every competition I’d wonder, ‘Why are you doing this?’” she says. “‘Why put yourself through this? You’re allowed to choose something easier.’”

One day, Reid got her wish when she competed in the long jump at a local, low-key athletics competition. “There was no pressure, there were no nerves, there were no butterflies,” she recalls. “For the first time, my legs didn’t feel like spaghetti noodles as I warmed up.”

But it turned out to be the worst competition of her life. “The truth was, I just couldn’t be bothered,” she explains. “I was horrified to find myself standing on the long jump runway, thinking about what I was going to make for dinner instead of visualizing my process.”

That experience transformed Reid’s relationship with her butterflies; she knew that she wanted them back. “I realized they didn’t signify a lack of courage or preparation,” she explains. “It was just my body’s way of preparing me to deliver my best.”

So, the next time you have to stand up to speak to a large audience, run a difficult meeting or make a quick decision under pressure, remember to embrace your butterflies. As Reid says: “Although the butterflies might feel uncomfortable, they help make you better.”

2. Coach your team to achieve their potential

On its own, raw talent is rarely enough to bring Olympic success. Coaches play a vital role in spotting potential in athletes, nurturing them to achieve their potential and igniting a passion for excellence.

“Rather than just give instructions, truly great coaches will often use an enquiry-led approach,” notes Laura Ashley-Timms, chief operating officer of global performance improvement consultancy Notion and co-author of The Answer is a Question. “They ask powerful questions that get athletes to reflect critically on their performance. ‘What went well in that run? Where can you improve your form?’”

Questions like these spark self-discovery, Ashley-Timms suggests, and encourage ownership of performance improvement. Leaders who adopt a similar operational coaching style build more capable winning teams in business, too.

Similarly, constant criticism stifles performance. “Olympic coaches offer constructive feedback, but also celebrate successes, big and small,” says Ashley-Timms. “Leaders who regularly acknowledge and celebrate achievements build confidence and a ‘can-do’ attitude within their teams.”

3. Learn from success as well as failure

In 2011, Harvard Business Review published an article entitled “Why Leaders Don’t Learn from Success.” The article prompted leaders to ask how much of their wins were down to their own abilities and skills and how much was replicable? Because if they don’t ask these questions, leaders risk attributing a favorable alignment of outside events to their personal excellence and progress does not occur.

“Athletes don’t approach their success with a mindset of ‘you lost so I won,’” says Dr Audrey Tang, a psychologist, author performance coach and founder of The Click Arts Foundation. “They work on what they know will bring results, looking at ‘what worked’ in themselves and other performers. Leaders who reflect on their wins can often find nuanced opportunities for growth, whether it is in the planning time, in the execution of the task, or the way the team came together.”

4. Timing is everything

When you’re aiming to hit your peak for typically a few minutes (or possibly even a few seconds) in a four-year cycle, you need to be ready to perform at that moment. “Athletes understand only too well that they can’t expect to perform at the highest levels all year round, but instead need to manage their energy,” says Leanne Spencer, a corporate wellbeing and burnout prevention expert and author of Cadence: The secret to beating burnout and performing in life and work. This involves identifying when they need to perform, preparing for this event or moment, and then prioritizing recovery as a key part of their performance strategy.”

Business leaders can learn from this approach, argues Spencer. “Many of us think we need to perform at the highest levels all year round, but this is hard to sustain in the medium to long term and can lead to chronic stress and burnout. High performance is understanding the rhythms of your business and being able to manage your energy accordingly, which includes prioritizing periods of recovery in the same way an athlete would.”

Spencer advises that leaders think of themselves as “business athletes.” She says: “Think about the busy periods coming up in your business. How can you prepare for them? Perhaps by making small changes to sleep, nutrition or movement, to be as resilient as you can be.” She adds: “Once the event is over, prioritize slivers of recovery, before focusing on the next major task or event. Adopting a more balanced and sustainable approach to high performance is the key to long-term success.”

5. Act with courage

Standing on the podium after the 1968 men’s 200-meter track event, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos courageously raised gloved fists into the air while keeping their heads bowed. They were protesting about the treatment of African Americans and demanding better rights for everyone, regardless of color. The second-placed runner, Australian Peter Norman, supported them, wearing a human rights badge.

“At the time, each man was pilloried for their courage,” says David Ross, founder of Phoenix Strategic Management and author of Confronting the Storm. “Through time, their legacy is clear, however. They were champions for equal rights.”

In the context of today’s business environment, leaders also need to show courage, according to Ross. They must be courageous and do the right thing in their response to an array of interconnected challenges – including artificial intelligence, climate change, conflict and more demanding and partisan stakeholders – in a world that is more uncertain and complex than ever before.