Olympic Dream Catchers

The Olympic Games are always a special time and provide anopportunity to learn about the journeys that elite athletes have taken to reach the pinnacle of their sport. No matter what event an athlete competes in, or what country they represent, there are a few traits that unite these talented people. There are many lessons elite athletes can teach us about leading a business; I’ve chosen four traits that I believe are most important.

Clarity of Purpose: Elite athletes have clarity of purpose. They know precisely what they want to achieve and are committed to getting there. After I finished my sports career, I found myself back at university in my early 30’s completing a Sports degree I’d started 13 years earlier. As part of a self-directed research project, I administered the Myers-Briggs personality test to an elite group of speed skaters to determine if there were any significant personality differences between this special group and the general population. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to find much; what I did find astonished me.

Each of the athletes I tested had either participated in the Olympic Games or were on the Canadian national speed skating team. The study only captured eighteen athletes, so the sample was small, however, here’s where it got interesting. Every single one of the eighteen athletes, without exception, stood out on the Myers-Briggs test from the general populations on one attribute…their ability to set goals and plan long term. The difference wasn’t minor; in each case these athletes were off the chart when it came to this single aspect of their personality. On all the other Myers-Briggs scores the group, in general, was pretty average.

Q. Are you and your team off the charts on setting goals and planning long term?

Elite athletes plan forward and work backwards: As odd as this sounds, all great athletes I’ve known plan forwards and work backwards; here’s what I mean. In the next few months, a 20-year-old, high performing athlete will make a decision to either continue competing for another quadrennial or quit their sport and get on with their life. That four-year commitment comes with an expected outcome / objective at the 2028 Olympics – make the final, win a medal, win a gold medal etc. Once a commitment is made the athlete will work backwards from their ultimate objective setting shorter term goals. For example: 2025 – make the semifinals at worlds, 2026 – make the finals at worlds and place in top 6, 2027 – medal at worlds and be within 0.5 seconds of the world record. It doesn’t stop there, they’ll continue working backwards, articulating what they want to accomplish each quarter in 2025, then weekly and daily goals in 2025. Next time you see an athlete running in a snowstorm or cycling in +40°C (>100°F) heat, know they’re accomplishing their daily training goal while visualizing their ultimate long-term goal.

Q. Have you and your business team set a long-term goal and worked backwards setting yearly and monthly milestones to ensure you ultimately reach your business goals?

Elite Athletes thrive on adversity and find a way to win: Hannibal trekked over the Alps with his elephants, horses, and troops only to be blocked by a landslide as they descended into Italy. Famously, he said, “We will either find a way or we’ll make one”. Everyone faces adversity; some grow stronger from it… some don’t. If we could plot the path that each athlete followed to reach the Olympic Games, we’d find their paths vary wildly. What binds these elite athletes is they have all faced adversity and either found a way or made one. Peak performers know it’s not about resources – it’s about resourcefulness. Adapting and overcoming adversity is in their DNA. The Jamaican bobsledders found a way to practice with no ice. A marathon runner in the Rome Olympics who couldn’t afford shoes won the 26.2 mile race running barefoot. They overcome adversity – they find a way!

Q. Does your team complain about how difficult the job is or are they able to adapt to changes in the market and competitors’ moves while keeping long term goals intact…do you find a way?

Elite athletes are always learning: Elite sportspeople never stop learning because athletics never stops teaching! Learning means constant training and practicing and, somewhat surprisingly to outsiders, to do that elite athletes keep journals. They keep daily, detailed journals, recording their progress, their feelings, etc, always with a goal to learn. Going from being good, to great, to elite is a journey that starts early and comes with both emotional and physical ups and downs. Tracking daily progress, recounting failures, celebrating victories and understanding “why” brings progress and makes elite athletes the best they can be.

Q. Do you keep a daily journal, recounting your successes and failures so you continue to learn?

Elite business leaders will never make an Olympic highlights reel, yet in many ways they should. High performing business leaders ensure their business supports their shareholders, their employees and their families along with the communities in which they interact either directly or indirectly. As a business leader, to deliver a gold medal performance means doing all that. You need a clarity of purpose, a detailed plan to reach your objectives, perseverance to enjoy the thrill of overcoming adversity, and a discipline and love of learning. When does your Olympic training program start?