Winning Strategies from the Track to the Boardroom

Leading You

What if you could apply the winning strategies of elite athletes to your leadership style?

Picture yourself leading not just with authority but with the precision and resilience of a champion. Sound good? Well, stick around, because I’m sharing six lessons from the world of sports that can help us lead ourselves and our teams to victory.

Rest: Athletes know that rest is essential for recovery and injury prevention, and similarly, leaders need to recognise the importance of downtime. Taking time to rest allows us to recharge, avoid burnout, and return with renewed energy and perspective every day. This doesn’t have to be a big commitment, stepping away from your desk during the workday to give yourself a micro-break is proven to boost productivity.

Visualisation: Top athletes use visualisation to mentally prepare for success. They see themselves crossing the finish line before the race even starts, knowing their game plan every step of the way. As leaders, we can apply the same technique to our goals. Visualising successful outcomes and the steps needed to get there can enhance focus, build confidence, and make our objectives more tangible.

Patience and Persistence: Success, whether in sport or leadership, doesn’t happen overnight. Take Jessica Hull, an Australian middle-distance runner who won silver at the Olympics. Her journey to success wasn’t immediate; it came with time, patience, and consistent effort. As leaders, we must remember that sometimes pushing too hard isn’t the right option. Remember, success is a marathon, not a sprint.

Resilience: Whether you’re an athlete or a leader, you’ll need resilience to reach success. Just like Michelle Jenneke, the Australian hurdling champion, who fell during a crucial race but got up to finish it, resilience in leadership means bouncing back from failures, learning from mistakes, and staying committed even when the path gets tough.

Compromise: Professional athletes often have to make compromises, adjusting strategies mid-game or balancing training with personal life. For leaders, compromise is about finding the balance that allows you and your team to move forward while considering diverse perspectives and needs. It can’t always be our way, we need to consider what’s most important for the greater good, which creates better outcomes for everyone.

Feeding Your Body Right: Proper nutrition isn’t just for athletes; it’s critical for leaders too. Our roles demand a lot from us, and a leader who takes care of their body is better equipped to handle these demands. Eating good food, along with proper sleep and regular exercise, will lay the foundation for high performance!

Bonus! Your Mindset: The most important lesson we can learn from athletes is to cultivate a strong mindset. In addition to their bodies, they train their minds to stay focused, positive, and resilient. For leaders, a growth mindset—one that embraces challenges and views failures as opportunities for growth—can be the difference between success and stagnation.

So next time you face a challenge, think like a pro athlete: stay focused, stay resilient, and don’t forget to celebrate the small wins along the way.

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