While watching the Winter Olympics, it occurred to me that there are several parallels between the Olympics and the workplace.
1. Coaching – Most of the competitors at the Olympics have at least one coach. Someone to monitor their performance and give them feedback on how they might improve, or to provide suggestions on how they might change their style or approach. I believe everyone in the workforce could use a coach who is dedicated to giving feedback on how to improve performance. Further, great performers often become coaches. Do you have a coach or are you coaching a future star?
2. Perseverance and persistence – If you fall down, get up and keep trying. In the figure skating competition, many of the competitors fell down, but got up and completed their routine and received a score. In other events – snowboarding, for example – if you fall, you receive no score for that event. However, there are several examples in these Olympic games where competitors fell down four years ago, but came back this time to win a medal. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on.
3. Play to the strengths – There are numerous Olympic events with similarities. For example, in skiing you have alpine, freestyle moguls, cross country, jumping, etc. Based on skills, competencies and passion, athletes compete in the event that takes best advantage of their strengths, and doesn’t promote areas of weakness. How can we design jobs in the workplace that allow employees to focus on their strengths? Too frequently, we spend too much time trying to turn an employee’s weaknesses into strengths rather than playing up the strengths and designing the job to allow the employee to be successful.
4. Everyone has a story to tell – NBC has done a commendable job trying to highlight the human element of these incredible athletes. The boy who was abandoned on the streets as a baby, the young man raised by a single immigrant father, or the figure skater who lost her mother that week and still went on to compete. Too often we try to keep the personal element out of the workplace. It’s just a job, get it done. We have very diverse workplaces, with people of different backgrounds and cultures, which all comes together to create a variety of expectations and values. Treat everyone fairly, but treat them as individuals. Do not paint everyone with the same brush. Frequently, when an employer has an employee who is a poor performer, or who shows up late or not at all, the employer may create a blanket policy dictating, for example, that any employee who shows up late will be terminated. You owe it to yourself and your employees to hear their stories.
5. Sometimes the difference between winning and losing is very small – There are several Olympic events that the difference between a medal and no medal is a hundredth of a second or fraction of a point. Not everyone can win a medal. However, this does not diminish the effort, skills or abilities of those who tried and came up short. In addition, there are numerous examples of athletes who came up short in the last Olympics, only to win a medal this year. Often employers create a narrow definition of what it means to successfully complete a job, with no allowance for a bad day or a mishap. I will be the first to tell you that many employers wait too long to terminate a problem employee. However, what do we do to help those who are close to succeed in the future? We need to be sure we have a positive performance appraisal process in place, with plans for improvement by the next appraisal. Or create a mentorship program to help those who want to reach the next level.
6. Potential for an award inspires performance – Much has been written on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. However, the potential for an Olympic medal can certainly cause the competitors to go beyond their personal best. Do we create opportunities for our employees to want to perform beyond their personal best? Do we know what motivates our employees? Do we reward performance?
7. Where you start does not determine where you end – I watched competitors in several events come from last place only to win in the end. In fact, it seemed some athletes used it as a strategy. They allowed their competitors to set the pace, only to cruise by them in the final lap or stretch. Just because an employee starts his or her career on the loading dock, he or she is not precluded from someday becoming the CEO. Do we have systems that allow and even encourage our employees to grow within our organizations? I’ve seen too many organizations with barriers or roadblocks that prevent and even discourage employees from growing.
8. Competition makes us try harder – Many athletes achieved beyond what they thought was possible because a competitor earned a higher score or set a faster pace. Competition at work can be good, but it can also be destructive. If you pit employees against each other it will certainly eliminate any potential teamwork. Focus their competitiveness against the company’s competition: it is us against XYZ Company, we need to have better quality, products, customer service, or price than they have.
9. Alliances can change quickly – In men’s hockey, teammates on the same NHL teams are now competitors in the Olympics. The teammate an athlete would normally assist and celebrate with in scoring will now do everything in his power to prevent that goal. Check this out: Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is on the coaching staff for the Canadian Olympic team, and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is starting goalie for the US team. Most commentators believe Ruff would provide insight to the Canadian players regarding Miller’s weaknesses to help them beat Team USA, even though it could be detrimental when those same players go back to their NHL team and play against Miller. Likewise, if an employee goes to our competitor, he or she will quickly become part of that new organization, and will do what it takes to help the new employer succeed, even if it is detrimental to your company.
10. Vision and Focus – Just about every medal winner has talked about vision. I often describe vision as a dream with an action plan. Are we providing an organizational vision for our employees? Are we helping employees create and successfully accomplish their personal vision? How do we help them stay focused on shared goals?
I’m certain there are many more parallels between the Olympics and the workplace, and would enjoy hearing your observations.
