We, along with probably many of you, have been caught up in the excitement of the Olympics over these past couple of weeks. We’ve loved celebrating the incredible successes and personal achievements, whether or not people win a medal.
But what we’re finding most memorable is how people behave in the pressure cooker environment of top level competition. And when, perhaps, they’ve had an outcome that wasn’t what they’d hoped or strived for. This human behaviour is fascinating to us and got us thinking about what we can learn in HR from these events.
Gratitude. Teamwork.
It’s hard to think about the Olympics without thinking about how Hayden Wilde responded when his friend and competitor ran past him a few hundred meters before the finish line to take gold. On the dais, Hayden came across as thrilled and so grateful, when many others might have been feeling sorry for themselves, disappointed or angry. And, for Wilde to get there in the first place, it took an incredible sacrifice from his NZ teammate Dylan McCullough to forgo the early advantage he’d built to drop back and pick Hayden up from the trailing pack, bringing him forward into the lead group.
Adaptability.
And how about the USA gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik that some have called the “Clark Kent of the Olympics”. He sits meditating and cheering on the rest of the team, waiting for his turn on the sidelines in his glasses. Then, when the time comes, he takes off his glasses and turns into “Superman of the Pommel Horse”. He’s chosen to focus in on his strength and become the best at that one thing – meaning the whole team won a bronze medal, their first medal in Olympic men’s gymnastics in 16 years.
Diversity and Inclusion.
Then there’s the individualism of British diver Tom Daley. While waiting for his turn he kept busy knitting, creating a sweater during his downtime. We loved that he was being his authentic self, and perhaps dealing with stress in his own way too.
Resilience. Leadership.
We’ve also loved the story of our incredible, gold-winning, women’s sculls team Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis. The determination, sacrifice and courage they have shown – going from having babies to winning Olympic gold over the course of months. That self-belief, having never won a race prior to the meet, and then coming through and taking out top honours is so inspiring.
Simone Biles. It’s hard not to fan girl about her. Coming back from mental challenges and so much media attention to take a record number of gold medals. On the Netflix documentary about Simone, her coaches come across as having the exceptional ability to understand a person – and when to push and when to give space.
Snoop Horse.
And lastly – we love that Snoop Dog has been everywhere. And, if we’re honest, he wasn’t the first person we had imagined would be supporting the Olympic team. We dug a little deeper and found that he provides huge financial support to charities helping underprivileged kids gain the opportunity to get into sports of all kinds. In recent days his support of the US equestrian team (despite his fear of horses!) has earned him the new monika – Snoop Horse.
We’ve been reflecting on the type of workplaces that could be achieved if we could all emulate some of the behaviour of these competitors. Whether they go home with medals, or not. We’re looking forward to what’s to come later this month as the Paralympics kick off, and seeing what other fascinating human behaviour is on show.
