Paris Olympics Games perspective and the Roger Federer\u2019s stirring speech, at the Dartmouth College graduation ceremony a few days ago, have prompted us to look again at the analogy between business leaders and top-class sportmen and women, and to ask ourselves a question that is no longer open to debate : would bosses and leaders benefit from drawing on some practices from the world of competition ? In other words, would they benefit of developing they athlete\u2019s mind ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides, what is an athlete\u2019s mind ? If you ask many persons, the vast majority will tell you that it means displaying certain character traits such as strength, a taste for effort, unfailing determination and ambition\u2026 It means having the morale of a conqueror, \u00ab the win \u00bb, \u00ab the stamina \u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not just that\u2026 We have to look beyond that if we are not to be locked into a rigid and mythified conception of power and success. In reality, there is a whole side to it that we too often forget or don\u2019t want to see. While an athlete\u2019s life is geared towards victory, it\u2019s also includes counter-performances and failures. What makes champions so special is that they have been able to deal with them, to accep them. It\u2019s about being fully aware of oneself and abandoning a delusion of superpower in favour of an humble, in-dept analysis of one\u2019s strenghs and weaknesses.
It\u2019s about accepting that the environment is by nature unstable and partly manageable. It\u2019s about finding the resources to adapt to it, to gain perspective and stay focused on your objective. Lifting the veil on this little-know reality opens up a wider field of reflection on what a manager\u2019s performance is and how to achieve it.
To do this, it is essential to get off the beaten track and explore the field of emotions, self-awareness and the personal resources that can be mobilised. It\u2019s a process that requires openness, curiosity and also lucidity ! And it\u2019s only when this work is done that we can turn our vulnerabislity into an assumed strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n