Heroics and self-compassion
This week, an Olympics edition . . . don’t worry if you’re bored by sport, or by the Olympics, I’m using sport as a metaphor for strategising! Keep reading . . .
Holding the line
Where would you least expect heroics in the Olympics? My vote goes to table tennis. There are few displays of emotion, no crashes or injuries. The players are reserved, even inexpressive, but that makes it just more obvious that this is a game of two seemingly incompatible demands: reaction time + accurate placement of the ball.
There are incredible rallies but the soul of the game isn’t to be found in single points (they play to 11) — it’s the way players manage energy and focus throughout what could be a 7-game match.
What I’ve noticed often this week is that the truly great, when they meet a worthy opponent, can come back from behind, winning crucial points, or several in a row, even in life-and-death moments: “Lose this point, and you walk away from the Olympics”.
I sweat more by watching it than some of the players do from playing it!
But, it got me asking myself about the mental game of business, or social impact, or change. Leaders have to do what the table tennis champs do: compartmentalise, put 100% of your attention ‘on the ball’ while remaining hugely aware of what’s around you, and not dwelling on the last point.
Question: How do you ‘hold the line’ in high pressure situations?
Collectivism
Olympics events equally feature teams as much as individuals. Whether that’s doubles in table tennis, fours in rowing or swimming relays, sixes in volleyball, sevens in handball or water polo, or elevens in soccer.
So, I find it interesting that we make big investments in sports teams and work teams — and these get a lot of media and public attention — but we almost completely neglect other types of groups in social life.
Think about our housing. Apart from family units (66% of all Australians), we almost never live in groups. Only 4% live in other group settings, and the most common are ‘compromises’ of some sort: student households, disability and aged care housing, and boarding houses.
It’s rare that groups are actually designed for. That’s why this concept for women’s housing intrigued me. It attracts those who struggle to pay $750k+ for a unit or house but can, between five women, put in $120k each for a custom-designed home. A standard suburban block is donated, and the design comprises five private living quarters, with communal laundry, gardens and library.
Just as we design Olympic sports around the strengths of teams, why don’t we design more housing around the strengths of groups?
Question: What are you designing for your customers that sees them as members of groups, not just as individuals?
Be the athlete you are
A consulting colleague from the USA, Richard Citrin, told me a fascinating story this week about the mental game of sports. He’s a keen amateur golfer, as well as a meditator, and he played this week in his local championship. Leading up to the games, he decided to meditate on his golf techniques. He found it made little difference to his score.
But then he did something that made a big difference.
Richard meditated instead on ‘self-compassion’. His reasoning: “I can sometimes get a bit aggravated with myself when I don’t hit a golf shot that I expect or even worse, completely screw it up.”
His result? He won his handicap category by five strokes, scoring personal best not once, but twice. He said, “I forgave myself more quickly for hitting bad shots and celebrated more fully when I hit good ones. I was able to stay more focused on each shot while enjoying the sunshine and flowers and wild turkeys and deer that share our course.”
Question: How can you experience more self-compassion?
It would mean a lot to me if you clicked the ‘heart’ to let me know you’ve enjoyed reading this week.
This coming week, enjoy an Olympic event that has some life lessons (as well as being simply enjoyable to watch!) and I look forward to seeing you next Friday.
Andrew