Developing Olympic Athletes in your Organization

The Olympics represent the highest level sports athletes from all countries can achieve. The large number of events, the variety of disciplines, the effort required and the complex preparation that athletes have carried out is embodied the opening day of this magnificent event. 

And behind every athlete there is a team in different areas that targets new goals, together, and works towards winning an Olympic medal.

In many of these sport disciplines we will see athletes competing individually; at the same time, we will see competition where only the best teams reach the final. Is your team ready to win an Olympic medal?

Olympic athletes not only have a great determination; they also have great persistence, willpower, define their vision and have decided to develop their skills to the maximum level in order to achieve their true potential. These are just some of the ideas that define a great athlete. And our job within our companies is to create new real 'Corporate Athletes'.

“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals.

The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that's where it's at. 

- Jesse Owens, Olympic Medalist

Successful athletes have some characteristics, including: they train until they cannot train anymore, think positive and understand adversity as they arrive to success. When Olympic winners are asked about their mood, physical preparation and the journey to the top, they define their experience in a different way. Leaders are formed with character, discipline, example and inspiration. These Olympian winners are mostly leaders in their specialties.

Among the qualities that define an Olympic winner I can suggest five traits that characterize them:

1. They are resilient, as they have improved for their failures and mistakes and know that there is something to learn from everything;
2. They Understand teamwork, because they know they have a large number of people with them  all the time;
3. They have a great interest in what they do, and know that everything involves planning, time, dedication and patience;
4.  They have a great passion, since the intensity of competition makes them becoming stronger, with much fortitude and giving 200% of what they can give;
5.  They are happy, because the attitude should be positive and we all know joy is contagious.

The experience of an Olympic athlete leads them to create positive habits, set increasingly demanding goals, define their own levels of productivity, achieve peak performance and develop great competitive abilities. All this is summarized in the qualities of an Olympic athlete:

• They have strong personal motivation;
• They continuously increase the level of their mental energy;
• They focus on achieving peak performance.

In doing so they focus on what they really want to achieve.

As we watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio 2016, we will understand that not only the effort and dedication are important for success, whether a medal in the race of 100 meters or in the 200 meters swimming backstroke or in beach volleyball; also a large number of complex strategies – which are the basis of our goals - will also be required. It is the continuous development of skills with great determination that makes a true Olympic athlete and legend; and if we bring this concept to our companies, the same skill and leadership development programs will create our corporate athletes as our companies embarks in a transforming 'continuous learning' process.

Our corporate teams are made up of individual athletes (our co-workers) and they are the ones who become corporate athletes. And these athletes, in each of our organizations, are those who share our vision, set challenging goals, increase productivity, work in teams and in many ways are always looking for ways that allow them to peak performance.

How do we know if our team is ready to win a medal at the Corporate Olympic reality we play every day? Look for these traits in your team members and develop a program to have a winning team: develop the leaders of your organization by creating excellent corporate Olympians; and begin to design and from your winning strategy for 2017!

Luis Vicente Garcia

On being Positive!

Day after day we find people who have different behaviors and different attitudes. Some are optimistic, some very negative, while a large number of people have a neutral mood. This is the reason why we have to change and become much more positive if we want to succeed. Of course, like everything in life, becoming positive is neither easy nor fast, but if we start now going in the right direction we will get there sooner than later.

In the seminars I teach, I ask participates if they know of someone, anyone, who has been successful being negative or pessimistic; so far, no one has been able to give me an example. Therefore, being successful has a direct relationship to being positive and having a good attitude. Being positive, especially in a difficult environment is no easy task; however, it can be done.

There are a number of actions we can take to become more positive :

Wake up early. There is nothing healthier than waking up early to have the whole day ahead of you to do what you really have to do. And above all, the first hour of the day, called 'the golden hour', is the most important. You are more relaxed and calm, and it's time that you take some time to read, meditate and exercise. Try it for a few days and you will notice the change.

Plan ahead. The night before start planning your next day. By doing that, you will avoid running around, which is part of what causes us stress; you will know in advance all your appointments and tasks of the day and you can plan ahead in a more effective manner. Of course there will be emergencies in many cases, but you will know how to deal with them since you will have more control over your time.

Be kind. There is nothing more rewarding than being kind to others without expecting anything in return. Open a door to let someone go by; say good morning and thank you. Simple things that people say or do, are not expected and thus they generate smiles. And you should be grateful for what you have with those around you.

Help others. During your day help your friends and colleagues. Become a trusted person for those who work with you and you will become a support for them. Helping others will make you feel better.

Share. We all know more than we imagine. We can all do more than what we can. If we share our knowledge and our way of being positive, we will help other people to be better every day. A word of support, a guide for someone who solves a problem, teaching, and so, little by little, going to work on something that can be very incredible: become a mentor or a teacher to go out helping others.

Today there are many ways to be in excellent physical, mental and spiritual form, and much of it we can do it ourselves. If you do, you'll have a better day, more positive, more optimistic and more inspiring for you and those around you.

Luis Vicente Garcia