Leadership Development and Usain Bolt

I've been gripped with Olympic fever for the past 10 days. What an honour to watch the world's elite athletes pitting their decades-honed talents against each other. And the physiques on show?... oh my! For me too, as far as getting athletes' victory-against-all-odds stories to parallel into my leadership development coaching... there's been gift after gift! There are obviously the 'she's the girl next door but super-disciplined' stories - like 800m swimmer Rebecca Adlington. Or the 'parents as part of your success team' tales - as with Tom Daley (and his late father). However, it was a BBC interview with Usain Bolt about 10 minutes after his 100m final, 9.63-second victory that something gold really stood out for me. Bolt was asked about his preparation since the last Olympics and also whether his 'slow start' off the blocks was a worry. Bolt said 'Too many people have been talking about the importance of a good start. Races aren't won at the start - they're won at the end. I know my business. I know what's required. I know how to execute. I was never in doubt that I would win tonight. I remain number 1!' This stood out miles for me - the confidence, the clarity, the 'I know my business.' And it got me thinking that as a world-number-one athlete Bolt has a skill set that even his coaches and advisers can't teach him. As much as they know their science, statistics and disciplined training programs they're not the race runners. There's only one world's fastest man and by definition he knows his business to a height, breadth, depth and detail that only he can - and some of it comes straight from his soul and can't be taught. There are huge commonalities in what it takes to be a 'world's greatest' at a sport - vision, discipline, success team (coaches, therapists, nutritionists, physios, sponsors), supportive family, pain tolerance, persistence and patience. There are also huge differences between the crafts of swimming, gymnastics and athletics, not to mention the differences between individual athletes themselves. In leadership development, the parallels between sporting triumphs and professional excellence are many. The commonalities to drive a company, brand or team to victory also include vision, discipline, a success team, share-holder support, risk taking, persistence and patience. However, success in retail has it's own refinements when compared to success in media. Likewise, the elite in corporate banking have a knowledge base entirely different to a multi-billion pound, started-from-scratch entrepreneur. The 5 rings of olympian-success for leadership, in my opinion, are: • learn from those, who've gone before and those with specialist expertise. Read, train, be mentored, listen and apply. Knowledge sharing is fast-tracking. • keep a clear vision in your mind in every meeting, every conversation, every choice you make - when you're convinced your convincing and we all need a fan base. If you're not 100% clear, hire a coach and get clear. • determinedly invest the hours. Success is about building experience, refining skill sets and showing up for the next challenge. There's no short cut, no magic want, no quick fix - so, no excuses, get on with it. • be kind to yourself. Every 'failure' is an opportunity to learn - and when we're transparent about our oversights we realise that everyone's been there, everyone's got scars and stories... and that's a good thing. • be patient and trust for the reward. I know you want to be CEO, or have your multiple-7-figure business right now. It's coming. You're closer today than yesterday. Relax about it and enjoy the journey. Take a lesson in confidence and clarity from Bolt and remind yourself: 'I know my business!'