The Djokovic Secret to Success

Behind every champion, there is a lesson for us all.

A few days back my wife and I had the privilege of witnessing at arms length distance the epic 2015 US Opens Men’s Singles Finals between Djokovic and Federer at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York along with 23,198 other people almost all of who were cheering for Roger Federer.

Whilst my wife and I are certainly not celebrity crazy by any stretch of the imagination, it is another thing when one is surrounded by entire rows of them in everyday casual clothing. Therefore, after getting beyond the strange feeling of being around the likes of Sean Connery, David Beckham, Leonardo Di Caprio, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman and Adrian Brody, it was further shocking for us to see Djokovic quietly take on the entire stadium while step-by-step overcoming the insurmountable pressure put forth by his opponent and the environment.

Shortly after he won, our eyes followed him to his box to see what he would do next. As we did that, I couldn’t help but think how a player like Djokovic could establish a mental focus so unflinching that an entire stadium and its formidable and most talented representative, the greatest Tennis star of all, Roger Federer were unable to rattle him even a bit.

And then the answer flashed right in front of my eyes as I saw him kissing his wife Jelena – the very first thing he did after winning the finals trophy.

There are of course many reasons for the success of Novak Djokovic but there are none more important at this present moment than this one, something that he has himself told the audience:

His family are his rock.

His idyllic home life with his wife Jelena and his baby son Stefan has given him those extra ounces of inspiration needed to push himself further than anyone else.

He continues to dominate the sport, despite an unprecedented amount of competition from his rivals, something he ascribes to his current contentment as a husband and father. This is what Djokovic has said:

“Ever since I got married and became a father, I haven't lost many matches and have won many tournaments. I suggest to every player, get married, have kids and enjoy this. It has brought a lot of joy in my life, of course, but also a lot of positive energy and motivation to my professional life. You always try to set up a new kind of goals, find an inspiration. You're always in a pursuit of finding that something that is going to drive you, that is going to keep you on alert every single day, keep you going for practice sessions, and doing the same things day in and day out. I'm still riding on the wave of that experience. It has helped my tennis, definitely. I'm more focused, but I'm balanced.”

The tug of war between personal and professional lives is a real issue for most of the people on this planet. It doesn’t matter whether you live in California or Kolkata; my belief is that the vast majority of us work to live, and not the other way around. We have families, we have loved ones, and they give us the strength to carry on when the going gets tough at work.

Djokovic doesn’t shut his family out of his thoughts when he plays his tennis. They are not a distraction for him, they make him stronger and give him the determination to carry on. He does what he needs to do and travels all over the world for his tournaments (sometimes having to leave them at home), but they are seemingly always there in his mind.

It is hard to ask someone to put their family in second place. The rise of the freelance economy and the focus on work-life balance demonstrates that this movement is getting ever stronger and touching ever more people. Having said this, we can always do more.

There are far too many examples to mention….

If bosses were to think about the impact on someone’s mental wellbeing after having watched his daughter at a ballet recital, they might decide to give them the afternoon off. Watching a video is not the same, and resentment builds easily if too many such moments are missed. Is it so hard to let them make up the time another day?

It is all about compassion. Employers should let people feel free to put their family first when they need to. They should not feel guilty and should not feel that it makes them a bad employee who doesn’t care about his job. Someone who is worrying about family matters is not “present” in any case, so sometimes a little more common sense is needed.

If Djokovic ascribes such amazing success to his family, maybe employers might see more success if they let their employees’ families take a higher priority?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you. I write a daily blog on leadership, innovation, careers, tech & self improvement. Here are some other articles I have written. If you like what you read, please feel free to follow me here on LinkedIn or via twitter @anuragharsh.