Drawing parallels between Decathletes and Executives

If there is one quality highly valued by employees and organizations alike, it is the ability to perform consistently well under different circumstances including, bad economies, downsizing, or rapid growth. But this is easier said than done. 

To achieve this level of performance coupled with changing work environments, today’s executives must train on various skills - as the way decathletes do. We can call them ‘corporate athletes.’

As a coach and a behavior specialist, I always wondered what makes some people thrive in the face of challenges while completely deflating others. From my experience, it seems that the ones who thrive and succeed are those who don’t just engage their thinking part of the brain but also other aspects of their entire persona, including emotional quotient, the overall feeling of well-being and a sense of purpose. 

Well-being is not just about mental wellness but also includes physical health. Most often than not, physical well-being is neglected and not given its due importance. But to succeed, one must pull all these elements together as a whole.       

Whether you are a decathlete or an executive, it is the long game you play. Each athlete, as well as the executive, has their strategy and plays to win! Though seemingly worlds apart, every athlete and executive have more in common than meets the eye - just that they are dealt with in very different ways. 

Consider this for a moment: The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has spent only 114 seconds, actually running, in the Olympics of 2008, 2012 and 2016. That is less than even two minutes! He is so fast that he could finish his 100m dash before you finish reading this article! 

But what goes on before he runs that one race?

Usain Bolt is known to have spent 1400 hours in preparation, which averages about 4 hours per day. Along with this, he would have access to the highest standards of nutrition, sleep, exercise, psychological support, rest, and renewal. He would have his personal #coach give him objective feedback, handhold him on bad days, and perform better with each passing race. 

But #UsainBolt is a short distance runner. He may not be able to ace a marathon - because both these, though are running races, require very different physical stamina, mental makeup, and #coaching. 

And he might abysmally fail as a decathlete as he honed his skill in one particular style of physical endurance - short distance running. Similarly, consider a VP of Sales (good at one role) who needs to step up to a CEO or a COO (good at many different roles). He needs to know how sales work but have to have a working knowledge of how at least half a dozen other skills contribute to the success of an organization. 

Now imagine Usain Bolt’s practice and effort into 10x - That’s the preparation required for a decathlete or an emerging leader. They have to prepare for ten different races (like #running a #marathon, #swimming, #biking, etc.) and have the mental bandwidth to keep going, irrespective of whether one wins or loses a particular race. Imagine the kind of rigorous practice they need to put in. 

Unlike Usain, who has the time and luxury to train and practice - 90% of the time, a C-suite executive is expected to hit the ground running and be productive from day one - which amounts to 90% of the time spent in performance and only 10% of his time in training. This is the exact inverse of how an athlete trains. For a corporate athlete, there is no time to invest in training, coaching, or testing runs. 

More so, there is little or no attention paid to mental and physical well-being in terms of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and rest. But a decathlete would take extra care to incorporate time to train, to rest and to replenish. And the stakes of losing any ‘race’ for a corporate athlete are higher as it is not just himself/herself that he/she represents. Still, they can affect the organization at large and result in a loss of reputation, money, or people resources.

A decathlete also enjoys offseason - and can use it as downtime - not just to rest and recover but to reflect and better strategize his game. But a corporate athlete barely can afford a couple of weeks of downtime in the form of leave, and sometimes that is also accompanied by emails and work calls!

And the corporate athlete goes on working long hard hours till he retires. In contrast, a professional athlete can afford to retire much earlier and enjoy the monetary benefits of his prowess if he manages them well early on. 

The demands most executives face in their everyday work environment are far more than any professional athlete must face in their entire careers.

In the changing times and uncertain demands, performing consistently for prolonged periods, under deep pressure and constant challenges is more relevant now than ever. With people losing jobs and taking massive pay cuts, the stakes are very high.

How is it relevant to the corporate world?

Unline Usain Bolt, who is the master of short-distance running, today’s top executives need to be like decathlete who are expected to be good at a lot more than their core leadership competencies. This might include people skills, communication skills, realistic optimism, healthy risk appetite, and more. Consider today’s marketing leaders who need to be able to compete within evolving ecosystems using parameters such as data, digital, mobile, experience, engagement, analytics, strategy, and equity.

The real game-changer would be to allow the corporate athletes to train, rest, and get coached. But the leaders today are asked to hit the ground running. They don’t have time for all this! They don’t get to rest and replenish. They are on edge. And they don’t ask for help. 

Though a coach is available to leaders in the higher ranks, they rarely indulge in these exercises and are not vocal about it. They may see it as a sign of weakness and vulnerability. They think that climbing as high as they have, the expectation is to perform well and go at it all-alone or at least make it seem like such. 

But the failure is in recognizing that they would need a guiding hand, a lending ear, and a rock-solid support system. Even Usain Bolt has a coach. The coach need not be the fastest runner in the world, but he knows how to shape Usain’s game. 

Similarly, a corporate coach can shape your game too. 

To meet the demands of a changing work environment and sustain high performance over more extended periods, corporate executives need to consider themselves corporate athletes. They need to train on multi-levels and have multifaceted skill sets, just like decathletes do. 

Organizations cannot afford to make demands of their employees while ignoring their employees’ physical and mental well-being. Whether it is the playing field or the boardroom, consistent high performance depends a lot on how one recovers and bounces back from a setback; and how they manage their lives in tandem with work. When one is strong and resilient - mentally, physically, and emotionally - they can perform better. When employees perform better, automatically, organizations thrive. 

Welcome your thoughts and perspectives on this Article and your personal experiences.

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