Seven powerful personal tips from a Sports Champion.

When I wrote today's topic, the question that came to mind was; how do people feel after meeting with you? It is a powerful question and one that I think if you ask, it will improve the impact you have on others. 

The sports champion whom we learn from today is five-time Paralympian, Matt Levy. And here is how the story starts;

One day working away, I saw an email. I'm not too fond of email; there are always 00's unanswered in the inbox. So never having the time to read them all and respond, I have developed a habit I refer to as "scan mail."

So during a daily scan, I saw Matt Levy, and I thought I know that name from somewhere in the back of my mind. So I opened the email, and Matt said he had come across SportsHosts and would like to help us somehow.

I quickly looked up Matt and discovered I did indeed know of Matt; he is a gold medalist, record-breaking world Paralympian, and the recipient of an Order of Australia, an honour that recognizes Australian citizens for achievement meritorious service. 

Since SportsHosts is an exciting project, we have been fortunate enough to have some great people volunteer to help, but usually after we got to know them in some way. But here was Matt out of the blue offering his professional expertise.

Beyond swimming, I quickly discovered that Matt works at one of Australia's largest banks, specializing in performance and change management.

So after answering that email, here is the story about what I have learned from Matt. 

About Matt 

Matt is 34 years of age. He was born prematurely at 25 weeks with Cerebral Palsy and is legally blind. Matt had approximately 40-50 operations ranging from heart, lungs, brain, and ear. 

From the very beginning, life was a challenge. 

Matt started swimming at 5 or 6 years as it was a great way to get his limbs moving and to improve his health.

When Matt was 12 years old, he competed for the first time at the NSW state championships – not particularly successfully, but competition was now in his blood.

What I have learned from Matt

Matt has written a must-read book, "Keeping Your Head Above Water." In the book, Matt has some powerful quotes and also shares his framework for success. But instead of using the book as the basis for this article, I will frame it entirely around my personal experience and insights. 

Matt has been working with my team for most of 2021; his role is to keep our performance on track.

Matt is extraordinary, and I mean that literally, I have never met a person like him. He combines gentleness, casualness, good humour with sharp insights, and a natural way of bringing the best out in people.

He is not over-complicated; his process takes the end goal and breaks it down into smaller goals. While this sounds simple and logical, I have seen where this "foolproof" process breaks down time after time. 

And the reason it breaks down is people are not straight-line 'logical,' life doesn't go according to plan, and people need to feel empowered, positive, and eager even when things go wrong. So, in short, the process fails due to human elements. 

Matt is different; he ignites the human connection, but not in a Tony Robbins loud motivational style, but in an "authentic" human way. Watching Matt's style in action, I have defined it into seven points as I see it.

Tips on increasing personal impact: 

1. When meeting with people, come offering something to give
2. Do not be judgemental. 
3. Have a sense of humour and fun.
4. Keep your eye on the goal.
5. Take time and gain insights, and feed those insights back to get people to think through things. Think differently. 
6. Stick to time in meetings.
7. Leave people feeling better.

Point 1

Point one is the most powerful and transformative one. As writing this, I realized I always define what I want to achieve in a meeting, "what do I need to get out of the meeting." 

This is important as meetings without outcomes waste everyone's time and add nothing but stress. Although the lightbulb for me is "what do I bring." Don't get me wrong, I try to always add value, but I realized I need to add this question to my pre-meeting planning, as it could be a game-changer.

Matt seems to do this naturally, and he often sends me agenda clarifications before the meeting, saying something like, I have been thinking, "I think if I do x, the team will get more from the meeting.

Point two

Matt simply does not pass negative judgment. Instead, he accepts the position and asks why and how we fix it without anyone feeling negative. This is a skill, as when things are not going according to plan, you have to develop team enthusiasm to reset and implement plan B. If you make people feel negative emotions, which may make you feel temporarily better as a leader, it generally leads to poorer team performance. 

Point three

Matt is light-hearted and puts things into perspective. I think after 40-50 operations in life and overcoming what he has, Matt simply doesn't sweat the small shit.

Point 4

Just because Matt is light-hearted, non-judgemental in no way distracts him from focusing on the end goal. He simply doesn't lose sight of it.

Point 5 

Matt takes time to learn about something before he comments, either by doing his own research before a meeting or asking a series of questions during the meeting. When asking questions, he does what I have seen all highly effective people do; he is not afraid of asking dumb questions. If he doesn't understand, he asks, and then he follows up the questions until he does understand. 

Most importantly, he uses the insights to add value to the team, see things you are missing, and helping the team think differently. 

Point 6

With an influential role at the bank and an Olympic career, Matt sticks to the schedule at all times. He is always on time and always finishes on time. And the most significant benefit is that he is never seems rushed because he is always on schedule. 

Point 7 

I cannot put my finger on how to explain this point to provide insights into transferable skills we can learn from and implement. But after meeting with Matt, my team and myself always feel better, and we have more energy. And if I was pushed to nail it, it is because he makes you feel good about yourself in a genuine, down-to-earth manner. 

The best I can do is revert back to point 1, you come to a meeting thinking about what you can offer others, and you leave your ego at the door. Meaning you do not respond to people based on defending or reinforcing your point of view; instead, you seek to understand and direct. 

To get the most out of the above points, considering you have heard them all before, is to stop and ask yourself the question, "how do people feel after meeting with me? And match the emotion you think you leave your team with to the emotion you think would best serve them, you, and the team. And if there is a gap, your impact is probably not what it could be.

I know I will change because of this simple question.

Although before I finish, I have one last important point. Do not confuse the above with caring about what people think of you, because worrying about this question is the most disempowering thought; ever. 

You should never attend meetings and do things so people like you; that is not what this is about. You still have to be honest, direct, and focus on objectives, but you balance that with taking into account your impact on others' emotions so that they are inspired to keep fighting the good fight with you, not against you.

Matt's Sports Achievements

Matt is a swimmer who has competed at four Paralympic Games, winning two gold, one silver, and four bronze medals. Matt is competing at his fifth Paralympic Games in July this year.

Matt started in 2002 as a junior with his first Paralympics in Athens,2004.

2008 – Bejing Paralympic Games. Fastest 400 FS swimmer in the nation for class. Won first ever Paralympic gold medal in 4x100Im Relay

2009 – World Championships. Four Gold, Two Silver, Four World Records- Fastest S7over100m in Freestyle and IM events. 50fly event Won 100 Fs by 13metres

2010 – World Championships. 3 Gold 1 Silver 1 bronze 2 World Records. Fastest relay team in history for the IM and FS relays.

2012 – Paralympic Games London, 1 gold 4×100 Free 1 silver 100 Freestyle S7, 3 Bronze, 200 IM, 100 Breastroke, and 4x 100 Medley Relay. Lead by 14metres in my Freestyle relay leg in the 4×100 FS

2013 – World Championships. 2 Gold 1 silver 1 bronze- Flagbearer at the opening ceremony. Won my first ever world championship gold medal

2016 – Paralympics Rio. 1 Bronze.

2021 - Heading to Paralympics, Tokyo