What Can Business Teach Olympians?

The Olympics are here, bringing a wave of excitement and inspiration! Like many others, I love watching the events – sports I wouldn’t normally tune into suddenly captivate me. Equestrian cross country anyone?

Yet, what I’ve enjoyed most so far are the interviews with the athletes following their events. When they attribute their success (whether or not that’s a medal) to their teams and loved ones, remind us to enjoy the experience despite the pressure, and emphasise giving their best effort.

As always, there are countless lessons that business can take from sports. But what about the other way around? Surely, we in the business world have insights to share with these seemingly superhuman athletes. After all, performance is a major focus in both arenas.

Surprisingly when I googled the question, 'What can Sport learn from Business?' I got nothing. In fact, the prompt encouraged me to change the search to “What Business can learn from Sport?', to which the links are endless. This got me thinking...

In business, performance is paramount. The expectation is to perform at 100%, 100% of the time. This might be different for you, but I don’t ever remember being told I could take my foot off the accelerator because we were in a ‘60% performance period’. In contrast, athletes often peak at specific times – perhaps weekly, annually, or every four years. High performance has been a corporate buzzword for years, so surely, we have valuable lessons to share with athletes. We often have athletes and coaches speak at our business conferences, sharing their insights and stories. But do athletes ever learn from those of in suits? What lessons could we teach them?

Diverse Form

Athletes typically have a physical form suited to their sport. A lightweight rower looks different from a discus thrower yet both have unbelievable physical capabilities. In the workplace, high performers come in all shapes and sizes. It’s a strength of some businesses (there’s still some way to go here), that highlights the importance of different perspectives for innovation and success. Excellence isn’t limited to talents or abilities; mental agility and mindset are crucial too. This year’s Olympics showcased excellence from skateboarding competitors as young as 11, demonstrating that peak performance can come in many forms.

Customer Focus

Businesses have long put the customer at the heart of what they do, understanding and meeting customer needs, building strong relationships, and ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction. In sports, this focus is becoming more apparent. Swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan’s response to winning gold in the 200m - “I did it for the country, I didn’t do it for myself. I’m racing for all these people” – highlights this shift. Sports organisations are now engaging with fans through social media, personalised experiences, and community outreach, treating fans as valuable customers. Just as businesses focus on customer value, athletes benefit from engaging with their fans and building a tribe around them.

Strong Connections

Success in business relies on the quality of our connections with colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders. While many sports rely on individual performance, no athlete achieves greatness alone. For example, Jessica Fox’s canoe slalom may seem like a solo event, but her mother’s presence riding every river rapid from the bank alongside the rest of her support crew shows it’s a team effort. Today, athletes frequently acknowledge their coaches and supporters, emphasising positive connections and supportive environments as crucial to their success.

High Motivation

We know that the best type of motivation is intrinsic – it comes from within. We’re most driven when we do things for our own enjoyment or interest or something that aligns with our identity or values, rather than solely for external rewards like gold medals or KPIs. This aligns with having a sense of purpose. Companies like Apple, Tesla and AIA Australia use their purpose to motivate their teams by aligning them to a greater mission. When athletes find personal meaning in their sport beyond external rewards, they achieve a deeper level of motivation and satisfaction. Just as we’ve heard from boxer Harry Garside in recent days where he spoke about his loss but emphasised that the “biggest mission in life is to find who we are”, which he considers a “way more important reward”.

While athletes inspire us with their physical feats and dedication, the business world can also offer valuable lessons in performance too. In some ways, perhaps organisations have been embracing these principles before sports began to recognise their value, offering insights that athletes are now benefitting from.

So, what lessons have you learnt from business that you can share with athletes?

Until next time,

Anna