What makes them great? Part 1.

I recently did some work for Sports Psychologist, Rachel Jones and her new business - LIFT High Performance Consultants. As an ambassador of the consultancy it was a pleasure to work with Rachel on the 'What makes them great?" campaign she came up with to soft-launch her new venture.  The campaign, a short format social media push, scratched beneath the surface of a group of elite athletes, teams and businesses, pulling out a few key learnings from the things that made them great. Below are a few examples of my contributions. Enjoy Part 1.

What makes them great? Mick Fanning.

What makes Mick Fanning great? Quite simply, it’s his ability to bounce back. Mick has many other incredible qualities as a human, let alone an elite sportsman, but the one trait that shows his true character is that he never gives up. He’s faced mountainous adversity over the past few years, but the 3 times world surfing champion has overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges, by simply never giving up. He’s faced career ending injury, the loss of 2 brothers and last year the world watched in disbelief as he had an encounter with a great white shark during a championship tour event final in South Africa. 12 months after, Mick went back to South Africa to look the enemy in the eye, to set things right. And he did it the only way he knew how; by hard work, sheer determination and putting fear behind him, going on to win the event at the very venue his life flashed before his eyes. Never give up; it’s what makes champions great.

Photo: Surfing Magazine.

What makes them great? Leicester City.

What makes Leicester City great? Everyone loves an underdog story, especially in sport, and Leicester City’s story must rank as one of the greatest of modern sporting times. We all know now that they lifted the covered English Premier League trophy in 2015/16, but how they got there is what made them great! Starting the season with 5000 – 1 odds of lifting the silverware, the collective group shared a common dream; they asked themselves a simple question – Why not?  Lead by a group of senior players (Vardy, Mahrez, Kante), they inspired, empowered and built a belief system, that despite what others were saying about them, never deterred them from the goal they all believed they could achieve.  From being written off as a make shift team with no depth, to standing on the podium, they played to their strengths, stuck to their game plans and never let go of their dream. And that was the key, it was ‘their’ dream, and together, it’s what made them great.

Photo: Getty Images.

What makes them great? Virgin Brand.

What makes the Virgin brand great? Aside from great brand appeal, the driving force behind one of the world’s most recognizable brands is arguably one of the world’s most recognizable business leaders – Sir Richard Branson. His leadership style is key to the success of all his businesses. Inspirational and fearless are two words that immediately spring to mind. He’s not afraid to fail (has done so many times); he’s always open to great ideas (we’ve seen the diversity of the Virgin portfolio) and he leads from the front in a way that inspires those around him. 

Great leaders make great teams, businesses and brands, and Richard Branson is a great example of how to do it, while having some fun along the way.

Photo: Virgin Atlantic

What makes them great? Steph Curry.

What makes Steph Curry great? He single handedly changed the basketball landscape, bringing to the game a new brand of attack that left defenders answerless. Standing a mere 6’3, (Le Bron measures up at 6’8!) the point guard for the Gold State Warriors was never meant to make a big impact in the NBA (National Basketball Association) – I mean, how is a kid that is ‘only’ 6’3 going to dunk like all the legends that went before him? So did he learn to dunk? Nope. He just started shooting 3 pointers from way back on the court. And he did it so prodigiously that he quickly became one of the games most decorated athletes. So what makes him great? Perspective. He looked at the game differently to how it was always done before, and dared to dream up a new way. He played to his strengths, and backed himself all the way to the record books.

Be true to yourself and play to your strengths, it seems to work for Steph Curry.

Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty images

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