The week of August 2nd, Electives launched its very first week of Olympic learning pods. I can’t help but feel the chills when I see Simi Adeagbo on the Skeleton, or Shannon Miller performing her gold medal winning balance beam routine, or hear the story of Dan Cnossen surviving hell week as a Navy Seal (and later earning gold at the paralympics). The list goes on. As I listened to every Olympian (Garret, Dan, Simi, Matt, and Shannon), lessons and takeaways started to bubble up as consistent themes. Maybe there is some secret sauce to becoming really really good at something, I thought.

Here are workplace lessons from each Olympian that teaches for Electives:

Simi Adeagbo tried three different times to make the Olympics in triple jump. It was devastating to hear her story of trying so hard, and being so close. When Simi went to try out for the Olympic skeleton, she was technically too old for the tryouts.  As you might guess, Simi ignored the age “suggestion” and became the first Black and African woman to compete in Olympic Skeleton. Simi trained for only 100 days before competing on the Olympic stage against women who had been racing Skeleton their whole lives. None of them -- and none of the world -- had ever seen someone like Simi in their sport. When Simi got to the Olympics she realized that it wasn’t about fitting in, but rather, it was about standing out. Simi was able to find her higher level purpose: elevating the continent of Africa through sport, to accomplish and fulfill her dreams -- and to make history. When the original way you want to accomplish a goal doesn’t work out, you have to find, and be open to, other ways.

Matt Whitcomb, the coach of the US Cross Country Ski team told us several stories about how he develops a positive team culture. As was the case for Simi -- the magic sauce of a team and the best moments are often created from the failures, not the successes. One story stood out, however, about the reaction of teammates watching each other race the team relay. Every member of the team had been competing for the chance to race in this relay. One could imagine that the disappointment of not being selected might cloud the joy you would feel for those who were selected. However, when we watched the video of the sprint finish we witnessed the (theoretically disappointed) team members flood their teammates at the finish line. Amidst competition and heartbreak, there was an opportunity for the team to prove its strength and depth. Greatness was revealed through difficulty, as opposed to a time of ‘winning for all.’ Matt explained that greatness is realized in times of loss and challenge. If you can’t embrace and learn from the losses, you won’t be able to accomplish your dreams.

When Garrett Klugh was selected for the Olympic rowing team, it was not the moment of unbridled joy that one might imagine. Making the Olympics had been Garrett’s dream since he was 9 years old watching the Olympics in his hometown of L.A. However, his National Team coach at the time was not the cheerleading type. When Garrett was told he was selected, there was yelling, anger, imposed doubt, and confusion. Coming out of this Garrett realized he had to focus on the only thing he could control: himself. Garrett had to drown out one of the most important people in his Olympic experience, and see it as an opportunity to be successful despite negativity and pain.

There is no way to do justice to the power of Dan Cnossen’s story. First, making it through Hell Week to become a Navy SEAL (lesson: when you are in a situation that pushes you to the extreme, focus on the task at hand and prioritize what you can control to make it through!) and then being deployed to Afghanistan as a platoon leader to represent and defend his country-- fulfilling his goal and living out his purpose. On Dan’s first expedition in the middle of the night in Afghanistan he stepped on a bomb. After being dragged down a mountain in pitch black darkness and barely making it into a helicopter, then surviving 10 days of a coma, Dan woke up at Walter Reed in Maryland realizing that both of his legs had been amputated above the knee. The resilience that Dan had built during hell week kicked in at this moment when he was at rock bottom. Dan applied his practiced resilience and decided to focus on what he had, not what he was missing. Dan has since fulfilled his purpose of representing his country in a different way at the paralympics. We consistently heard from these Olympians that fulfilling your dreams don’t always play out like you think they will. Flexibility and resilience are critical.

Shannon Miller’s story -- both at the Olympics, and as a cancer survivor -- reinforce these themes. It is easy to look at Shannon’s medals and think that she must have had a perfect run at the Olympic games. But when you hear her story, you realize that Shannon had several moments of failure (yes, during Olympic competition in front of huge crowds) and as a result, significant self doubt. Shannon had to constantly remind herself to focus on her attitude, and to be proud of the work she put in -- not to focus only on the outcome. Shannon knew if she worked hard, and kept a positive attitude (two things she knew she could control) that she would be successful no matter what. And later in life -- when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, this practiced resilience and positivity mattered more than ever.

Learning from Olympians last week, I was reminded of how powerful we can be as human beings. As cliche as it sounds, we can do really amazing things! Physically, but even more so, mentally. I was reminded to pause and remember my “why” - so that I can establish both my long and short term goals. After all, when things get hard, knowing your purpose is key. Finding inspiration and learning from others is also important -- and our Olympians definitely delivered.

We can’t wait for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games that are already coming up so soon! Simi, Matt and Dan -- we will be cheering you on!

The week of August 2nd, Electives launched its very first week of Olympic learning pods. I can’t help but feel the chills when I see Simi Adeagbo on the Skeleton, or Shannon Miller performing her gold medal winning balance beam routine, or hear the story of Dan Cnossen surviving hell week as a Navy Seal (and later earning gold at the paralympics). The list goes on. As I listened to every Olympian (Garret, Dan, Simi, Matt, and Shannon), lessons and takeaways started to bubble up as consistent themes. Maybe there is some secret sauce to becoming really really good at something, I thought.

Here are workplace lessons from each Olympian that teaches for Electives:

Simi Adeagbo tried three different times to make the Olympics in triple jump. It was devastating to hear her story of trying so hard, and being so close. When Simi went to try out for the Olympic skeleton, she was technically too old for the tryouts.  As you might guess, Simi ignored the age “suggestion” and became the first Black and African woman to compete in Olympic Skeleton. Simi trained for only 100 days before competing on the Olympic stage against women who had been racing Skeleton their whole lives. None of them -- and none of the world -- had ever seen someone like Simi in their sport. When Simi got to the Olympics she realized that it wasn’t about fitting in, but rather, it was about standing out. Simi was able to find her higher level purpose: elevating the continent of Africa through sport, to accomplish and fulfill her dreams -- and to make history. When the original way you want to accomplish a goal doesn’t work out, you have to find, and be open to, other ways.

Matt Whitcomb, the coach of the US Cross Country Ski team told us several stories about how he develops a positive team culture. As was the case for Simi -- the magic sauce of a team and the best moments are often created from the failures, not the successes. One story stood out, however, about the reaction of teammates watching each other race the team relay. Every member of the team had been competing for the chance to race in this relay. One could imagine that the disappointment of not being selected might cloud the joy you would feel for those who were selected. However, when we watched the video of the sprint finish we witnessed the (theoretically disappointed) team members flood their teammates at the finish line. Amidst competition and heartbreak, there was an opportunity for the team to prove its strength and depth. Greatness was revealed through difficulty, as opposed to a time of ‘winning for all.’ Matt explained that greatness is realized in times of loss and challenge. If you can’t embrace and learn from the losses, you won’t be able to accomplish your dreams.

When Garrett Klugh was selected for the Olympic rowing team, it was not the moment of unbridled joy that one might imagine. Making the Olympics had been Garrett’s dream since he was 9 years old watching the Olympics in his hometown of L.A. However, his National Team coach at the time was not the cheerleading type. When Garrett was told he was selected, there was yelling, anger, imposed doubt, and confusion. Coming out of this Garrett realized he had to focus on the only thing he could control: himself. Garrett had to drown out one of the most important people in his Olympic experience, and see it as an opportunity to be successful despite negativity and pain.

There is no way to do justice to the power of Dan Cnossen’s story. First, making it through Hell Week to become a Navy SEAL (lesson: when you are in a situation that pushes you to the extreme, focus on the task at hand and prioritize what you can control to make it through!) and then being deployed to Afghanistan as a platoon leader to represent and defend his country-- fulfilling his goal and living out his purpose. On Dan’s first expedition in the middle of the night in Afghanistan he stepped on a bomb. After being dragged down a mountain in pitch black darkness and barely making it into a helicopter, then surviving 10 days of a coma, Dan woke up at Walter Reed in Maryland realizing that both of his legs had been amputated above the knee. The resilience that Dan had built during hell week kicked in at this moment when he was at rock bottom. Dan applied his practiced resilience and decided to focus on what he had, not what he was missing. Dan has since fulfilled his purpose of representing his country in a different way at the paralympics. We consistently heard from these Olympians that fulfilling your dreams don’t always play out like you think they will. Flexibility and resilience are critical.

Shannon Miller’s story -- both at the Olympics, and as a cancer survivor -- reinforce these themes. It is easy to look at Shannon’s medals and think that she must have had a perfect run at the Olympic games. But when you hear her story, you realize that Shannon had several moments of failure (yes, during Olympic competition in front of huge crowds) and as a result, significant self doubt. Shannon had to constantly remind herself to focus on her attitude, and to be proud of the work she put in -- not to focus only on the outcome. Shannon knew if she worked hard, and kept a positive attitude (two things she knew she could control) that she would be successful no matter what. And later in life -- when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, this practiced resilience and positivity mattered more than ever.

Learning from Olympians last week, I was reminded of how powerful we can be as human beings. As cliche as it sounds, we can do really amazing things! Physically, but even more so, mentally. I was reminded to pause and remember my “why” - so that I can establish both my long and short term goals. After all, when things get hard, knowing your purpose is key. Finding inspiration and learning from others is also important -- and our Olympians definitely delivered.

We can’t wait for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games that are already coming up so soon! Simi, Matt and Dan -- we will be cheering you on!

CALL TO ACTION

Electives explains the workplace lessons learned from 5 olympian teachers during an Olympic pod week. 

Workplace Lessons Learned From Olympic Athletes: Storytelling, Resilience, Teamwork

Wed Aug 11 2021

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