The Olympics Games Tokyo 2020 is here! Postponed last year due to the heightening pandemic, organizers finally decided to hold the games this year mostly without spectators at venues. While the event is held with so many restrictions, the arrival of the Olympics can give some form of hope. Sporting heroes can lift up the mood and motivation for countries and individuals who are struggling in dealing with the Covid-19.
Do you enjoy watching sport, too? Chances are, you just want to be entertained by sport shows. The truth is, HR leaders could actually learn from sporting heroes. The world of work and the world of sport are not that far apart, after all.
Take away many leadership lessons from watching your sporting heroes, says Alistair Cox, CEO of recruiting experts Hays. In his latest LinkedIn Influencer blog, Alistair says there are five key lessons to learn from watching your favorite sportspeople in action.
Here are the lessons:
1. Winners are good delegators
There are no companies that would welcome a one-man show or even a superhero. Just like what’s written on the employee appraisal, each person should put teamwork as the first priority. Thus, HR leaders should learn how to delegate.
“Winning teams and sports stars require excellent managers and coaches, and the best coaches and managers are brilliant delegators,” says Alistair. “As a leader you must give each of your team a clearly defined role and prepare them to perform to the best of their abilities.
“In business we can often find ourselves trying to micromanage everything, especially the more senior we get. But just like in sport, we need to empower teams by delegating roles and responsibilities to ensure tasks get the focus and expertise they deserve.”
See: Office Fantasy Football League – One More Team Building Idea
2. Look after your talent, on and off the pitch
Creating a support network for your employees, such as helping recently relocated staff settle into their new environment and beyond, can help to ensure your talent performs well and consistently.
Alistair says, “It’s essential that any team, whether in sport or business, is not only hiring the best talent across all roles and disciplines, but also creating an environment in which they can thrive, focus and be successful.”
3. Know your competitors, but don’t get obsessed
In order to win against your competitors, you must first know how to do so. When you lose a business pitch you need to understand why it happens, while not losing sight of your own strengths during the process.
Alistair says, “In business, decide which members of your team need to focus their time and energy on what your competitors are doing, and the rest of you should concentrate on being the best in the business.”
4. Strength of character
To be a strong leader, you must not only learn from your mistakes. More importantly, you should bounce back from them too.
Alistair says, “To be a good leader you need to be more than just the fastest runner or the best strategic thinker, you need to be mentally robust. This is vital to make the right decisions when the pressure is on, learn from failure and bounce back from criticism.”
5. It’s not only about the big wins
The big wins are often the ones that are talked about, but it is important to remember that success doesn’t just happen overnight and these big wins are a result of smaller wins along the way.
Alistair says, “It’s just as important to celebrate and relish small victories. Setting and hitting plenty of small goals and targets can help to keep the team on track and motivated to work towards the next big one.”
See also: How An HR Can Become A Recruiting Superhero
