Do what I know...

It was interesting watching a clip of Cathy Freeman yesterday reflecting on her gold medal success at the Sydney Olympics, in front of 112,000 people, carrying the hopes of a nation and performing under a huge weight of expectation.

In the midst of all of that hype, excitement, pressure, hope and expectation, as she warmed up, Cathy Freeman simply kept repeating to herself, "Do what I know, Do what I know". Nothing more complicated than that. Some incredibly powerful, simple, self-instruction. Under all that scrutiny, what did she know she could do? She knew she could do what she knew she could. She knew her abilities in detail and simply had to trust that they would be there when she needed them most (no reason to believe they'd suddenly disappear!). No self-instruction like "win gold" or "don't screw up" - simply, "do what I know", which is all about the process. Get the process right and you maximise the chances of getting the outcome you know you're capable of.

So, do you know yourself well enough to trust what you'd get when you do what you know? Have you spent enough time thinking about your process, so that you can trust it under the most intense pressure (as well as when you're having an easier time)?

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, so someone once said, but to be as simple as that, you have to have studied yourself and accepted your abilities in some detail. Go on, be in a position where you can do what you know, and enjoy doing it.

Why bother?

Viktor Frankl (author of the great book, Man's Search for Meaning) observed that "where there is a why, you can endure almost any how"... deep words... but very true.

So, have a look around you. We're in pretty tough times, and the people who have a "why", either a personal why, team why or organisational why, that actually means something, are more likely to be able to endure any current challenges. When times are good, the "whys" really make a difference too in terms of fulfilling potential. However, the "whys" right now really need to be present. Do you see the right kind of people?

Who's seeing beyond the current doom and gloom? Who's seeing only the doom and gloom?

Who's going to be making sure that you manage the current climate more effectively than everybody else in your sector by doing 'almost any how'? And who's giving in and just waiting for the inevitable failure, because they have no clear why that actually means anything to them?

Character and attitude are going to be crucial for the next few months. As has been oft observed, attitudes are contagious. Make sure that the negative attitudes, let loose with no "why" to guide them don't become the contagious ones in your world. Be brave on leading with attitude and strong character traits and see who else is going to help deliver an important "why".

High Performance Leadership

You might be interested to read Lawrence Dallaglio's recent words in a great article in the Times.

This paragraph jumped out for me as being majorly relevant to the current challenges...

"We had great players in specialist areas and leadership was clearly an integral part of our success in 2003. We had Johnson, Vickery, Hill, Back, Greenwood and Dawson — leaders and personalities all over the pitch. This is an area in which I think England have had, and continue to have, concerns.”

In pressurised times, to have a number of key personnel who see themselves as leaders from their position within a team, you have a far greater chance of success. Every one of them leading by making sure their performance sets standards. Every one of them urging more from someone around them. Everyone of them being focused on delivering, for the team. Great leaders don't lead for themselves, they lead for the greater good of the collective effort. What a great set of attributes to have at this point in time - how many leaders are stepping up for your team, from their position of influence?

Mental Toughness...

In some research we were involved in a few years ago, we found a couple of interesting things out about people who were voted as very mentally tough by folks who understood their world.

First thing was that mentally tough people had confidence that didn't break down easily - it wasn't necessarily very, very high confidence, but was more characterised as robust. Any thoughts about how robust your confidence is (confidence in your own abilities!)?

The other interesting thing about the mentally tough folks was that they always thought the team would perform better if they were around, because they knew what qualities they bought to any team they were on. If they weren't there, these obvious qualities would be missing, so the team wouldn't have their undoubted strengths to draw upon. So, why is your team better off because you're part of it and are you maximising the benefits of you being around right now?

If you're going to be mentally tough, you have to invest some time working out how to make your confidence robust and how to ensure you're valuing the difference you make to people. There's more to it than that, but those were two highlight points that seem pertinent right now!