More Learnings from the Best in the World
A unique look at learnings on being human from the world's highest performers
Some articles start as fully formed thoughts, others have a central topic which requires work to fill it out. This one was unique, what started as a collection of observations illuminated a through line that probably reflects more and more of what I have been thinking about of recent times. Specifically the messiness of being human and working with humans in the health and performance realms - something I had little appreciation of in the earlier portions of my career. Perhaps this is a normal progression, it’s certainly something I have observed as a pattern between younger and older practitioners and coaches (I think I just outed myself as old - my achilles would agree).
Tangential Fields are Where More Learning is Done
Early in my coaching career I was working with a sports coach who was considered one of the country’s best, a satellite coach for the national sporting body and a scout for NCAA D1 colleges. I remember speaking to him one day and asking how much time he spent watching other coaches in the sport, his answer? Not at all, he went to watch another sport which had some similarities but on face value was quite different. He said he learned more there, and got different ideas. That was somewhere in the vicinity of 20 years ago, so you can tell the impact it had on me.
For a myriad of reasons, fields slightly adjacent are where there is more to be learned. These fields are closely related enough that there is transferability, but different enough that people in them think differently and can share ideas. On that note, coaches in other sports will happily share ideas, whereas at times there is a zero sum game mentality amongst coaches, not wanting to share their ideas with others they may see as a threat (the best don’t do this for the record).
The return on investment of time is much better in other sports - as someone proficient enough to be thinking this way, chances are there’s not a lot of new things seen in their own sport, but a new sport has much novelty which could be learned from.
Everyone is Treated Fairly, But Not Equally
I think the first time I came across the phrase above specifically was from one of my favourite coaches and leaders, Mike Tomlin (he also happens to coach my NFL team the Pittsburgh Steelers).
It took me a quite a while to learn and understand the meaning and importance of this. For the longest time, I was of the opinion that everyone should be treated the same because that was fair. I guess the discussion centres around equity versus equality and that’s a bit of a pandora’s box. That said, in high functioning organisations, teams and even groups of individuals, it is pretty clear that people are treated differently (because they need different things to perform, and in high performance, its about performance). That may be more care for some, more leeway for others or anything else. The harsh reality is that higher performers are often given more leeway, you may hear the statement in some corners of the world “be who you can afford to be.”
The underlying message relates in part of athletes, employees, coworkers or the likes being humans first. And as humans they are unique and different and getting them to perform is thus different between individuals.
You’ve Probably Never Heard of the Best
I have been struck by many interactions recently, where people who have achieved amazing things (think going to world championships) are often very hesitant to mention their prowess and others are quick to trumpet their much more meagre success. There’s a lot we could discuss about this, and it’s drivers, but this is an article in itself. The key point is, I haven’t met too many of the world’s highest performers who are vocal about their success. I have certainly met some who aren’t scared to mention it, but there’s a distinct difference between not being reserved and being overly forward.
In a world with so much social media and media noise in general, it can be hard to remember that the work isn’t in the content in many cases. The exceptions are immediately obvious; influencers, content creators etc. But in many cases, the content is at the very least a resource drain (time, energy, money) and potentially a significant detractor from the craft itself, whatever that may be.
This isn’t to say people shouldn’t be creating content, in fact it’s increasingly essential. But it is to say those who create the most content are certainly trading that off against the ‘main thing’ (Ilona Maher, the world’s most followed rugby player is has discussed this at length). There are many tactics to manage this and streamline the task, for example content teams are standard in and around many elite athletes these days, to allow for athletes to remove the concern around content creation which is increasingly an essential component to their contracts.
The important thing to remember here is that the loudest and most well known aren’t always the best. Many have been quoted as saying that confidence is quiet, whilst insecurity is loud.
Planning is About the Goldilocks Zone
There are a number of different quotes that could fit here; ‘the map isn’t the territory’, ‘no plan survives the first engagement’ and the list continues. Given the volatility of the high performance world, there is a constant need to reevaluate and course correct. This doesn’t mean that there’s no role for a plan, in fact it increases the need for high level plans that allow flexibility and course correction within them. It is worth noting that Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” is a bit of a misnomer - it’s the most adaptable organisms that survive (they adapt to the environment and thrive).
The take home message; if you’re married to a plan and/or not constantly corse correcting then you’re in trouble. You need a North star that directs direction of movement, more than is something hyperprescriptive.
We are in the Human Business
Humans are not machines, no matter how much they look like it or we try to force them to be as such. This speaks to applying stress, of course (as discussed here), but also how we treat and interact with them. As a result people will thrive when we acknowledge their humanity. In doing this, and working with it and all it brings, it can be a superpower.
Note; I previously wrote a similar article so if you missed my first article on Lessons Learned from the Best Athletes & Coaches in the World then I would go read it for more insights.
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