August 5, 2024 • 28 mins
Comments, questions? Let's connect!
What if you could achieve peak performance in your everyday life, just like an Olympian? In this episode, we uncover the secrets of reaching your full potential by exploring the systems and principles that drive top athletes to succeed. From emotional connections to feeling undervalued in your job, we dive deep into personal stories and the broader implications of stress and dissatisfaction, offering actionable insights to harness peak performance for fulfillment, organisational engagement and success.
The journey continues as we explore self-awareness and systems thinking, using Olympic athletes as a shining example. We bring psychologist Tasha Eurich's research to light, revealing the gap between perceived and actual self-awareness, and the importance of continuous self-reflection. Tools like 360-degree feedback processes are discussed to help us understand our behavior and its impact on our own performance and others, fostering personal and professional growth. Discover how empowering both individuals and systems can lead to extraordinary achievements.
Finally, we break down the Olympic system itself, highlighting key elements like reward and recognition, friendly competition, shared focus, and diversity and inclusion. Learn about the significance of meaningful recognition in the workplace and how it can enhance performance. We also introduce the Leadership Circle Profile, a powerful 360 feedback tool that helps identify strengths and areas for growth. Join us to explore how empowering YOU and the SYSTEM is key to unlocking peak performance
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jolynne Rydz (00:02):
Welcome on in to this bonus episode on what the
Olympics can teach us about peakperformance.
Before I get started into howyou can level up your peak
performance, get into a flowstate and really have a bigger
impact, I'd love to say a reallyheartfelt thank you for all the
(00:23):
messages people have beensending me about the podcast.
It's been so nice to hear howit's been resonating and what's
working and what's not.
So keep that coming.
And this podcast is free.
So the best thing you can do ifyou want to pay it forward is
to rate or review the podcastwherever you listen, because
that is how we play the game ofthe algorithms and get it into
(00:47):
their podcasts and faces andears of more people that can tap
into their own MagneticAuthenticity.
Because I truly believe that ifwe can do that, when more
people are harnessing their ownmagnetic authenticity, people
are going to be happier.
They're going to be morefulfilled because they're using
their strengths, they're leaninginto that, they're going to be
(01:08):
more resilient, less stressed.
It's going to have a rippleeffect.
I can feel it deep in my bones.
So I would love for you to helpout and take part by rating and
reviewing wherever you listento your podcast.
I know that Apple Podcasts doit.
Spotify allows you to leave arating and Audible allows you to
do ratings and reviews as well.
I actually do want to give youa prize to encourage you to give
(01:31):
it a go, because you might bethinking, oh, I don't know if I
really want to do that or put itout there.
It does make such a differenceand it makes me feel so
incredibly grateful when you do.
Let me know how things aregoing and if you do, what I'd
like to do is read out a randomreview on the podcast and if I
choose yours, I'd invite you toask me a question.
(01:51):
So what I'll do is I'll be incontact with you or I'll invite
you to contact me, depending onwhether you've left your details
there or not.
So you don't need to leave yourdetails.
I'll work out a way to get intouch with you.
But what I will give you as aprize is the opportunity to ask
a question you have about what'sholding you back from having
the impact you want to have.
So any question that might cometo your mind you really wanting
(02:14):
to know some insights on, it'sreally been holding you back for
some time.
I'll listen to the question andI'll give you a customized tip
to help you move forward.
So that will be my gift to youfor saying thank you for leaving
a rating or review.
All right, so let's get intotoday's topic, which is what the
Olympics can teach us aboutpeak performance.
(02:37):
I've been watching the Olympicsfor years.
I have this memory of sittingaround the table together as a
family.
We would be sitting at thekitchen bench and we'd have this
tiny white CRT TV and we wouldbe watching the opening ceremony
and it was always so inspiringall of these people coming
together to create a performanceand the energy that that
(03:00):
created, and the celebration ofthe achievements and the hard
work and commitment it took forthe athletes to get to where
they are and also for the cityhosting the event, what it's
taken them to prepare for theGames in terms of infrastructure
and accommodating all thesepeople coming into their city
(03:22):
and being really proud of beinga host country, coming into
their city and being reallyproud of being a host country.
I always used to love thecreativity as well that went
into the unique way the flamewas going to be lit.
Each year there was a sense ofexcitement and, as an empath,
that is one of my strengths.
What that means is that I canliterally feel other people's
(03:43):
emotions, and sometimes even ifthey're.
I can literally feel otherpeople's emotions and sometimes
even if they're blocking it ornot in tune with it themselves.
I can feel what's going on andI can help them through that and
help them understand what it isand what it might mean for them
and how to use it to theirstrength.
It's one of the strengths Ioften use when I'm coaching my
clients one-on-one.
So as I sit there watchingthese opening ceremonies, I can
(04:04):
feel this overwhelming sense ofpride, excitement, nerves.
Sometimes it actually brings meto tears because the feeling is
that strong and I think it'sbecause of that the number of
people that are there that havebeen a part of this wonderful
event.
It's such a celebration.
It's an immersion of people intheir peak of their careers,
(04:28):
coming together to show theirstuff and challenge themselves.
I came across this veryinteresting statistic, which is,
according to the independentresearch done by the IOC, over 3
billion people actually tunedin to watch the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics, and I find thisastounding because that's an
(04:50):
incredible amount of people allwatching this one event that's
come together to give people theopportunity to perform at their
best, at their peak.
So there's almost this magneticattraction to peak performance
and athletes giving it theirbest shot.
So I wanted to unpack thisbecause I am a true believer
that you can take things from adifferent context and apply them
(05:13):
and get some learnings fromthem.
So when I reflect against theOlympics to the everyday world
now, let's look at theindividual.
So that's each and every one ofus.
Let's look at the individual sothat's each and every one of us
.
I see way too many people stuckin jobs that don't light them up
(05:34):
, or maybe jobs that make themfeel pigeonholed into doing a
certain thing that they startedin the job for but they're no
longer wanting to do, or maybeit's disregarding the whole
history that they've had.
I see that often with peoplewho are immigrating and have
some challenges in terms ofputting their skills to use in
our country as well.
Maybe it's someone who feelsundervalued or stagnant in their
(05:54):
career and all of this leads tolower productivity, poorer
performance, stress, ongoingstress, sometimes
dissatisfaction with whatthey're doing and really, at the
worst end, it can kind of leadto resentment, and I see this a
lot with my coaching clientswhen they first start this, all
(06:15):
of these feelings that are heavyand holding them back.
Whether it's something that youmight have experienced for
yourself or someone in your team, I can imagine everyone out
there.
If you haven't experienced thisyourself, you probably know
someone who has so as anindividual.
Sometimes people say, why don'tyou just get a new job?
But moving jobs is not alwaysthe answer, because there's a
(06:36):
whole lot underneath this.
There's a whole lot of mindset,work, belief, work and
strategies and capabilities thatcome comfort levels that come
with moving to a new job andalso, what do you want?
So staying stuck in the jobyou're currently in isn't
necessarily the answer either.
(06:57):
It can leave you more out ofalignment, it can increase your
stress even more, thatresentment and that all of that
continues, that your confidencedrops.
It's like this vicious cycleFrom an organization perspective
.
So this is the system.
Organizations tend to offerlearning and development
programs.
They do engagement surveys andculture initiatives to really
(07:18):
track how people are feeling inthe organization and how can we
get people to want to come towork and want to do a great job.
And sometimes these initiativesaren't having the impact that
people want them to have, theprograms aren't having enough
sign-ups or people don't show up.
What often can happen is thesame serial learners attend all
(07:39):
the learning offerings becausethey love learning.
They get it, they know how touse it and implement it.
Or you can get the reallyengaged employees participating
in all these initiatives, whichis great.
You want that, but the onesthat need it most sometimes
aren't engaging.
What this means is that many ofus end up far away from our
(08:00):
peak state of performance andwe're missing out on that joy
and satisfaction of being inflow and making the difference
we were born to make in theworld.
What I found from all of mytime coaching and working in
organizational development inorganizations as well, is that
empowering you and the system iskey to unlocking peak
(08:23):
performance.
You and the system is key tounlocking peak performance.
I recently went to the hotsprings.
It was really interesting.
So there's these beautifulnatural hot springs and it's
public area, so people come andgo as they please.
So when someone enters the hotspring that you're sitting in, I
noticed a couple of thingshappen.
Sometimes people that werealready in that hot spring would
(08:44):
get up and leave to create somemore space, or maybe they were
ready to move on by that point.
Or people coming into the hotspring would actually displace
water, so the water level wouldincrease and it would hit the
overflow and float out of thepool that we were sitting in and
float out of the pool that wewere sitting in, and anytime
(09:07):
someone moved it would create aripple effect in the water.
So you as an individual, andeach and every one of us in an
organization is no different.
We all impact that system withwhat we do, the way we behave,
the way we show up, the way wethink, the way we feel All of
that has an impact beyond theperformance of our job, the
technical performance, and thisis so, so critical, because I
(09:30):
see so many people who aretechnically good at their role
but so, so frustrated as to whythey might not be understood or
maybe received badly, or havesome work, deliver it well in
their mind but then have a badreaction to it.
So all of this is about reallyunderstanding that impact you
(09:54):
have when you hop in the pool.
Now, that pool could be aworkplace, but it could also be
your family.
It could be a community thatyou're a part of as well.
So, when you're an employee or aperson or a leader, whether
you're a former leader or not,it's vital to understand that
impact you have on the systemand what impact that system has
(10:15):
on you.
So when you're sitting in thathot springs pool, you can start
to get warmer and warmer andwarmer and then eventually
sometimes you have to hop out,cool yourself down and then hop
back in again when you're ready,and I always find that
environment really relaxing.
So in an organization, you wantit to be somewhere where you
(10:35):
can go in and feel great whileyou're in there, but also great
as you leave.
I think that would be anincredible goal to have.
So this is one of the corethings that I teach in my
coaching programs and workshopsis that impact that you can have
as an individual, becausethat's ultimately how you
empower someone and you get themto really believe and see that
impact that they can have.
And sometimes that needs adifferent perspective, someone
(10:57):
else, to help you through that,and it's a true springboard.
I love seeing people go oh right, I didn't realize that I was
having that impact or I didn'trealize the system was having
this impact on me and what I cando about it.
Now, the Olympics is a greatexample of empowering you and
the system to unlock peakperformance.
(11:19):
So, even though the Olympics asan event is not perfect in any
way I don't believe inperfection, even though I'm a
recovering perfectionist, as Isometimes describe myself
there's still this incrediblemagnetism that draws over three
billion people to tune in andwatch a bunch of people at their
peak in their chosen field.
(11:39):
So all of what I'm talkingabout is very much linked with
systems thinking, and this is akey skill, a key part of
strategic thinking that manyorganizations want to develop
and are looking for and need,because we need leaders and
people that can think and seethe whole system so we can
(12:01):
thrive, especially when we're inan environment, globally, that
is increasingly complex anddynamic.
It's always and rapidlychanging.
In 2018, a psychologist namedTasha Eurich did some research
with some colleagues frommultiple universities in the US,
(12:21):
and they did a four-year studywith over 5,000 people, and what
they found was that, eventhough 95% of people think
they're self-aware, only 10 to15% actually are.
I'll let that sink in.
Ah, I'll let that sink in.
(12:42):
I think this is one of the corechallenges in organizations
that I see and with people thatare getting frustrated in the
workplace is this, and I had amentor of mine once say to me
the moment you think you'reemotionally intelligent is the
moment you're letting your teamdown, and that's something that
stuck with me for a while themoment you think you're
(13:03):
emotionally intelligent is themoment you're letting your team
down, and that's something thatstuck with me for a while, and I
think it talks to this in termsof if you assume that you know
everything about yourself andyou are completely aware of how
you impact the world around you,then you're letting yourself
down as well.
So self-awareness is criticalfor understanding the impact you
have in a system and makingchanges that you can then truly
(13:25):
influence.
I so often have clients come into me with one perception of
themselves in a 360 degreeprocess, which I use with my
coaching clients to bring inthat awareness of how do they
see themselves, but also how areother people around them seeing
(13:47):
them and experiencing them, andthis tool is incredible because
it gives people anunderstanding of what drives
their behavior individually andalso as a leader, and also what
response they have to people andstress and the environment
around them, and this tool thenallows us to then explore what's
(14:08):
really going on, what's drivingall of this, and getting some
clarity on how to move forwardand how to grow in a really
strengths based way, and I'veoften had people contact me,
sometimes years down the track,and explain how life-changing
one of our coaching sessions orprograms has been.
So I'm so incredibly passionateabout this stuff.
(14:29):
Empowering you and the system iskey to unlocking peak
performance.
If you want to empower you andthe system to unlock your peak
performance, what can we learnfrom the Olympics about this?
Well, the environment of theOlympics is something where
(14:49):
incredible human achievementshappen.
People from all corners of theglobe come together to celebrate
and witness people doingamazing feats, smashing Olympic
records, world records and justdoing things that make you go,
wow, did they just do that?
Like what?
That was incredible.
Do you know how hard that is?
That's insane.
(15:10):
Did they just do that?
Wow.
There's so many amazing thingsthat happens, and the Olympics
is an example of a system.
So, and we're all part of asystem, like I said earlier,
whether it's a family, aworkplace or community group.
So let's break down what doesthe system of the Olympics look
like and how does it enable andempower that peak performance?
(15:34):
So one of the most visiblethings is reward and recognition
.
They give medals yeah, gold,silver, bronze and the status
that comes around that and thepride as you see the athletes
standing on the podium.
Have you ever experiencedmeaningful recognition in your
workplace, or maybe a lack ofrecognition?
(15:56):
I'd love you to reflect on whatthat makes you feel.
How does that impact on yourperformance?
Now, recognition doesn't haveto be a medal.
It could be a comment thatsomeone has.
It could be someone noticingthe work you've done.
At the end of the day, whateverform the reward and recognition
(16:17):
comes in, it comes down to asense of being seen and feeling
valued for what you do.
Now, the second thing that theOlympics does as a system is it
creates an environment forfriendly competition.
So we're competing to do ourbest, but when people don't do
(16:39):
their best, we're notostracizing them, we're not
teasing them, we're not doinganything negative.
We're just going wow, you madean incredible effort to get here
.
Look what you achieved, evenjust by entering the Olympics.
So people come in on an equalpar, regardless of their
nationality, and theycollaborate in a way, and I
(17:01):
always love it when the athletesare really friendly with each
other.
They're congratulating eachother and cheering each other on
.
It's such a beautiful thing tosee and that, I think, is such
an beautiful and important partof a workplace.
So if you don't have that, myquestion to you is how can you
influence it or how can you findit?
The third thing that theOlympics does as a system is it
(17:24):
creates this incredible sharedfocus, so they provide a stage
for people to do their best.
So think to the caterers thatare feeding the athletes, the
village and the design of thehousing for them, all the
logistics of moving those peoplearound, getting them in,
getting the viewers in.
(17:45):
Even I was contemplating theother day I think I've mentioned
earlier, if you've beenlistening to other episodes of
this podcast I love videoediting as a hobby.
It's so, so much fun.
But just thinking when youwatch the broadcast of all the
people that are cutting togetherthat footage which camera,
which angle they're going to,which event they're going to
(18:06):
next, cutting in the audio ofthe commentators, and then all
of the things that go around,that that's, that's a lot of
stuff.
And then the stadium, thedesign, the uniforms, even the
Australians, and how they've hadthat famous, really technical
swimsuit that gave them anadvantage for many, many years.
(18:26):
There's so many people andthings all focused on peak
performance and that'sincredibly powerful.
That focus, focus.
Now the fourth thing that theydo in the system, and there's
many more, but I wanted tohighlight these four because I
think they're really criticaland also really applicable in
the workplace and beyond.
(18:48):
So the fourth thing is diversityand inclusion, and this may be
controversial because it's by nomeans perfect.
We know that they've beenmaking steps forward each year,
from women joining the Olympicsin the 1900s, in 1960, the
Paralympics beginning.
I didn't realise, as I wasdoing research for this podcast
(19:09):
episode, that it wasn't until2012 that women were allowed to
compete in all events of theOlympics.
So that's interesting.
And from 2024, they're spoutingthat there's gender parity, and
I'm curious to know what thattruly means, and it's
potentially something aroundbinary gender parity being there
(19:29):
at the Olympics.
So the key point with thediversity, inclusion is that
there's pregnant.
Let me try that again.
The key point about diversityand inclusion is that there's
progress over ignorance.
Progress over ignorance is key.
I know sometimes things aren'tperfect, but progress is better
(19:50):
than no progress.
So that's some of the thingsthat the system can bring I
wanted to talk to you about theindividual again.
When we empower you and thesystem, it's key to unlocking
peak performance.
So you as an individual, youand I one of the things that's
really clear in the athletes istheir incredible commitment to
(20:13):
growth.
So the BMX freestyler waswatching that event and they do
some crazy tricks on the bicycle, but it's a 60 second run.
So in that 60 seconds I saw oneof the riders come off in the
first 10 seconds of their run.
So they've spent four years atleast four years, probably more
so they've spent four years atleast four years, probably more
definitely a lot more trainingto be an Olympian and in the
(20:37):
first 10 seconds they can comeoff and their whole lead up and
preparation is gone.
That's something that takes alot of resilience to come to
terms with and use in a positivelight, moving forward.
So it's a real commitment toalmost going in there with a
(21:01):
hope of doing a great job butbeing okay when things don't go
to plan.
The second thing that they do atan individual level is the
ability to have fun.
I was watching the gymnasticsand there was a really
interesting contrast betweenactually some of the reactions
of one of the BMX coaches inparticular.
When their athlete came off thebike and actually had a crash,
(21:26):
they actually bent down and theyslammed their hand on the
ground in anger.
And now this person was lyingthere and my first thought was
are they okay?
So it was interesting to seethat reaction because there was
so much commitment andpersistence in there.
So, as a leader, I'm going offtangent a little bit here, but
(21:47):
having an awareness of whatmessage that action sends is
critical.
Because I read into that actionof wow, you're more focused on
the gold medal than thewell-being of your athlete and I
don't know, it's probably an inthe moment reaction, but it's
really important that coach andyou as an individual can realize
(22:09):
, if you do something like that,how it comes across.
Hey, everyone, it's future meagain.
I just didn't want to leavethat loop open that the athlete
that I was talking about.
They actually were okay.
They got up about a minutelater and they were fine.
They were able to walk off thecourse, so they were fine.
Back to the podcast.
So I wanted to bring this backto the Japanese gymnasts.
(22:30):
When I saw one of them doingtheir routine, they made a
couple of mistakes, like felloff.
The beam actually completelyfell off, did some stumbles,
they came off after finishingtheir routine beaming.
They were just so happy to havebeen there and done their best
and were okay with knowing that.
Well, you know, they made somemistakes.
(22:51):
There's always next time, ormaybe that they're happy with
that as an achievement, whereasother people around were being
incredibly hard on themselveswhen they make the tiniest
mistake.
And I'd love for you to reflecton how do you respond when you
make a mistake?
What's your self-talk that'sgoing on, and how does that
(23:12):
impact then your performance?
Does it take you out of thatpeak performance state, or is it
something that you actuallyhelp and use to help you
continue your performance andgrowth in future?
Now, the third thing that I haveseen at the individual level is
the incredible passion thatthese athletes have.
(23:34):
You know, without passion andwithout commitment, it's very
unlikely that they would reachthat level.
If they did, I'd imagine they'dactually be incredibly unhappy,
because to work that hard forsomething, you need that energy
of passion, and I think passionis something that we should be
(23:54):
measuring in organizations,because it's so key to someone
being able to do their best,really work hard when things
need to be worked hard and besatisfied, but also have enough
energy to not feel like they'rebeing drained or overwhelmed or
run dry.
So passion is so incrediblyimportant and I'd love to know
(24:20):
whether you are passionate aboutwhat you do in your workplace
and the impact that you're ableto have.
So empowering you and thesystem is key to unlocking peak
performance.
One without the other doesn'thave the same impact.
So if we took the athletes awayfrom the Olympics, if we took
(24:41):
away the commitment, the passionand the fun that these athletes
had and it became an obligation, does that sound like something
?
Maybe an obligation, aworkplace, a contract that you
have an employment agreement?
If it's only the obligation, itcan feel incredibly draining to
show up and that works againstyou, it works against engagement
(25:05):
, it works against learning, itworks against being in flow and
it works against peakperformance.
So that commitment, passion andfun is critical from the
individual, now from the system.
If we took the system away fromthe Olympics, people would lack
(25:26):
a platform to come together tobuild that shared sense of
learning, of growth, ofachievement of identity.
Even belonging People are.
You see some of the athletestattooing the Olympic rings.
It's like they've joined a clubof people who've achieved that
level in their sporting careers.
(25:47):
So I trust that you can see howempowering you and the system is
key to unlocking peakperformance, and what I'd love
for you to walk away with fromthis episode is an awareness and
hope that you are actually morepowerful than you know, a
desire to unlock your fullpotential and have an incredible
(26:08):
impact on the systems you findyourself in.
So when each of us do this, Itruly believe we can create a
world where everyone thrives andmakes a meaningful difference.
If you're keen to understandmore about how you best can
influence and impact thosearound you, whether that be your
(26:30):
team, your workplace, yourfamily, your community, I'm a
certified leadership circleprofile practitioner and this is
a thoroughly evidence-based 360feedback tool, arguably one of
the most heavily based ones outthere.
There's decades of researchbehind it and it's designed to
bring deep self-awareness towhat your strengths are, how
(26:54):
they are serving you and thosearound you, and how they are
holding you back and yourperformance back.
So I do this for individuals.
I do this for whole teams and ifyou're curious to know more
about it, I'm going to put alink in the show notes where you
can book a time to have a freechat with me and just see if
(27:15):
it's something that would workfor you.
We can explore it together andsee what would fit.
And I've truly become obsessedwith using this tool because
uncovering people's hiddentalent and roadblocks so you can
have the impact you know deepdown you can make is so
incredibly rewarding.
So if you want to connect,please check out the link in the
(27:38):
show notes, or if you can'tfind that, because not every
podcast platform has show notes,you can find me on LinkedIn
under Jolynne Rydz and you canconnect with me and send me a DM
there.
So until next time you wereborn for a reason, it's time to
thrive.
Welcome on in to this bonus episode on what the
Olympics can teach us about peakperformance.
Before I get started into howyou can level up your peak
performance, get into a flowstate and really have a bigger
impact, I'd love to say a reallyheartfelt thank you for all the
(00:23):
messages people have beensending me about the podcast.
It's been so nice to hear howit's been resonating and what's
working and what's not.
So keep that coming.
And this podcast is free.
So the best thing you can do ifyou want to pay it forward is
to rate or review the podcastwherever you listen, because
that is how we play the game ofthe algorithms and get it into
(00:47):
their podcasts and faces andears of more people that can tap
into their own MagneticAuthenticity.
Because I truly believe that ifwe can do that, when more
people are harnessing their ownmagnetic authenticity, people
are going to be happier.
They're going to be morefulfilled because they're using
their strengths, they're leaninginto that, they're going to be
(01:08):
more resilient, less stressed.
It's going to have a rippleeffect.
I can feel it deep in my bones.
So I would love for you to helpout and take part by rating and
reviewing wherever you listento your podcast.
I know that Apple Podcasts doit.
Spotify allows you to leave arating and Audible allows you to
do ratings and reviews as well.
I actually do want to give youa prize to encourage you to give
(01:31):
it a go, because you might bethinking, oh, I don't know if I
really want to do that or put itout there.
It does make such a differenceand it makes me feel so
incredibly grateful when you do.
Let me know how things aregoing and if you do, what I'd
like to do is read out a randomreview on the podcast and if I
choose yours, I'd invite you toask me a question.
(01:51):
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there or not.
So you don't need to leave yourdetails.
I'll work out a way to get intouch with you.
But what I will give you as aprize is the opportunity to ask
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the impact you want to have.
So any question that might cometo your mind you really wanting
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some time.
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a rating or review.
All right, so let's get intotoday's topic, which is what the
Olympics can teach us aboutpeak performance.
(02:37):
I've been watching the Olympicsfor years.
I have this memory of sittingaround the table together as a
family.
We would be sitting at thekitchen bench and we'd have this
tiny white CRT TV and we wouldbe watching the opening ceremony
and it was always so inspiringall of these people coming
together to create a performanceand the energy that that
(03:00):
created, and the celebration ofthe achievements and the hard
work and commitment it took forthe athletes to get to where
they are and also for the cityhosting the event, what it's
taken them to prepare for theGames in terms of infrastructure
and accommodating all thesepeople coming into their city
(03:22):
and being really proud of beinga host country, coming into
their city and being reallyproud of being a host country.
I always used to love thecreativity as well that went
into the unique way the flamewas going to be lit.
Each year there was a sense ofexcitement and, as an empath,
that is one of my strengths.
What that means is that I canliterally feel other people's
(03:43):
emotions, and sometimes even ifthey're.
I can literally feel otherpeople's emotions and sometimes
even if they're blocking it ornot in tune with it themselves.
I can feel what's going on andI can help them through that and
help them understand what it isand what it might mean for them
and how to use it to theirstrength.
It's one of the strengths Ioften use when I'm coaching my
clients one-on-one.
So as I sit there watchingthese opening ceremonies, I can
(04:04):
feel this overwhelming sense ofpride, excitement, nerves.
Sometimes it actually brings meto tears because the feeling is
that strong and I think it'sbecause of that the number of
people that are there that havebeen a part of this wonderful
event.
It's such a celebration.
It's an immersion of people intheir peak of their careers,
(04:28):
coming together to show theirstuff and challenge themselves.
I came across this veryinteresting statistic, which is,
according to the independentresearch done by the IOC, over 3
billion people actually tunedin to watch the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics, and I find thisastounding because that's an
(04:50):
incredible amount of people allwatching this one event that's
come together to give people theopportunity to perform at their
best, at their peak.
So there's almost this magneticattraction to peak performance
and athletes giving it theirbest shot.
So I wanted to unpack thisbecause I am a true believer
that you can take things from adifferent context and apply them
(05:13):
and get some learnings fromthem.
So when I reflect against theOlympics to the everyday world
now, let's look at theindividual.
So that's each and every one ofus.
Let's look at the individual sothat's each and every one of us
.
I see way too many people stuckin jobs that don't light them up
(05:34):
, or maybe jobs that make themfeel pigeonholed into doing a
certain thing that they startedin the job for but they're no
longer wanting to do, or maybeit's disregarding the whole
history that they've had.
I see that often with peoplewho are immigrating and have
some challenges in terms ofputting their skills to use in
our country as well.
Maybe it's someone who feelsundervalued or stagnant in their
(05:54):
career and all of this leads tolower productivity, poorer
performance, stress, ongoingstress, sometimes
dissatisfaction with whatthey're doing and really, at the
worst end, it can kind of leadto resentment, and I see this a
lot with my coaching clientswhen they first start this, all
(06:15):
of these feelings that are heavyand holding them back.
Whether it's something that youmight have experienced for
yourself or someone in your team, I can imagine everyone out
there.
If you haven't experienced thisyourself, you probably know
someone who has so as anindividual.
Sometimes people say, why don'tyou just get a new job?
But moving jobs is not alwaysthe answer, because there's a
(06:36):
whole lot underneath this.
There's a whole lot of mindset,work, belief, work and
strategies and capabilities thatcome comfort levels that come
with moving to a new job andalso, what do you want?
So staying stuck in the jobyou're currently in isn't
necessarily the answer either.
(06:57):
It can leave you more out ofalignment, it can increase your
stress even more, thatresentment and that all of that
continues, that your confidencedrops.
It's like this vicious cycleFrom an organization perspective
.
So this is the system.
Organizations tend to offerlearning and development
programs.
They do engagement surveys andculture initiatives to really
(07:18):
track how people are feeling inthe organization and how can we
get people to want to come towork and want to do a great job.
And sometimes these initiativesaren't having the impact that
people want them to have, theprograms aren't having enough
sign-ups or people don't show up.
What often can happen is thesame serial learners attend all
(07:39):
the learning offerings becausethey love learning.
They get it, they know how touse it and implement it.
Or you can get the reallyengaged employees participating
in all these initiatives, whichis great.
You want that, but the onesthat need it most sometimes
aren't engaging.
What this means is that many ofus end up far away from our
(08:00):
peak state of performance andwe're missing out on that joy
and satisfaction of being inflow and making the difference
we were born to make in theworld.
What I found from all of mytime coaching and working in
organizational development inorganizations as well, is that
empowering you and the system iskey to unlocking peak
(08:23):
performance.
You and the system is key tounlocking peak performance.
I recently went to the hotsprings.
It was really interesting.
So there's these beautifulnatural hot springs and it's
public area, so people come andgo as they please.
So when someone enters the hotspring that you're sitting in, I
noticed a couple of thingshappen.
Sometimes people that werealready in that hot spring would
(08:44):
get up and leave to create somemore space, or maybe they were
ready to move on by that point.
Or people coming into the hotspring would actually displace
water, so the water level wouldincrease and it would hit the
overflow and float out of thepool that we were sitting in and
float out of the pool that wewere sitting in, and anytime
(09:07):
someone moved it would create aripple effect in the water.
So you as an individual, andeach and every one of us in an
organization is no different.
We all impact that system withwhat we do, the way we behave,
the way we show up, the way wethink, the way we feel All of
that has an impact beyond theperformance of our job, the
technical performance, and thisis so, so critical, because I
(09:30):
see so many people who aretechnically good at their role
but so, so frustrated as to whythey might not be understood or
maybe received badly, or havesome work, deliver it well in
their mind but then have a badreaction to it.
So all of this is about reallyunderstanding that impact you
(09:54):
have when you hop in the pool.
Now, that pool could be aworkplace, but it could also be
your family.
It could be a community thatyou're a part of as well.
So, when you're an employee or aperson or a leader, whether
you're a former leader or not,it's vital to understand that
impact you have on the systemand what impact that system has
(10:15):
on you.
So when you're sitting in thathot springs pool, you can start
to get warmer and warmer andwarmer and then eventually
sometimes you have to hop out,cool yourself down and then hop
back in again when you're ready,and I always find that
environment really relaxing.
So in an organization, you wantit to be somewhere where you
(10:35):
can go in and feel great whileyou're in there, but also great
as you leave.
I think that would be anincredible goal to have.
So this is one of the corethings that I teach in my
coaching programs and workshopsis that impact that you can have
as an individual, becausethat's ultimately how you
empower someone and you get themto really believe and see that
impact that they can have.
And sometimes that needs adifferent perspective, someone
(10:57):
else, to help you through that,and it's a true springboard.
I love seeing people go oh right, I didn't realize that I was
having that impact or I didn'trealize the system was having
this impact on me and what I cando about it.
Now, the Olympics is a greatexample of empowering you and
the system to unlock peakperformance.
(11:19):
So, even though the Olympics asan event is not perfect in any
way I don't believe inperfection, even though I'm a
recovering perfectionist, as Isometimes describe myself
there's still this incrediblemagnetism that draws over three
billion people to tune in andwatch a bunch of people at their
peak in their chosen field.
(11:39):
So all of what I'm talkingabout is very much linked with
systems thinking, and this is akey skill, a key part of
strategic thinking that manyorganizations want to develop
and are looking for and need,because we need leaders and
people that can think and seethe whole system so we can
(12:01):
thrive, especially when we're inan environment, globally, that
is increasingly complex anddynamic.
It's always and rapidlychanging.
In 2018, a psychologist namedTasha Eurich did some research
with some colleagues frommultiple universities in the US,
(12:21):
and they did a four-year studywith over 5,000 people, and what
they found was that, eventhough 95% of people think
they're self-aware, only 10 to15% actually are.
I'll let that sink in.
Ah, I'll let that sink in.
(12:42):
I think this is one of the corechallenges in organizations
that I see and with people thatare getting frustrated in the
workplace is this, and I had amentor of mine once say to me
the moment you think you'reemotionally intelligent is the
moment you're letting your teamdown, and that's something that
stuck with me for a while themoment you think you're
(13:03):
emotionally intelligent is themoment you're letting your team
down, and that's something thatstuck with me for a while, and I
think it talks to this in termsof if you assume that you know
everything about yourself andyou are completely aware of how
you impact the world around you,then you're letting yourself
down as well.
So self-awareness is criticalfor understanding the impact you
have in a system and makingchanges that you can then truly
(13:25):
influence.
I so often have clients come into me with one perception of
themselves in a 360 degreeprocess, which I use with my
coaching clients to bring inthat awareness of how do they
see themselves, but also how areother people around them seeing
(13:47):
them and experiencing them, andthis tool is incredible because
it gives people anunderstanding of what drives
their behavior individually andalso as a leader, and also what
response they have to people andstress and the environment
around them, and this tool thenallows us to then explore what's
(14:08):
really going on, what's drivingall of this, and getting some
clarity on how to move forwardand how to grow in a really
strengths based way, and I'veoften had people contact me,
sometimes years down the track,and explain how life-changing
one of our coaching sessions orprograms has been.
So I'm so incredibly passionateabout this stuff.
(14:29):
Empowering you and the system iskey to unlocking peak
performance.
If you want to empower you andthe system to unlock your peak
performance, what can we learnfrom the Olympics about this?
Well, the environment of theOlympics is something where
(14:49):
incredible human achievementshappen.
People from all corners of theglobe come together to celebrate
and witness people doingamazing feats, smashing Olympic
records, world records and justdoing things that make you go,
wow, did they just do that?
Like what?
That was incredible.
Do you know how hard that is?
That's insane.
(15:10):
Did they just do that?
Wow.
There's so many amazing thingsthat happens, and the Olympics
is an example of a system.
So, and we're all part of asystem, like I said earlier,
whether it's a family, aworkplace or community group.
So let's break down what doesthe system of the Olympics look
like and how does it enable andempower that peak performance?
(15:34):
So one of the most visiblethings is reward and recognition
.
They give medals yeah, gold,silver, bronze and the status
that comes around that and thepride as you see the athletes
standing on the podium.
Have you ever experiencedmeaningful recognition in your
workplace, or maybe a lack ofrecognition?
(15:56):
I'd love you to reflect on whatthat makes you feel.
How does that impact on yourperformance?
Now, recognition doesn't haveto be a medal.
It could be a comment thatsomeone has.
It could be someone noticingthe work you've done.
At the end of the day, whateverform the reward and recognition
(16:17):
comes in, it comes down to asense of being seen and feeling
valued for what you do.
Now, the second thing that theOlympics does as a system is it
creates an environment forfriendly competition.
So we're competing to do ourbest, but when people don't do
(16:39):
their best, we're notostracizing them, we're not
teasing them, we're not doinganything negative.
We're just going wow, you madean incredible effort to get here
.
Look what you achieved, evenjust by entering the Olympics.
So people come in on an equalpar, regardless of their
nationality, and theycollaborate in a way, and I
(17:01):
always love it when the athletesare really friendly with each
other.
They're congratulating eachother and cheering each other on
.
It's such a beautiful thing tosee and that, I think, is such
an beautiful and important partof a workplace.
So if you don't have that, myquestion to you is how can you
influence it or how can you findit?
The third thing that theOlympics does as a system is it
(17:24):
creates this incredible sharedfocus, so they provide a stage
for people to do their best.
So think to the caterers thatare feeding the athletes, the
village and the design of thehousing for them, all the
logistics of moving those peoplearound, getting them in,
getting the viewers in.
(17:45):
Even I was contemplating theother day I think I've mentioned
earlier, if you've beenlistening to other episodes of
this podcast I love videoediting as a hobby.
It's so, so much fun.
But just thinking when youwatch the broadcast of all the
people that are cutting togetherthat footage which camera,
which angle they're going to,which event they're going to
(18:06):
next, cutting in the audio ofthe commentators, and then all
of the things that go around,that that's, that's a lot of
stuff.
And then the stadium, thedesign, the uniforms, even the
Australians, and how they've hadthat famous, really technical
swimsuit that gave them anadvantage for many, many years.
(18:26):
There's so many people andthings all focused on peak
performance and that'sincredibly powerful.
That focus, focus.
Now the fourth thing that theydo in the system, and there's
many more, but I wanted tohighlight these four because I
think they're really criticaland also really applicable in
the workplace and beyond.
(18:48):
So the fourth thing is diversityand inclusion, and this may be
controversial because it's by nomeans perfect.
We know that they've beenmaking steps forward each year,
from women joining the Olympicsin the 1900s, in 1960, the
Paralympics beginning.
I didn't realise, as I wasdoing research for this podcast
(19:09):
episode, that it wasn't until2012 that women were allowed to
compete in all events of theOlympics.
So that's interesting.
And from 2024, they're spoutingthat there's gender parity, and
I'm curious to know what thattruly means, and it's
potentially something aroundbinary gender parity being there
(19:29):
at the Olympics.
So the key point with thediversity, inclusion is that
there's pregnant.
Let me try that again.
The key point about diversityand inclusion is that there's
progress over ignorance.
Progress over ignorance is key.
I know sometimes things aren'tperfect, but progress is better
(19:50):
than no progress.
So that's some of the thingsthat the system can bring I
wanted to talk to you about theindividual again.
When we empower you and thesystem, it's key to unlocking
peak performance.
So you as an individual, youand I one of the things that's
really clear in the athletes istheir incredible commitment to
(20:13):
growth.
So the BMX freestyler waswatching that event and they do
some crazy tricks on the bicycle, but it's a 60 second run.
So in that 60 seconds I saw oneof the riders come off in the
first 10 seconds of their run.
So they've spent four years atleast four years, probably more
so they've spent four years atleast four years, probably more
definitely a lot more trainingto be an Olympian and in the
(20:37):
first 10 seconds they can comeoff and their whole lead up and
preparation is gone.
That's something that takes alot of resilience to come to
terms with and use in a positivelight, moving forward.
So it's a real commitment toalmost going in there with a
(21:01):
hope of doing a great job butbeing okay when things don't go
to plan.
The second thing that they do atan individual level is the
ability to have fun.
I was watching the gymnasticsand there was a really
interesting contrast betweenactually some of the reactions
of one of the BMX coaches inparticular.
When their athlete came off thebike and actually had a crash,
(21:26):
they actually bent down and theyslammed their hand on the
ground in anger.
And now this person was lyingthere and my first thought was
are they okay?
So it was interesting to seethat reaction because there was
so much commitment andpersistence in there.
So, as a leader, I'm going offtangent a little bit here, but
(21:47):
having an awareness of whatmessage that action sends is
critical.
Because I read into that actionof wow, you're more focused on
the gold medal than thewell-being of your athlete and I
don't know, it's probably an inthe moment reaction, but it's
really important that coach andyou as an individual can realize
(22:09):
, if you do something like that,how it comes across.
Hey, everyone, it's future meagain.
I just didn't want to leavethat loop open that the athlete
that I was talking about.
They actually were okay.
They got up about a minutelater and they were fine.
They were able to walk off thecourse, so they were fine.
Back to the podcast.
So I wanted to bring this backto the Japanese gymnasts.
(22:30):
When I saw one of them doingtheir routine, they made a
couple of mistakes, like felloff.
The beam actually completelyfell off, did some stumbles,
they came off after finishingtheir routine beaming.
They were just so happy to havebeen there and done their best
and were okay with knowing that.
Well, you know, they made somemistakes.
(22:51):
There's always next time, ormaybe that they're happy with
that as an achievement, whereasother people around were being
incredibly hard on themselveswhen they make the tiniest
mistake.
And I'd love for you to reflecton how do you respond when you
make a mistake?
What's your self-talk that'sgoing on, and how does that
(23:12):
impact then your performance?
Does it take you out of thatpeak performance state, or is it
something that you actuallyhelp and use to help you
continue your performance andgrowth in future?
Now, the third thing that I haveseen at the individual level is
the incredible passion thatthese athletes have.
(23:34):
You know, without passion andwithout commitment, it's very
unlikely that they would reachthat level.
If they did, I'd imagine they'dactually be incredibly unhappy,
because to work that hard forsomething, you need that energy
of passion, and I think passionis something that we should be
(23:54):
measuring in organizations,because it's so key to someone
being able to do their best,really work hard when things
need to be worked hard and besatisfied, but also have enough
energy to not feel like they'rebeing drained or overwhelmed or
run dry.
So passion is so incrediblyimportant and I'd love to know
(24:20):
whether you are passionate aboutwhat you do in your workplace
and the impact that you're ableto have.
So empowering you and thesystem is key to unlocking peak
performance.
One without the other doesn'thave the same impact.
So if we took the athletes awayfrom the Olympics, if we took
(24:41):
away the commitment, the passionand the fun that these athletes
had and it became an obligation, does that sound like something
?
Maybe an obligation, aworkplace, a contract that you
have an employment agreement?
If it's only the obligation, itcan feel incredibly draining to
show up and that works againstyou, it works against engagement
(25:05):
, it works against learning, itworks against being in flow and
it works against peakperformance.
So that commitment, passion andfun is critical from the
individual, now from the system.
If we took the system away fromthe Olympics, people would lack
(25:26):
a platform to come together tobuild that shared sense of
learning, of growth, ofachievement of identity.
Even belonging People are.
You see some of the athletestattooing the Olympic rings.
It's like they've joined a clubof people who've achieved that
level in their sporting careers.
(25:47):
So I trust that you can see howempowering you and the system is
key to unlocking peakperformance, and what I'd love
for you to walk away with fromthis episode is an awareness and
hope that you are actually morepowerful than you know, a
desire to unlock your fullpotential and have an incredible
(26:08):
impact on the systems you findyourself in.
So when each of us do this, Itruly believe we can create a
world where everyone thrives andmakes a meaningful difference.
If you're keen to understandmore about how you best can
influence and impact thosearound you, whether that be your
(26:30):
team, your workplace, yourfamily, your community, I'm a
certified leadership circleprofile practitioner and this is
a thoroughly evidence-based 360feedback tool, arguably one of
the most heavily based ones outthere.
There's decades of researchbehind it and it's designed to
bring deep self-awareness towhat your strengths are, how
(26:54):
they are serving you and thosearound you, and how they are
holding you back and yourperformance back.
So I do this for individuals.
I do this for whole teams and ifyou're curious to know more
about it, I'm going to put alink in the show notes where you
can book a time to have a freechat with me and just see if
(27:15):
it's something that would workfor you.
We can explore it together andsee what would fit.
And I've truly become obsessedwith using this tool because
uncovering people's hiddentalent and roadblocks so you can
have the impact you know deepdown you can make is so
incredibly rewarding.
So if you want to connect,please check out the link in the
(27:38):
show notes, or if you can'tfind that, because not every
podcast platform has show notes,you can find me on LinkedIn
under Jolynne Rydz and you canconnect with me and send me a DM
there.
So until next time you wereborn for a reason, it's time to
thrive.
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