April 1, 2025 • 34 mins
What does it take to develop an Olympic-level performance mindset? In this episode of The Better Leadership Team Show, I sit down with two-time Olympian Stephanie Roble, a world-class sailor, to explore how elite athletes build resilience, manage pressure, and develop the mindset needed to perform at the highest level.
Stephanie shares her journey from childhood sailing in Wisconsin to competing on the world’s biggest stage. We discuss how decision-making, communication, self-talk, and mindfulness impact both sports and business leadership. She also reveals how she overcame performance anxiety, burnout, and self-doubt to achieve international success.
Now transitioning into coaching, Stephanie is using her experience to help high performers—both athletes and business leaders—reach their full potential.
If you want to build a championship mindset in business, sports, or life, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!
Connect with Stephanie Roble on LinkedIn & Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/stephanieroble/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieroble/
Thanks for listening! Connect with us at mike-goldman.com/blog and on Instagram@mikegoldmancoach and on YouTube @Mikegoldmancoach
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephanie Roble (00:02):
Accept, Breathe, Scan.
And so that would just, that wasjust a loop in my head.
And, anytime a poor decision wasmade, okay, I accept that I made
that decision, breathe throughit, and then scan the race
course for opportunities.
And that was, that really helpedme refocus myself and, You know,
there's so many tools and it'sso exciting to think about how
(00:22):
we can apply them in business orin sport.
Mike Goldman (00:34):
You made it to the better leadership team show, the
place where you learn how tosurround yourself with the right
people, doing the right things.
So you can grow your businesswithout losing your mind.
I'm your host and leadershipteam coach, Mike Goldman.
I'm going to show you how toimprove top and bottom line
growth, fulfillment, and thevalue your company adds to the
(00:54):
world by building a betterleadership team.
All right, let's go.
My guest today began sailing atthe age of five in Wisconsin and
was drawn to the thrill ofcompetition and ambitious goals
(01:17):
at that early age.
She had a successful juniorsailing career and went on to
sail and study at Old DominionUniversity.
She earned a degree in finance.
Captain the sailing team andbecame a two time All American.
After college, she raced onsmall keelboats earning World,
National and North Americantitles, and was named Rolex
(01:41):
Yachtswoman of the Year.
In 2014, she competed in theTokyo 2020.
And Paris 2024 Olympics in thewomen's skiff class.
In the process, she won twoPan-American game medals, a
World Championship medal andWorld Cup medals, as well as
achieving a world ranking ofthird.
(02:04):
Pretty amazing.
I met her at a client of minethat helped sponsor, her
journey.
And she sat in, the meetings andthen did a great discussion on,
performance mindset at lunchtimeand was really excited to get
her on the show.
Her name is Stephanie Roble.
Stephanie, thanks for being onthe show.
Welcome.
Stephanie Roble (02:23):
Thank you, Mike.
Thanks for having me.
it's an honor to be here.
Mike Goldman (02:27):
Yeah, and it amazes me.
You began sailing at age five, Ithink.
I think I was still figuring outlike how not to suck my thumb at
age five.
Like how do you, how do you getstarted and.
Let me start here.
Before I ask the question I askat the beginning of every
episode about a leadership team.
I want to hit this first.
How do you actually get startedsailing at age five?
(02:49):
Was it something your family wasinto and you just went along, or
how did that work?
Stephanie Roble (02:53):
Yeah, so I grew up on a small lake in Wisconsin,
and in the summer that's whateveryone on the lake would do is
go sailing.
And so sailing lessons startedat age five, and I think my
parents were pretty keen to getme out of the house, so they
signed me up for lessons.
And early on I was actuallyreally intimidated by the sport
and I really didn't like it, butit eventually, I fell in love
with it because it was a way to.
(03:15):
Be on the water, which I justabsolutely loved.
Playing in the water, being inthe sun, being with my friends.
And so in love with that.
And then I started competing andwon my first race and really got
the itch to, to bring that, youknow, throughout my life,
Mike Goldman (03:31):
That, that's incredible.
and I'm, I definitely wanna divein.
Deeper to that journey, butreally excited about this
because you are, you're thefirst Olympian we've ever had on
the show.
And that's a big, that is a bigdeal.
I'm honored.
That's a really big deal.
And also I love the, what getsme, got me really interested in
talking to you, and I've onlydone this I think once before on
(03:55):
the show, is I love theintersection of.
Sports leadership and businessleadership and how that works
together.
I think those are so related.
so really excited to, to talk toyou about all this stuff and
dive into your journey.
But normally the first question,I guess this will be the second
question I'm asking is, from allof your experience, what do you
(04:19):
believe is the one mostimportant characteristic of a
great team?
Stephanie Roble (04:26):
I would say it's communication.
When I think back on, on both ofmy Olympic campaigns, I was with
the same teammate for both ofthem.
we sail on a small boat.
It's only 16 feet long.
It's the two of us on board, andthere's, as you can imagine, in
sailing, there's a lot going on.
We're battling the wind, we'rebattling the waves, we're
battling other competitors.
(04:47):
We're figuring out, know how toread the wind the best.
We're making game plans, we'reworking together to maximize the
boat's efficiency through thewater.
and, you know, we're makingmoves on the other boats and
there's just a lot going on.
And so, you know, for us to besuccessful in the water took a
really high level ofcommunication.
you know, very specific words,very Concise, you know,
(05:09):
statements.
And so we really worked hard on,on honing that in throughout our
career.
But then off the water, we were,it was basically us and our
coach and a little bit ofleadership from the federation.
But the way things arestructured within the, sailing
community in the United States,were essentially running our own
small business.
We did all of our fundraising.
(05:29):
We did all of our logistics.
We did a lot of our.
strategic planning.
You know, we were constantlytrying to figure out how to make
the most of our time on and offthe water, and so it took a lot
of communication and we're in ahigh pressure environment with,
you know, a lot at stake andthis ultimate goal of winning an
Olympic medal.
And you work four years, eightyears for that one dream.
(05:51):
And so there's a lot ofpressure, there's a lot going on
behind the scenes, and it allcame down to communication.
Mike Goldman (05:59):
How much of that communication is technique?
Like when we wanna say thisthing that could be, that could
take a minute to say, we'regonna say it in.
Five seconds, like, you know,how much of it is technique and
code and things like that versuskind of the softer part of it of
really getting to know eachother and trusting one another.
Stephanie Roble (06:22):
That's a really good question.
from a performance standpoint.
purely on the water.
It was all about creating thoseclear, concise statements.
And we would, as technologyevolved during our Olympic
campaigns, we actually ended upusing like GoPros and voice
recorders during racing andduring our training so that we
(06:42):
could hear how we're talking toeach other.
And as we all know, there's somuch about, you know, it's not
sometimes not what you say, it'show you say it.
And so, you know, you know, abig thing for us was.
Someone, if Maggie, my teammate,said something to me and I would
always say copy, but if I waslike annoyed or you know, at a
situation and I was like, copy,that comes off a lot different.
(07:04):
Right.
So, you know, it comes down tothe details of communication.
But then like you said, it'salso about understanding each
other.
Like we were very differentpeople at the end of the day and
we put a lot of effort intounderstanding each other and
understanding what Maggie needsin order to perform and.
What I need in order to perform.
Mike Goldman (07:23):
And that's so important.
and obvi, you know, that's agreat example of where sports
and business are so similar isthat you do have those
differences that, that not onlyimpact how you communicate, but
I imagine those differenceswere.
Pretty important in, in thestrength of the team, if you
were both exact.
I mean, did that come into play?
(07:44):
Were there strengths in eachother?
You could, you can kind ofleverage through those
differences.
I.
Stephanie Roble (07:50):
A hundred percent.
And that's where we put a lot ofeffort in, especially with our,
with our coach and sportspsychologist, was understanding
those differences and how do wereally, how do we leverage them?
You know, for example, Maggie'sa very direct communicator and I
would often, kind of strugglewith that.
But then I, once I opened myselfup to being more open to direct
communication and, you know,taking that on myself, I was
(08:11):
able to, you know, kind of openup a whole new level for us.
Mike Goldman (08:16):
Beautiful.
So I wanna step back to yourjourney and then get into the
performance mindset and dive alittle deeper on the things
we're starting to talk about.
but you start sailing at the ageof five.
love that competition.
when is that their kind of theglimmer of the dream or maybe
stronger than a glimmer, when doyou start dreaming that, hey,
(08:37):
maybe I want to get to theOlympics one day.
Stephanie Roble (08:40):
It came at a very early age.
Like basically once I sawsailing in the Olympics, I was
like, I want to do that.
and you know, I grew up in ahousehold where watching the
Olympics was something we didfor the winter and summer games.
I remember watching the openingceremonies, and I remember just
feeling the magic around theOlympics at a really young age.
(09:03):
And then once I startedcompeting and doing well, at a
junior sailing level, it wasjust something I always wanted
to do.
And I didn't take thetraditional pathway to the
Olympics usually.
in, in the US at least, youknow, you have your successful
junior sailing career.
You go to college, you docollege sailing, and then right
outta college you focus on yourOlympics.
(09:24):
I didn't feel like I had theresources to put together a
successful Olympic team at thatpoint.
Obviously sailing is a veryexpensive and resource heavy
sport, and if I'm gonna dosomething, I'm gonna do it the
right way.
So I actually went into, intothe small keelboat racing, which
you talked about in myintroduction.
And then in the fall of 2016,Maggie, who is, was a teammate
(09:45):
of mine in, in high schoolsailing, and we competed against
each other in college sailing.
She called me and said.
You know, Hey, I really want tosail with you.
Like, let's, I have a boat.
Let's go do this.
And it, I, it was at a perfecttime in my life where I was
ready to transition intosomething else and I said to
myself, it's now or never.
(10:05):
And I, I stopped the sailingthat I was doing in that
industry and said, all right,let's go all in on this.
Mike Goldman (10:14):
As you, you know, leading up to Tokyo 2020, the
first Olympics you were in.
te tell me a little bit aboutthat journey and some of the.
Some of the struggles and someof the things you learned in,
in, in getting there.
what was that like?
Stephanie Roble (10:31):
Yeah, I would say the first.
Olympic journey was so muchabout learning the fundamentals.
I was brand new to the boat.
I didn't have any experience init.
And so I was really focused onlearning the fundamentals and
then, translating that intoracing.
And I remember reaching aspecific point where we were
getting quite good and beingrecognized on the international
(10:54):
scene, but I started putting somuch pressure on myself.
To the point where I wouldfreeze on the race course, I
would come up on a decisionpoint, and as the skipper of the
team, I was the one in charge ofmaking the decisions.
And so I would come up to adecision point on the race
course and I would freezebecause I was so afraid of
making the wrong decision andlike how that would impact our
(11:16):
results.
I became very results focusedand so I was, you know, my coach
pulled me aside and said, Hey,you know, we really.
You have so much potential as anathlete and as a team, and we
need to address this.
And so I linked up with a sportspsychologist and in a ton of
work into mindset and, reallyfocusing on the process of
(11:38):
everything and, digging into thewhy I was feeling that pressure
and, and fear.
And we did a lot of really greatwork together in 2019.
sailed a world championshipwhere we were like high teens in
the results.
I mean something 16, 17,something like that.
And next World championship in2020.
(12:00):
We were, we won a bronze medaland I, that is all because of
the mental work that I put in.
Mike Goldman (12:08):
So I wanna dig into this freezing on decisions
a little bit.
'cause as you said that again,I'm like, oh my God, that
happens to business leaders allthe time.
and I find that a number ofleaders I work with really
struggle with believing they'vegot to get every decision right.
That there's one magic rightanswer.
(12:29):
They've gotta get it right andthat can cause them to
overanalyze and totally miss anopportunity.
So dig a little deeper on, onthe mindset around making quick
decisions.
What was it specifically thatyou struggled with there and
what allowed you to switch andbecome better and quicker at
making decisions?
Stephanie Roble (12:50):
Yeah, it's such a good point there.
It's, you know, we, when wecome, when we come on decision
points, it's easy to have thatparalysis by analysis and that's
exactly what was happening tome.
I think I was overthinking allof the options and not trusting
my gut.
I think your gut can, and yourintuition can tell you so much.
And, you're right.
It's, you know, we're so.
(13:12):
Tempted to want to make everydecision the right way, when in
reality that's impossible.
And so I think sailing is areally good platform for
teaching us adaptability.
You know, things are happeningso quickly and there's so many
things that are out of ourcontrol that we just have to
figure out how to react to andmake the most out of.
Like the wind, for example, youknow, it comes off the land and
(13:32):
it bends at different angles andyou don't always know how it's
going to hit your boat or howit's going to.
Impact the boats around you.
And so you constantly have to bereevaluating, where am I, what
are the other boats?
Doing what do I want?
And then evaluating your riskversus reward, behind that.
So I think, you know, I justleaned into that idea of
(13:52):
becoming more adaptable.
I really, I studied a lot of,our GPS trackers from the
racing, so that helped build myconfidence for better decision
making on the race course.
and then, you know, saying tomyself, I trust myself and I'm
going to learn from this.
And, I think that was a reallybig mindset shift.
Mike Goldman (14:11):
Yeah, what I'm taking from all that, that I
think is so powerful.
For leaders and for me as wellis what I'm hearing is it's a
combination of overtime learningto trust yourself.
But then from a processstandpoint, what I just kind of
wrote down is decide andreevaluate.
Decide and reevaluate, decide,and re instead of I make a
(14:33):
decision, I execute God, I hopeI got the decision right.
It's like, no, just keepdeciding and reevaluating and
be, and sailing is probably not,probably, sailing is such a good
metaphor for that because if youdecide and reevaluate, you can
deal with anything.
But if you take too long and youdon't decide, you may be shit
(14:55):
outta luck at that point.
Stephanie Roble (14:58):
And you know, as I got older in my Olympic
career, I realized that, youknow, it's better to make a
decision and back yourself onit.
Then, like you said, you know,adapt or reevaluate from there,
rather than be indecisive andkind of be stuck in the middle
with it.
Mike Goldman (15:19):
How was kind of skipping forward to Tokyo in 20
in I'm sorry, Paris in 2024.
How was that, how was thatjourney much different than the
journey to get to Tokyo in, in2020?
And if so, what was differentabout it for you?
Stephanie Roble (15:39):
Yeah, I would say for Paris I felt more like a
veteran on the race course, Idefinitely felt a lot more
confident.
and I didn't, yeah, I didn'tstruggle with like that
paralysis by analysisnecessarily.
I, I felt like I had the repsunder my belt and felt a lot
more confident.
and I'd say what I struggledwith more in, in the Paris Quad
(16:01):
was keeping the energy andmomentum, you know, it's so
intense and you're working sohard for this one goal you know,
like I said earlier, there's somany thing.
There were so many things thatwe were managing outside of just
being athletes.
And so, I was really managingburnout in, in the approach to
(16:23):
Paris.
And, you know, it was reallyhard.
It's really hard to admit thatas an athlete or any high
performer, you don't ever wantto, relinquish and admit that.
So that, that was something Istruggled with, which was.
It was very hard.
Yeah.
Mike Goldman (16:40):
What is that?
I wanna dig into that burnout alittle bit more.
What?
What did that actually look likeand feel like for you, your
version of burnout?
I imagine that's probably verydifferent in different people,
but what did that look like andfeel like for you?
Stephanie Roble (16:55):
It stemmed from a couple of things.
In 2023, we had four majorevents that we were.
In podium contention for at, onthe last day of all those
events, one of them being theOlympic test event, which is
basically a dress rehearsal forthe Olympics and one of them
being the world championship.
And we ended up not closing outon any of those four regattas.
(17:17):
I walked away at the end of thesummer in 2023, just kind of,
you know, completely, Defeated.
And, you know, I felt like I wasputting everything I had into
the, into performance and I feltlike I was, you know, on the
right track at we, we were doingall the right things, but we
just couldn't seal the deal.
(17:39):
And can only stay optimistic andpositive for so many of those
things, you know?
And so at the end of 2023season.
I just started really feelingthat burnout of, okay, I'm hand,
I'm taking on so much.
I'm doing so much.
I feel like I'm on the rightpath for results.
And we were being supported inthat with the U-S-O-P-C, with
(18:00):
the US sailing team, with ourcoaches, and we all, you know,
felt like we were on this rightpath and just, we just weren't
closing out.
And so that was just a reallyhard one to swallow.
Mike Goldman (18:12):
Yeah, and again, interestingly enough, just like
when you were talking about yourstruggle.
In 2020 around decision makingand that relates very much to
business leaders.
the idea of burnout, absolutelyrelates and feeling, and man, I
could remember, you know,thankfully, you know, my
(18:34):
coaching business has been.
Going really well, I'd say forthe last 12 years or so.
But I went through about sevenyears of my business life with
real struggles and feeling likeI'm doing everything and I'm not
winning.
Like why is everybody elsearound me winning and I'm
working my butt off and I'm notwinning?
it hurts and it's, yes, it'sfrustrating, but more than
(18:56):
anything, like you said, youfeel defeated and it's very hard
to move forward.
So I know, like me, otherbusiness leaders have felt the
same way.
There may be some folkslistening that are feeling that
way right now.
So what.
Helped you.
when you talk about going fromthat burnout to kind of keeping
that energy and that momentumthat you need to perform at such
(19:18):
a high level, what were some ofthe things that allowed you to
make that shift from thatfeeling of defeat to having the
energy and momentum?
Stephanie Roble (19:26):
that's a really good question.
I really focused on connectingto my why.
Why was I doing this?
Why was I showing up every day?
Why was I sacrificing, you know,on, on.
Situations at home or with myfamily or personal life for this
one goal.
And then the other thing wasreconnecting to the joy that
(19:49):
sailing brought me.
You know, I was, I would thinkback to five year old Steph who
was on the water back at home,just purely loving.
on the water and, you know, thesensations that our boat
provides of like, the boat wouldtake off and fly underneath you
and my hair whipping in the windand, you know, all of the
(20:09):
elements like that, you know,really connecting to that joy.
and then the why, and I think Isaid this at the business launch
that we had together, the, mywhy initially was because I
really envision myself standingon the podium.
And then I realized that,sailing is a sport where there's
(20:30):
so much outta your control.
It's very hard to consistentlybe on the podium.
It's, and it's, it's just hardto execute all the time.
Right.
But what I really connected towas the challenge of becoming
better every day.
And that's what I refocused on,in the fall of 2023.
Mike Goldman (20:49):
Yeah, I think what's interesting and so
important about what you'resaying is, you know, there, have
been, you know, dozens anddozens of books written on how
to figure out your why, andobviously Simon Sinek, you know,
is the king of, you know, of allthat and critically important.
I have my why I coach my leaderson that.
(21:10):
but you, I think you addedsomething that's really
important because if we focusingon the why is important, but if
we continue to focus on our why,but we're not getting there,
we're not achieving what we wantto achieve.
I think you could still feeldefeated, but what you added to
that was focusing on, you know,like loving the water and
(21:32):
focusing on just the process anddoing the things.
I could remember, I've told thisstory before on stage and maybe
in another podcast when I wasreally struggling in my
business, and I had hooked up inmy mind and it's a very shallow
way to think, but.
Hey, we are all, we're allshallow.
From time to time, I hooked upin my mind that success meant
(21:54):
having a nice car.
Like I was driving an old crappyused car.
I'd see all these people intheir BMWs and Mercedes and
like, you know, why could theyafford those cars?
And I can't.
And I finally got to the pointthat my business was a level
that I went out and picked up myfirst BMW and I was super, as I
was growing my business.
(22:16):
I was in heaven that I wasfinally growing it and things
were working, and then I wentand picked up the car and I felt
this wave of depression comeover me at a level I'd never
felt before.
And I said, I don't understand.
Like I just achieve somethingI've been working to achieve for
a number of years.
Why am I feeling that way?
and what I realized with thehelp of my coach is it's a car.
(22:40):
A car doesn't change your lifeand frankly, reaching a goal
doesn't typically change yourlife all that much.
What changes your life is thejourney getting there.
And it's about enjoying thejourney because if you wait to
this magic day, you achieveeverything you wanna achieve.
Number one, we keep raising thebar.
Stephanie Roble (23:01):
Yeah.
Mike Goldman (23:02):
Soon as we get there, well, we gotta, you know,
I won a world championship, nowI have to be an Olympic
champion.
Now I have to be an, we keepraising the bar, so we end up
never being happy.
But if you, like you said, justcome to grips with, Hey, I love
the water and I get to do thisevery day.
And you've got those two thingstogether, I think really help us
(23:22):
with that energy and motivation.
Stephanie Roble (23:24):
Hundred percent definitely.
Mike Goldman (23:28):
So I know you, you are now.
Transitioning.
Who you are and your career fromjust sailing, and I say just
sailing.
It's not like you're stoppingthat, but from, you know, just
sailing to now, you want to helpother people, you know, with
their mindset.
(23:49):
Talk a little bit about, and Iknow this is a journey for you,
that you are at the beginningof, and, you know, and you're
starting to coach and you've gota client.
You, and I know you're workingon some certifications, doing a
whole lot of things.
We talked about what you'rephenomenal, but tell me a little
bit more about the, kinds offolks that, that you work with
and wanna work with and whereyour coaching focuses, where you
(24:13):
think they need the most help.
Stephanie Roble (24:15):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
I'm really enjoying thisjourney.
I'm learning a lot and it's funto relate what I learned as an
athlete into these newprinciples but I would say.
I respect anyone who has a goaland wants to become better at
anything.
And I love the process, like Isaid earlier of becoming better
(24:37):
and that challenge of highperformance.
the Olympic campaign provided somany opportunities to.
Just find that 1%.
And that was so exciting to me.
And you know, we would, we, oursailing skills got to a very
high level, but then it would,if you're approaching from a
(24:58):
holistic view, it's like, well,how do we dial in our sleep
more?
How do we dial in our nutritionmore?
How do we dial in ourcommunication more?
How do we become more efficientat putting our boat together so
we waste less hours in the sun?
How do we strategize, you know,who's doing what when it comes
to boat maintenance?
Those kinds of things.
And so I, I just really lovedthat puzzle of like, where do we
(25:20):
find these little 1%?
I, I am just excited to workwith, you know, my heart is
obviously with athletes, so Iwould love to work with.
High performing athletes, butthen there's, you know, the
athletes who are looking to taketheir game from good to great.
And then there's, highperformers in business as well.
and as you know, we're havingthis conversation, there's,
(25:42):
we're definitely highlightinghow many translatable skills
there are between being anathlete and business.
And really I'm excited to workwith any high performers.
but my heart is definitely withathletes.
Mike Goldman (25:55):
Yeah, when you think about the high performers
and.
The kinds of focus that, youknow, you talked about, you
know, sleep, nutrition, mindsetand a number of other things.
When you think about the highperformers and I think we talked
about two of the areas, onearound decision making.
We've talked about the energyand motivation, but.
(26:16):
When it comes to, you know, thestress of trying to be the best
at something, the anxiety oftrying to be the best at
something, the level ofconfidence you need to build in
addition to decision making andkeeping that energy and
momentum.
what's, what would be anotherimportant area of kind of having
that performance mindset?
(26:38):
What would be another area that,That, that you found as
something that was a struggleand beneficial for you to work
on that you think others shouldbe thinking about and working
on?
Stephanie Roble (26:49):
Oh, there's so many things.
you know, something that comesto mind is like awareness and
mindfulness.
I really honed in on, on mymindfulness because I felt like
if I was in the present momentin racing, you know, I was in
that flow state.
I wasn't overthinking things.
I was just doing things and thatwas a really beautiful place to
be in.
And when the best results came.
(27:11):
that comes from an awarenessand, mindfulness.
So I really would do a lot ofmeditation.
I would do, I would, symbols onour boat that would catch my
attention so I could refocus, myenergy.
So that was a big thing.
also self-talk, you know, that'sa really big one as well.
We have a tendency to beatourselves up so much.
I, and that was something that Iworked on a lot when I had that
(27:31):
paralysis by analysis is.
I would make a decision and thenget, so if it was the wrong one,
I would get so frustrated formy, with myself.
And so I really worked on thatself-talk of and creating
mantras for myself.
And, like one that I used beforethe Olympics was if I found my
focus distracted, or if I found,myself reacting negatively to a
(27:52):
situation or decision I made, Iwould say to myself, Accept,
Breathe, Scan.
And so that would just, that wasjust a loop in my head.
And, anytime a decision, a poordecision was made, okay, I
accept that I made thatdecision, breathe through it,
and then scan the race coursefor opportunities.
And that was, that really helpedme refocus myself and, mantras
(28:13):
as well.
I am brave was a, was one that Iused a lot'cause I would get
really nervous beforecompetition, but if I really
channeled my inner brave self.
didn't care about those nerves.
I didn't fe feed into them.
You know, so those, there's somany tools and it's so exciting
to kind of think about how wecan apply them in business or in
(28:36):
sport.
Mike Goldman (28:38):
And what about in being part of a team with
Maggie, you talked about thecommunication piece of it.
what would, what was anotherarea?
Area that, that you found froma, not only being a high
performance individual, but ahigh performance team.
What was another critical areathat you and Maggie had to focus
on to, to make sure you were astrong team?
Stephanie Roble (29:01):
Accountability.
You know, we would talk aboutchanges we'd want to make in
communication, for example, andyou'd, we'd have to hold and
each other accountable to thosechanges.
Holding ourselves accountable toshowing up to the sports
psychology work that we wantedto do, holding ourselves
accountable to, the processesthat worked for each of us
(29:23):
individually and then together.
And so think accountability wasa really big factor for that.
Mike Goldman (29:28):
And what did that actually look like?
Like what did you, was it justsaying, you know, Hey, I need
you here, or Hey, where wereyou?
Or like, what did you actuallydo to.
To hold each other accountable.
Stephanie Roble (29:41):
Well, first of all, we committed to that and
understood that sometimes it wasnot going to be very pretty.
You know, it's like, like Isaid, you're tired from
training, you're tired fromtraveling, you're tired from
managing all the other thingsthat were going on in the
background, but.
So sometimes, you know,accountability was not presented
(30:01):
as, as pretty as it should be,but at the end of the day, we
knew that we were in it togetherto achieve the same goal, and,
knew that the, if the otherperson was calling the other one
out on something, that it wasbecause it was to get us better
for that ultimate goal.
Mike Goldman (30:21):
Yeah.
And again, all those relate sowell to the business world where
one of the things on aleadership team, you know, I
often say is it's not the CEO'sjob to hold everybody else
accountable.
It's the leadership team's jobto hold each themselves and each
other accountable.
And it sounds like it's the,yes, it was a smaller two person
team, but it sounds like it wasexactly the same thing.
(30:43):
So, so you're in Tokyo in 2020,Paris 2024.
2028.
any thoughts about, you know,doing it again or is that out of
the question?
Stephanie Roble (30:54):
It's so tempting because it's a home
games and that would be reallyspecial to be at home.
but I certainly acknowledge andrespect, the fire that needs to
be burning to be successful.
And I've done two Olympic games.
If I were to do this again,going for a medal and it would
(31:14):
have to be a massive commitment.
And right now that fire isn'tburning, which is really hard to
admit.
But, I think, you know, I alsojust really respect how good
everyone is at the Olympiclevel.
And you can't just hop inobviously and do it.
So, I think.
Right now, I'm just reallyenjoying this process of
(31:36):
learning, coaching andconnecting with people like you
to just absorb as much as I canabout, this new industry that
I'm hopping into.
Mike Goldman (31:45):
yeah.
and I know that, you know, thatI think I know the value you
could add to others, maybeinitially around sports, but
obviously a, as we're learningtogether even more so in the
time we're spending, you know,how much of this relates to
business is critical as well.
So if someone did wanna, want tofind out more about, about you
(32:06):
and get in touch with you,what's the best way of them
finding you and finding outmore?
Stephanie Roble (32:10):
Right now, connect on LinkedIn.
I am in the process of buildinga website and branding, which is
really exciting So, connectingon LinkedIn or even Instagram.
and I just, I would appreciateand welcome any connections.
Mike Goldman (32:24):
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Well, hey, I, as I, always say,if you want a great company, you
need a great leadership team.
Stephanie, thanks for getting usthere today.
This is great.
Stephanie Roble (32:35):
Thank you for having me.
It was a real honor to be heretoday and share my journey with
you.
Accept, Breathe, Scan.
And so that would just, that wasjust a loop in my head.
And, anytime a poor decision wasmade, okay, I accept that I made
that decision, breathe throughit, and then scan the race
course for opportunities.
And that was, that really helpedme refocus myself and, You know,
there's so many tools and it'sso exciting to think about how
(00:22):
we can apply them in business orin sport.
Mike Goldman (00:34):
You made it to the better leadership team show, the
place where you learn how tosurround yourself with the right
people, doing the right things.
So you can grow your businesswithout losing your mind.
I'm your host and leadershipteam coach, Mike Goldman.
I'm going to show you how toimprove top and bottom line
growth, fulfillment, and thevalue your company adds to the
(00:54):
world by building a betterleadership team.
All right, let's go.
My guest today began sailing atthe age of five in Wisconsin and
was drawn to the thrill ofcompetition and ambitious goals
(01:17):
at that early age.
She had a successful juniorsailing career and went on to
sail and study at Old DominionUniversity.
She earned a degree in finance.
Captain the sailing team andbecame a two time All American.
After college, she raced onsmall keelboats earning World,
National and North Americantitles, and was named Rolex
(01:41):
Yachtswoman of the Year.
In 2014, she competed in theTokyo 2020.
And Paris 2024 Olympics in thewomen's skiff class.
In the process, she won twoPan-American game medals, a
World Championship medal andWorld Cup medals, as well as
achieving a world ranking ofthird.
(02:04):
Pretty amazing.
I met her at a client of minethat helped sponsor, her
journey.
And she sat in, the meetings andthen did a great discussion on,
performance mindset at lunchtimeand was really excited to get
her on the show.
Her name is Stephanie Roble.
Stephanie, thanks for being onthe show.
Welcome.
Stephanie Roble (02:23):
Thank you, Mike.
Thanks for having me.
it's an honor to be here.
Mike Goldman (02:27):
Yeah, and it amazes me.
You began sailing at age five, Ithink.
I think I was still figuring outlike how not to suck my thumb at
age five.
Like how do you, how do you getstarted and.
Let me start here.
Before I ask the question I askat the beginning of every
episode about a leadership team.
I want to hit this first.
How do you actually get startedsailing at age five?
(02:49):
Was it something your family wasinto and you just went along, or
how did that work?
Stephanie Roble (02:53):
Yeah, so I grew up on a small lake in Wisconsin,
and in the summer that's whateveryone on the lake would do is
go sailing.
And so sailing lessons startedat age five, and I think my
parents were pretty keen to getme out of the house, so they
signed me up for lessons.
And early on I was actuallyreally intimidated by the sport
and I really didn't like it, butit eventually, I fell in love
with it because it was a way to.
(03:15):
Be on the water, which I justabsolutely loved.
Playing in the water, being inthe sun, being with my friends.
And so in love with that.
And then I started competing andwon my first race and really got
the itch to, to bring that, youknow, throughout my life,
Mike Goldman (03:31):
That, that's incredible.
and I'm, I definitely wanna divein.
Deeper to that journey, butreally excited about this
because you are, you're thefirst Olympian we've ever had on
the show.
And that's a big, that is a bigdeal.
I'm honored.
That's a really big deal.
And also I love the, what getsme, got me really interested in
talking to you, and I've onlydone this I think once before on
(03:55):
the show, is I love theintersection of.
Sports leadership and businessleadership and how that works
together.
I think those are so related.
so really excited to, to talk toyou about all this stuff and
dive into your journey.
But normally the first question,I guess this will be the second
question I'm asking is, from allof your experience, what do you
(04:19):
believe is the one mostimportant characteristic of a
great team?
Stephanie Roble (04:26):
I would say it's communication.
When I think back on, on both ofmy Olympic campaigns, I was with
the same teammate for both ofthem.
we sail on a small boat.
It's only 16 feet long.
It's the two of us on board, andthere's, as you can imagine, in
sailing, there's a lot going on.
We're battling the wind, we'rebattling the waves, we're
battling other competitors.
(04:47):
We're figuring out, know how toread the wind the best.
We're making game plans, we'reworking together to maximize the
boat's efficiency through thewater.
and, you know, we're makingmoves on the other boats and
there's just a lot going on.
And so, you know, for us to besuccessful in the water took a
really high level ofcommunication.
you know, very specific words,very Concise, you know,
(05:09):
statements.
And so we really worked hard on,on honing that in throughout our
career.
But then off the water, we were,it was basically us and our
coach and a little bit ofleadership from the federation.
But the way things arestructured within the, sailing
community in the United States,were essentially running our own
small business.
We did all of our fundraising.
(05:29):
We did all of our logistics.
We did a lot of our.
strategic planning.
You know, we were constantlytrying to figure out how to make
the most of our time on and offthe water, and so it took a lot
of communication and we're in ahigh pressure environment with,
you know, a lot at stake andthis ultimate goal of winning an
Olympic medal.
And you work four years, eightyears for that one dream.
(05:51):
And so there's a lot ofpressure, there's a lot going on
behind the scenes, and it allcame down to communication.
Mike Goldman (05:59):
How much of that communication is technique?
Like when we wanna say thisthing that could be, that could
take a minute to say, we'regonna say it in.
Five seconds, like, you know,how much of it is technique and
code and things like that versuskind of the softer part of it of
really getting to know eachother and trusting one another.
Stephanie Roble (06:22):
That's a really good question.
from a performance standpoint.
purely on the water.
It was all about creating thoseclear, concise statements.
And we would, as technologyevolved during our Olympic
campaigns, we actually ended upusing like GoPros and voice
recorders during racing andduring our training so that we
(06:42):
could hear how we're talking toeach other.
And as we all know, there's somuch about, you know, it's not
sometimes not what you say, it'show you say it.
And so, you know, you know, abig thing for us was.
Someone, if Maggie, my teammate,said something to me and I would
always say copy, but if I waslike annoyed or you know, at a
situation and I was like, copy,that comes off a lot different.
(07:04):
Right.
So, you know, it comes down tothe details of communication.
But then like you said, it'salso about understanding each
other.
Like we were very differentpeople at the end of the day and
we put a lot of effort intounderstanding each other and
understanding what Maggie needsin order to perform and.
What I need in order to perform.
Mike Goldman (07:23):
And that's so important.
and obvi, you know, that's agreat example of where sports
and business are so similar isthat you do have those
differences that, that not onlyimpact how you communicate, but
I imagine those differenceswere.
Pretty important in, in thestrength of the team, if you
were both exact.
I mean, did that come into play?
(07:44):
Were there strengths in eachother?
You could, you can kind ofleverage through those
differences.
I.
Stephanie Roble (07:50):
A hundred percent.
And that's where we put a lot ofeffort in, especially with our,
with our coach and sportspsychologist, was understanding
those differences and how do wereally, how do we leverage them?
You know, for example, Maggie'sa very direct communicator and I
would often, kind of strugglewith that.
But then I, once I opened myselfup to being more open to direct
communication and, you know,taking that on myself, I was
(08:11):
able to, you know, kind of openup a whole new level for us.
Mike Goldman (08:16):
Beautiful.
So I wanna step back to yourjourney and then get into the
performance mindset and dive alittle deeper on the things
we're starting to talk about.
but you start sailing at the ageof five.
love that competition.
when is that their kind of theglimmer of the dream or maybe
stronger than a glimmer, when doyou start dreaming that, hey,
(08:37):
maybe I want to get to theOlympics one day.
Stephanie Roble (08:40):
It came at a very early age.
Like basically once I sawsailing in the Olympics, I was
like, I want to do that.
and you know, I grew up in ahousehold where watching the
Olympics was something we didfor the winter and summer games.
I remember watching the openingceremonies, and I remember just
feeling the magic around theOlympics at a really young age.
(09:03):
And then once I startedcompeting and doing well, at a
junior sailing level, it wasjust something I always wanted
to do.
And I didn't take thetraditional pathway to the
Olympics usually.
in, in the US at least, youknow, you have your successful
junior sailing career.
You go to college, you docollege sailing, and then right
outta college you focus on yourOlympics.
(09:24):
I didn't feel like I had theresources to put together a
successful Olympic team at thatpoint.
Obviously sailing is a veryexpensive and resource heavy
sport, and if I'm gonna dosomething, I'm gonna do it the
right way.
So I actually went into, intothe small keelboat racing, which
you talked about in myintroduction.
And then in the fall of 2016,Maggie, who is, was a teammate
(09:45):
of mine in, in high schoolsailing, and we competed against
each other in college sailing.
She called me and said.
You know, Hey, I really want tosail with you.
Like, let's, I have a boat.
Let's go do this.
And it, I, it was at a perfecttime in my life where I was
ready to transition intosomething else and I said to
myself, it's now or never.
(10:05):
And I, I stopped the sailingthat I was doing in that
industry and said, all right,let's go all in on this.
Mike Goldman (10:14):
As you, you know, leading up to Tokyo 2020, the
first Olympics you were in.
te tell me a little bit aboutthat journey and some of the.
Some of the struggles and someof the things you learned in,
in, in getting there.
what was that like?
Stephanie Roble (10:31):
Yeah, I would say the first.
Olympic journey was so muchabout learning the fundamentals.
I was brand new to the boat.
I didn't have any experience init.
And so I was really focused onlearning the fundamentals and
then, translating that intoracing.
And I remember reaching aspecific point where we were
getting quite good and beingrecognized on the international
(10:54):
scene, but I started putting somuch pressure on myself.
To the point where I wouldfreeze on the race course, I
would come up on a decisionpoint, and as the skipper of the
team, I was the one in charge ofmaking the decisions.
And so I would come up to adecision point on the race
course and I would freezebecause I was so afraid of
making the wrong decision andlike how that would impact our
(11:16):
results.
I became very results focusedand so I was, you know, my coach
pulled me aside and said, Hey,you know, we really.
You have so much potential as anathlete and as a team, and we
need to address this.
And so I linked up with a sportspsychologist and in a ton of
work into mindset and, reallyfocusing on the process of
(11:38):
everything and, digging into thewhy I was feeling that pressure
and, and fear.
And we did a lot of really greatwork together in 2019.
sailed a world championshipwhere we were like high teens in
the results.
I mean something 16, 17,something like that.
And next World championship in2020.
(12:00):
We were, we won a bronze medaland I, that is all because of
the mental work that I put in.
Mike Goldman (12:08):
So I wanna dig into this freezing on decisions
a little bit.
'cause as you said that again,I'm like, oh my God, that
happens to business leaders allthe time.
and I find that a number ofleaders I work with really
struggle with believing they'vegot to get every decision right.
That there's one magic rightanswer.
(12:29):
They've gotta get it right andthat can cause them to
overanalyze and totally miss anopportunity.
So dig a little deeper on, onthe mindset around making quick
decisions.
What was it specifically thatyou struggled with there and
what allowed you to switch andbecome better and quicker at
making decisions?
Stephanie Roble (12:50):
Yeah, it's such a good point there.
It's, you know, we, when wecome, when we come on decision
points, it's easy to have thatparalysis by analysis and that's
exactly what was happening tome.
I think I was overthinking allof the options and not trusting
my gut.
I think your gut can, and yourintuition can tell you so much.
And, you're right.
It's, you know, we're so.
(13:12):
Tempted to want to make everydecision the right way, when in
reality that's impossible.
And so I think sailing is areally good platform for
teaching us adaptability.
You know, things are happeningso quickly and there's so many
things that are out of ourcontrol that we just have to
figure out how to react to andmake the most out of.
Like the wind, for example, youknow, it comes off the land and
(13:32):
it bends at different angles andyou don't always know how it's
going to hit your boat or howit's going to.
Impact the boats around you.
And so you constantly have to bereevaluating, where am I, what
are the other boats?
Doing what do I want?
And then evaluating your riskversus reward, behind that.
So I think, you know, I justleaned into that idea of
(13:52):
becoming more adaptable.
I really, I studied a lot of,our GPS trackers from the
racing, so that helped build myconfidence for better decision
making on the race course.
and then, you know, saying tomyself, I trust myself and I'm
going to learn from this.
And, I think that was a reallybig mindset shift.
Mike Goldman (14:11):
Yeah, what I'm taking from all that, that I
think is so powerful.
For leaders and for me as wellis what I'm hearing is it's a
combination of overtime learningto trust yourself.
But then from a processstandpoint, what I just kind of
wrote down is decide andreevaluate.
Decide and reevaluate, decide,and re instead of I make a
(14:33):
decision, I execute God, I hopeI got the decision right.
It's like, no, just keepdeciding and reevaluating and
be, and sailing is probably not,probably, sailing is such a good
metaphor for that because if youdecide and reevaluate, you can
deal with anything.
But if you take too long and youdon't decide, you may be shit
(14:55):
outta luck at that point.
Stephanie Roble (14:58):
And you know, as I got older in my Olympic
career, I realized that, youknow, it's better to make a
decision and back yourself onit.
Then, like you said, you know,adapt or reevaluate from there,
rather than be indecisive andkind of be stuck in the middle
with it.
Mike Goldman (15:19):
How was kind of skipping forward to Tokyo in 20
in I'm sorry, Paris in 2024.
How was that, how was thatjourney much different than the
journey to get to Tokyo in, in2020?
And if so, what was differentabout it for you?
Stephanie Roble (15:39):
Yeah, I would say for Paris I felt more like a
veteran on the race course, Idefinitely felt a lot more
confident.
and I didn't, yeah, I didn'tstruggle with like that
paralysis by analysisnecessarily.
I, I felt like I had the repsunder my belt and felt a lot
more confident.
and I'd say what I struggledwith more in, in the Paris Quad
(16:01):
was keeping the energy andmomentum, you know, it's so
intense and you're working sohard for this one goal you know,
like I said earlier, there's somany thing.
There were so many things thatwe were managing outside of just
being athletes.
And so, I was really managingburnout in, in the approach to
(16:23):
Paris.
And, you know, it was reallyhard.
It's really hard to admit thatas an athlete or any high
performer, you don't ever wantto, relinquish and admit that.
So that, that was something Istruggled with, which was.
It was very hard.
Yeah.
Mike Goldman (16:40):
What is that?
I wanna dig into that burnout alittle bit more.
What?
What did that actually look likeand feel like for you, your
version of burnout?
I imagine that's probably verydifferent in different people,
but what did that look like andfeel like for you?
Stephanie Roble (16:55):
It stemmed from a couple of things.
In 2023, we had four majorevents that we were.
In podium contention for at, onthe last day of all those
events, one of them being theOlympic test event, which is
basically a dress rehearsal forthe Olympics and one of them
being the world championship.
And we ended up not closing outon any of those four regattas.
(17:17):
I walked away at the end of thesummer in 2023, just kind of,
you know, completely, Defeated.
And, you know, I felt like I wasputting everything I had into
the, into performance and I feltlike I was, you know, on the
right track at we, we were doingall the right things, but we
just couldn't seal the deal.
(17:39):
And can only stay optimistic andpositive for so many of those
things, you know?
And so at the end of 2023season.
I just started really feelingthat burnout of, okay, I'm hand,
I'm taking on so much.
I'm doing so much.
I feel like I'm on the rightpath for results.
And we were being supported inthat with the U-S-O-P-C, with
(18:00):
the US sailing team, with ourcoaches, and we all, you know,
felt like we were on this rightpath and just, we just weren't
closing out.
And so that was just a reallyhard one to swallow.
Mike Goldman (18:12):
Yeah, and again, interestingly enough, just like
when you were talking about yourstruggle.
In 2020 around decision makingand that relates very much to
business leaders.
the idea of burnout, absolutelyrelates and feeling, and man, I
could remember, you know,thankfully, you know, my
(18:34):
coaching business has been.
Going really well, I'd say forthe last 12 years or so.
But I went through about sevenyears of my business life with
real struggles and feeling likeI'm doing everything and I'm not
winning.
Like why is everybody elsearound me winning and I'm
working my butt off and I'm notwinning?
it hurts and it's, yes, it'sfrustrating, but more than
(18:56):
anything, like you said, youfeel defeated and it's very hard
to move forward.
So I know, like me, otherbusiness leaders have felt the
same way.
There may be some folkslistening that are feeling that
way right now.
So what.
Helped you.
when you talk about going fromthat burnout to kind of keeping
that energy and that momentumthat you need to perform at such
(19:18):
a high level, what were some ofthe things that allowed you to
make that shift from thatfeeling of defeat to having the
energy and momentum?
Stephanie Roble (19:26):
that's a really good question.
I really focused on connectingto my why.
Why was I doing this?
Why was I showing up every day?
Why was I sacrificing, you know,on, on.
Situations at home or with myfamily or personal life for this
one goal.
And then the other thing wasreconnecting to the joy that
(19:49):
sailing brought me.
You know, I was, I would thinkback to five year old Steph who
was on the water back at home,just purely loving.
on the water and, you know, thesensations that our boat
provides of like, the boat wouldtake off and fly underneath you
and my hair whipping in the windand, you know, all of the
(20:09):
elements like that, you know,really connecting to that joy.
and then the why, and I think Isaid this at the business launch
that we had together, the, mywhy initially was because I
really envision myself standingon the podium.
And then I realized that,sailing is a sport where there's
(20:30):
so much outta your control.
It's very hard to consistentlybe on the podium.
It's, and it's, it's just hardto execute all the time.
Right.
But what I really connected towas the challenge of becoming
better every day.
And that's what I refocused on,in the fall of 2023.
Mike Goldman (20:49):
Yeah, I think what's interesting and so
important about what you'resaying is, you know, there, have
been, you know, dozens anddozens of books written on how
to figure out your why, andobviously Simon Sinek, you know,
is the king of, you know, of allthat and critically important.
I have my why I coach my leaderson that.
(21:10):
but you, I think you addedsomething that's really
important because if we focusingon the why is important, but if
we continue to focus on our why,but we're not getting there,
we're not achieving what we wantto achieve.
I think you could still feeldefeated, but what you added to
that was focusing on, you know,like loving the water and
(21:32):
focusing on just the process anddoing the things.
I could remember, I've told thisstory before on stage and maybe
in another podcast when I wasreally struggling in my
business, and I had hooked up inmy mind and it's a very shallow
way to think, but.
Hey, we are all, we're allshallow.
From time to time, I hooked upin my mind that success meant
(21:54):
having a nice car.
Like I was driving an old crappyused car.
I'd see all these people intheir BMWs and Mercedes and
like, you know, why could theyafford those cars?
And I can't.
And I finally got to the pointthat my business was a level
that I went out and picked up myfirst BMW and I was super, as I
was growing my business.
(22:16):
I was in heaven that I wasfinally growing it and things
were working, and then I wentand picked up the car and I felt
this wave of depression comeover me at a level I'd never
felt before.
And I said, I don't understand.
Like I just achieve somethingI've been working to achieve for
a number of years.
Why am I feeling that way?
and what I realized with thehelp of my coach is it's a car.
(22:40):
A car doesn't change your lifeand frankly, reaching a goal
doesn't typically change yourlife all that much.
What changes your life is thejourney getting there.
And it's about enjoying thejourney because if you wait to
this magic day, you achieveeverything you wanna achieve.
Number one, we keep raising thebar.
Stephanie Roble (23:01):
Yeah.
Mike Goldman (23:02):
Soon as we get there, well, we gotta, you know,
I won a world championship, nowI have to be an Olympic
champion.
Now I have to be an, we keepraising the bar, so we end up
never being happy.
But if you, like you said, justcome to grips with, Hey, I love
the water and I get to do thisevery day.
And you've got those two thingstogether, I think really help us
(23:22):
with that energy and motivation.
Stephanie Roble (23:24):
Hundred percent definitely.
Mike Goldman (23:28):
So I know you, you are now.
Transitioning.
Who you are and your career fromjust sailing, and I say just
sailing.
It's not like you're stoppingthat, but from, you know, just
sailing to now, you want to helpother people, you know, with
their mindset.
(23:49):
Talk a little bit about, and Iknow this is a journey for you,
that you are at the beginningof, and, you know, and you're
starting to coach and you've gota client.
You, and I know you're workingon some certifications, doing a
whole lot of things.
We talked about what you'rephenomenal, but tell me a little
bit more about the, kinds offolks that, that you work with
and wanna work with and whereyour coaching focuses, where you
(24:13):
think they need the most help.
Stephanie Roble (24:15):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
I'm really enjoying thisjourney.
I'm learning a lot and it's funto relate what I learned as an
athlete into these newprinciples but I would say.
I respect anyone who has a goaland wants to become better at
anything.
And I love the process, like Isaid earlier of becoming better
(24:37):
and that challenge of highperformance.
the Olympic campaign provided somany opportunities to.
Just find that 1%.
And that was so exciting to me.
And you know, we would, we, oursailing skills got to a very
high level, but then it would,if you're approaching from a
(24:58):
holistic view, it's like, well,how do we dial in our sleep
more?
How do we dial in our nutritionmore?
How do we dial in ourcommunication more?
How do we become more efficientat putting our boat together so
we waste less hours in the sun?
How do we strategize, you know,who's doing what when it comes
to boat maintenance?
Those kinds of things.
And so I, I just really lovedthat puzzle of like, where do we
(25:20):
find these little 1%?
I, I am just excited to workwith, you know, my heart is
obviously with athletes, so Iwould love to work with.
High performing athletes, butthen there's, you know, the
athletes who are looking to taketheir game from good to great.
And then there's, highperformers in business as well.
and as you know, we're havingthis conversation, there's,
(25:42):
we're definitely highlightinghow many translatable skills
there are between being anathlete and business.
And really I'm excited to workwith any high performers.
but my heart is definitely withathletes.
Mike Goldman (25:55):
Yeah, when you think about the high performers
and.
The kinds of focus that, youknow, you talked about, you
know, sleep, nutrition, mindsetand a number of other things.
When you think about the highperformers and I think we talked
about two of the areas, onearound decision making.
We've talked about the energyand motivation, but.
(26:16):
When it comes to, you know, thestress of trying to be the best
at something, the anxiety oftrying to be the best at
something, the level ofconfidence you need to build in
addition to decision making andkeeping that energy and
momentum.
what's, what would be anotherimportant area of kind of having
that performance mindset?
(26:38):
What would be another area that,That, that you found as
something that was a struggleand beneficial for you to work
on that you think others shouldbe thinking about and working
on?
Stephanie Roble (26:49):
Oh, there's so many things.
you know, something that comesto mind is like awareness and
mindfulness.
I really honed in on, on mymindfulness because I felt like
if I was in the present momentin racing, you know, I was in
that flow state.
I wasn't overthinking things.
I was just doing things and thatwas a really beautiful place to
be in.
And when the best results came.
(27:11):
that comes from an awarenessand, mindfulness.
So I really would do a lot ofmeditation.
I would do, I would, symbols onour boat that would catch my
attention so I could refocus, myenergy.
So that was a big thing.
also self-talk, you know, that'sa really big one as well.
We have a tendency to beatourselves up so much.
I, and that was something that Iworked on a lot when I had that
(27:31):
paralysis by analysis is.
I would make a decision and thenget, so if it was the wrong one,
I would get so frustrated formy, with myself.
And so I really worked on thatself-talk of and creating
mantras for myself.
And, like one that I used beforethe Olympics was if I found my
focus distracted, or if I found,myself reacting negatively to a
(27:52):
situation or decision I made, Iwould say to myself, Accept,
Breathe, Scan.
And so that would just, that wasjust a loop in my head.
And, anytime a decision, a poordecision was made, okay, I
accept that I made thatdecision, breathe through it,
and then scan the race coursefor opportunities.
And that was, that really helpedme refocus myself and, mantras
(28:13):
as well.
I am brave was a, was one that Iused a lot'cause I would get
really nervous beforecompetition, but if I really
channeled my inner brave self.
didn't care about those nerves.
I didn't fe feed into them.
You know, so those, there's somany tools and it's so exciting
to kind of think about how wecan apply them in business or in
(28:36):
sport.
Mike Goldman (28:38):
And what about in being part of a team with
Maggie, you talked about thecommunication piece of it.
what would, what was anotherarea?
Area that, that you found froma, not only being a high
performance individual, but ahigh performance team.
What was another critical areathat you and Maggie had to focus
on to, to make sure you were astrong team?
Stephanie Roble (29:01):
Accountability.
You know, we would talk aboutchanges we'd want to make in
communication, for example, andyou'd, we'd have to hold and
each other accountable to thosechanges.
Holding ourselves accountable toshowing up to the sports
psychology work that we wantedto do, holding ourselves
accountable to, the processesthat worked for each of us
(29:23):
individually and then together.
And so think accountability wasa really big factor for that.
Mike Goldman (29:28):
And what did that actually look like?
Like what did you, was it justsaying, you know, Hey, I need
you here, or Hey, where wereyou?
Or like, what did you actuallydo to.
To hold each other accountable.
Stephanie Roble (29:41):
Well, first of all, we committed to that and
understood that sometimes it wasnot going to be very pretty.
You know, it's like, like Isaid, you're tired from
training, you're tired fromtraveling, you're tired from
managing all the other thingsthat were going on in the
background, but.
So sometimes, you know,accountability was not presented
(30:01):
as, as pretty as it should be,but at the end of the day, we
knew that we were in it togetherto achieve the same goal, and,
knew that the, if the otherperson was calling the other one
out on something, that it wasbecause it was to get us better
for that ultimate goal.
Mike Goldman (30:21):
Yeah.
And again, all those relate sowell to the business world where
one of the things on aleadership team, you know, I
often say is it's not the CEO'sjob to hold everybody else
accountable.
It's the leadership team's jobto hold each themselves and each
other accountable.
And it sounds like it's the,yes, it was a smaller two person
team, but it sounds like it wasexactly the same thing.
(30:43):
So, so you're in Tokyo in 2020,Paris 2024.
2028.
any thoughts about, you know,doing it again or is that out of
the question?
Stephanie Roble (30:54):
It's so tempting because it's a home
games and that would be reallyspecial to be at home.
but I certainly acknowledge andrespect, the fire that needs to
be burning to be successful.
And I've done two Olympic games.
If I were to do this again,going for a medal and it would
(31:14):
have to be a massive commitment.
And right now that fire isn'tburning, which is really hard to
admit.
But, I think, you know, I alsojust really respect how good
everyone is at the Olympiclevel.
And you can't just hop inobviously and do it.
So, I think.
Right now, I'm just reallyenjoying this process of
(31:36):
learning, coaching andconnecting with people like you
to just absorb as much as I canabout, this new industry that
I'm hopping into.
Mike Goldman (31:45):
yeah.
and I know that, you know, thatI think I know the value you
could add to others, maybeinitially around sports, but
obviously a, as we're learningtogether even more so in the
time we're spending, you know,how much of this relates to
business is critical as well.
So if someone did wanna, want tofind out more about, about you
(32:06):
and get in touch with you,what's the best way of them
finding you and finding outmore?
Stephanie Roble (32:10):
Right now, connect on LinkedIn.
I am in the process of buildinga website and branding, which is
really exciting So, connectingon LinkedIn or even Instagram.
and I just, I would appreciateand welcome any connections.
Mike Goldman (32:24):
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Well, hey, I, as I, always say,if you want a great company, you
need a great leadership team.
Stephanie, thanks for getting usthere today.
This is great.
Stephanie Roble (32:35):
Thank you for having me.
It was a real honor to be heretoday and share my journey with
you.
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