With the Olympics starting next week in Paris, the focus will be on individual and team performance. How can HR teams and managers create an environment where everyone can succeed? Ian Brett offers some strategies.Â
In both elite sport and the workplace, peak performance is often achieved when people operate in environments that suit their personality and style.
Yet, just like Olympic athletes who must adapt to conditions, employees can also face discomfort and performance challenges in various workplace settings. Medal-winning Olympic athletes generally have the ability excel under diverse conditions.
Team performance
But in some cases, athletes perform phenomenally during training but stumble under competition pressure. Similarly, in the workplace, employees might excel in routine tasks but struggle with high-stakes scenarios like major presentations or tight deadlines.
Recognising and understanding these problematic environments—and learning to reframe them— can be crucial for overcoming performance barriers and achieving excellence.
Building self-awareness
This is where managers, with the support of HR teams, come into play. Just as sports psychologists help athletes adjust to high-pressure environments, managers can guide team members through challenging situations and get the best out of them.
Awareness is key to peak performance—both in sports and at work. Our thoughts drive our emotions, which in turn influence our behaviours, impacting performance and well-being. Self-awareness, and awareness of others helps cultivate positive emotions and manage negative ones.
Awareness is a skill that develops over time. Whether you’re an athlete striving to elevate your game, an HR professional or manager supporting an employee, dedicating time to cultivate this skill can be a game changer.
By adopting a positive attitude towards stress and pressure, high-pressure environments such as competitions or major conferences can become more manageable. Viewing these situations as challenges rather than threats can significantly improve emotional resilience.
Five steps to improve performance
Here are some steps to help improve performance in challenging environments:
Accept: Embrace the full spectrum of emotions. Accepting emotions as they arise creates space for them, allowing for higher performance. Encourage employees to recognise their feelings about an environment without being overwhelmed by them.
Change perspective: Stepping outside the situation and viewing it differently can help shift perspectives. Visualisation techniques can help individuals experience the desired perspective.
Attend: Focus attention intentionally to cultivate a resourceful emotional state. Practices like gratitude help maintain a positive focus, enhancing emotional state and performance.
Amend: Evaluate the effectiveness of techniques through feedback. If they’re not working, be willing to adjust and try new approaches.
Practice: Improvement comes with practice. Encourage individuals to step outside their comfort zones and embrace situations with uncertain outcomes.
The right environment
Of course, in the dynamic worlds of both sport and business, it’s not always possible to be in an ideal environment. However, adjustments and planning can help make any environment more conducive to performance.
Encourage individuals to identify what they can influence and what they might need to ask of others to create their ideal environment. At our company, we use the Insights Discovery tool to help spotlight optimal environments for different personality preferences. For example:
- A more extraverted preference might benefit from ample opportunity for social contact and to develop ideas collectively, whereas a more introverted preference might benefit from peace to focus and express views without feeling pressured.
- A preference for thinking might benefit from direct communication whilst being able to operate independently and objectively while a preference for feeling might benefit from harmony and where hard work is rewarded with gratitude and sense of community.
For instance, an employee or athlete with a more introverted preference might request a quiet space to prepare before a major event, while a more extraverted individual might thrive on the collective energy of a group.
Even in solo Olympic events, athletes rely on a broader team. Coaches in elite sports increasingly understand that collective well-being is as crucial as individual performance.
Team harmony
Likewise, organisations play a pivotal role in fostering supportive environments where employees feel safe to voice concerns and seek help. We believe there are four essential elements that must work in harmony to enable team effectiveness in any environment.
Awareness is a skill that develops over time, whether you’re an athlete striving to elevate your game, an HR professional or manager supporting an employee.”
Climate: The best teams are composed of individuals with high self-awareness who understand their unique personality traits and relate well to others. A climate of encouragement, care, and support fosters trust and engagement, creating a positive and productive atmosphere.
Focus: Alignment and clarity on goals are essential. When team members understand their roles and contributions, a well-communicated focus becomes a powerful force, driving the team toward success.
Process: High-performing teams thrive on robust processes and clear methods of working. With defined expectations, everyone can concentrate on future goals, ensuring efficiency and consistency.
Flow: Positive interactions and effective collaboration are the hallmarks of teams that achieve their common goals. When a team is in flow, everyone benefits from a culture that attracts talent and generates outstanding results.
By emphasising self-awareness, continuous learning, and collective support, organisations can create an environment where performance soars to new Olympic heights.
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