BY CHRIS BRINDLEY
High performance Sports and business are usually seen as two completely separate worlds. But Chris Brindley MBE, voted ‘Britain’s best boss’, believes that they have more in common than you might think…
So, what lessons can we take from sport and apply to business to realise our potential?
Peak performance model Chart one shows a sports psychology model known as the peak performance model. It consists of four sections: • • • •
Warm up Peak performance Warm down Quality recovery time (QRT)
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Warm up – prepare prior to a meeting or task. Read/watch
Warm down – if you don’t take time to ‘warm down’ after a meeting and ensure all your actions are done, you will end up with actions from each meeting building up until you have a huge list at the end of the day. Consequently, those actions will eat into your QRT. Plus, if you are emailing at 8pm, other people will start checking and answering at 8pm. You aren’t just jeopardising your own recovery time, but your colleagues’ too.
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I looked at this model and thought – why don’t people apply this to business? Whilst athletes may need to look after their bodies, aren’t our minds just as important in business? To me, this is what the peak performance model looks like in business:
Peak performance – ask the right questions, fully engage in your task or meeting. Don’t simply ‘survive’, thrive and engage.
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Just as a sporting coach works with individuals and teams to hone their abilities, businesses should be doing the same with their people. For example, at Equilibrium, we have the Equilibrium Academy which is open to all colleagues, to help its students identify and hone their skills.
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As a leader, your job is to motivate people, nurture their talent and provide them with a pathway to develop and thrive.
any relevant materials, find out who is in the meeting and how they could best contribute or think of any questions to ask. Decide what you want to get out of the meeting and prepare accordingly.
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I’ve worked in a variety of positions and sectors, from National Sales Director of British Gas to Managing Director of Metro Bank. In every area of business, leadership comes down to the same principles.
