Building a Culture of Support
The mood of the nation has changed inextricably from this time last year: we have a vaccine programme in progress, a tempered roadmap out of lockdown and a budget designed to kick start the economy. Add in the clocks moving forward by one hour and with summer on its way, it’s bringing about a more upbeat mentality and much needed air of positivity. In our first instalment of Flock | Go the Distance, adventurer Nick Hollis’ analogy between climbing Everest and operating a business in a pandemic struck home and was a chilling reminder that the perceived end goal is often only the half-way point. With a new timeline to focus on, after which the hard work starts for Exclusive Collection, it’s fitting the next in our 4-series of session’s considers mood and emotion and how these traits affect personal and business performance. Many of us have been riding on Zwift with the objective of Everesting in early May. Our weekly virtual cycles have proven to be as beneficial to building strength and mental endurance as they are competitive! These group rides have brought about a new vocabulary for us all too; a cycling lexicon that also has relevance in the boardroom with words such as rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and cadence now every day speak. Other lessons we’re taking away from our keynote endurance speakers are the importance of nutrition and rest days.
Without doubt as we face a new timeline and the start of the next long goal in business; rest days, cadence and RPE are going to help formulate business strategies after the protracted year we have all been through. In our next sessions we turn our focus to building a culture of support. We have more speakers who have held podium places on the global stage and more business leaders who have been affected by the pandemic.
Cath Bishop, Olympic rower, world championship gold medal holder and respected diplomat, talks very specifically about a mindset that looks at the Long Game. We are delighted to have worked with Speakers Corner who have supported us with Cath’s presentation. During her seminar Cath refers to
‘marginal gains’ – a tactic we are all adopting and applying across our businesses as we made and make our way through the last fourteen months of uncertainty. The roles and responsibilities behind the entire team or individual athlete competing at Olympic level is far-reaching, from psychologists, biomechanics and physiotherapists to nutritionists and physiologists. During her talk Cath draws on the positive effects and importance of personal well-being as much as she does on being a strong and fit athlete.
Mood and mindset are topics that are also discussed by Professor Chris Beedie Director of Science and Research, CHX Performance and our longstanding friend of Flock Andy Holmes, Global Head of Wellbeing for RB. The energy in their presentation shines through - and even online it underlines how mood genuinely can affect performance! In our final conversation, we are joined by Graeme Bowerbank from Harlequins and Alex Stavrinides (aka A Cyclist) from Thermo Fisher Scientific. These two hold no punches as they share how their organisations are dealing with the long return to a new normal. We talk RPE in sport and business, how technology is helping with marginal gains, how to pay heed to mood and emotion in the workplace along with some insider tips from Alex on how to gear up for the Everesting challenge in May. Please feel free to share these online sessions with your colleagues and peers. After all, none of us expected or are geared up for the long endurance of a pandemic on business. Flock was created to share best practice and to learn lessons and tactics from elite teams and individuals who have trodden the endurance path to podium place and their choice of summit. Danny Pecorelli
Cath Bishop A collaboration with Speakers Corner Cath is well versed in being at the height of her game. Having represented GB at three Olympic games, as well as being a diplomat, her session looks at how we should aim for the Long Game: a very apt conversation in today’s commercial climate. Her candid insights delve into how our behaviours around communication, collaboration, recovery, inter-personal relationships and personal outlook all contribute to our performance levels. Cath’s premise is that the Long Game consists of the three C’s:
Constant learning •
athletes are world-class at improving
Clarity
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look for performance goals not just results driven goals
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understanding our individual motivators and how they fit within a wider team to ensure we can draw on the very best from each other
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thinking about the quality of what we’re doing and not the quantity
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considering on a daily basis what success looks like and what is required to ensure each day is as successful as it can be
“From a sports perspective there’s no point in overtraining and only going to short-term results if that means we can’t sustain performance over the longer-term.” It’s a sentence that rings true with Andy and Chris’s conversation that draws on the analogies of the exuberant weekend racer versus how an elite athlete performs.
Connections •
collaborating and constantly learning and looking at how tiny things can make a difference
•
marginal gain to make performance better
Reframing how I worked as an athlete within the team and my rowing crew in the third Olympic games that I attended was an absolute game changer for me. I reframed what success looks like; not just on the podium but around all that went before the podium and the life that was going to come thereafter.
Cath Bishop was brought to you by Speakers Corner, a UK & International Speaker Bureau. Speakers Corner are currently working with their clients to plan their virtual, and in-person, event programmes, so to discuss Cath or any of the speakers they work with, please contact: Dan Risner on 020 7607 7070 or email dan@speakerscorner.co.uk
Professor Chris Beedie, Director of Science and Research, CHX Performance and Andy Holmes, Global Head of Wellbeing for RB Chris Beedie is at the fore of cognition and neuroscience and works with commercial organisations as well as elite athletes. This buoyant conversation brings to life the effect of mood on performance; and when we add Andy’s pointed questions, we are left with the no doubt about the significance that emotion and mood play in performance. Driving home the links between body, brain and the mind Chris comments:
People look at sports and think it’s physical but with elite athletes what becomes apparent is that the winning margin is in the brain. Conversely, in business we perceive that the winning streak is in the brain. However, all the processes of the body are required to ensure that the brain can function correctly. Consequently, if you want to be the very best you can be as a business then you do absolutely need to look after your body.
Fast facts for leaders: •
Look at your cadence (on and off the field)
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Be careful with how you use emotion as it burns and saps energy.
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Focus on the big things.
D
It’s another reminder of the importance of rest days and ensuring commerciality is at a sustainable cadence – especially when going for the Long Game. Chris details how one of the metrics for how our personal wellbeing is faring is our mood: •
a bad mood is often indicative of a low level of both physical and mental resources
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mood is like mapping the body and producing a summary
Sportspeople take time to understand how they feel and it’s a take home for the business community to learn to introspect. Understanding our feelings and mood in our daily work life needs to become more intuitive, as Chris shares “Athletes are aware of their RPE and what works best for them in their individual events and disciplines. We need to apply those principles to the workplace too.”
Don’t focus on what’s wrong — ask what’s possible Cath Bishop
Flock’s 12-week Go the Distance series has been designed to equip individuals with the building blocks for an endurance mindset in business and personal life. Insights from world class endurance performance specialists and coaches have been drawing on the synergies between sport and business. Putting endurance to its test, many of Flock are learning the skills to conquer their own Everest with a virtual cycle on Zwift of 29,029 feet. Building individual mettle while also working in teams to conquer their challenge, they are all raising money for their chosen charity. To be part of the journey or to catch up on the content, register at: www.exclusive.co.uk/flock