Preparing for the Unexpected:  A Powerful Lesson from Olympic Athletes

Every four years athletes gather for the Summer Olympics and do the seemingly impossible as they compete to be the best of the best in their respective sport. All compete, but only a few get the distinction of standing on the podium. You and I might not be world-class athletes, but there are many lessons we can adopt from Olympians and apply those in the workplace to achieve more consistent peak performance. One such gold nugget we can apply is that Olympians prepare for the unexpected.

Elite athletes have some of the most rigorous and demanding habits. They practice their sport over and over again. But some go above and beyond and practice by preparing for the unexpected. In the 2008 Olympics, Michael Phelps, the currently most decorated Olympian ever, was in the middle of his race when the unexpected happened – his goggles developed a leak and began to fill with water.  He was swimming without the ability to see. It wouldn’t be a surprise then if he had lost, but instead, he won the gold medal (oh, and broke a world record) in the process. This was only possible because during training sessions, his coach, Bob Bowman, would throw unexpected problems at Michael. Coach Bowman would create “what-if” scenarios  (such a muscle cramp, his swimsuit tearing off, his goggles getting ripped) that Michael would have to navigate through. In other words, he had actually rehearsed this exact challenge. The solution to this challenge was that Michael knew exactly how many strokes he had to take to complete a lap. Without having trained for the unexpected he might not have won, let alone finished and won the race.

There is a wonderful mindset and quote by author Marshall Goldsmith,“What got you here, won’t get you there.” What this means is that the experiences of the past have undoubtedly contributed to you being in the job, role, etc. you currently have, but it might not be enough for what is to come and necessary to excel in the future. And for that, you’ll need to anticipate and prepare for what may happen and modify your behavior.

Here are a set of questions I’ve drafted that may help us anticipate the unexpected in the workplace:

  • Am I paying attention to my professional sector?
  • What challenges & opportunities might be in the horizon for my field, institution or specific department?
  • What would be the impact on the work I do if there is a major disruption from my competition, technological advances or disruptions, the environment, a biological entity, legal and regulatory changes, a shift in economy, geopolitical events or any other changes impacting those I serve, my customers, etc.?
  • Are there any solutions that have recently been implemented and what new set of problems will those solutions create?
  • What are some of the paradigms, behaviors and beliefs that used to be necessary in my job that are now being questioned or need to adapt?
  • What are the best-case, worst-case and most likely scenarios I should prepare for?
  • If I don’t prepare and stay flexible what, if anything, could happen to me?
  • What’s replacing the old paradigms, behaviors and beliefs?
  • Who are the leaders & the rule breakers that are anticipating change in my field that I can gain insights from?