𝟱 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗫𝗖'𝘀 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀
What is it really like to be a top athlete? How do you set priorities, work with a team, handle obstacles? What are the expected and unexpected parallels between sports and a professional or leadership career?
This week saw a truly inspirational panel discussion at DXC Europe, featuring 4 of our colleagues who are former Olympic and national athletes:
- Stephan Krüger, Senior Consultant at DXC, 4x Olympian in rowing for Germany.
- Daniela Bodog Fowkes, Europe leader of the DXC ServiceNow strategic business group, Olympic athlete at the Seoul Games in the handball team for Germany.
- Abdullah M. Rana, Global Head of Consumer Industries for DXC Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence, played in the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers only last month for Switzerland.
- Aleksandar Aleksandrov, Automation and Innovation Lead at DXC, former professional football player and member of Bulgaria’s national futsal team.
Check out these five learnings from their careers in sports, which our colleagues apply in their professional and leadership careers to this day:
1) 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱. There are more ways to achieve your team’s goals than the one you may have envisioned, as a team member or as a leader. There may be other ways of doing things. Don’t always push or continue on the set course. Take a step back and listen.
2) 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁. To achieve remarkable results, there’s one key element always: hard work. It’s the daily determination and the step-by-step improvement that make you win—as an individual and as a team.
3) 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. Great team leaders will enter the game or start a project acknowledging the fact that someone will make a mistake along the way. Exceptional leaders will not focus on the individual or their error, but be flexible to adapt the team’s strategy.
4) 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿. Find your passion—whether in sports or in another field of interest—and spend time on it daily. That may mean carving out time early in the morning or late at night. It will be worth it: apart from getting energized daily, your passion will be your anchor, whenever the going gets tough.
5) 𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗶𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿—as Olympic champion Femke Bol proved in the 4x400 mixed relay, where she was in fourth position when passed the baton for the final leg of the race, and accelerated in an epic sprint to get gold. Don’t quit until you’re past the finish line.
A huge thank you to our panelists for allowing us a peek into the life of an athlete and for sharing their learnings with us.
Stephan Krüger, Daniela Bodog Fowkes, Abdullah M. Rana, Aleksandar Aleksandrov
#WeAreDXC #WinningMindset