Author: Russell Hunter

Your One Thing for 2021   It’s been a tough year. it’s also been a great year. Whether we wanted it or not, 2020 gave us the opportunity to pause and reflect on what really matters in our lives and our organizations. Some leaders used this time to...

07 January, 2021 /

How to coach in less than a minute   We are all busy. The pace hasn’t let up for most leaders since March. Workload has grown. Finding time to coach team members may be taking a back seat right now, but if you pay attention, you may...

06 August, 2020 /

2012-olympic-games-oddsDispelling the Talent Myth

A couple of weeks ago I sat watching the US Olympic Gymnastic Trials on NBC. Some Olympic athletes make it look effortless. Their performance flows with a grace and rhythm that seems almost magical. It’s tempting to watch people perform extraordinary feats and chalk it up to talent or giftedness. But what is talent? I think it’s overused. It’s become a catch all to explain what we often have a hard time describing in tangible terms. Belief in the talent myth holds many of us back both as leaders and in terms of our own potential for high performance.

It Comes Down to 3 Factors

It seems plausible that we need a certain level of natural ability for success in sports, or any other high performance arena. But the amount of natural ability needed for athletic success is strikingly low, and constitutes only one of three factors that build athletes into the elite ranks:

10 January, 2013 /

london-2012-olympics-logoIt was time.

As Brent Hayden walked from the ready room to the platform there he reflected on all the work he had done to get to this moment. Back in 2008 he failed to qualify for the men’s 100m freestyle final, but here in London his preparation paid off. In a few moments he would swim with the best in the world for Canada’s first medal ever in this event. Confidence is critical here. From lane seven he looked across at the competitors beside him and a few doubts entered his mind. They looked strong. Their semi-final times were faster than his.
11 October, 2012 /

London-2012-Olympics-torch-3It’s 6:30am on August 13, 2008...

Michael Phelp’s alarm clock went off, he rolled out of bed in the Olympic Village in Beijing, and he began his routine. He’d already raced and won three gold medals earlier that week and had two more that day. He pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt and walked to breakfast in the cafeteria. By 7am he was eating his regular race day menu of eggs, oatmeal and four energy shakes, and enjoying the company of his team mates. Just an ordinary day.

23 July, 2012 /
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