Stop obsessing over winning

A clear day on the river Thames in London – thousands of spectators are following the famous boat race along the river and on their screens at home. Oxford had started strong and quickly gained a boat length on Cambridge – to some the underdog in that particular year anyway. Many Cambridge rowers were new in the first team and some experts had little expectations for them.

What could they have done? Push harder, scream louder and look at the leading boat.

What did they do instead? They deconstructed the intricate rowing motion into its fundamental elements, tackling each one systematically. From posture, drive, and blade control to grip, balance, and rhythm, they refined one aspect at a time. Every 20 strokes the cox (the person with a different perspective and in fact the only one in the boat whose job it is not to row) introduced a fresh focus – one singular element to perfect each time. Less than 10 minutes later 8 rowers and 1 cox experienced what sciences describes as ‘flow’ state. They caught the optimum amount of water with their blades, whilst moving in perfect synchronicity and balance through the water. Needless to say, they overtook and – spoiler alert – won the race.

How was that possible?

It worked so well because instead of being intimidated, overwhelmed or stressed, they went back to basics – only to accelerate as a result. They had done this all season long. Every day in training they considered something they wanted to improve, broke it down into its components and then worked on marginal improvements.

Those components belonged to different groups, some more physical and technical, whilst others were about the mind-set, leadership, communications and the inner game. What they had in common? They all started with self-awareness, the athletes and the team and not with the competition:

The environment. People must be comfortable to ask questions so that curiosity can build confidence.

Judgement. Remove it and stop talking about winning. That opens the opportunity to truly focus on your mindset – a key foundation for continuous improvement.

Weaknesses. Acknowledge them and re-frame them into strengths. It sparks confidence and supports teamwork and resilience.

Put people over tasks. Teamwork means putting yourself at the service of others and constantly ask yourself “what can I do today to be a better friend and co-worker and what would make the team stronger. What can I do to support the person next to me?!”

Belief. What can the leader do to show they believe in their team? What can you do to show your belief in your teammates?

Control. What can I control that makes a difference?

Flow is complex. A lot of things need to come together, and only many, sometimes small, intentional adjustments can lead to breakthrough moments.

Thank you to Cath Bishop and Jenna Armstrong, high performance athletes with an Olympic track record and wins in the famous Cambridge-Oxford boat races, for their honest reflection. What they initially said, sounded like rowing – what we heard, was all about leadership and performance.

Further thanks to Jesus College Cambridge and the Cambridge Gates Foundation for their support to make this reflection possible.