One of the most interesting Health & Wellbeing themes to come out of the Paris Olympics so far is that of motivation and purpose.
Employers are increasingly realising the power of purpose and how closely linked this is to wellbeing and an individual feeling content and motivated in their role.
But one important aspect of purpose that the Olympics is putting a light on currently is the question of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation
British pole vault medallist Holly Bradshaw talked to the Guardian Newspaper about this topic in November admitting she was asking herself of the Paris Olympics: is it really worth it?
Her reasons for questioning were the “damage” she’s incurred both “physically and mentally” from pushing her body to such extremes in order to be the best.
Dig a little deeper into Bradshaw’s words and she herself identifies that the Games had not lived up to her expectations and the whole experience felt “extrinsic”. She goes on to say: “I’m not doing it because I love it. I’m just doing it because it’s what I do, and that’s not a good reason.”
Do you know why you’re doing something?
Lesley McKenna is a three time Olympian, having completed the snowboard halfpipe and she now works in high performance UK sport supporting coaches.
“When you’re questioning the worth of something, you need to know what you are putting your worth on,” she says. “If you put worth on extrinsic things, and don’t have intrinsic motivation to balance this, then your mental health is going to suffer”.
Explaining examples of extrinsic motivations she lists others’ approval, financial rewards, the medal itself and fame.
“These things in themselves are not ‘bad’ and, obviously, you need money to live. But if that’s the main reason you’re doing something, then it’s easy to lose yourself as an athlete. I would say this is applicable to any challenge where people are working together to achieve their best.”
Re-evaluating your ‘why’
If an individual is only extrinsically motivated, says McKenna, then they tend to have much less resilience for the inevitable “bumps in the road”.
Intrinsic motivation, by contrast, comes from within and from, for example, a desire to push yourself to your limits to see, for yourself, where they are.
During this Olympics, British swimmer Adam Peaty has talked about how he had to take himself through a process of re-evaluating his motivations following burnout and turning to alcohol.
Talking to the Olympics media team, he said his “intrinsic why” had changed because instead of swimming for records and medals, he wanted to prove himself as a human. He’s also talked about how faith has played a part in his re-evaulation.
Help talent find their ‘why’
“I’m not doing this for any other person than me, for the first time ever. I don’t have to be here. I want to be here, enjoy it and be the best,” he told the Olympics.
Peaty missed out on his desired Gold medal – which would have brought his total to three – but showed his newfound resilience in the post race interview when he talked about how “this journey is not for a medal, I define myself by my heart, what it’s made me feel and produce”.
The learning here for McKenna is that if you’re supporting people, especially in high performance circles, it’s imperative to help them find their “intrinsic worth”. And this advice is easily applicable to the business world, too.
There are many other ways we can learn from Olympians.
We’ll summarise a few more in the rest of this feature.
Tips from financier Jordan Cracknell, wife of Olympian James Cracknell
As part of her MBA from Cambridge University, where she met James, Jordan interviewed top athletes and identifies these learnings for the business world:
1) Balance
Although training could be done 24/7, it is important to maintain balance in your life so that you do not get burnt out. You should continue with hobbies, and other interests as that will help you be the best you. Athletes learn incredible time management skills in order to fit their training in with day to day life.
2) Collaboration
Winning isn’t done in a void, but rather through an entire team that supports one another to achieve those goals. It is the same in a workplace, where working together can get the best results.
3) Career Strategy
Think about where you want your career to be a few years down the line, and the steps you need to take to get there. Put those steps into action. You may not have it fully planned out, but a general idea works.
4) Networking
Know your network and use it. You’ll be able to have opportunities you wouldn’t have expected otherwise.
5) Resilience
Sports can be unpredictable, you may train hard for years without winning a gold medal at the Olympics. It’s important to go with the flow.
Tips from Olympian Amy Williams
Williams was the only Brit to win a medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. She says an Olympian attitude to work and life helps her and she advises:
Break your goal up into bite sized chunks
As an athlete you have a goal which could be four years away, at the next Olympics. You have to break that down into targets over weeks and months.
Apply the 4 ‘D’s
The four Ds are my way of reminding myself of how Olympians succeed.
Discipline: being an Olympian taught me the importance of consistency and setting realistic goals and sticking to them
Desire: you need to have that fire in your belly. You need to know – what is it you love? Where’s your passion?
Dedication: this is what keeps you going through the bumps in the road; true strength comes from within and that every small step forward is a victory
Determination: it might take you a month to reach your goal, or a year, or more but you don’t give up. Nothing good happens overnight. You’ve got to keep going even when you don’t see results. People are very impatient these days in our instant gratification culture.
Tips from Olympian Lesley McKenna
Lesley McKenna is a three time Olympian, having competed in the snowboard halfpipe, and she now works in high performance UK Sport as a ‘coach developer’, supporting coaches’ personal development, so they in turn can get the best out of the athletes in their teams.
Support the coaches / line managers
This is definitely an area that is getting more attention in high performance support. Coaches often operate alone and are supporting a number of athletes, so there’s more recognition they also need support with things like peer to peer mentoring or personal development.
Don’t be afraid to fail
There’s a lot of resilience to be gained from having lots of knockdowns and failures. Ironically, that is something sports systems are trying to reduce for athletes but I don’t think it’s good for their development to not have any hard times.
Also, it’s really unrealistic to not expect difficult times at the top levels. Of course coaches and line managers need to support people if they experience failure, but they need the right support. As a coach, if your athlete underperforms, that’s not a disaster. It’s an opportunity to learn. And, often, in those tough moments people can actually find their ‘why’, their intrinsic motivation for doing something.
