The Power of Pressure: Read the First Chapter
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John Wooden with Lew Alcindor, Lynn Shackelford, Kenny Heitz, and Lucius Allen; Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Wooden was coaching basketball, but he was also dispensing essential career advice. What he understood was that if you want to be future-proof, the steady refinement of one set of skills isn’t enough.
As Kelly Bradley, the CHRO of RBC, Canada’s largest bank, recently shared: “we talk about [acquiring new skills] as building range. Expanding skills and experiences gives individuals more options and the organization more flexibility. In a world where change is constant, range becomes a strategic advantage.”
“In a world where change is constant, range becomes a strategic advantage.”Now more than ever, a future-proof career hinges on the ability to acquire new skills that allow you to adapt to a new reality. So, can you get better at building range? Well, that’s where meta-skills come into play.
Skills and Meta-Skills in Action: The Pharmacist
Consider someone who has been a pharmacist for the past 20 years. They came out of University with a Chemistry degree and started working in a job that required two primary skills: chemistry to compound the medication and math to count pills and work the cash register. As technology advanced, the compounding and dispensing part of the role became more automated, and the role of pharmacists expanded greatly to include services like medicine reviews for Seniors, diabetic counseling, celiac counseling, flu shots, diagnosing and prescribing, and more. Suddenly, being a pharmacist also required customer service (or even sales) skills, and the process savvy to manage an automated dispensing process. Fast forward, and we can easily imagine the role evolving to require mental health counseling skills, tech savvy to perform diagnostics to deliver personalized medicine, and more.Figure 1 – A Pharmacist’s Journey: Skills vs. Meta-Skills
These different sets of skills anchor execution at different points in time – but what enables our pharmacist to evolve from one set of skills to another and remain successful over time are meta-skills. These are the capabilities that allow someone to consistently and repeatedly let go of old skills that have anchored their success and acquire and learn new ones.
Getting Better at Building Range: Three Imperatives
The discipline of evolving and building range can be broken down into three imperatives: see clearly, move quickly, and stay the course.01.
See clearly Build self-awareness and empathy.
02.
Move quickly Strengthen flexibility, creativity, and learning capacity.
03.
Stay the course Cultivate resilience
01. See Clearly
Acquiring new skills starts with developing a great radar: Where am I strong? Where am I falling behind? What do I need to work on developing? Self-awareness is half of the battle, but an under-appreciated meta-skill is honing the ability to listen to critique with empathy rather than resistance. When someone points out a gap or limitation in your skill-set – instead of pushing back, consider “what are they seeing that I’m not? How could that help me identify a skill I need to build?”02. Move Quickly
Strengthening learning capacity is at the heart of moving more quickly to build range. The faster you can move up learning curves, the easier it is to acquire new skills. There are many great resources that can help you get better at learning – but one of my favourites (which also happens to be free) is the Learning How to Learn course taught by the wonderful Dr. Barbara Oakley.03. Stay the Course
Finally, the journey of evolution is not a straight line. Adults hate being at the bottom of learning curves, and the journey up those curves is fraught with pressure, discomfort and setbacks. It is much more comfortable to refine one skill set over time than it is to build range. One of the most effective ways to build resilience is to focus on relationships: who else is working towards the same goals as you? Who can you learn alongside? Who will push you, support you, and absolve you of the guilt we all feel from not being enough? Identifying 2-3 people who can be in your ‘training group’ can be a well-spring of resilience.Meta-Skills: Crystal Ball Optional
Jeff Bezos famously said that he built Amazon around the belief that at no point would people want to pay higher prices or have worse product selection. As he stated at the time: “I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’… I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’ And I submit to you that that second question is the more important of the two.” Meta-skills are that rare example of something that will not change. There is no crystal ball required to see that the future will be different than the present, success in that future will require new and different skills, and an ability to spot critical skills, rapidly learn, and stay the course through the learning curve will be an advantage.“Individuals who invest in strengthening their awareness, learning capacity and resilience can become irreplaceable”Investing in meta-skills will pay a guaranteed return for both organizations and individuals. Organizations that invest in building meta-skills at scale will be rewarded with a talent pool that can adapt to new requirements and deploy new capabilities with greater ease and speed. Individuals who invest in strengthening their awareness, learning capacity and resilience can become irreplaceable. Rosie MacLennan is a powerhouse: she was the first Canadian athlete to defend a gold medal at a summer Olympics by winning back-to-back golds in trampoline in 2016 and 2020, she served as the Chair of the Athletes Commission at the COC and fought tirelessly for safe sport, and she has an MBA from Stanford. We were fortunate enough to have Rosie join us at our annual Third Factor client dinner a short time ago, where she shared a behind-the-scenes look at her path to Olympic triumph, the significant challenges she faced on the journey, and the tools she used to help overcome them.
Here are three lessons from Rosie’s talk that can help anyone striving for their own version of a gold-medal performance.
1: Confront failure head-on
One of Rosie’s most interesting insights was slightly counter-intuitive: when the fear of failure is strong, don’t shy away from it – lean into it. Ahead of the Olympics, Rosie consciously worked to confront the possibility of failure directly, and work through her worst-case scenario in vivid detail.“By confronting the possibility of failure, you can free yourself from its grip.”In partnership with her mental performance coach, Rosie sat down and played out two scenarios: what if things go well and I win? And, what if I stumble and fail? With these two scenarios in mind, she vividly worked through how she would feel and what her life would be like: 1 day after, 1 week after, 1 month after, 1 year after, and, eventually, 5 years post-Olympics. Rosie’s realization? Ultimately, the outcome at the Games would have little impact on her life 5 years down the road. Regardless of the outcome she would be okay. This mental exercise allowed Rosie to remove the distraction of fear from her preparation. By confronting failure head-on, she could redirect her energy from worrying about what could go wrong to focusing on what she could control. Whether you’re preparing for a major presentation, launching a new business venture, or pursuing a personal goal – instead of trying to avoid thinking about failure, take the time to visualize the negative scenario. When we “play out the full movie” what we often find is that the fear comes from the fact that we are just imagining a moment in time – an incomplete thought or image that doesn’t reflect the fullness of time. By confronting the possibility of failure, you can free yourself from its grip and focus entirely on performing at your best.
2: Embrace direct feedback
Rosie’s coach, Dave Ross, is known for a style that is extremely candid. While some athletes balked at his bluntness, Rosie saw something deeper: a genuine commitment to helping her succeed. She understood that behind his straightforward critiques was a profound belief in her potential. Instead of resisting his feedback, she consciously worked to lean into it, using it as information to unlock higher levels of performance. This ability to harness the value in blunt feedback came from her taking the time to understand Dave as a person. She took the time to look beyond personality and style to understand his values and ultimately his character. These insights didn’t just unlock her own performance, they also allowed her to help other athletes shift their perspective on Dave’s feedback by sharing her insights into what was behind his style. When you find yourself chafing at direct feedback, consider the intent of the person delivering it. Where are they coming from? What are they trying to help you accomplish? Often, others are trying to help – even when their wording or approach might trigger some reactivity.3: Use visualization to overcome obstacles
In the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, Rosie faced a daunting challenge: a series of serious ankle injuries that left her unable to perform her trampoline routine for weeks. In fact, she was unable to practice her full routine until one day before leaving for the Games.“When we imagine something with enough vivid detail – to our body, it’s real.”Rather than letting this setback derail her preparation, Rosie turned to the power of imagery and visualization. Unable to train physically, she trained mentally. This started with simply imagining herself bouncing on the trampoline again. She shared that, initially after the injury, every time she would close her eyes and visualize jumping on the trampoline – she would see herself falling. With effort and (mental) practice, she was able to start to imagine herself jumping with confidence, and eventually to visualize her entire routine in vivid detail. Remarkably, Rosie finished 4th at the Tokyo Olympics— less than a single point off of the podium featuring the best athletes on the world, all of whom had been training regularly, despite having been unable to physically practice until a single day prior to travel. When we imagine something with enough vivid detail – to our body, it’s real. Some studies estimate that for elite athletes, mental rehearsal delivers roughly 85% of the benefits of physical rehearsal. Rosie’s experience certainly backs up that research. Visualization isn’t just for elite athletes. It’s a tool anyone can use to prepare for high-stakes situations —whether it’s a speech, negotiation, or exam—spend time visualizing your performance. Imagine every detail: the environment, your actions, and the desired outcome. This mental preparation can help you feel more confident and prepared when the moment arrives.
Bringing it all together
Rosie MacLennan’s journey to Olympic success is more than a story about athletic achievement. Her approach to confronting failure, embracing feedback, and harnessing the power of visualization provides lessons that can help all of us. Here’s a challenge: think about your own version of a “gold medal performance.” What are you striving for in your career, relationships, or personal growth? Now, consider how you can apply Rosie’s three strategies: Confront failure head-on: What’s holding you back? Imagine the worst-case scenario to start to rob it of its power. Embrace direct feedback: Who in your life is pushing you to be better? How can you listen with an open mind and use their insights to grow? Use visualization to your advantage: What mental rehearsals can you do to prepare for your big moment? As in many sports, when navigating uncertainty it helps to “look where you want to go.” In his latest article for HBR, Third Factor CEO, Dane Jensen, outlines a process for imagining a plausible, positive version of the future and taking steps to actually get there. Read the article at HBR.org. Our company’s roots go back to the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta. Our founders, Peter Jensen and Sandra Stark, were mental performance coaches to Canada’s figure skating team – a team that won 3 out of Canada’s 5 medals on home soil. The business community took notice, and Peter and Sandra were soon working with organizations across the country to apply the principles they used in sport to a wide variety of other settings. Fast forward to 2022 and Olympic Sport is still our top R&D lab. We work with athletes and coaches at the highest level to understand how they perform, collaborate and lead, and synthesize their best practices for use across disciplines – from business, to academia, industry, philanthropy and beyond. We’ve had the privilege of working with dozens of athletes and coaches who are representing Canada at the Beijing Games. Here’s a roundup of who we’ll be cheering for this February.The Canadian Ski Team
Ski Cross is one of the most exciting freestyle skiing events at the Games. We’ve been proud to work with the athletes and coaches on both the men’s and women’s teams to help them build self-awareness, leverage their strengths, and perform under pressure. We’ll be cheering them on in the Ski Cross events on February 17th & 18th. Our work with Alpine Canada has also taken us to the downhill skiing events. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Team Canada at the men’s and women’s Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super-G events.Figure skaters from around the world
Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson are not just Olympic medallists, but widely regarded as the top coaches in the sport. They’ve shared their perspectives on performing in critical moments with us, and we’ll be cheering on their skaters as they compete for the podium in Beijing.
Tracy Wilson is an Olympic Medallist and 7-time Canadian champion
The Canadian Women’s Hockey Teams
We’ll be staying up late to watch Team Canada battle to reclaim Gold. We’ll also be keeping our eye Marie-Philip Poulin who is not just one of the best pressure performers in the world, but the best hockey player in the world, full stop according to our co-founder Peter Jensen. What happens to people who get really good at time management? They get more work! In his latest piece for Harvard Business Review, Third Factor CEO, Dane Jensen, explores why time management is a trap – and what you can do instead to be more efficient without becoming overwhelmed. Read the article at HBR.org.Bring the Summer Learning Series to your team • Request a call • Send this page to your manager or HR team
Energize your team as we move out of the pandemic with a series of three, one-hour virtual learning events. The months ahead will present new challenges as business needs change, blended working environments begin to take shape, and leaders are once again forced to adjust to rapid change and uncertainty. Help ready your people to lead and perform through the next phase with a series of virtual learning events.
TWO TRACKS TO CHOOSE FROM
Develop your people in the areas that will benefit them most. Choose our leadership track to build your team’s coaching and collaboration capabilities, or choose our resilience track to build your team’s ability to perform under pressure.LEADERSHIP TRACK Develop high performing leaders.
3×4 Coaching
Drawing on a wealth of experience from our 30+ years of working with the world’s top coaches, 3×4 Coaching introduces the 3 Plays and 4 Skills great coaches use to build commitment and get results.Building High-Performing Teams
Basketball coach Roy Rana has built high performing teams at every level from high school to the NBA. Drawing on years of experience, he will share what he has learned about how to create an environment in which a team is more than the sum of its parts.Working With People You Don’t Understand
Introduce participants to the relationship between their mindsets, behaviours and results, and take them on an interactive tour of how adopting new mindsets of curiosity and generosity can make those behaviours automatic.
RESILIENCE TRACK Enhance performance under pressure.
Building Resilience
High performance is not possible without pressure. The Building Resilience keynote introduces a personal resilience toolkit used by elite athletes to develop a relationship with stress and pressure that puts them in the driver’s seat.Maintaining Team Motivation Through the Troughs
When teams face challenging times, leaders have four allies to preserve motivation and fight the tide of disillusionment. This session brings these allies to life with stories from people who have used them under incredible pressure.The Power of Pressure
Drawing insights from his book, The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure isn’t the Problem, it’s the Solution, Dane Jensen’s new keynote address introduces three powerful strategies for using pressure as an advantage.
DELIVERED BY A WORLD-CLASS FACULTY
Our speakers teach at top business schools, have coached Olympic and professional athletes, been Olympic athletes, consulted at the highest level of business, and practiced law. Their strong personalities and unique personal experience draw audiences in and keep learners engaged.LEARN MORE
Want to learn more about bringing our Summer Learning Series to your organization? Leave your contact information below and we’ll get in touch.Maintaining Team Motivation Through The Troughs
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As the pandemic drags on, maintaining motivation and engagement is an increasing challenge for leaders.
Significant prolonged uncertainty, a relentless volume of work, the collapse of a separation between work and home life, and – in some cases – the absence of traditional sources of motivation like raises, promotions, and informal camaraderie in the office, means motivation has rarely been harder to come by.
In this 60-minute webinar, Third Factor CEO Dane Jensen will uncover research that will help you zero in on your team’s emotional state, and introduce four allies leaders can tap into to fight against the tide of disillusionment and keep people energized, resilient and motivated through the months to come.
You’ll leave with a better understanding of your team’s emotional state, and practical ideas for maintaining motivation that you can start using right away.
You should attend if:
- You are responsible for leadership development and want new ideas for driving operational efficiency
- Your performance management strategy calls for improvement in employee engagement and leadership efficacy
- Uncertainty and fatigue caused by the pandemic is having a negative impact on your business
- You want to build your own ability to motivate your people over the months ahead
Maintaining Team Motivation Through The Troughs
There are no lives sessions of this webinar upcoming. Fill out the form below to register to watch this webinar on demand.
About the presenter:
Dane Jensen advises senior leaders and their teams on how to perform under pressure in our disruptive world.
Dane has worked with executives in 23 countries on 5 continents. As CEO of Third Factor, Dane oversees delivery of the firm’s leadership development programs throughout North America. Dane is Affiliate Faculty with UNC Executive Development at Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill, NC. He also teaches in the full-time and executive MBA programs at the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.
In addition to his corporate and academic work, Dane advises athletes, coaches, leaders, and boards in the Olympic and Paralympic sport systems. He is author of The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn’t the Problem, It’s the Solution (HarperCollins, 2021), and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their three children.