The training methods of the UK’s Iron Man offer valuable insights for performance coaching says Marie Willis of Lequin Executive Coaching. She uses them to enhance her clients’ leadership skills
A 2.5 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, finishing off with a 26 mile run. Add in some steep hills, 30°C heat and a strong headwind blowing off the Atlantic, and you’ve got the Lanzarote 2006 Iron Man Competition.
To most of us, it’s incomprehensible how anyone could endure such physical and mental hardship. To Richard Allen, Britain’s leading Iron Man and an Olympic tri-athlete, it’s a career and way of life.
But what can we, mere mortals sitting in our offices, learn from Iron Man contenders apart from the fact that they’re all slightly mad? Lequin Executive Coaching has been working with Allen and other elite athletes to bring key elements of sports psychology to coaching.
Mentally, Allen approaches each race in three stages: planning and goal setting; mental conditioning; and self-assessment. And although this isn’t dissimilar to a standard coaching process, it’s Allen’s outlook and attitude that makes his insights so revealing and interesting.
Stage 1: Planning and goal setting
“My ultimate goal is always to win the race,” says Allen. “Nothing else is acceptable.” With this goal clearly in mind, Allen plans his races up to six months in advance. He creates a schedule, breaking down his training into phases of monthly and weekly quantifiable goals. And he makes sure they’re really tough. “Goals that are easy to achieve aren’t going to do a lot. They’re minimums that are ‘acceptable’, and that’s negative thinking.”
Stage 2: Mental conditioning
“During training and competitions, mental preparation is key,” says Allen. “There are five factors I develop during training ready for the big day: confidence; commitment; visualisations and focus; distraction control; and enjoyment.”
1. Confidence
“Iron Man takes eight and a half hours, so I need to know that I can do the distance and win.” When Allen trains, he makes sure that he pushes himself to his limits to replicate the pain he’ll be putting himself through on race day, so when his body begins to tire, his mind is prepared and he’s confident in his abilities to push on and win. Building clients’ self-belief should be at the core of coaching so they can overcome their fears and develop a vision they believe in.
2. Commitment
“If you’re not bothered about a goal, you’re simply not going to achieve it,” says Allen. “When things get hard, the natural reaction is to quit. But you need to ask yourself: why do I want to do this?”
When you set a goal, you need to find a compelling reason for completing it. You then need to keep focused on the compelling reason ‘why’ rather than ‘how’.
3. Visualisations and focus
“Before I race, I develop in my mind a picture of the race from start to finish in every detail. I think through how hard I’m going to push myself; how I’m going to feel; what the transitions are going to look like. Then when I get to the race, I’ve seen myself winning and I know it’s going to happen,” says Allen. This technique can be extremely helpful for preparing for difficult conversations, meetings or pitches, as well as helping prepare for any longer term goals or visions.
4. Distraction control
“When an athlete isn’t prepared”, says Allen, “that’s when he or she goes to pieces.” Before each race, Allen makes a list of everything that could go wrong a puncture; goggles coming off on the swim; crashing. Then he writes down a solution to each problem. So if he has a puncture, he simply fixes it. It’s not a disaster or the end of the race it’s something that happened, and isn’t seen as a negative. Allen is talking about focus and personal responsibility two common topics in coaching. Clients should be helped to focus on the positives, and challenged to stop blaming others or circumstances so they can stand in a position of possibility and power.
5. Enjoyment
Finally, Allen makes sure he’s enjoying the race. “Iron Man is serious and intense. I make sure I enjoy the atmosphere, and take it all in.” At work, it’s easy to get bothered by politics. Allen’s perspective accepting the negative and concentrating on what he enjoys is one to encourage with clients.
Stage 3: Self-assessment
“I congratulate myself, even when I don’t win. If I know I gave it everything I had, then that’s good,” says Allen. Each goal must have a reward, and when clients achieve a signify cant long term goal they should reward themselves by doing something special, such as treating themselves to a night out. And, like Allen, if a goal isn’t achieved, and they’ve done everything in their power to make it happen, then it’s still important to take the positives from it, otherwise confidence could take a big knock.
The coaching model
Taking the lessons learnt from Allen, and other elite sports people, business people and academics, we’ve created the Lequin Russian Doll©, a coaching model used within companies such as the BBC, AXA, Thames Water and Future Publishing.
To reach their full potential, a leader must address five complementary layers. The innermost layer, which really drives successful sports stars and business people, is self-belief: the ability to overcome fear and build a powerful vision around their values. This, partnered with excellent energy and focus the ability to develop balance and focus, transform stress and manage time means a leader has an excellent foundation.
PR and branding, the next layer out, is the ability to understand their impact and use their strengths to promote themselves as a powerful, vibrant brand. Successful business people do this effortlessly. Next we work with leaders to increase their emotional intelligence to build excellent relationships and inspire their team.
Only when a leader has addressed these layers, do we work with them on their leadership skills, and help them bring out their inherent leadership qualities so, like Allen, they too can realise their vision.