Siouxland Magazine - Volume 3 Issue 5

Olympic Level Team Performance – “Going For The Gold”
By Linda K. Krei (ActionCOACH ExcelEDGE)
With the excitement of the 2021 Summer Olympics,
it was clear that each athlete must be extremely
disciplined in preparing for and performing at that
level of competition; dedicating the focused time
and extreme energy necessary to reach the Olympic
level of performance. Whether a single sport or a team
endeavor, the skills, knowledge, and pursuit of excellence in
performance levels were incredibly impressive.
In our work environments, there are often Olympic-sized
projects that a team must come together to undertake, to
implement, and complete. Whether they be an established
team or newly formed units, the team members must learn
their roles within the team, and they must also collectively
align and understand the desired outcomes. Then, interact
successfully with the other members to earn their “medal”
and receive the honored recognition on the “presentation
platform” as a team.
Three critical elements that must exist with
any high-performing team:
• A willingness and openness to (continually) learn
• Skills for successful implementation & execution of
the project
• Knowledge of actions needed to achieve the goals
In a team setting, not every member will be at the same level
of expertise. As a leader, you must manage to move the
team forward while helping to fill in any skill or knowledge
gaps. However, the critical element essential for each team
member is to embrace the willingness and openness to learn.
Each team member must demonstrate they are ready to
take on a new challenge even in the face of uncertainty. The
learning process should include a willingness to fail as well
as some level of risk-taking to achieve team success. Skills
can be taught, and knowledge can be shared. Yet having the
willingness and openness to receive new information with
coaching and formative feedback for improvement must be
an intrinsic characteristic, authentically in the heart and on the
mind of each team member. The individual fire or spark for
this cannot be manufactured.
learning? The delivery of training, coaching and education
needs to be varied and tailored to individual learning styles as
much as possible. Also keep in mind, that all team members
do not learn at the same pace, and some may need additional
support along the way.
Ultimately, team success is going to come from clarity in shared
goals and timelines. If each team member works with the end
in mind, they have a better chance of success. You must let the
team set boundaries and consequences for each other and a
clear accountability plan must be in place.
Personality and Behavioral styles should also be considered
as you prepare your team for grander goals. Whether you use
Meyers Briggs®, DISC® or other personality assessment tools
to help better understand how to best communicate with each
team member, it is vital that they all understand their own style
and respect each other’s styles for maximum output.
Important too is to understand what motivates self and others.
Once the team demonstrates mastery and achieves a certain
outcome, it is time to reward them. Consider that every member
of the team is motivated in different ways. Remember always
that team members are individuals with different motivations
that may require different types of recognition.
Training for a place on an Olympic Team clearly is not for
everyone. However, your teams can achieve Olympic-like
greatness, and it is the leader’s role to inspire people and
manage the process to support, guide, develop, challenge, and
motivate their team toward excellence to “Go for the Gold”.
Take Action Today.
Contact Coach Krei for your Complimentary
Strategy Session to get you started.
Siouxland Magazine | Grow/41
Once you have a clear picture of where each team member
stands with regards to these three critical areas, you can move
on to the next step of teaching and coaching the team. There
are 3 types of learning styles to understand and appreciate:
• Kinesthetic
• Auditory
• Visual
The dominate learning style will shape the way you deliver
information and impart new skills. Are your team members
“doers”? Do they need to be hands-on to learn? Are your
team members auditory, where they must hear information
in various form to learn? Or are your team members, visual
learners. Do they require visual tools and cues to spark the
As an award winning, globally recognized,
Certified Executive Business Coach and
Facilitator, Linda would love to help you take
your leadership to the next level.
Linda Krei, ActionCOACH Excel Edge
712.251.7189
E: lindakrei@actioncoach.com
https://lindakrei.actioncoach.com