Sport: the pinnacle of agile culture
Sport has been one of my passion for years. Not only as a practitioner, supporter but also as a professional.
What strikes me is the mindset that athletes have developed through the years of competing, winning and losing…
One of the most fascinating athlete is Roger Federer not only for his successes but also for the behavior he has displayed on and outside the court. It has taken him years of practices to reach this level of excellence and he still continues to improve his Game all the time.
I decided to study some of the aspects that makes him so different from us, and what we, as normal human being, can learn from him / other athletes and bridge it with agile culture.
- Every plan must have goals
“You have to believe in the long term plan you have but you need the short term goals to motivate and inspire you.”
Roger Federer
It’s all about having a plan and setting goals (Short or Long term). One should plant achievable ones along the way in order to boost the confidence muscle and track progress. They also help you assess where you are now and help you get back on track or reroute your path.
One aspect that mastered Roger Federer is the “director’s mentality” which is the art of focusing on what he needs to do in the moment, block out distractions and gather all his mental and physical energy to do it.
In the agile culture: one of the key focus is setting goals and map them along the way as it’s the sum of these goals that makes the “Big Picture”
2. It’s all about the journey
“What I think I’ve been able to do well over the years is play with pain, play with problems, play in all sorts of conditions.”
Roger Federer
”if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” just illustrates that pressure is part of all achievements and one should aim the long game as nothing is permanent. Pressure or setbacks come up to test and show you something and encourage you to live the present moment. It’s important to trust your actions and karma. One should take the situation as it is and there is rarely a perfect for anything.
In the agile culture: nothing is permanent and it is the ability to respond and adapt to change quickly.
3. Have a continuous development strategy
“There is no way around the hard work. Embrace it. You have to put in the hours because there is always something you can improve.”
Roger Federer
Most of the work is behind the scene during the preparation phase as it’s the moment where one can explore to improve your game, your mind, endurance and success is the result of a continuous improvement strategy which aims all areas. A large part of the training is focused on continuously improve and analyze performance to beat the competition. It’s so relevant in the fast paced environment.
With this in mind, one should always look to see where we can improve, or update our skills.
In the agile culture: continuous improvement is the Alpha and Omega of an agile culture as it is through reflection that one can improve. it also encourages us to take the responsibility of our own actions, initiatives, attitude.
4. Put things into perspective
“Once you find that peace, that place of peace and quiet, harmony and confidence, that’s when you start playing your best.”
Roger Federer
For any sportsmen and women, dedication is essential but without perspective, life would be a pain or a loss of identity. We often say that a sportsmen and women die twice, the first time at retirement. There is clearly a need to put everything in perspective and not forgetting that there are other things in life. Once all this is in perspective one can relax a little.
To understand how one works best means that one can work in a way, or in a role which is right and aligned.
Also to enjoy our work and knowing that one use all our talents in the most effective and enjoyable way allows to shine effortlessly.
In the agile culture: it encourages you to keep the situation into perspective and take a step back to get better overall view.
5. Face your fears and struggles
“I just decided that I was going to act that way and behave that way on a tennis court so I would never lose matches because of my mental strength.”
Roger Federer
We all have fears and struggle time to time and it is important to recognize and face them. In his young years, Roger Federer showed a great potential but struggled to control his emotions and anger. This had an impact on his game and image. It has taken him some years to master his emotions to the extend that his mental is one of his strongest strength.
Facing your fears and struggles is always a long process and it just about finding the right balance between fire and ice situation. one wanting to over-perform and win and the other keeping your grounded, accepting the situation.
In the agile culture: getting out of you comfort zone, try new things and learn about yourself is also part of the agile culture and it’s a real journey.
6. Accept Failure
This is probably the most important take away. Out of each failure there is a way to progress and become stronger, faster and better. From one hand we should accept losing but when it happens, one should analyze it thoroughly.
There is a great video on that from former F1 driver, Niki Lauda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8qsJYdkfOw
In the agile culture: one of the motto is fail fast and get back on track
Sport a is probably the most perfect representation of the agile culture and mindset. There are many takeaways from the sport world that can be taken along in the business world.
At Continuous, we have always developed an agile culture through E-learning and serious gaming services. With our Lego for Scrum, we accompany organizations to adopt an Agile culture.
Visit our DevOps coaching page on our website: https://continuous.lu/home/coaching/coaching-agile-devops/
(1)Harry S. Truman — https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/get-out-of-the-kitchen.html
