Corporate Athletes

This is my attempt at posting a paper I wrote my first semester of grad school. My degree will be a Master of Managerial Sciences, specializing in Organizational Change. This was a review of a Harvard Business Review article.

A Review and Analysis of:
The Making of a Corporate Athlete

Introduction

Much time and effort has been spent examining successful individuals, teams, and organizations with the hope of discovering habits and tendencies that when applied to other situations could create similar if not greater success. Loehr and Schwartz concede that a substantial amount of research has been conducted on the cognitive capacity and intellectual habits of successful business leaders, but that few endeavors have explored the effect of physical training on these high-ranking individuals within the corporate environment (Loehr 2001).

Loehr and Schwartz contend that the rigors of being a professional athlete pale in comparison to those of a high level executive. Professional athletes, in general, spend the bulk of their time in training, and a minimal amount of time (comparatively) engaged in high-stress, competitive situations. Corporate “athletes” (executives), on the other hand, spend only a fraction of their time in training, and are required to spend the majority of their time operating at a very high level in an intense, high-stress environment (Loehr 2001).

Summary

The article is centered on the premise that for an executive to maintain the Ideal Performance State (ability to mobilize energy on demand) for 10-12 hours a day over a 30 year career, his/her training must be similar to the systematic, multi-level training incorporated into the regimens of professional athletes. A conscious effort must be made to put the entire body under periods of stress followed by periods of recovery by way of rituals that promote this oscillation. The basic areas of need for training are displayed in the four levels of the “performance pyramid”: Physical Capacity, Emotional Capacity, Mental Capacity, and Spiritual Capacity (Loehr 2001).

Physical Capacity

This level is the base of the pyramid, and the most fundamental area of training according to Loehr and Schwartz. Success at this level (losing weight, having higher energy levels) increases emotional well being (the second level of the pyramid), enabling increased mental capacity (the third level of the pyramid) (Loehr 2001).

Recommended steps to success at this level include a balanced diet composed of multiple smaller-sized meals throughout the day to help regulate metabolism, two weight-lifting workouts per week, and three or four cardiovascular workouts per week (Loehr 2001).

Emotional Capacity

The central point of training at this level is designed to create a calm, focused, optimistic, and confident attitude. This state is achieved by engaging in rituals that allow the individual to shed stress and tension and to remain positive, igniting energy for the task at hand, instead of harboring stress and tension, creating negative emotion that depletes energy levels (Loehr 2001).

Rituals for this level can include listening to music, concentrating on maintaining positive body language, and increasing attention to the close relationships (family, friends, etc.) that create positive emotions an individual’s life (Loehr 2001).

Mental Capacity

The third level of the pyramid, where most of the attention is usually spent in the development of leaders within corporations, concentrates on time management and energy management. The intent is to create mental breaks to allow for invoked passion for work (Loehr 2001).

Techniques for increasing mental capacity can include simple mind-clearing meditation, periodic planned vacations and getaways, and visualization exercises (Loehr 2001).

Spiritual Capacity

The peak of the pyramid, this level concentrates on the inclusion of a higher purpose to work. Activities and rituals that expand spiritual capacity include allowing time for reflection, prayer, journaling, meditation, and service to others (Loehr 2001).

Merits

While this is a relatively new area of management consulting, it is an area where Peter Block’s consulting methodologies, centered on collaboration, are easily recognized as mandatory. Within the article there are examples of opportunities for flawless consulting for each of the five phases of an engagement (based on Block’s breakdown of required consulting skills for a successful consultation) (Block 2000).

Contracting with a client absent their buy-in would be very difficult since so much of the determination of the problem is dependent on how the client is feeling (exhausted, frustrated, moody, panicked, etc.) and how much detail they are willing to share. Also, because of the personal nature of each consultation (i.e. the emphasis on schedule, diet, exercise, etc.), there is a heightened need for authenticity during contracting, and into discovery and data collection. It would be impossible for the consultant to provide a significant amount of useful information (such as new rituals to integrate) if their assessment were based on incomplete or inaccurate information provided by the client (Block 2000).

Again, because of the personal nature of this type of consultation, the possibility of resistance during the third phase (feedback and the decision to act) is increased. Clients may be hesitant to admit that the schedules, habits, and beliefs they have operated on for so long could be inhibiting their ability for success. Collaboration and dialogue remain a priority to identify the areas of priority and decide how to proceed (Block 2000).

The balanced relationship between the client and the consultant is also important during implementation. Assuming that the first three phases (contracting, discovery, and the decision to act) were performed effectively, the consultant can help identify rituals that would promote increased capacity at multiple levels, and can even suggest methods for implementation. Ultimately, though, the client decides whether the methods identified during the consultation will be effectively used, or merely acknowledged (Block 2000).

The true measure of an effective consultation with a corporate “athlete” is in phase five (extension, recycle, or termination). The goal from the beginning is to identify areas of need, then to provide solutions that the client can repeatedly use to fill those needs. To solve the problem so that it stays solved. If the consultation was performed flawlessly, termination will be the most appropriate option - aside from the occasional tune-up (Block 2000).



References

Block, Peter (2000). Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used. New York,
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Loehr, Jim and Schwartz, Tony (2001). The Making of a Corporate Athlete. (2004) Harvard
Business Review on Developing Leaders (pp. 127-150). Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.