What Simone Biles just taught the world.
Yesterday morning I woke up at 6:45am to watch the Women’s Team Finals in Artistic Gymnastics. This is not my normal waking hour, and it was a bit of a struggle (I’m pretty sure the exact words that came out of my mouth were, “This is stupid!”), but there was something in me telling me to get up and watch it. And boy, am I glad I listened to my intuition!
As it turned out, not only did I get to watch phenomenal gymnastics, I also watched as the greatest lessons in leadership unfolded before the world with one quick decision from a very tiny person - Simone Biles. (Side note: I’ve never felt like my success was hindered by my height, it’s just nice to call out when someone else so little can make such a big impact!)
Before I go on, I want to do a quick check-in to make sure you know the event I’m referring to. Are you up to speed on what went down yesterday? Do you know what I’m talking about? If not, take a moment now to google Simone Biles mental health day.
Are we all up to speed now?
Good!
(Side note: I could have told you to google Simone Biles Olympics or Simone Biles Olympic Team Finals or just Simone Biles - but I’m going to be drilling home a point here, which is…)
…Simone Biles made the courageous decision yesterday to take a mental health day in the middle of an Olympic Finals (perhaps an athlete’s biggest stage); and, in doing so, whether she knew it or not, Simone taught the world how to be a fearless leader.
How so, you ask?
Here are the top 5 life & leadership lessons from Simone Biles’ brave act of self-kindness and what I wish all leaders would focus on:
Look after yourself - As a leader, you think you always have to have the answers, you always have to have it together, but you’re also human. And I want you to hear this now: You are the only you. You are irreplaceable. You MUST look after yourself, and you can start by getting to know your body and listening to the information it’s sharing with you. Get familiar with ‘you-energy’, so when the ‘not-so-you-energy’ shows up, you can quickly determine when you need to make a course correction - like taking a mental health day. And for the love of all things good in this world, let people know you’re taking a mental health day. Simone could have told the world she had an injury, but she didn’t. She was transparent, honest, and she has just given a voice to all athletes around the world (heck, all people), and that voice says, It’s ok to set boundaries and it’s ok to do what you need to look after yourself. Can you imagine how your team would react if you told them that - with words AND actions?
Know what you need when you can’t quiet your saboteurs - Some of us are extremely familiar with our self-sabotaging thoughts (me!). But even the most familiar can have a hard time quieting them (also me!). It sounds like Simone was having an internal battle with her saboteurs yesterday and she called them out. She also knew that they were too loud and too distracting and could have been a danger to her physical health and the success of the team. There’s no shame in calling out your saboteurs and dealing with them in a healthy way, but there is destruction if you don’t. For example, what this could translate to in the workplace is, unleashing your saboteurs onto someone else (such as blame or control) and there’s nothing more contagious than a saboteur. (Ok, maybe COVID! Too soon? Get vaccinated!!! Moving on!)
Let go of ego - Simone could have continued on with the competition. She could have chased accolades, but at what cost? It takes a lot of chutzpah to do what Simone did yesterday. She wasn’t in it for herself or the stardom, she was in it for the team. She realized, in her state, she could have quickly become the one to get in the way of her fellow teammates winning an Olympic medal. So she let go of ego, she stepped aside in order to let others step up. And that leads me nicely onto tip #4…
Get out of the way - As leaders, and as hard and terrifying as it might feel, sometimes the best thing we can do is step aside. Be there to cheer your team on, coach them, raise them up, help them learn and grow, but don’t be the one getting in their way just because your ego might get bruised. (If right now you’re saying, “It’s not my ego, it’s just that I can’t trust that my team will be able to do exactly what I need them to do”, revisit tip #2 and then come chat to me!)
Have fun - Yesterday Simone told reporters, "I think we're just too stressed out. We should be out here having fun but that's not the case." Ask yourself right now: How often did I laugh yesterday? On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being high), how much fun did I have? If you didn’t gut-laugh at least once or if your score was below 7, I want you to remember what Simone said, “We should be out here having fun!!!”
So there you have it. The above tips were listed in no particular order, and I give you full permission to reorganize and prioritize them in the order that makes most sense to you. Do what you wish with these tips, but at least do something with them!
All good and well Caru, thanks for sharing these tips, but how do we do all of this?!
If you’re struggling with any of these, hit me up. I’m taking on new clients and I’d love to help support your growth as a fearless leader.
With love,
Caru xo
P.S. For the past 2 years, I’ve been sending out weekly newsletters - sharing personal insights, tips, and coach challenges to all of my readers at 9am EST every Wednesday. I’ve been ruminating on the idea of posting some of my goodies as blog posts. And then, just like that, one of my readers (a past client) asked if my latest newsletter had a link that she could share. Well folks, that’s the message I needed from the universe to make the final decision! Here is today’s newsletter, and in the coming weeks I will plan to post a few of my previous newsletters. BUT if you want them hot off the press, sign up TODAY!