Competition and collaboration

Remember Super Saturday when Mo Farrah won gold?  I was screaming at the TV willing him to win.  What a great example of competition .  There was a man who against the odds – refugee from East Africa who lived with his siblings whilst his family moved to England and set up home – had risen to the peak of his game.  He had a stadium and a nation on their feet cheering.

Just on his shoulder was Galen Rupp, the American runner and Mo’s running partner.  As Mo finished, he looked round at Galen to see where Galen had finished. He came in second.   In many photos, Mo is hugging Galen, acknowledging Galen’s success.

For me, some of the most moving scenes in the Olympic athletics are those of Mo and Galen pacing each other, of Galen blocking the outside lane so Mo could choose his moment to accelerate, of Mo looking over his shoulder to check for Galen.  In competition, what I also saw so clearly was collaboration – a unity and shared sense of purpose.  Both were watching out for each other, making sure that one or other set the pace.  Mo, ultimately won, yet Galen forged ahead, running faster than he might have, inspired by Mo’s lead, to do even better.

Years ago, someone gave me some advice.  If you are running a marathon, it doesn’t serve the people who run slower than you do to run at their pace.  Run at yours and it will inspire them to run faster.

Maybe there’s a lesson here about how to move out of your comfort zone, take on your bold goals and be true to your sense of purpose as a leader.  We all need to find our running mates, the people who will block and deflect those who say “it can’t be done” and who encourage and run alongside us on the way.   Who are yours?