LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR FROM BOXING – SECOND ROUND (PART 02)

***Continued  from Part 01

Link to Part 01

↘ Innovation: Brains Over Brawn

Like any boxing match, the business landscape can be extremely unpredictable, requiring quick and effective reflexes that do not jeopardize the overall game plan. One minute, you are landing clients left and right; the next, you are up against a narrowing profit margin. The best executives are those who can swiftly adapt to harsh or changing conditions and pivot to creative solutions that are perfectly in line with management practices, brand messaging and core customer expectations. Like the most-revered boxers in history, ultimate respect, loyalty, and praise go to those leaders that can dodge and innovate under pressure, without abandoning familiarity or authenticity of style.

↘ Technique trumps brute strength.

Boxing is all about technique. After all, they don’t call it the sweet science for nothing. The same is true in leadership. If we only rely on position and power to get things done, our ability to impact change and make great things happen will be dramatically limited. Instead, if we focus on our leadership technique — on building strong relationships, fostering collaborative dialogue, and bringing people along instead of dragging them along, we will be so much more effective.

↘ Mental Toughness: Cooler Heads Prevail

Cus D’Amato, the famous trainer of champions like Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson and others, once said, “The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It’s the same thing, fear, but it’s what you do with it that matters.”  Overcoming fears, as well as meeting the sport’s mental demands, can be just as challenging as the physical requirements. 

Every business leader has at some point in time been scared of something. Use this fear to fuel our actions toward achieving our goals. Brute strength is not nearly enough to keep any boxer or business leader in the ring. Going toe-to-toe with today’s wily marketplace and fickle customer expectations can be physically, mentally and emotionally taxing for any of us. Whether reeling from a surprise uppercut to the chin, or third-quarter loss, it can be hard to stay the course with confidence and grace. An excess of fear, anger, frustration, or a bruised ego can lead to poor decision-making that affects the entire organization.

↘  Coaching: Staying Sharp With A Little Bit Of Help

As leaders, the support of an effective coach is essential to help us remain mindful of the uppercut and how to deflect it. Every leader needs to have those trusted confidants who can allay concerns with purposeful conversations and thoughtful feedback.

Unfortunately, it can be almost too easy for some executives at the highest levels to grow lazy and blind themselves from important day-to-day struggles and opportunities that can affect a precarious bottom line. In just the last few years, a renewed desire to meet both employees and consumers with unprecedented personalization has led to an evolving shift in leadership styles. Just as boxers constantly step in and out of the ring, executives are beginning to realize we need ongoing guidance, and sometimes even retraining, from external experts, to effectively outsmart our competition and land effective “blows.” 

↘ Know your opponent

The importance of preparation cannot be overstated. To walk blindly into negotiations or a hostile meeting without scoping out the competition, or the other party’s perspective, is akin to getting into the ring with Mike Tyson, thinking he is just another boxer. You’ll be floored within the first 30 seconds. The thoughtful leader scopes out the competition, from how they move and use the ring to their footwork, strengths and weaknesses. If you have a challenge with a person or stakeholder, do your homework and find out about that person before you meet.

↘ Feel out your customer with a few light jabs.

The best boxers set up their next punch by transforming the energy and torque expanded in throwing the previous punch into the next punch. Throwing the first jab torques your body perfectly to pull it back and counter with a second punch/ hook. Similarly, if you’re trying to identify who your customer really is, what you want to do is “jab” at them — make a series of small (low-money) bets on a few marketing channels to verify assumptions about whether or not your customer is also there. This is eerily similar to how good boxers throw repeated light jabs to see how their opponent weaves and dodges, in order to feel them out and line up a stronger hook or upper-cut.

↘ Don’t overreach (or you might lose your balance)

People who start boxing for the first time think that throwing a punch is all about winding up, lunging forward, and extending as far as possible with a lead punch. They punch hard and tire quickly. Experienced boxers know that true power comes from standing tall, pivoting their back foot, rotating from the core and turning their arm into a whip that stings their opponent effortlessly, without tiring their arm or over-extending their base (therefore preserving their balance). Similarly, leaders tend to “reach” way too far in several ways, most commonly with trying too many customer acquisition channels, building too much functionality, and trying to raise too much money too early-on — 90 percent of which is noncritical.

↘ “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” – Mike Tyson.

As fighters prepare mentally for a big fight, they spend countless hours training. If we were to watch this training, we might think that it’s all physical. That the fighter is practicing random jabs, hooks, crosses, etc. In reality, the fighter is preparing mentally and building a plan for the fight. However, as Tyson so famously put it, that plan can change significantly once the first punches are landed.

In business, the same is true. We can (and should) spend a good amount of time planning and preparing. But we also need to realize that success is created through agility. There will be times when we create an amazing plan, then an outside force (a client, vendor, partner, natural disaster, etc.) comes into the picture and dramatically changes the landscape for us. That’s life, and that’s leadership. Success is created in our response — how we navigate that need to change our plan and adjust for the reality on the ground. That’s the important part.

In conclusion, just as in leadership, good boxers are tough. They put it all on the line, risking health and financial payouts. They train hard, are confident, and don’t underestimate their opponents. They accept regular coaching, listen to the advice, and make it work for their style, improvising on the fly to avoid getting knocked out. When they get beat, they recover quickly and train harder. They enjoy the training process as much as the actual fight.

 

Content Curated By: Dr Shoury Kuttappa