This week I attended a HR Seminar where we saw a number of inspirational (and maybe not so inspirational) speakers discussing various issues currently facing HR. One of the stand out speakers was Peter Keen CBE, Director of Performance, UK Sport who is a visionary and high performance sports coach. His specialism is cycling and has helped athletes achieve a number of gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games. In total he has coached for seven Olympics and over twenty cycling championships. His presentation focused on the coaching techniques he uses with elite athletes and what made him a stand out speaker for me was his passion for excellence and his ability to break down one large ambition into clear and simple stages. Peter provided a helpful reminder of how to achieve success through 5 key points which I thought would be good to share:
- Turn daydreams to vision
- Take a leap of faith
- Learn faster; think slower
- Embrace fear
- Enjoy the journey!
He was able to inspire the HR audience to consider how these 5 key points are transferrable to us as individuals in a personal and commercial sense. With this in mind, I quickly came to the conclusion that with bravery and determination we can achieve whatever we put our minds too. It was a very healthy reminder of how your mindset really is the key to achieving success. Thank you for a thought provoking session, Peter.
Debra Harris is a Consultant in the London office at Macmillan Davies Hodes focusing on mid to senior level permanent HR assignments.