Celebrity motivator Pete Cohen has drawn up a list of pre, during and post-training tips to help learners make the most of their career development.
Drawing on his experience motivating sports stars such as Ellen MacArthur, Ronnie Sullivan and the Arsenal football team, Pete calls on learners to take inspiration from the Olympic spirit.
Pre-Training
* Identify the gaps: Jot down what you think your main strengths and weaknesses are and pick out one area at a time to focus on. Athletes tend to look at improving one individual aspect of their game at a time, so don’t expect to get better at everything overnight.
* Don’t hide: Some of us try to hide our weaknesses behind other colleagues’ abilities, but the Olympic relay team would fall apart if all the runners had that attitude. Be willing to accept you can’t be good at everything.
* Talk to others: Every athlete has a trainer to help guide them through their programme. Talk to a trusted colleague about your training needs so they can help pick out the key areas you need to focus on.
* Look at it tactically: If it’s your overall confidence that needs building, it may be easier to look at the individual elements of your day and work out what you can do to improve, rather than feel you have to change everything.
* Mix it up: Get a good balance between formal external training, internal knowledge-sharing sessions with colleagues and on-the-job learning.
* Tailor it for you: No athletes share the same training programme, so you shouldn’t worry about suggesting a particular workshop to your boss. As long as it’s relevant, they’ll probably appreciate the effort you’ve made to improve.
During training
* Do it: If you book a training session, turn up for it. A long-jumper wouldn’t book a track and not turn up to practise, so remember that the training is an investment in your future career and don’t postpone it.
* Take notes: Write down as many notes as you feel necessary in the training sessions so you can refer to them in the future.
After training
* Share your knowledge: Share what you’ve learned with the rest of your colleagues so they can benefit from your training too – rest assured that the British Olympic team will be buzzing as athletes compare training tips!
* Remember… training is only as good as how you use it. Implement what you’ve learnt in your every day life and translate your training into success.
