Stephen H Baum Leadership

Tayyiba Haneef-Park, 6’7” star of the USA Women’s volleyball team was asked to describe the difference between Brasil’s gold-medal play and that of team USA. She said: “When we made mistakes or the referee made a bad call — and they made them in both directions — we let in linger in our minds. That led to our losing several points in a row. Brasil stayed focused and did not let that happen.”

Get the point? When we grab ourselves by replaying mistakes in our mind while the action is on-going, we cannot perform as well. As I learned at StrozziInstitute, the science of “somatic coaching” tells us it is important to learn from our mistakes but even more crucial to get re-centered after a grab (whether external or in your own gut).  A lesson for life,  not just sports. 

The USA team is to be commended for winning Silver. They had great athleticism, great spirit. But in their final game, they did not embody the traits of winners.