The Keys to Excellent Performance

Tiger Woods did it again.  He was one shot behind the leader and within striking distance on the 16th hole, but he was facing a tough shot approximately 180 yards from the green.  Like a virtuoso who has complete mastery of every note, Tiger lofted the ball past the flag and then spun it back within a foot of the hole. He birdied that hole and went on to win the Bridgestone Invitational for the seventh time.  Does it really surprise anyone when he delivers a spectacular performance?

 

I am often asked what separates the great performers from the very good ones.  Whether in sports, business, or life, we admire people who rise above the fray to become the best of the best.  But what is their secret?  What common elements bind champions like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan?

 

Talent is definitely a cost of entry.  You have to have talent in your respective sport or profession.  Work ethic is another common theme that dwells within every great performer.  No matter how talented you are, you have to practice and have a desire to work hard to move from the middle ground of good to be considered among the all-time greats.

 

In studying excellent performers in sports, business, and life, I think there is something more – something more discrete that reveals itself at just the right moment.  In my experience, I have noticed three superior traits that separate the good from the great:

 

1. Focus – You have to be focused to perform at the highest level and not just in a general sense like “I need to be focused!”  Champions in any arena possess a laser-like focus where they center their thoughts and aspirations on becoming the best.  They answer the questions of “What’s at stake?”, “Who else is involved?”, and “How can I make an impact?”


2. Will to Win – Incredible leaders in business, sports, and life have an intense desire, or volition, to accomplish their goals.  For each adventure, they have an “I Will” mindset in which they emphatically declare, “I Will win this tournament/game/match/client!”  Each of the champions mentioned above go into each competition knowing and exclaiming they will win.  History conveys that they do not win every time, but they don’t throw out the mentality at the first sign of defeat.  Tiger Woods did not make the cut in the British Open about a month ago, but he came back knowing he would win again and he did!


3. Recovery Time – I use this qualitative and quantitative measure to gauge the improvement of performance in the people I coach.  Recovery time describes the time it takes for a person to recover from something they did not expect to happen.  An example would be a golfer who misses a putt on one hole and has to come back to hit the tee shot on the next hole.  A champion is able to put the past behind them and get into the flow of the current moment.

 

Whether you are a mother, father, business leader, athlete, or entrepreneur, you can learn a lot from the elite performers.  Consider how you can apply these 3 traits in your life to pursue your maximum potential!

For more information about these and other principles that will help you perform in the moment in all of your roles in life, check out Mike Van Hoozer's book: Moments: Making Your Life Count For What Matters Most.

For more information on hiring Mike to speak to your organization, click here.

For coaching information, check out: Unleash Your Potential!

Comments

[Mike Henry Sr.]

Mike, This is a great post. It's interesting that I didn't get around to commenting until after the 2009 PGA when Y. E. Yang upset Tiger. It made me think of one other thing I believe all clutch performers have: the ability to learn from their failures. In that Recovery Time you mention above, they are constructive in their recollection and the way the process events. They learn from everything, including their failures.