I always turn to the sports pages first, which records
people's accomplishments.
The front page has nothing but man's failures.
~ Chief Justice Earl Warren.

In cross country ski racing, there’s not much worse than losing or breaking a pole. So, when Sara Romer’s pole snapped halfway through the Olympic women’s team sprint race a couple of weeks ago, it was pretty much all over for the powerhouse Canadian relay team that had practiced relentlessly for months and months to compete for an Olympic medal.

In a happy spin on what would otherwise have been just another story of dashed hopes and ‘the agony of defeat’ as the Olympic ads used to say, Sara Romer’s disastrous situation was remedied by a sportsmanship angel, the head coach for Norway’s cross-country skiers. Bjormar Hakensmoen immediately handed Renner his pole enabling Romer to ski to a silver medal, and bumping Hakensmoen’s own team off the podium into a medal-less fourth place.

In explaining his generous act to the press, Hakensmoen said that Norweigian policy calls for handing over poles or skis in time of need. “We talked about it at our team meeting the night before. We are a country which believes in fair play.”

Wow. Fair play. What a concept!

By contrast I’m reminded of the sour 2004 story of Olympic gymnast Paul Hamm, who won the all-around gold medal because of an irreversible scoring mistake by officials. Hamm kept the medal—his to keep by the rules. But just imagine the real glory that would have been his had he hung the medal around the neck of Yang, the Korean he beat- not by talent but by administrative error -and gone down in history as the sort of sportsman we would tell legends about.

The quest for gold—whether on the Olympic playing fields or in our offices and cubicles at work, can blur our vision around what is actually right to do. Good sportsmanship at work shows up more subtly than in athletic competition, but it is present nonetheless. We see it in the manager who promotes her key staff member into an amazing new opportunity though she loses enormous bench strength on her own team. We see it when credit goes where it is due rather than into the hands and resume of a corporate sprinter feathering his nest with other people’s accolades. We see it in when one person concedes a dearly-held deal point in the service of moving the larger agenda forward. We see it when a teammate, at great cost to himself, steps in to assist a floundering team member in over his head or overwhelmed by personal crisis.

The challenge we all face is to hold the larger frame in complex situations and do what will make us proud to be us instead of what is expedient, expected or self-serving. I’m sure there are those who will say that the Norweigian coach who selflessly helped a Canadian team onto the podium thus relegating his own team to a disappointing fourth place was a fool. After all, what had they worked for all those months and years if not to medal?

But clearly Hakensmoen and his team were operating on deeply held values about what is fair and what is a legitimate win. They asked themselves whether winning on a technicality like Hamm, or because a competitor had an equipment malfunction would make them proud to represent their sport and their country. And they decided that was not who they wanted to be. And so, without a second thought, a Norweigian coach handed his pole to a struggling competitor so that the games would be fairly played.

From where I sit, the Norweigian team is the big winner —valuing fairness over gold, and humanity over opportunism. Paul Hamm, on the other hand has a gold medal that has cost him and his sport dearly. I wonder if it was worth it?

Imagine how our work environments could be altered with a commitment to these very same values that Norway embodied in that Olympic moment. So, in honor of the Olympics, let’s go for the gold—but the real stuff. Go for the gold that makes us happy and proud to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror at ourselves. Go for the gold that challenges us to live up to the very best we’ve got. This is gold each of us can win every single day, and though they won’t write about us in the history books, it shines forever nonetheless.

The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist.
They turn to each other and say ‘We did it ourselves.’
~ Zen Saying

Dina Silver, MCC, is the Principal of Pegasus Coaching Group.

I specialize in leadership coaching working with senior executives and their teams to create great leaders and high impact groups. I have enjoyed success working with technically proficient people who need guidance in developing the interpersonal skills that are essential to effective and compelling leadership.

My background in the entertainment industry as a feature film and interactive game producer effectively assists me in helping leaders develop powerful executive presence so that ideas and challenging initiatives are met with keen interest and excitement. In order to lead, people must be excited to follow!

I have enjoyed trusted advisor status with high performance individuals, teams and organizations, coaching in high tech, entertainment, banking, and marketing.

I hold a B.A. in United States History from Princeton University. I am a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and hold my credentialing through the International Coach Federation. In addition, I am certified in a range of assessment tools including DISC and PIAV, and am an active member of Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA) and the International Coach Federation (ICF). I am married, have two teenage kids, two fat black cats and live in Santa Monica, CA.

If you are interested in learning more about how my work may be of value to you and your organization, please get in touch. I am happy to offer interested prospects a complimentary and confidential half hour coaching session so you can take me and coaching for a test drive.