The ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 and the happy-sad events that have unfolded have valuable lessons for all in sports, business and politics – for that matter, in almost everything that we endeavour to achieve in life. In particular, attention needs to be drawn to one that could be learnt after young Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen’s defeat in the bronze medal match, leaving India’s badminton contingent without a single medal. The 22-year-old shuttler’s defeat evoked a response from the India badminton coach and legend Prakash Padukone, who said in a post-match reaction that “players need to take the responsibility” for winning the games.
The comment drew sharp reactions from athletes. An eminent sports journalist also insisted in an “open letter” to Padukone that responsibility for wins and losses in games should be taken not only by the player/s, but the entire team – including the support staff and the coaches, in particular. It threatened to turn into a “who-is-to-be-blamed?” debate. The same could apply to any game in any sport, involving any country’s athletes – indeed to anyone, in any field in pursuit of success, victory or glory.
The answer to that question could lie in the works of Phil Rosenzweig, noted author who highlights the importance of psychological and cognitive mechanisms at play in business strategies, who is also professor of strategy and international management at International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. He brings this out in his book, Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Make Winning Decisions. He shows that to be a winner, two very different skills are required: talent for clear analysis and the willingness to take bold action, stressing that success calls for calculation and courage, for analysis as well as action.
The winning combination involves meticulous planning followed by perfect execution based on the planning. He cites Peter Gollwitzer, psychologist at New York University, who highlights and distinguishes between two different mindsets required for it – a deliberative mindset and an implemental mindset.
A deliberative mindset should have a detached and impartial attitude, setting aside emotions while focusing on the facts, and is appropriate while assessing the feasibility of a project, planning a strategic initiative or deciding on an appropriate course of action. This mindset is all about open-mindedness and deciding what should be done.
The implemental mindset is all about getting the results by setting aside doubts and focussing on achieving the desired performance, where positive thinking is essential. This is all about close-mindedness and achieving the aims with a high degree of positivity and confidence.
Rosenzweig stresses that it’s important for the team as a whole to switch between the two mindsets as the contest unravels. However, it is fairly clear where coaches and the support staff play their roles and where the players do. The former are more involved with a deliberative mindset, while the latter need to crack it with an implemental mindset.
Overall, both need to work it out together, but it is ultimately the player who has to deliver with a positive mind with a high degree of confidence, because it is the player who will decide and influence the outcome.
“Before an activity, it is important to be objective about our abilities and about the task at hand,” says Rosenzweig. “After the activity, whether we have been successful or not, it’s once again important to be objective about our performance and to learn from feedback. Yet, in the moment of action (and this is where Padukone’s point of players needing to take responsibility gains importance), a high degree of optimism – even when it may seem excessive – is essential.”
However, he also cites American psychologist and educationist Martin Seligman while stressing that it should not be simply optimism, but “learned optimism” – the ability to nurture a dynamic view allowing the executor of the plan (in this case the player in the centre) to shift between the mindsets. This means that the deliberative mindset in the planning stage should continue playing an active part of the implemental mindset even when it boils down to the player executing the plan for which months and years were consumed before the competition.
Rosenzweig concludes the book with: “Even then success is never assured, not in the competitive arenas of business or sports or politics. Performance is often relative and consequences of failure are harsh. A better understanding of decision-making, however, and an appreciation for the role of analysis as well as action, can improve the odds of success. It can help us win.”