Playing to win because you love what you do and who you do it with is a key to world-class results.
This simple recipe, unfortunately, also seems quite rare in most companies. It’s even rarer in big-time sports like the Tour de France, the most prestigious cycling race in the world. But yesterday in the Tour de France, I saw an amazing example of an abundant mindset and a historic performance rooted in loving what you do and who you do it with. It was an incredible example of giving your best rather than focusing on killing your competition.
The Tour de France reaches more than 15 million spectators and over 1 billion television viewers from 180 countries of the world. Like most professional, highly competitive and global sports…money, ego, and fame could easily steal the spotlight and cause good people to behave badly. Doping in cycling (willing to cheat to win, is well known). It happens on a small scale in companies all the time where the battle for more salary, promotions, power, killing the competition, and generating results at all costs can blind leaders.
Yesterday, we witnessed the opposite of winning at all costs. After nearly 2,000 miles of bike racing over 18 days, Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark is the expected winner in Paris on Sunday. Four years ago, he was a fish packer and will be only the second Dane to win the Tour.
Late in the race yesterday, Vingegaard was racing head to head with the pre-race favorite, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who had won the Tour de France the past two years. On a high-speed turn, Pogacar miscalculated and fell hard on the ground. It was a tough break for Pogacar and gave Vingegaard a chance to push hard and leave the reigning champion Pogacar in his dust.
But he didn’t.
He looked back up toward Pogacar and then did something rather unexpected. He slowed his pace until his rival and chief competitor caught up to him and then they continued the race. Pogacar offered a handshake as he pulled alongside Vingegaard to acknowledge this act of sportsmanship and kinship. These two guys love cycling, competing and winning but they also respect each other and the opportunity to win on their own merits, not the misfortune of their competition.
“Of course, I waited for him,” Vingegaard explained. “If I win this Tour in Paris,” he said Vingegaard, “it will be only for the extraordinary contribution of my team…there are no words to thank my comrades.”
I bet he was also a pretty great teammate at the fish packing plant.
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