What do notice about Olympic swimmers when they are competing for a gold medal? Perhaps how easy they make it look? Perhaps how little they are kicking? Perhaps how each stroke looks perfectly choreographed?

So what can we mere mortals learn from them for our days at work? Firstly, the swimmers know that they need to work on technique that results in them being able to swim the fastest with the least amount of energy used. They know that they don’t get a gold medal for diving in and just kicking really hard – they get a gold medal for getting to the end of the pool first. So it’s best to use their energy as efficiently as possible.

So in the workplace it’s important to focus on the KPI or output required and aim to reduce your effort in getting to the ouput. Feeling as though you are working really hard won’t get you there.

Leaders need to make sure they are rewarding the results rather than the face time actually in the office.

Take some time to notice when you feel as though your input far outweighs your output. Noticing it is the first step in being able to fix it and use you energy more wisely.

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If you’d like to find out more, join the conversation in our next open workshop.

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