The top 4 soft skills to develop for an Olympic athlete

The golden opportunity to demonstrate one’s ‘soft power’ and influence is the Olympic Games. During this event, governments aren’t the only ones looking to shine. Coaches and their athletes also compete to win Olympic gold. But what is it that separates the winners from the losers?

Today, people are expected to possess a variety of skills to master the complexity of tasks in daily and professional life. The digitalisation of the world and, with it, the rapid transformation and adaptation of individuals have not only led to an increased demand for specialised technical skills. Indeed, unlike hard skills, which can be easily defined and measured, there is often a greater need for what are known as ‘interdisciplinary skills’ or ‘soft skills’. In most of our articles , they are presented as a distinguishing factor between success and failure in the world of recruitment. But what about in sport?

To succeed at the highest level in sport, particularly at Olympic level, it is necessary to explore all training techniques (mental, physical, etc.) to maximise one’s potential and performance. More often, the attributes that enable athletes to optimise their potential are soft skills.

Every athlete knows that nothing is a foregone conclusion. It takes time, effort and hard work, and more often, to win you have to know how to lose. Resilience teaches athletes and non-athletes alike to accept that failure is part of the learning process, to get back up more times than you fall, but also to embrace challenges and learn from them. Resilience gives us the skills we need to overcome our challenges and step outside our comfort zone.

An example of Olympic resilience:

Clarisse Agbégnénou (French judoka) faced a major challenge in the women’s judo semi-final. After an impressive run and remarkable performances throughout the competition, she made a decisive mistake during her judo match, which cost her a place in the final. Her dreams of gold and silver seemed to vanish as she was left reeling from this unexpected defeat. The disappointment is immense.

But the champion did not give up. Clarisse drew on her reserves of determination and mental strength to prepare for the bronze medal match. She focused on the essentials, refined her techniques and came back with an iron will. Thanks to this resilience, Clarisse won the bronze medal match with flying colours. Her ability to bounce back from defeat and refocus her efforts paid off. She thus proved that, even after a major setback, building resilience can lead to remarkable successes.

Athletes train hard, push their limits, perfect their movements and strive for precision so they can be at their best on the big day. The defining moment in sporting performance—when the athlete’s body and mind become one—is their ability to view the situation from a different perspective. Acting differently involves taking a risk. The athlete embarks on a yet unknown path. In doing so, they create the possibility not merely of being excellent, but of being the best!

Shaun White is a three-time Olympic medallist in snowboarding. To win his first gold medal, when he was almost out of competition due to his low points total, he performed a 1080°, a trick rarely achieved and even less so in competition, which allowed him to reach the final. He took the risk again in the final and clinched the gold. At the next Olympics, he did it again! Although he was virtually guaranteed gold after his first run, he performed a trick (a 1260° McTwist) that had never been done before, which he named the Tomahawk. Once again, he won gold, thanks to his daring and his creativity.

Often presented as an essential trait for success and performance, self-confidence is not something athletes are born with and retain forever. It can be seen through the story of how it is built. In the run-up to a major event, the preceding competitions serve as important tests. Successes will serve to reinforce optimism, belief in one’s abilities, and enjoyment… elements upon which self-confidence is built.

An example of Olympic-level self-confidence in the making.

Tess Ledeux (French skier) competes in freestyle skiing. She won the World Cup and, five days later, the gold medal at the X-Games. Such victories are likely to reinforce a sense of self-confidence and optimism. As Martin Fourcade, a French biathlete with a historic record (7 overall World Cup titles, five-time Olympic champion, 83 individual victories, 13-time world champion…), points out, his self-confidence was based, among other things, on his status as favourite and thus on his track record of victories in previous competitions. As George Herbert (an English poet and clergyman of the 17th century (1593–1633) said: “Skill and confidence are an invincible army.”

Team spirit is a soft skill that can easily be transferred from sport to the professional world. Team members must know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, communicate strategies, devise new tactics and work together towards a common goal. The resulting determination, the motivation to push forward, can move mountains. Whilst medal haul is the ultimate goal, participation is already a major, noble objective, true to the spirit of Pierre de Coubertin (father of the modern Olympic Games), which demands unwavering team spirit.

An example of Olympic teamwork:

The Jamaican bobsleigh team’s epic journey at the Olympic Games is a prime example of team spirit. Although one of the four team members was injured and replaced at the last minute, they managed to compete, but failed to finish the fourth run and were unranked. The result? Their team spirit, motivation and determination propelled them to Olympic legend status.

In sport, just as in the business world, hard skills are, of course, extremely important. Soft skills, on the other hand, enable us – as in the inspiring examples mentioned – to push ourselves and go beyond our raw talents. They are what make us human beyond mere technique, a real catalyst for our success. And the great news is, you don’t need to be a top-level athlete to develop them. Everyone, in their own way, can draw on them to achieve not medals, but professional fulfilment. The-top-4-soft-skills-to-develop-for-an-olympic-athlet