Fit

CHAPTER 5 EMBRACING AND MANAGING YOUR DARK SIDE

Most people are recruited to a new position, join a new squad or get promoted on the basis of their bright-side personality. Obviously an individual's skills, knowledge, ability and experience do need to play a part — you have to have a ticket to get into the dance. But when two or three candidates are equally qualified and share a wealth of ability and experience, it is bright-side personality that seals the deal. This is often a mistake.

Your bright side is you on a good day; it's you under normal, everyday circumstances, when you are deliberately trying to put your best foot forward and when you are not under pressure. The problem is that business and professional sport rarely support those conditions for very long. In order to be successful in business leaders must adapt and change with the market, they must invent new products and services, manage customers and stay relevant; they must push into new markets and territories and meet and continually surpass customer and shareholder expectations. That's not that ‘normal', and for most people it's stressful.

To be successful in professional sport individuals must learn to hold their nerve for the final putt to win a major or to make the serve for match point in front of thousands of spectators. Teams must remember everything they trained for when the opposition scores two tries on the bounce and looks set to win the championship — all under the gaze of expectant fans. Again, ...