Recovery - In Business as in Sport

The ability to practice the art of recovery can be the difference between excellent and elite athletic outcomes.

There are two reasons players are handed a sports drink within minutes of the conclusion of a contest and only one of them is sponsorship.

Athletes are trained to be as diligent about their post exertion recovery as they are about the game plan, fitness and skills execution.

The athlete who is best at recovery with consistently be the most successful.

The recovery process in sport has become a science of its own and plays a key role in allowing maximum, high performance, high intensity athletic output.

I ask the question, what is the difference between high performance in athletic endeavours and high performance in business?

I have attended many training sessions, seminars, hackathons and similar all aimed at achieving maximum personal outcomes.

I have attended coaching, coach the coach and how to motivate webinars and conference sessions all aimed at performance maximisation.

I cannot ever recall any reference to the need to recover.

Further, I cannot recall any leader who under pressure, referenced personal recovery or similar in order to meet a corporate expectation or solve a tricky situation.

I specifically recall a Chief Manager advising the management team that he is working 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week and if they are not they had better start doing so. I should add, this was not 30 years ago but occurred this decade.

I recall another CEO who would pose the question “who is losing sleep in order to resolve this” and delighted in hearing the hours being worked by his team. Much of it was theatre. It was the 1980's after all.

A LinkedIn connection shared a video today that specifically referenced recovery as a high-performance criteria of successful business outcomes. This was one of a package that specifically talked about maximising engagement by managing energy flows, of which recovery and renewal was a key factor. This was the first time I recall recovery being discussed in business as a “genuine thing with real outcomes” and in manner that was practical, sensible and achievable.

For all the life balance, healthy work environment and duty of care mantra, there is still a common trait of seeking more work, more hours and more commitment from staff and Leaders. The default answer to many problems is to work longer and harder. The person who starts earliest, finishes latest and takes work home is still highly regarded. Quantity so often trumps quality.

The athlete who neglects their recovery is considered unprofessional, selfish and irresponsible.

In business, the person who neglects their health to work longer and harder is lauded.

Business has much to learn from professional athletes and sports performance science.

Does business have the courage to do so?