Training In One Area Can Lead To Success In Another

In business employees who are at an organization for extended period of time can feel entitled for promotion and other opportunities within the organization because of tenure, paying their dues, loyalty, and other reasons.  When someone from outside of the organization receives an opportunity that either themselves or a colleague desired it can cause resentment toward that person and those who made the decision. 

What can get lost is that the skills the person development somewhere else, even in another industry can add value and even help move the organization forward.  This situation also happen in athletic competition and took place recently with Lolo Jones being named to the United States bobsled team for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Lolo Jones

Jones, a two-time Olympic hurdler tripped over a hurdle in the 2008 games when it appeared she was on her way to winning the gold medal.  It motivated her to achieve the dream of Olympic gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but she finished fourth in the finals just missing out on medaling.

After being named to the bobsled team there was backlash from other candidates.   Katie Eberling, the most decorated brakeman on the team and a three-year veteran with a history of superior times, was left off the Olympic squad.  Her father told Selena Robert of the New York Times, "It's a mystery to me. I wish someone would explain how Lolo is on the team."

Jones was one of five athletes competing for three pusher spots—meaning she’s responsible for pushing the bobsled at the top of the hill, and then jumping in after the driver does and ducking for the rest of the ride. The position is a great fit for Jones, as it utilizes her speed, strength and coordination from track.  Jones helped her case in January with a silver medal performance in a World Cup race in Germany.

"She surprised me every day with how dedicated she is," said United States bobsled coach Todd Hays. "The one word I keep coming back to is, she's such a competitor. She cannot accept not being good at something. She gets up earlier than everybody else, goes to bed later, constantly trying to get better.”

It is not unprecedented in sports for athletes to transition from one sport to another and have success.  The NFL has several former basketball players who had little very little if any college football experience such as Antonio Gates (San Diego Chargers), Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints), and Julius Thomas (Denver Broncos).

In the 2007 World Track and Field Championships, 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Stefan Holm of Sweden was in the finals of the high jump that included Donald Thomas of the Bahamas.  Holm attempted his first high jump when he was four years old, inspired by the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.  Thomas, a former basketball player had only been training for the high jumping for eight months.

 Holm clipped the bar in his last jump and Thomas cleared his at 8’2” to win the gold medal.  Holm was gracious in defeat, but his father and coach was not.  As David Epstein explained in The Sports Gene Johnny Holm said that Thomas’s “flutter kick style” was a scandal for high jump and suggested that the inelegance of his jumping was an affront to the sport and the men who had spent years training.

Holm and Jones received backlash because those who spent years training and preparing to become elite athletes at their respective sports were beat out by someone who spent a short concentrated time in the same sport.  What is lost is that they did train and prepare for years; it was just in another area. 

The strength, coordination, and stamina took hard work and dedication.  Jones and Thomas had success especially when transitioning into something that is not as technical such as the high jump and bobsledding.  Thomas would have a difficult time becoming a world champion swimmer and Jones a figure skater.

In all professions people transition to other fields and have success.  The experiences they have can add value to their new area.  Some of this has been lost in the criticism of Jones and the entitlement that other bobsledders have toward her.  Other factors such as marketing and television ratings should not be ignored.  The United States bobsled team will have attention due to Jones inclusion on the team. 

Jones put on 30 lbs of muscle to prepare for her role as a bobsledder.  Her hard work as a world-class track athlete and the time and dedication to learn a new sport and make the team should not tarnish her inclusion.  Athletics are a microcosm of society.  The backlash toward Jones is similar to what many of us have observed in our respective professions, which can cause perspective to be lost.