Strategy

Olympic Gold Medalist Kikkan Randall’s Goal-Setting Secrets

Kikkan Randall was 16 years old in Anchorage, Alaska, when she discovered that no American woman had ever won an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. At that moment, she set her goal: to make history.

“When you do not make small goals along the way to your big goal, you are only hoping things come together, and that does not serve you well,” Kikkan said, “So my coach and I mapped out the small goals, and by the time we figured out what it was going to take, it was a 10-year plan.”

She went on to compete in five Olympics and in 2018, during her last games…Kikkan Randall won gold.

In this episode, you will learn about Kikkan’s goal-setting secrets. You’ll also discover how to ensure that internal competition fuels your employees and does not destroy team chemistry. “We brought an element of fun to the Olympic team and the camaraderie gave us superpowers,” she recalled, “If you want to be a great team, only training together is not enough.”

Three months after winning gold, Kikkan’s competitive spirit was needed once again, but this time for a different battle. She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Throughout her road to recovery, she used the lessons from competing to combat negative thoughts. Today Kikkan is part of the EY Women Athletes Business Network and serves on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

YOU WILL LEARN:

4:30   How to prevent overwhelm.

7:00   The best way to develop small goals.

26:30  How to manage team dysfunction and offense.

30:00  How to compound camaraderie.

Check out the full Corporate Competitor Podcast interview archive and subscribe to new episodes.


Don Yaeger

Over the last 30 years, longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated and 12-time New York Times Best-Selling Author Don Yaeger has been blessed to interview the greatest winners of our generation. He has made a second career as a keynote speaker and executive coach, discerning habits of high performance to teach teams how to reach their full potential.

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Don Yaeger

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