The 7 Factors of Top Performers

Michael Phelps always smelled like chlorine. 

No matter how often the Olympic swimmer showered, he still smelled like a pool.

His arduous training regimen centered on beating 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist Mark Spitz’s record-breaking seven medals. For him to achieve his goal, Phelps would have to race 17 times in nine days, counting elimination heats and finals.

Considering the grueling nature of swimming and the elite competitors racing against him, it was a Herculean task, which is why his conditioning was so critical. 

At an early age, Phelps’s legendary coach, Bob Bowman, recognized his rare skill set. Bowman explained to the young swimmer that his conditioning would be the difference between gold and silver, one medal or two. 

Talent gets you into the game; conditioning wins the game. A neuroscientist posited that chess grandmasters experience the same physiological demands as long-distance runners. The strategic thinking that world championship chess players deploy demands exceptional stamina and energy. Elite players can drop up to 10 pounds during a tournament and may expend roughly 6,000 calories a day while sitting at a table.

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top-ranking chess player, participates in intense physical workouts and competitive sports to train for chess tournaments. Your brain burns calories daily, so to think clearer, think smarter, handle pressure better, being in physical condition matters. 

Sally Jenkins has been around sports her entire life, as the daughter of legendary Sports Illustrated writer Dan Jenkins. Sally followed in her father’s footsteps as a columnist for the Washington Post and author of several books. 

Her latest, “The Right Call,” explores what we can learn from sports to help us in work and life. Jenkins reveals the qualities and characteristics that define greatness, offering insights that are applicable to leaders in all fields.

She finds that natural ability is only a small part of the formula that enables top performers and their coaches to attain the highest levels of excellence.

Jenkins concludes there are really seven factors all top performers share:

1. Conditioning. Top performers push themselves to be in the best shape of their lives daily. They never settle or stay on cruise control as they know the brain needs to be conditioned as much as the body. 

2. Practice. Practice must have a purpose and an understanding of what needs to be accomplished. It’s not a rehearsal, it’s a practice.

3. Discipline. Leaders encourage the right path, not command the way. Steve Kerr, the Golden State head basketball coach, hated players looking at their phones at halftime, but he knew any rules preventing players from doing something they always had done would seem petty. Kerr said: “It’s just as important to understand what discipline is not. Discipline is not petty militaristic enforcement.” 

4. Candor. Great performers are accountable. They are willing to accept the blame when the team fails, even if it wasn’t their fault. 

5. Culture. Performers live their life values, which then anchor strong and enduring cultures.

6. Failure Management. scientist Paul C. Nutt says organizational decisions fail 50 percent of the time. Those who regard failures as learning opportunities typically bounce back. However, “failure mode” can become an enduring state of mind for those who deny reality or shift blame.

7. Intention. High-level performers care about others. By caring, they gain trust and credibility. 

Jenkins is a wonderful storyteller who weaves powerful and illuminating writing into each of the seven qualities — leaving the reader ready to use her powerful lessons as learning tools.