5 Traits Olympians and Successful Founders Have in Common We may not all be Olympians, but with the right support and mindset, it's possible for all of us to achieve greatness.
By Frederick Royall III Edited by Micah Zimmerman
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The closing ceremonies of the Olympics are always a brilliant display, and this year's was no exception. While reflecting on the games and watching the Paralympics, I was able to reflect on the incredible physical and mental abilities of those who competed. The awe-inspiring jumps, dives, sprints, and lifts showed the power of hard work and dedication.
In this moment, I thought about the connection between greatness in athletics and in business and realized there are a few clear commonalities.
While I'm certainly not a 10-meter diver or an ultra-marathoner, my team and I have helped many founders take their companies to levels they didn't think possible, which has given us a front-row seat to success.
As the National Head of Diverse Businesses for JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking, I have the opportunity to see greatness every day and help business leaders from all backgrounds work towards achieving sizeable milestones.
My experience has taught me that the top entrepreneurs and business leaders need to have a few traits that work in tandem to produce excellence.
Related: Simone Biles Earns Top Scores at Olympics Despite Leg Injury
1. Success is rarely created alone
Even if an athlete is a solo performer — like Simone Biles in gymnastics, for example — they are deeply connected to a team. Biles herself has explained at length how her coaches, teammates, and even her therapist have been part of the team of her success. She's credited them with helping her through difficult times, assisting her in preparing for important competitions, and having fun while working tirelessly.
This is even more pronounced in team sports like basketball. Take legend Steph Curry, who constantly gives shout outs to his team in interviews. Curry knows when to assist and when to lead, he reads his teammates, he's practiced plays a thousand times. His ability to dominate play after play is because of the help of people who set him up for success.
Business is the same way — it's critically important to build a team of people who are constantly laying the groundwork for your layup. How do your employees, management team, advisors, and mentors set you up for success? Are you engaging with them constantly to improve your game plan, get feedback, and grow?
2. Great athletes and business leaders have discipline
Every person has good days and bad days, but what takes good performers to greatness is consistency and control over one's time and habits. Swimming legend Michael Phelps once said, "Never underestimate the power of hard work and discipline."
In business, founders have to hone in on their target and run toward it daily, managing through distractions and learning to separate noise from important feedback. What is your daily work routine for interacting with employees, customers, investors and your community, and are you disciplined in sticking to it?
3. Resilience is so important since all leaders will face setbacks
The journey to success is often a bumpy road. Take Sha'Carri Richardson, for example, who faced multiple setbacks on her journey to the Olympics. She could have easily bowed out and quit, but she recalibrated and got back up.
Fast forward to 2023. She became the fastest woman in the world with a 10.65-second 100-meter win at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a championship record, per ABC news. That's the power of rising up when you fall. In the 2024 summer games, she helped USA reach gold in the 4x100m women's relay race and secured a silver medal in the individual 100m race.
In business, you must similarly bounce back after setbacks like losing a major customer or experiencing a tough economic cycle. There will be downturns and difficult times, but that's when you lean into your strategy and focus on your core values.
Related: Why Failure Is Crucial in Finding Your True Purpose
4. Develop a vision to drive growth
Biles has talked about how she quite literally closes her eyes and envisions herself completing an incredible leap or flip before executing it. Indeed, several other Olympians say they've used the same trick. Now, while I'm not necessarily asking you to close your eyes and envision you landing that next big client or securing that deal (though it could help!), I am saying that having a clear vision of your goal is absolutely necessary.
As a business leader, you need to stay aligned to your core goal — to solve the problem you set out to solve. Vision will guide you when making difficult decisions and help you stay on track working toward what matters to deliver outcomes for customers, employees and investors or shareholders.
Related: 3 Success Strategies From Oprah, Richard Branson and Jeff Skoll
5. Employ "strategic execution"
The last trait is what I call "strategic execution," or working incredibly hard but doing so in a way that builds endurance. For example, if your goal is to run 26 miles but lack strategic execution, you might attempt a 26-mile run on day one and injure yourself. Or perhaps you might run every single day for weeks on end, not taking any time to rest or plan, exhaust yourself and quit. That's planning without a strategy. It's hard work without foresight.
The top business leaders I've worked with are relentlessly networking, engaging with customers, doing market research, meeting with advisors, and learning from their mistakes. But they're also ensuring that they're not spending their time running numbers when an accountant could do that or working on a website when they could hire a designer to do it better and faster. They're executing their business strategy in ways that set them up for the long journey ahead. Are you deploying your resources in ways that maximize your ability to lead?
Teamwork. Discipline. Resilience. Vision. Strategic execution. Combine these traits, and you have a winning model for business success.
My hope is that this reflection helps those who are looking for success in any endeavor. We may not all be Olympians, but with the right support and mindset, it's possible for all of us to achieve greatness.
