Leveraging Leadership

From Olympics to TEDx: A Winning Mindset in Sports and Business

• Emily Sander • Season 1 • Episode 143

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Joey Lye, Olympic bronze medalist and TEDx speaker, shares how she achieved a 1.000 batting average at the Tokyo Olympics through mindset and preparation. She also discusses managing pressure using mindfulness techniques and the importance of aligning personal and organizational values. Chief of Staff Eric talks about the benefits of recruiting individuals with team sports experience and shares a mantra from his high school coach: "Champions are made when you go to practice, even when you don't feel like it."

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want. 


Time Stamps:
00:45 Joey's Unique Olympic Experience
08:05 Techniques for Managing Pressure
20:14 Decision-Making Based on Core Values
32:26 Transitioning from Sports to Business Leadership
36:25 Olympic Preparation for Life
37:58 The Importance of Consistency and Small Wins
40:44 The Coachability of Athletes

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Our guest today is Joey Lai. Joey is a TEDx speaker, an Olympic bronze medalist, and she makes her impact by sharing her leadership, championship culture, and mindset expertise. Joey, welcome to the show.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

show. Thank you so much for having me, Emily. I am so excited to be here with you today.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Yay. All right. So you were in the Olympics and you batted 1, 000. So can you please explain how that is possible?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Absolutely. Yes. I am not sure if anybody else can say the same thing. My role was a pretty unique one at the Olympics. That was the end of my career. I had moved back into more of a utility role versus having a starting position. I was that athlete that needed to be ready at a moment's notice. I could play varying positions. I could go into pinch hit to pinch run. I started one game. I got three plate appearances in that game. I went two for two with a walk, which means I hit a thousand, I contribute all of that to the work that I did over the years with regard to my mindset and being able to be in the moment under pressure.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Gotcha. Okay. So you played softball. My experience went up to T ball, um, as a little kid, actually, no, I lied. I played one year of coaches pitch. So that's where, that's where my, uh, softball or baseball career ended. But just to touch on it, what was the Olympic experience like? I mean, getting selected for the team and then being at the Olympic village and Playing in the Olympics.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

It was a pretty unique experience. I had dreamt of being an Olympian from the time I was a young child. My third grade teacher actually had us write a letter to ourselves, and she mailed it to us many, many years later. And I wanted to be a professional athlete. When I was in the

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Oh wow. Okay.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

wrote an autobiography in high school that I found a few years before the Olympics that was titled Future Olympian.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

No way.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

I had dreamt of from, from the time I was young. The experience itself was quite different from what we anticipated because of COVID. We, we were the delayed Olympic games. They were set to happen in 2020 in Tokyo. Then the pandemic hit as we all remember quite well, and we were bumped and delayed a year. So we had an extra year of preparation, which I would never wish a pandemic on the world. That extra year of preparation, our team used to the fullest. It was pretty incredible how we came back together. We thought we were going on a 10 day break. We didn't see each other for 10 months and we came back together 10 times better. It was. It was unreal to see firsthand how much work everybody had put in through that pandemic. The Olympic Village, we had to be masked the whole time. There were partitions in the dining space. It was a little, you expect to be able to meet other athletes in the dining hall and sit and chat and have good conversation. Even sitting across from our own teammate, we had to try to shout over the partition for them to hear what we were saying. It was

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Wow.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

that we stayed to socialize long. So we didn't get to meet as many athletes as we would have liked or have that social aspect of the experience. We weren't allowed to go to any other sporting event.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Oh.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

something I was really looking forward to. Because of COVID, they had way more, way many more restrictions on that piece. And as soon as we meddled, we had our medal ceremony, went back to the village, had a team meeting. Well, first we ate cause we were starving, had a team meeting and this was 3 AM by the time this was happening, I was on a bus at 6 AM to the airport. They just wanted to get us out as soon as we were finished.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Wow.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

the celebrations were, were small, short lived, but they And it was quite an interesting exit there. But again, I wouldn't change it for the world. It was very unique. So many stories that came from it. So many challenges overcome.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

So I remember when they announced the Olympics were going to be delayed and I thought,

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

I thought,

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

oh no, those poor athletes who. Who trained and some of them train specifically for peak performance at the Olympics and their whole training protocol got derailed. And so they had to readjust. It sounded like for you that was an advantage. Um, and you mentioned mindset before. So was that just, This is the new circumstance. I have to adapt and readjust my mindset. What was, what was that process like?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

personal slogan, that's now my business slogan, is Adapt and Thrive. That challenge was a tough one to swallow and to just turn to that mindset and say, come on, Joey, let's adapt and figure out how to thrive. That was a daily challenge for myself, and I know it was for many of my teammates as well. The media was pushing out that maybe the Olympics were going to be canceled altogether. Of course, they're going to grasp onto that dramatic scenario and continuously push that out. I got to a point where I stopped looking at any kind of media. I asked my friends and family to stop sending me any kind of article and just lived in this little bubble telling myself it was going to happen because I thought about every scenario. And I said to myself, if the Olympics do happen, And I haven't done everything in my power to be the best athlete I could be. That would be the biggest regret I will have in my life. So every single day, there was that little seed of doubt that I reminded myself, I'm doing this for a reason. If it happens, I will be ready. That, that was a huge challenge.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Okay. So that was the mindset in the preparation stage.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

stage

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

from my time,

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

time.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

um, in coaches pitch, I remember being at bat, everyone's looking at you and, and baseball or softball is a very technical sport. Meaning you can't just. bludgeoning your way through an at bat with raw athleticism. You have to be like technically proficient. And it's a very, um, I think they said, I read some studies somewhere. They said hitting a baseball or hitting a softball was one of the hardest Physical things to do sports wise, that is, that is one of the most precise things that you have to train for. So in that moment, when you're standing there at bat, how are you, what is your mindset? How are you kind of clearing the mechanism? I remember that. I remember that Kevin Costner movie for love of the game. Have you seen that where he goes clear the mechanism and everything just gets quiet and he has like tunnel vision into what he's doing.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Yes, so many different strategies and tools that we used leading up to that performance to be able to, in the moment, focus on the moment, not get distracted by potential crowd noise, although there was none, no fans in the stands. Yes. To not get distracted by the deafening silence. Essentially control the thoughts we were having in our brain to notice the place our mind goes to in high pressure, pressure situations and practice being able to pull ourselves away from that. Reframe what we're thinking about, feel the tension in our body that appears our elevated heart rate. One of the biggest tools that I used in for actually a decade leading up to the Tokyo Olympics was my anxiety on airplanes. I absolutely despise being in a tin can way up in the air, especially if there's any suggestion of turbulence, turbulence. That happens, my heart pounds, my palms get sweaty, my shoulders and neck are super tense, my thoughts are not where I'd like them to be. I started using that as an opportunity to get better in, in softball. And now that has carried into my professional speaking, the, the job, like, running a business. There, there are different avenues of pressure and anxiety that surface now, and I still pull from that experience. I still, on airplanes, go to that place. Alright, let's help ourselves become, you know, be in a place where I can step into a room full of a thousand people and perform. I allow myself to notice the tension, actively release the tension, deep belly breaths, like feel my ribs expanding, reframe the thoughts. We're good. I've got this. going to be great. I'm prepared for this. I'm the best at what I do, right? Just start practicing those, those mantras and really start to feel my heart rate slow down. So for 10 years, practicing this skill, all of these skills one scenario, you know, after flight, after flight, after flight. throw me into a pressure situation and I've practiced all of these things actively. I can connect with my breath. I can run those mantras through my head. I can relax the tension in my shoulders and neck and be ready to perform. Allow my, my body, my skills, the, the tools and talents that I have to, to flow. As opposed to, you know, we can all relate to the time where, you know, We held the bat too tight in whatever situation that is. You want something so badly, you try too hard and it crumbles right in front of you. So, so it was a pretty incredible to, to see how impactful it was to practice and still is to practice those tools as often as possible in the everyday scenarios that create similar feelings.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

So it sounds like you had honed your, your self

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

self

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

to be able to, in the moment I'm

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

I.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

noticing I'm feeling the pressure and I know how to diffuse that, so to speak, because I've practiced it over and over and over again for 10 years, I've intentionally put myself in these positions. So now it's just. It's like building a habit, it's practiced like anything else. And it sounded like there were physical cues and kind of things you would go through in your physical body. And then there were mantras and kind of mindset cues where, hey, let me make sure my headspace is right. So are those the main two components?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Absolutely. The number one thing I would mention about all of those different tools is the awareness piece. Without the awareness, we have no idea where to start. So, so noticing for myself that, okay, I have tension in my neck and shoulders when I'm feeling anxious. I can feel my heart rate is beating super fast. I know, notice these thoughts that I don't want that are running through my head. So, really thinking as individuals, what happens to me under pressure? Is it my brain that goes to a place I don't want it to be in? Is it my body that reacts in a specific way? And can I figure out other ways or other areas in my life that these similar things happen? So I think that that self awareness, that mental awareness is extremely important before we even start to talk about what are the tools that will help me.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

So if the first step is What is my default mode when I'm nervous or anxious? Does one need to go on a plane or need to go skydiving? Or how can they, how can they find that or elicit like, okay, what, what does happen? What's my knee jerk reaction to this?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

I think for each of us, there are things in our daily lives or weekly lives that give us some anxiety. As an introvert, the thought of walking into a coffee shop and striking up a conversation with a stranger? No thank you. So, thinking about what are those little things that will allow me to step outside my comfort zone, will put me in an uncomfortable situation, then can I notice? What happens to my mind and to my body? Can I reflect on that after the fact as well and think about, okay, what changed for me?

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

I had a speaking coach once

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

once.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

took me through, like, he literally was like, close your eyes. And he, I had described to him, A situation where I got extremely nervous and I felt my heart pounding and I felt my, I could hear myself blinking, which I'm like, I'm not a doctor, but I don't think that's supposed to happen. Um, and so I described this, he said, close your eyes. And he replayed this whole thing back to me. I just started like sweating and all this stuff. And so visually and mentally, uh, he got me there. And then he did something similar where he took me through steps to kind of deescalate and diffuse that. So maybe it might be, all right, look, listener, you know. What makes you nervous? You know what makes your heart pound. It might be being intentional about putting yourself mentally in those spaces and then practicing getting out of them or practicing getting into a state. That's more level where you're in control. Is that is that a step?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Absolutely. For people who might, it might give them anxiety to think about even trying one of these things or getting outside of your comfort zone. Even before that we can think about, okay, definitely know that when I'm in an uncomfortable situation, I get tense. So I can actively create the tension

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

And then release?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

release that tension. So almost like recreating feeling and releasing it. don't even have to think about a situation that's gonna give me that tension. I can just actively create that. but the visualization piece is also huge. Yes, if visualization impacts you as it does most people. Can we create those scenarios? We don't even have to leave our comfort couch. We can be comfortably sitting in the living room and get ourselves to that space, somebody else saying the scenario is more impactful for sure. Is there a close friend or colleague or relative, even over the phone who can

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Oh, yeah.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

scenario you've sent them with your eyes closed and put yourself in that, in that situation and notice what happens to your mind and body.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

And just in case you're listening. So what Joey was describing, like create that tension. She like shrugged her shoulders up and kind of crunched up her upper body. So literally physically creating that tension and then

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

and

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

releasing it.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

it.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

okay.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

okay.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

a good one. I, I know from personal experience, and I know that. If someone's listening, they might be thinking, well, how do I, sometimes I don't know I'm thinking the negative thoughts or unhelpful thoughts, and so how do I even catch myself in that moment and then kind of redirect that into something more helpful.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Yes. The, the noticing is absolutely the most important piece to get started with. If we don't know what we're thinking, there's no way to know how we can change that or when you can. During the day, we might need to alter that. individuals to set timers in their phone or reminders in their phone throughout the day. That might just say, what's your mindset currently, just randomly prompt yourself to check in and be like, what was it I thinking about? What was I, did I have a positive outlook right now, or I'm about to walk into a meeting and I'm flustered and I am all over the map. What about when you are. Sitting down for breakfast, or shoving breakfast down your throat because you didn't take time to, to sit down to have it. With your morning coffee, as you're sipping your coffee, maybe on your coffee mug, you can write yourself a little note, or have a, a post it note inside your mug cabinet that says, How's your mindset currently? Just to start actively noticing where your head is at, because we, we will walk through the day, run through the day, scramble through the day without checking in. So can, can we set those reminders or put those little notes somewhere? We'll see them to remind ourselves to be conscious of that.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Totally. And I think. Most people have had the experience of they get to the end of the day and they're like, what just happened? Like, what did I do today? And they're kind of going on autopilot. So I think that's a good advice to just break up and, and make these little pockets of consciousness and check in on, on how we're feeling. Um, so I'm, I'm trying to think about this in terms of business. So I think if you're walking into a board meeting or you're walking into an all hands meeting or a team meeting or things like this, that can be the at bat So to speak where, Hey, if this is something that causes you a little bit anxiety, maybe there's a big announcement that you're going to have to run through to have these things in place where, okay, I've done my prep. I can lean on my training. And so now I know I'm prepared for this moment. So I think that's one scenario. The other scenario I was thinking of is decision making. So. Business leaders and executives are paid the big bucks to make a few high quality decisions throughout their day. And that might consciously be like, all right, I know I'm going to have to make this decision right now. Let me get myself in a good space. But often it's like, as we go, like on the fly, we're having to make these, you know, go, no go kind of big budget decisions, staffing decisions, merger acquisition, things like this. So is that the same process or is that a little bit. different because it's not a set event, so to speak.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

I would look at those two scenarios a little bit differently. Thank you. former showing up to a meeting, maybe running a meeting. can have a set routine going into that situation. Maybe I'm going to go into the bathroom and power pose for two minutes to start sending those signals to my brain that I'm feeling confident. as I'm walking from the bathroom to the meeting, I'm going to focus on my deep breaths and I'm going to walk into that meeting, telling myself how awesome I am, right? Just three, three simple things we can implement. It's great to go have a bio break anyway, let's add that in there, right? We're going to be walking into the meeting anyway, or maybe if we're working from home, we're walking from our bathroom to our at home office, and then you're going to be actively entering the room or logging onto your video call. Perfect moments to do these three steps. pose, with the breath, little mindset reminder of how great you are. With regard to decisions throughout the day, I would challenge leaders to be so clear in their values, crystal clear in their values, because when we know exactly what our values are, they hopefully are aligning with our organization. That's when you see the magic happening when our personal values and our organizational values or business values are aligned. Most of our decisions are actually made for us already. If we are uncertain of our values, or wavering in them, or still discovering them, that's when we feel the most angst about trying to make those decisions. Now sometimes the decisions are in front of us. We know what the quote unquote right decision is based on our values. And it's still a very challenging decision to make because it's going to make some people unhappy. That's when we can go again to connect with our breath, maybe understand what we ourselves need before we enter that challenging conversation or share that challenging information. I definitely believe that most decisions are made for us already at their core, at our core, when we are super crystal clear in our values.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Okay. So it's alignment with the value. Can you just give a quick example of, okay, like here's a decision where you would lean into your values and therefore that would dictate or allow you to make it, make a clear decision in this direction.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Often in big organizations, I think there are situations where the customer is valued or said to be valued. And then there's a conversation happening in a boardroom about a decision that's going to change how the company functions. Are we remembering that customer happiness is at the forefront of our decision making process? Or have we gotten caught up in the room we're sitting in, the people we're sitting around, we're not chatting with our customers at that point. So are we acting in a way that shows we value our customers happiness and satisfaction and excitement about working with us as an organization? Or are we making an organizational decision that will impact that without even connecting with that value?

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

And what are some ways

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

ways.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

someone can get clear on their values, which might sound like a funny question, but, um, I'm guessing that some people might go, well, I'm sure I have values. And if I really thought about them, like have integrity or treat people with respect or all of these sorts of things. But I actually don't think that's something people sit down and consciously think about, or can write down or even articulate to someone. If someone said, what are your core values? So maybe what's a exercise or to, to get someone in touch with, okay, yes, these are my guiding principles and whatever is coming at me or whatever decision I'm making, I can look at it through. Those lenses.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

I love that you asked this because times out of 10, sometimes 10 times out of 10, I will walk into an organization, bring up the idea of values. And they might have values, personal values, company values. Typically, they don't know what they look like in action. is not a common answer. From one person to the next as to what those values look like in action, because we as humans interpret words very differently. We all have our own our own experiences that shape the way we see certain situations and understand certain words. Even, say a company values teamwork. What that means to one person looks very differently, can look very differently. To another person.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

It's very subjective.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

taking the time to focus in on those values. First, discover the values that the company wants to be about, that the organization will buy into, and then create so much clarity around what they look like in action. So a simple, You know, step by step meeting could look like, all right, team, today, we're going to come together and we're really going to hash out our values today. Everybody write down five to 10 values that our organization portrays. Then we can figure out where the commonalities, where, what are the themes, what are the things that if, if we don't have our values well defined yet or chosen, we can see where those themes are arising within our organization. From there, can we pair all of these down? In those themes see what that looks like. How many different groups of themes there are. Can we then from there choose three values we are absolutely wholeheartedly going to dive into a unit. we have those three values, what do they look like in action?

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Okay, so if someone's listening, I'm sure people have heard about mission statements and vision statements and things like this, which might be somewhat related, but can you just give some actual examples of like, here are some potential company values or some things I've seen over and over again.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Absolutely. Things like collaboration, like honesty, integrity, the things that you want your company or organization to be known for. When you think about someone walking down the street and they see a billboard with your company's logo on it, what do you want them to think about you? You want What do you want them to feel when, when they see your logo? And those are the things that we want to be able to create within our everyday behaviors throughout the entire company that will then become the feeling and the way of how we operate.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Okay. So if we take something like integrity or honesty and we say, okay, in this group meeting, we've identified those. As company values, we want to portray and espouse. And then you mentioned the next step is making that crystal clear, making it so clear for people. So how does, how do we go about that step? Cause that's where I imagine my version of honesty is hopefully close to other people's, but it might not be, there might be various versions of that. So how do we get clear on that? And how do we put that into action?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Yes. So we will use honesty as an example, for some people that might. Cause them to think about transparency. Okay. So we're, we're going to value in our organization. We value honesty. And part of that is we are transparent the decisions we're making, what the struggles we're having and what that looks like in action when there is a big decision that is happening within the organization, we're going to call an organization wide meeting. To share that with everyone. We're going to be open and honest with what's going on and it up, get some feedback from you all to, to ensure that that communication is existing there. We want to be honest with the general public about the creation of our product. Say, say it's a company that has a product, they sell a product. We are going to be open and honest and. Be truthful. We don't know sometimes, right? How honest the companies are with what they're putting on their labels. At our company, we are going to be truthful about that. That is what it looks like in action to be honest within our company. So just those specific examples of what it looks like to be honest here.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Okay. I like that. And then I'm assuming, so there's, there's kind of this alignment where you're talking about company, we're talking about career in the business world, but we're all individuals that make up that team or business. So it does start with personal values. And I'm assuming that a similar exercise can be done where you, you sit down and say, okay, well, I'm kind of a billboard for myself, so when people look at me or think of me, what do I want to be known for, um, or what do I want to be about is that, uh, Is that worth considering as well when you're aligning personal values to company values?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Yes, absolutely. I think it's important for all of us. Especially leaders to sit down and go through that exercise. What do I want when I walk into the room? What thoughts and feelings do I want people to have when they see me? Sit down. Okay, what are those values? What do they look like in action? What does that mean to me? To be that kind of person. What are the behaviors that I need to show up with on a daily basis in order to be who and what I want to be. And we've all been in a situation where our values might not align with the values of the people around us or the company we're working for, or the team we have recently joined, I personally have felt that, and unfortunately at the end of the day. I ended up leaving that position because every single day felt like there was angst in some way. There was not an alignment from the organization I was working for to my personal values. And at the end of the day, that's okay,

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Yeah.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

we have the clarity of who we are, who we want to be, and the clarity of our organization, we want to work for an organization that aligns with us. The leaders of the organization want employees who align with the values that they hold. So I think it's, it's a win win when you find that match.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

I think so too. I mean, and that's part of the clarity piece. It's, it's, it's giving you an important data point saying, Hey, is this, I mean, it might not be like a hundred percent and you might be like, all right, they're a little bit outside of the box on this end, but that's not a mission critical piece of it. But if it's like, Hey, every day I'm coming in and this is just not what I feel good about. That's a indicator and data point for you for yourself as well. Um, I've had people who, I've worked with clients who have the value of innovation, so for themselves and for their companies. And it was really cool because I remember this individual challenged themselves to do something new every six months. So for instance, take up like woodworking or take up a painting, which was very, very much like outside of what this person was known for. But it's like, I need to use that part of my brain because it might give me Creative, cool ideas. And at the company, it was very much, we are putting our money where our mouth is in terms of innovation. And they spent a whole bunch of time and energy and resources and staff on research and development and creating innovative new products. So that can be a value as well. And I've seen that both on the personal and at the company level.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

That is incredible. I love that so much. And it made me think about how many companies there are out there who value or say they value wellness. Then think about how many of those companies have nutritious snacks in their break room. How many of those companies have intentional breaks for workouts or actually provide a gym membership to their employees? How many of those people have. easily accessed mental health folks. if, if we are going to say we are about something such as wellness, are we doing to actually align with those values? What are the behaviors?

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

We had, um, like an unofficial nap room where people, they had like half an hour breaks and like you could kind of do 15 minutes spots and just go in a dark room and just like nap. And it was like the greatest thing. I mean, our customer service reps used it and I use it a couple of times, which is like, I just need to go just be quiet for like 15 minutes. And that was really restorative and helpful. Um, so yeah,

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Yeah.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

yeah. I love that. And healthy snacks, please. People have some healthy snacks for your people. If you want them to have a sugar rush and then crash about 45 minutes later, go ahead and have those sugary snacks, but oh my goodness. All right. So

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

So.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

I'm curious, you do come from the sports world. Obviously you manifested your Olympic dreams from a, from a small child, from a young age, and you were very, very successful in that. And now you're coaching and you're doing it. Speaking and coaching and things like this. What made you transition to the business world? What made you take your, your sports background into a business, business leadership?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

After getting home from the Olympics, I did a lot of soul searching with regard to what is next. to the pandemic, I had been a collegiate coach. stepped away from a head coaching position to focus full time on training for that pandemic year. Which was an incredible experience in itself to be an athlete and only an athlete for a full year of preparation. Incredible. I was really reflecting on do I want to go back into college coaching? That would be the easy answer. I have so many contacts in that space. There are people dropping out of coaching like you wouldn't believe. I, I wanted to do something different. I sat down and thought. What are the skills I have team culture, leadership, mindset, been very intentional about those three things throughout my coaching career, throughout my playing career. And I thought, how can I bring that to different audience on a bigger scale? So I started speaking at universities again. I had so many contacts in that space. I started joining chamber of commerce, going to some networking events, and it was, Unsettling how many female leaders I met during that time and continue to meet who don't have the support that will empower them to be their absolute best selves at their companies with, within their, the leadership structure that they have, it became so clear for me that the current system was not created for women by women. That there are still stigmas as to what leadership looks like. of women don't fit the exact mold of what leadership looks like to most people. And if they do, they're often looked at as bossy and unrealistic. So there's this just unsettling situation for women in leadership out there. And it motivated me to dive into this space and want to help using the tools that I gained. Through, through my athletic career to, to empower these women.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

And so what are you doing today? Are you keynoting? Are you coaching one on one? Are you doing team coaching? What does that look like?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Currently? Yes, yes. And yes, I'm still in the fairly early stages considering, you know, the life of a business, figuring out exactly what company might look like in 10 years. I have some one on one clients. I have some companies that I'm working for some. group workshops, as well as creating some education webinars for kind of the inner workings of some companies. So I'm, I'm excited by all of it. It's very exciting. As I mentioned earlier, I was a little bit of a utility player, you know, filling various roles at various times. And my soul is very happy in that space, doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and figuring out how I can best empower and impact as many people as possible.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Well, you're talking to chiefs of staff, a lot of chiefs of staff on this podcast. So when, when we hear utility infielder, that's like our love language, we pretty much live and breathe that, um, every day. So on your keynotes, can you just give people a sample of some of the signature talks or the topics that you cover?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Absolutely. One of my favorites is Olympic preparation for life. Pulling in the ideas of high performing athletes are so diligent in taking care of, obviously the tasks that they have to do and building the skills and those types of things, but also. The sleep, the nutrition, the, the wellness piece, and pulling all of those different areas into a, uh, a speech to, to share that there are lessons that I learned from that journey that are helping me now thrive in life, in business. And you can do them too. It, you know, people Olympian. That's, that's incredible. I could never be like you. There are so many things that I can pull from my experience. anyone can do, and anyone can become a more confident person, a more rested person. At the end of the day, I am a regular person who did ordinary things To become extraordinary in them. And that, that's the message that, that I want to help spread loud and clear is at the end of the day, being extraordinary, being excellent is doing little things, creating small habits and doing them consistent consistently. And I want to help you start small and not be overwhelmed and become the, the leader and the person that you want to be. So.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

I love that topic. And one of the mantras that I have is our small winds add up faster than you think. And so it is, I mean, I think it's extraordinary that you can be consistent for so long. So I think you're being humble there, but the fact that you were able to discipline and stay focused and do those consistent things over a long period of time, got you to where you were. Call to be in the Olympics. And I think that one of the things that I remember from my coach, this was high school stuff. So not anywhere near your level, but it was the, the champions are made when you go to practice, even when you don't feel like it. So people are like, Oh, I don't feel like going to the gym or I don't feel like doing that project. It's like, well, you know, Part of life is like, it doesn't care about your feelings. I mean, there's a time and place for, you know, you need to rest and recover and all those things. But part of it's like, no, I go because this is what I'm about. And this is what I'm focused on and dedicated to. So I just, I love that piece of your, of your talk. And then I'm also, I think I know your answer to this, but, um, I have a theory that when you're recruiting and hiring for roles, all things being equal, I will pick the person who has played a team sport. And especially at a high level, because I already know they know how to work with others. They understand everyone's part of the part of the game and needed to win. And they also know how to work hard and, and stay disciplined and dedicated. So I'm just wondering if you've seen that in the recruiting thing. In the recruiting space.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Absolutely. It is as though somebody else did a lot of work that you now don't have to do. You can reap the benefits for the coaches and the teammates that this person had previously. I'm biased in that question. I played many team sports. Four in high school, two in college. And then, obviously, my 12 year career with Team Canada. I can see and feel and understand the lessons that are learned and taught. I saw transformations with individuals over a 12 year span of the impact of sports. Playing in a high performance space in a team setting had on them the amazing and incredible growth that they had as individuals. cannot speak enough about how incredible that experience is in building team related or team focused people. understand how to buy into a goal. That is maybe not their own goal. It's a group's goal and how to figure out to fit in their own goals within that, to stay motivated through those challenges, how to overcome so many obstacles and the, the resilience piece in itself is an incredible thing to have within your organization.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

I think the other thing as we were talking that came to mind is they're coachable, they're eminently coachable. And so it's like, okay, if you want someone with a growth mindset who can learn and develop these skills, oh my gosh, like a, like a athlete. Oh my goodness. That's it's all of those things combined. So yes, I knew your answer there, but I just wanted to bring it up because I've just had this theory for so long and I've been recruiting and hiring for so long. And I'm like, when I see. You know, D one basketball player. I'm like, okay, here we go. Or anything like that. So yes,

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

Yes,

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Joey, um, this has been a great conversation and thank you so much for sharing some practical and tactical tips. If people are interested in, in reaching out to you or learning more about your coaching or keynote speeches, what's the best place to find you?

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

That would be joey lie. com. J O E Y L Y E dot com. You can contact me there, see various, various, uh, avenues to contact me and see a little bit more about what I'm, what I'm about.

emily-sander_1_06-05-2024_090409:

Very cool. We'll have that in the show notes, but Joey, thank you once again.

squadcaster-47e6_1_06-05-2024_120408:

again. Thank you so much for having me, Emily. This was a blast.