I am pleased to report Tom Steitz and 3 Peaks Leadership were featured by BusinessWeek’s ‘Management IQ’ this week: “Business Coach Returns to Olympic Roots.”

I invite you to read the article, and post your thoughts and comments.  In this piece, Tom draws the parallels between coaching an Olympic athletic team, and coaching executive business teams.

“Building an Olympic team,” Steitz says, “is as complex in execution as any of the business plans I’ve seen in the Fortune 500.”  He goes on to outline a few key moves in building a successful team:  Letting go of what doesn’t work, setting goals, and building a sense of togetherness.

It’s been quite a week the U.S. Nordic Combined team, as Tom has reported from Vancouver.  If you haven’t already, read about Tom’s experience following Sunday’s silver medal win by Johnny Spillane, and his reflections on a former team member, Ryan Heckman, recently featured in The Wall Street Journal story, “Athletes Turn Torchbearers After the Olympics.”

These stories have great lessons we all can take away.  Winning an Olympic medal is never a standalone event.  It’s the result of years of training, building the right culture, sustaining forward momentum, and supporting each other and the team. Successful business leaders take the same approach.

Stay tuned for more news from Vancouver as the U.S. Nordic Combined team prepares for next week’s team competition on February 23!