8 lessons for HR leaders from the Paris Olympics 2024, according to industry experts

The Paris Olympics 2024 have been captivating, to say the least. 

With Zheng Haohao being named as the youngest participant at the event (at just 11 years old!), selfies being taken between North and South Korea, and with Simone Biles becoming a two-time all-around Olympic champion, this year’s Olympics has seen examples of unwavering support, cultural unification, and stellar leadership. 

These milestones offer a plethora of lessons, but at UNLEASH, we wanted to know which are the key highlights, specifically for HR leaders.

That’s why, we spoke to eight industry experts to hear their key lessons from the event, as well as how these can be translated to business progression for HR leaders. 

Psychological safety and inclusive leadership – Keyia Burton, Senior Principal at Gartner HR

“The Olympics provide leaders with critical lessons in how to adapt to the workplace,” Keyia Burton, Senior Principal at Gartner HR says.

“Fostering a culture of high performance and continuous improvement is crucial, not just in the Olympics but for businesses, too. Leaders can look to replicate this by implementing performance management systems that promote regular feedback and development. 

An important lesson from the Olympics for businesses is the need for a diverse leadership team. Gartner HR research revealed that 75% of organizations with diverse frontline decision-making teams are more likely to be highly profitable. 

“Mentorship programs and inclusive leadership training can prepare diverse employees for leadership roles, while ERGs provide support and advocacy to create a sense of community, offering valuable feedback on diversity initiatives. 

“Fostering team resilience means creating an environment that supports adaptability, continuous learning, and psychological safety. Leaders must emphasize shared goals and mutual support so team members understand their collective objectives and individual contributions and encourage open communication and trust, allowing members to express concerns and share ideas freely. 

“Businesses should also adopt inclusive recruitment practices with blind recruitment processes, which help to expand talent pools and eliminate unconscious bias. Equally, during recruitment and onboarding stage, embedding cultural competency training can enhance cross-cultural communications and an inclusive work environment.”

Training, commitment and teamwork – Laura Miller, People Country Leader UK at SD Worx

“There are a multitude of ways in which HR priorities are analogous to Olympic success,” Laura Miller, People Country Leader UK at SD Worx highlights. “Throughout the Olympics, on a truly global stage, we see the outcome of years of training, commitment, teamwork, and resilience in action. 

“It’s really a testament to the adage that no man is an island.  

“It’s a reminder of the value of a dynamic approach to training that leans into the wisdom of professional coaches, the drive of teammates and the innovation of technology. In short, things just don’t happen; they rely on an agile, dynamic approach to set the stage for success.

The takeaway for HR leaders is that you can’t win workplace gold with a one-size fits all policy.

“In recent years, HR teams have been the ultimate shape shifters. They have helped meet employee demands for hybrid and flexible working arrangements and worked at pace to deliver digital transformation without neglecting the human touch where it counts the most. 

“Fundamentally, they’ve had to put power in the hands of employees through delivering tech solutions that support performance and make workers feel like they are in the driving seat with their career.  

“The key point here is that there’s a mountain to climb in terms of navigating the twists and turns of digital transformation and ever evolving employee needs and expectations. 

“As in the Olympics, success doesn’t just appear miraculously. It is the product of a carefully mapped out plan of action that targets great outcomes through a careful blend of support, training, human advice and technology. 

“It’s a plan that must be built to withstand change and one that’s constantly moving in line with evolving needs. Without one, any business is flying blind.”  

Five secrets to high-performing teams – Matt Paese, SVP Leadership, DDI

“Leadership is about human connections – and the principles transcend the boundaries between sports and business,” Matt Paese, SVP Leadership, DDI explains.

The secret to leading a high-performing team is getting the right balance between the skills of the team members and connecting with them as individuals and as a team. 

“There are five key approaches we explored in our collaboration with British Rowing that leaders use to create high-performing teams; a shared purpose, clear roles to enable collaboration, emotional intelligence to create a psychologically safe space for communication, showing and encouraging vulnerability, and learning to leverage failure into growth. 

“These approaches can be applied to leadership scenarios regardless of the setting – whether elite sports or business- as a way of driving teams towards unity and success.” 

“In today’s dynamic business landscape, one of a leader’s main responsibilities is to cultivate collaboration as a way of responding to challenges and change.

“To do this, leaders need to spark a collective ethos – a shared purpose that elevates each team and reinforces shared effort, candid feedback, mutual respect, and unwavering support of one another as team and organizational values.”

Lesson of adaptability, consistency, leadership – Laura Maffucci, Head of HR at G-P

“A key takeaway from Olympic athletes is the importance of consistency and hard work to achieve a shared goal,” Laura Maffucci, Head of HR at G-P (Globalization Partners) explains. 

“Athletes train with a common vision. Similarly, businesses can foster resilient teams by uniting their workforce around their mission and vision, helping them maintain focus and motivation – especially during challenging times.  

“Diversity and inclusion are equally important. Olympic teams thrive on varied backgrounds and perspectives, which lead to a wider diversity of thoughts and greater adaptability. It’s crucial that businesses recognize this.  

Just as athletes and coaches rely on clear communication to build trust and adjust strategies, businesses must foster open dialogue to enhance collaboration.

“With 66% of HR executives recognizing the need to better manage global teams, improving communication across diverse teams is essential. 

“The Olympics offer HR leaders valuable lessons in adaptability, leadership, consistency, and the power of a unified team.

“G-P’s Global Growth Report shows that 41% of executives view adaptability as a crucial quality for navigating business uncertainties, while 49% of employees believe that compassionate leadership is key to fostering trust and job satisfaction. 

“These insights remind us that HR leaders must prioritize developing other leaders who can guide their teams through bouts of pressure with empathy and clarity.

“Just as Olympic teams are united by a shared mission, businesses must cultivate a strong organizational culture where diversity and inclusion are celebrated, and every team member feels valued.”

The theory of sport in business – Matt Monette, UK Country Manager at Deel

“When you look at successful sports teams throughout history – whether it’s the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 90s, the record breaking Jamaican relay team of the 2012 Olympics, or the Lionesses bringing home the Euros in 2022 – they all have one thing in common: diversity of people and thought,” Matt Monette, UK Country Manager at Deel highlights.

“Take the Bulls; Michael Jordan was arguably the driving force behind their NBA dominance for the better part of a decade, but without Scottie Pippen lifting him up and Horace Grant doing the dirty work, they would have never secured their first three-peat championship. 

By having a mix of people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and strengths, these well-balanced teams were able to dominate their opponents. The same theory can be applied to business. 

“But it’s not just about what you do during the game. As we can see from the Paris 2024 Olympics, truly great teams have a sense of unity outside of the game, too. Something that can be hard to achieve in the new world of hybrid or remote work. 

“To help teams connect and forge stronger relationships, technology can be used to bond teams together. For example, recording weekly all-hands so teams can be kept up to date regardless of their timezone. 

“People leaders should lean on technology to connect remote teams, as after all, the whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

Fighting misogyny and microaggressions – Annabelle Vultee, CEO at GoodHabitz

“Recent comments made during the Olympics shows us just how much work we still have to do to get to true gender equality,” Annabelle Vultee, CEO at GoodHabitz highlights.

We need to keep talking about unconscious bias and how important it is to use respectful language. Such incidents not only undermine the achievements of female athletes but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes that deter progress towards gender equality. 

“I think it’s clear that leaders need to be emotionally intelligent and genuinely care about everyone on their team if we want to create great workplaces. 

“Our user data reveals a dramatic increase in the popularity of bias training, with the course now ranking as the eighth most sought after in the UK. This is a remarkable shift from its complete absence in our 2022 and 2023 rankings.

“Nevertheless, misogynistic microaggressions are still commonplace in many workplaces and public settings. There’s still a lot of undoing and restructuring to be done to solve systemic sexism for good.”

Withstanding pressure – Dan Moore, High Performance Coach, British Rowing Men’s Squad

“During these major competitions, the pressure is on,” shares Dan Moore, High Performance Coach for British Rowing Men’s Squad.

“As a leader, it is my role to ensure the team is engaged and working towards a shared goal – getting the boat across the finish line in the best possible time that we can. 

“Reiterating the purpose and talking about the importance of each rower to the overall team makes a huge impact in getting through tough periods. 

Being elite is more than a mindset. It’s a response. It’s how you handle yourself and how you deal with situations as they arise. 

“This is obviously paramount for our rowing teams, but also for leaders in corporate settings as we have found through working with DDI. Trust can break down quickly when people encounter failure. The key is to get ahead of it, minimize its impact, and use it to learn and move forwards to the next challenge.” 

Thinking outside the box – Ben Barnett, Regional Director at monday.com

“The sense of belonging that comes from supporting your nation demonstrates the significance of employees being invested in something greater than their own success, or in the achievements and accomplishments of their team alone,”. Ben Barnett, Regional Director at monday.com explains.

“Similarly, competition and the drive to break records motivates us to think outside the box and strive for self-improvement.

It is important for HR leaders to recognize and celebrate employee achievements to boost morale and motivation, much like how athletes are celebrated for their efforts.

“HR leaders can think intentionally about what recognition ought to look like in their business, enabling and empowering the organization, and particularly managers, to ensure it is both timely and specific.

“Encouraging people to set ambitious goals and support their journey towards achieving them helps to make the workplace more dynamic and inspiring.”

So, with this in mind, what have you learnt from this year’s Olympics?

And how can that be translated to better improve your business’ HR function?