[February 15, 2018] There is something about watching the Olympic Games that makes us feel more alive, more proud, and perhaps even like a better person. I have no idea what makes this so but the grace we saw in the performance of the U.S. figure skaters won me over.
U.S. Olympians on the Figure Skating Team, Mirai Nagasu and Adam Rippon made a show of grace that was absolutely stunning. Grace, as regular readers of this leadership blog know, is a characteristic of leaders. The best leaders are those who show grace under great pressure … maintaining grace under fire is what we often say is the epitome of leadership.
All the athletes participating in the Olympic Games are, of course, under tremendous pressure to win. What we like to see is that they obey the rules of competition and sportsmanship, they do their best, and if at all possible show grace; an attribute that attracts us to them. Nagasu and Rippon have done this.
Like the most famous leaders in our history books, those who did great things for the betterment of their countrymen, real leaders show grace. Sometimes we simply say a person has “class” when we really me they show grace in their behavior.
To show grace it takes toughness of mind, resilience, and strength of purpose. People are attracted to those kinds of folks. Everyday we see this in action but you will not find it in the newspaper because of the difficulty transcribing this trait into print. But we can “see” it happening like the performance of Adam Rippon when he won the Bronze Medal (note: I think his performance was much better than those that beat him officially).
Rippon held his head high and never complained about only winning the Bronze. We should all look to his performance that day as a glimpse into what the trait of “grace” really looks like.
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Thank you for this brilliant website. I am trying to read even morearticles. Thank you again!
I like the Olympic games but the politics should stay out.
Adam Rippon is truly graceful in his Olympic performances. What I don’t like about him is that he publically refused to meet with Vice President Pence because, in Rippon’s own words, “Pence is for chemical treatment of gays” presumably to “fix” their sexual orientation. That detracts from Rippon and although it will make him the darling of the gay world, it helps spread lies and causes divisiveness. This is the opposite of the origin of the Olympic Games.