Incredible performances are delivered daily by the speed skating and figure skating competitors. In my games-time role, I am one of 40 Team Leads who encourage, lead and motivate a workforce of 2000+ team members. Of these, 886 are volunteers….and together we are half way through Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Games. 

At Felix® Global we set-up our clients up for success. We know what support our clients need. We provide the tools, process, resources and coaching for them to be successful. All of which aligns with their life experience. In my lead role, I call on my life-long practice and discipline as a dancer, and my appreciation of the art in physical activity. It all comes together, bringing cohesion to my experience by combining my love of dance through figure-skating and leading a team to service excellence. Being successful means knowing how to help others and to anticipate and respond to what they need, quickly.

The atmosphere at PAC is exciting, fast-moving. The team operates in an environment of  high intensity and high-impact, in public view. Our goal is to help the athletes excel and create an amazing experience for our guests. Collectively we must resolve requests on the fly. Often times, as volunteers we are doing something new, different and with new team members. Learning is happening throughout the shifts. My approach changes daily. Each team has its own demands – and I need to believe ‘one team one dream’ – and to adapt. We know success depends on our resiliency.

On each shift I have up to 12 hosts in 7 roles:

1. Spectator marshals
2. Information marshals
3. Pacers
4. Ticket takers
5. Ushers
6. Information booth hosts
7. Access control

Motivating and stimulating resiliency to keep going, especially as event intensity mounts over the days has become as important as managing the tasks. Adding to the challenge of diverse work stations is the peoples age ranging from 15-82, communicating in 40 languages! A execution challenge, especially in a live setting.

Career transition solutions strategies at Felix® serve me well - to lead, motivate and inspire my team to find and give their best. Life at the games is wild. We are living the emotional roller-coaster of performance as we move through the stress. We are managing expectations and helping people through transition. We started with Anticipation   - let’s get started, excitement; Finding our feet – working out the kinks, steep learning curve, facing fear; Discovering the Sweet Spot  - confidence, competence, relax and find your stride; Managing our Energy – must be in sync with and easier on your team; Heading towards The End - rally and crescendo

At each phase, we set the stage, share the vision, and then ride the waves together. And it seems to be working. Motivation gets us through and we rely on resiliency to go for our personal and team best results.

Living my dream highlights:

1. Teams need respect, trust and acknowledgement to achieve optimal performance.

2. Leaders need be saying and doing the right things quickly to succeed in a dynamic environment.

3. Know what you and others need to be resilient to deliver on promise!

The next mini-report looks at-The End-where energy rallies toward a crescendo of the event, and our contract.