Leadership Lessions from Novak Djokovic

Heroes and leaders often emerge from the most unlikely places. Take Tennis Champion Novak Djokovic, for example, who grew up in a small, war-torn country. Both he and I grew up in Belgrade during the Yugoslav wars, NATO bombings, hyperinflation, and overall societal collapse.

Amidst these dire circumstances, Djokovic discovered his love for tennis at a very young age. His parents, who ran a small family-owned restaurant, invested everything they had into nurturing Novak's burgeoning talent. Training facilities were scarce, and resources were limited. Djokovic and his peers often practiced in makeshift conditions, including on empty swimming pools converted into tennis courts.

Despite the less-than-ideal environment, Djokovic's passion for the sport and determination to succeed drove him forward. He would train during the day, even when air raid sirens blared in the background, and often took refuge in bomb shelters with his family at night as I did as a child.

This is the story of a champion who faced numerous obstacles and failures before achieving his dream. Djokovic worked for over 20 years as a professional to become an Olympic ChampionEven after winning numerous titles, he failed four times to secure the Olympic gold. Yet, at the age of 37, when everyone wrote him off as too old, he finally achieved it.

What can we learn from Djokovic? A lot! But perhaps the most important aspects of his success are his mental game, perseverance, and devotion to excellence, which he often talks about candidly.

🧘‍♂️ The Power of the Mind

“Pressure is a privilege," a phrase Djokovic often uses to express how dealing with high expectations is part of being at the top level in sports, or really anything. In 2021, when he unexceptionally lost the semi-final game at the Tokyo Olympics, he also acknowledged that this time, the pressure got to him more than he had hoped. He had the skills, talent, hard work, but the “inner game”, the mind was misaligned at that moment.

Research tells us that the main difference between the top 20 performers (this can be applied to any field, not just sports) is the mental game: resilience and adaptability. Knowing how to recover from a failed attempt and how to quickly adapt to a new situation proves to be the key predictors of high performance.

Psychological skills training, including goal-setting, visualization, reflection and relaxation techniques, has been found to enhance mental toughness and resilience. These skills help manage anxiety, motivation, and stable concentration, all of which are essential for peak performance.

☝️ Perseverance: See Mistakes as a Learning Opportunity

Djokovic has lost 38 finals in his professional tennis career, including losses in Grand Slam finals, ATP Tour finals, and other significant tournament finals. Just before this Olympic tournament, he lost the Wimbledon finale against the same opponent! He says “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently”.

We need non-judgmental awareness of our actions. Instead of being critical when things go wrong, staying calm and learning from the mistakes nurtures a growth mindset, which is also critical for perseverance.

What does Djokovic do when he loses a match? He reflects! He replays the match to analyze what went wrong. He studies his performance to identify mistakes, tactical errors, or moments where his mental focus may have wavered. By doing so, he gains insights into areas that need improvement and strategies that might work better in the future. This practice is not just about identifying weaknesses but also about recognizing what he did well, which can be reinforced in future matches.

👌 Excellence: Focus on the Process, not the Outcome

"It’s not just about winning or losing. It’s about the mindset you bring to every match, every point. True excellence is about how you handle yourself, how you face adversity, and how you keep striving to improve, no matter the outcome.” Djokovic on excellence.

Excellence is a natural byproduct of focusing on the process rather than the outcome. Many studies have shown that children praised for their hard work, rather than the achievement itself, do much better in the future. When effort is praised, children are more likely to seek out challenging tasks. They become less afraid of failure because they see it as part of the learning process. They learn that you are 100% responsible for your hard work and that’s what you have to focus on, while the outcome often depends on many factors you don’t control.

Instead of losing sleep over getting a promotion or scoring a certain percentile, focus on executing what you are doing with sincerity and dedication. Excellence will naturally follow from hard work, discipline, and meticulous execution.

📚 Book Recommendation: The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

This book is one of my favorite reads about leadership. It explains simply how your mental game is crucial for everything in life. Here are some insights:

Quiet the Inner Critic: Learn to silence your inner critic to improve performance. By reducing self-doubt and overthinking, you allow your natural abilities to shine. Trust your body and your instincts, don’t overthink!

Letting Go of Perfectionism: The idea that striving for perfection often creates tension and hinders performance; instead, embracing imperfection can lead to better results.

Focus on the Present: Concentrate on the present moment rather than fixating on the outcome. This helps you achieve a state of flow where your best performance emerges effortlessly. It can also help with overthinking.

The Power of Visualization: Use mental imagery to visualize successful performance. This can help reinforce positive habits and improve skills.

And if you are a parent and you want to nurture a growth mindset, read The Girl that Makes a Million Mistakes to your kids.

Remember, it's not about "not failing", it's about showing up the next day and building that failure into your future success!