I joined the millions of tennis fans a couple of weeks ago who enjoyed the Wimbledon Championships. I saw a lot of great tennis, some surprises and some heartbreaks. As usual, there was much speculation about who would end up in the Men’s and Women’s finals. When it was clear that Venus and Serena Williams would compete on the women’s side and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer would compete on the men’s side, the commentary reached a fever pitch which didn’t end until the matches were over. Aside from the fantastic tennis in both matches, I was struck by the leadership qualities that were displayed by each of these ‘final four’ and the lessons that we can learn from them.

 Most of us could never imagine competing head to head with a sibling for a job or promotion, yet that is exactly the position that the Williams sisters found themselves in. Having to separate the job from the friendship is one of the hardest things to do in business, particularly if you are in a leadership position.  We can use the same technique as the Williams’ did. They handled this dilemma by accepting no less than excellence in each other as it pertained to the job of tennis while honoring and preserving their family connection. On the court, Venus Williams was totally focused on winning each point. But when the match was over, she put her ‘big sister’ hat back on. She down played her normal exuberance at winning in deference to the fact that it wasn’t just any opponent that she had defeated. 

 On the men’s side, there was a challenge of a different sort. Both Federer and Nadal are at the top of their profession. They are ranked numbers one and two in the world. While they are both strong players, they have different strengths. Federer seemed to be able to get points by serving an ace whenever he needed it while Nadal was able to make shots that would be impossible for a lesser player.  What is typically a two to three hour match went on for almost five hours. During those five hours, the match was suspended twice due to rain. At one point it seemed that they would have to stop and pick up the next day due to the fading light. Yet each time the tarps came off, these two players picked up the game as if it were the beginning of the match.

The take-away I got from them was to stay motivated, stay focused and keep your eyes on your goals. During the second rain delay, Nadal’s hopes of winning seemed to be fading. In the locker room his coach said to him ‘You’re in a worse position now than you were before but just keep playing each point to win’. What wonderful advice! Don’t give up until the game ends. You never know when it could turn your way. Nadal went on to win the match becoming the first Spaniard in forty years to be a Wimbledon champion.

 Focusing on job excellence and keeping your eye on the goal are two vital lessons that can be applied to every career and every position.