Choose your battles and look after yourself

What leadership looks like according to Olympians Lord Seb Coe and Jonathan Edwards

Last week, Lord Seb Coe delivered our Annual Lecture where he was joined by fellow Olympian Jonathan Edwards for a revealing Q&A session. Here are two insights on leadership taken from exclusive interviews with both by our editor, Elen Lewis.

Three leadership qualities according to Lord Seb Coe:

1. Trusting your instincts.
2. Know when a battle is small enough to win and big enough to matter.
3. Creating an environment where people flourish, protecting their ability to do the best work of their lives.

Jonathan Edwards on business lessons from sport

Athletes’ attention to detail is ruthless and this focus on preparation is very applicable to business. For example, it’s very rare that a CEO of a company or a world leader would simply focus on being the best they could be before an important event. It’s about being fully prepared and rested, about looking after yourself. For example, an athlete would never consider turning up for a sporting event straight from a red eye flight after a week of gruelling meetings.

The video of Seb's Lecture is now available in the cinema, watch Jonathan's interview with our Editor for an insight into what motivates this Olympic medal-winning athlete.