Sportgipfel Tirol 2023: what can management learn from elite sport?
At the fifth Sportgipfel Tirol in St. Anton, I joined business leaders and elite athletes to discuss leadership for Puls24 4GameChangers.
On 20 January 2023, I took part in the fifth Sportgipfel Tirol in St. Anton am Arlberg, a leading forum connecting sport, business and society. Our central question was: “What can management learn from elite sport?”
Puls24 4GameChangers: sharing expertise on television
At 3 pm, we recorded a Puls24 4GameChangers programme, broadcast on 1 February 2023 at 6:55 pm. As one of six people in the discussion, I contributed my experiences as an ultratrail runner and entrepreneur.
The panel
- Florian Grasel: ultratrail runner and IT entrepreneur
- Ingeborg Freudenthaler: entrepreneur
- Bastian Kaltenböck: former ski jumper, now a winemaker
- Prof. Dr. Kurt Matzler: professor of strategy, innovation and leadership, and Race Across America finisher
- Patrick Ortlieb: 1992 Olympic champion, 1996 world champion, Austrian Ski Federation finance officer and businessman
Moderator: Martin Böckle
What we discussed
We agreed that elite athletes and senior managers have a great deal in common. People expect top performance from both.
As a leadership expert and Race Across America finisher, Prof. Matzler highlighted what managers can learn from sport about planning and strategy, self-management and discipline, psychological motivation techniques, and leading teams in difficult conditions.
Patrick Ortlieb brought the perspective of someone who has succeeded as both an elite athlete and an entrepreneur, making the practical parallels between those worlds clear.
My perspective: #lifeworktrailbalance
I live those connections every day through ultratrail running and running my company. The sport teaches me resilience, how to lead myself and a support team, and how to keep playing the infinite game without burning out.
The discussion reinforced my #lifeworktrailbalance philosophy: family, business and trail running strengthen one another.
St. Anton am Arlberg as the setting
The summit took place alongside the Arlberg Kandahar races and the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships. It was an ideal setting for an exchange between experienced people from sport and business.
Other programme highlights included press discussions with the Austrian Ski Federation and championship organisers, a live ORF Sport+ talk on sporting success at a young age, and a public lecture by Prof. Matzler.
Media coverage
The event attracted considerable attention in Austrian sport, including the Puls24 broadcast on 1 February 2023 at 6:55 pm, press coverage of the parallels between sport and management, and professional recognition of the leadership approaches discussed.
What I took away
Sportgipfel Tirol offered a valuable opportunity to connect elite sport and business. Talking with people such as Prof. Matzler and Patrick Ortlieb enriched my understanding and confirmed how much these fields can learn from each other.
The ideas from St. Anton continue to inform both my speaking and my leadership at work.
Further information:
Interested in a talk about the leadership connections between extreme sport and management? Get in touch with your speaking enquiry.
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The strategies and experiences in this article are part of my talks. I show how insights from ultra trail running can be applied to business and personal development.
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