Debbie Laskey's Blog: OLYMPICS LEADERSHIP SERIES

With the eyes of the world on Paris, France, for the 33rd Olympiad, which events are you looking forward to? Do you know that the surfing competition will take place 9,770 miles away from Paris in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, an island in French Polynesia? In the spirit of previous leadership series here on my blog, I've asked 17 leadership and marketing experts to respond to five questions with the hope that both the questions and answers lead you to think about the Olympics in new and interesting ways.

For today's post, I'd like to introduce Rebecca Herold, based in Des Moines, Iowa. With over 30 years of IT, security, and privacy experience, Rebecca is the founder of The Privacy Professor Consultancy (2004) and of Privacy & Security Brainiacs SaaS services (2021). She has authored 22 published books so far, and co-authored NIST catalogs NISTIR 7628, NISTIR 8259, SP 800-213, NISTIR 8425 and TN 2066. She has served as an expert witness for cases covering HIPAA, criminals using IoT devices, social engineering, stolen personal data of retirement housing residents, and tracking app users with Meta Pixels. Rebecca hosts Data Security & Privacy with the Privacy Professor, and since early 2018, she has hosted the Voice America podcast/radio show, Data Security & Privacy with the Privacy Professor.

Before we begin, here are my two favorite quotes about the Olympics:

"In baseball and in business, there are three types of people. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened." ~Tommy Lasorda (Team USA Baseball Manager in 1984 and Olympic gold medalist)

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does — that makes you a winner right there." ~Venus Williams (Team USA Tennis, 4-time Olympic gold medalist)

QUESTION: What Olympic MOMENT do you most vividly recall, and why?

REBECCA HEROLD: It wasn't a single moment in time, but a moment that would have impacted most, perhaps, all other athletes in the same event where this outstanding athlete went on to win the gold medal.

I always loved watching the diving competition. All heights and types. And when the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, arrived, I was really looking forward to watching the amazing Greg Louganis. His commitment to practicing to perfection was demonstrated in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when he won gold in the springboard and platform diving events. I watched him in events between 1984 and 1988, always in awe of his perfection and beautiful form.

Then, in a qualifying event for the springboard competition at the 1988 Olympics, he hit the back of his head doing a dive with multiple backwards somersaults. His head was bleeding. A doctor quickly gave him stitches, and he continued when it was again his turn. Even with that disastrous first dive, he finished third in the qualifying round and returned the next day to win the gold medal. And then he went on to win another gold medal in the platform diving event!

QUESTION: What Olympic MOMENT OR EVENT stands out due to EITHER a lack of OR evidence of LEADERSHIP?

REBECCA HEROLD: I want to continue with the moment I most vividly recall with Greg Louganis' hitting his head.

This incident has created a wide range of opinions over the years. The Olympic doctor treated Greg Louganis very quickly, allowing him to continue the competition that ultimately led to two gold medals. Louganis had trained enough to be able to put the injury out of his focus after what must have been a very shocking, unexpected injury. However, not only that, but at the time, unbeknownst to anyone other than Louganis and possibly his coach, Louganis was HIV positive. At the time, being HIV positive was a death sentence. Fears ran rampant about how contagious the disease was, with many being very cruel to those who tested HIV positive.

Having his head split open must have weighed very heavily on Louganis' mind, with fears about blood spreading the disease. Today, we know that this is a treatable virus. In 1988, however, this type of revelation at the Olympics would have caused significant issues, concerns, anger, and possibly even put Louganis in physical danger. Public hysteria resulting from the lack of knowledge about the disease, and with no treatment at all back in 1988 resulting in many deaths from HIV, could have possibly derailed the entire Olympics.

From what I've read and seen discussed over the years about this situation, and seeing and reading thoughts about this from Louganis himself, it turns out that he had discussed the risks with his own doctor before deciding to enter the competition. Also, it seems that studies had shown that the virus is inactivated by chlorine, so spreading the virus through the pool was virtually impossible. And there had been no known spread via infected blood on someone else's skin at that time.

I believe Louganis' decision to continue in the competition did show leadership; when he used his knowledge about the disease and medical facts about the odds of spreading the disease following the accident with what he also knew to possibly have caused the Olympics to be disrupted and possibly cancelled. If you lived during that time period, you probably recall some of the hysteria from the risks of the unknown that were happening. Making that hard decision, with that horrible weight in his mind while he was competing must have been very, very stressful. I believe he made the decision more to keep the entire Olympics from being disrupted, than from being selfish and simply pursuing his own individual goals. This is what I believe was a wise leadership decision, when he likely knew he would face criticism and threats from many when they ultimately found out. I anticipate the other Olympic athletes, as least most of them, were probably grateful he made the decision he did, given the likely disruptive circumstances that would have occurred otherwise.

Ultimately the doctor who treated him reportedly said he did not know Louganis was HIV positive, but that he probably would have acted the same if he did, since he knew the risks were almost non-existent. The doctor has reportedly tested negative for HIV throughout the years since that time. Others at the time probably would have disagreed that Louganis made a good decision; many who found out years later even after the facts about HIV were more widely known still harshly criticized Louganis for continuing on in the competition, or even participating at all, and for not telling the public about being HIV positive after the injury.

This is a fact about determining what is good and bad leadership; it can be a very objective opinion in many cases. And in this situation, it certainly does demonstrate that as more knowledge is obtained about factors that existed within situations where decisions were made long ago, opinions as to what was a right or wrong decision, and what was good or bad leadership, may change. Or, they may not.

QUESTION: What Olympic SPORT demonstrates effective and/or inspirational leadership?

REBECCA HEROLD: I anticipate that many would answer this question with a team sport, such as, basketball, hockey, etc. And certainly the leadership of the coaches is a major factor for whether teams win or lose. However, I've always been amazed by the weightlifters. One of my sons and another family member lift weights, not professionally, but still with some impressive results. But in the Olympics, the amount of weights lifted astounds me! I've learned from my son, who follows the Olympics weightlifters, that they greatly depend on their coaches, to help them with techniques, which is absolutely necessary to avoid injury and achieve winning weight amounts. In addition to techniques, is the training, which is very important. Not only for how much training is necessary to build muscle, but also for the coach to keep the athlete's motivation high, and to continuously provide the guidance, encouragement, and suggestions for improvement, constantly keeping the athlete motivated to improve.

QUESTION: What is an important BUSINESS LESSON we can learn from the Olympics?

REBECCA HEROLD: It takes planning, practice, setting goals, and dedication for an athlete to win a medal. Athletes cannot simply decide that they are going to compete in a sport for which they have done no practicing, preparation or planning, then try out the next day (or even in a month, or one year) and win the gold, or even place at all. Business success also requires planning ahead, practicing necessary key skills, setting goals, and being dedicated to staying the course.

Debbie Laskey's Blog

Saturday, August 3, 2024

OLYMPICS LEADERSHIP SERIES – Featuring Rebecca Herold

SHARE THIS: Business success (similar to success at the Olympics) requires planning ahead, practicing necessary key skills, setting goals, and being dedicated to staying the course. ~@PrivacyProf #OlympicsLeadershipSeries #DebbieLaskeysBlog

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