For the skipper competing in a major race like the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, as for the risk manager tasked with identifying and managing an organization's risks, performance relies not only on technical mastery or experience but also on stress management and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Julien Paccaud, who has been helping professional teams improve their performance for fifteen years by bridging the gap between elite sports and the corporate world, sheds light on this topic.
Can you describe your role as a trainer for risk managers?
As a trained osteopath and former French barefoot waterskiing champion, I've developed a performance management approach inspired by elite sports. Today, I work with corporate employees, demonstrating the parallels between their work and managing an athlete's career. A top athlete spends very little time competing: the majority of their time is dedicated to preparation and recovery, essential for sustained performance. In the corporate world, it's often the opposite: employees remain constantly in performance mode, to the detriment of preparation, recovery, and ultimately, their effectiveness.
Are there similarities between the mental workload of a skipper engaged in a major race and that of a risk manager?
Yes, we find commonalities in anticipation, projection, and modeling. Each must compile information and manage it urgently to define a strategy, whether it be a strategic trajectory or a corporate policy. Furthermore, each is alone in facing the decisions they must make and must manage the weight of responsibility. Indeed, even if the skipper has an entire logistics team behind them, it is they who make the final decision regarding their course. As for the risk manager, who works within a team, it is their responsibility to present their case to management.
What are the consequences of stress on decision-making ability?
Up to a certain point, stress can be a catalyst for short-term decision-making. But if stress becomes too intense, we lose access to our entire neurological cortex for long-term decision-making. It's therefore essential to step back and remain calm to access the parietofrontal cortex, which is the repository of emotions and allows us to project ourselves into the future and develop a strategy.
“We must learn to navigate through the unknown and discomfort.”
Skippers learn to accept that part of the environment is beyond their control. Can this approach inspire risk managers?
Yes, absolutely! I think that initially, a risk manager wants to cover everything, anticipate everything, and be 100% convincing, but with maturity, they'll have to learn to let go a little more. It's a valuable quality to be able to recognize that you can't control everything and that natural forces are stronger than you. You have to learn to navigate through the unknown and discomfort. In fact, during my sessions, I have participants walk on nails to push them out of their comfort zone and teach them to observe physical discomfort, their fears, anxieties, or resistance, and to let go in order to overcome this challenge.
In offshore racing, preparation accounts for a large part of the final performance. Is this also true for risk managers?
During training, the skipper practices scenarios to develop reflexes, establish protocols, and prepare checklists that will be useful in case of incidents, allowing him to set sail with peace of mind. The same applies to the risk manager; he shouldn't wait until a stressful period to implement a prevention strategy, but rather prepare through regular routines.
“We need to take breaks to refocus.”
What rituals or methods do you recommend for preparing her for periods of high tension?
He must be able to mobilize all his strength and attention when needed and know how to step out of this state of hypervigilance, a state that produces adrenaline and cortisol and prevents sleep. To do this, he must know how to activate the sympathetic nervous system (which accelerates the heart rate and stimulates metabolism) and the parasympathetic nervous system (which slows the heart rate and promotes recovery, regeneration, digestion, and rest), and how to switch between them. To activate the latter, it is essential to create distance through breathing exercises, to take breaks, and to engage in other activities to recover. Many people feel guilty about these rest periods, but to perform well, it is necessary to take breaks to be ready when the time comes. The risk manager also benefits greatly from cultivating his curiosity daily and expanding his comfort zone by trying new things and allowing himself to be surprised in order to increase his adaptability and acceptance of discomfort and the unknown. Finally, it is imperative to cultivate a positive mindset on a daily basis and to have self-confidence, because there is no
Doubt arises when one is focused on performance.
What are your tips for preserving energy in the long term?
To be efficient, creative, and able to find solutions to a given problem, the brain and muscles need all the fuel necessary for their proper functioning: hydration, oxygen, sugar, and the balance of movement and sleep. If these physiological needs are not met, the brain cannot function normally and calmly. This may be manageable for a few weeks or months, but eventually, an energy crisis and burnout will occur because the fatigue has become too intense.
What lessons from the world of elite sports could be applied to the business world?
I'm thinking about resilience, which is the ability to let go of the past and focus on the present. If a risk manager still has half their brain occupied with a project they couldn't finish on time, or if they're dwelling on a bad relationship with their manager, they won't be able to perform effectively. Elite athletes have a high level of resilience, and I think the business world can learn from that.
Article presented by AMRAE