Culture of Growth Pods － Olympic Edition
Culture of Growth Pods － Olympic Edition
What it takes to nurture champions and why third place feels so good
Hello Culture Creators,
Last week I shared my big Olympic moment: traveling across Canada as part of the Art of Women’s Leadership tour, building a new Culture of Growth pod with my tourmates and connecting with Christine, my O.G. Culture of Growth pod partner.
This week, I want to talk about the real Olympics.
If you’re watching the Olympics, as I have been, through the Growth Mindset Culture lens, you will see that…
Every Olympic Story is a Culture of Growth Pods Story
The question is which pods are the ones where people feel most supported, fulfilled, and drive success—both personally and collectively?
Let’s start with the USA Men’s Gymnastics Team. As you probably know, they won bronze 🥉 in the team all-around competition.
By the way, before we get to the Cultures of Growth story here, did you know that research shows that bronze medal winners appear happier and more satisfied with their performance than do silver medal winners?
That certainly seemed to be the case as we watched the medal ceremony and celebrations at the men’s gymnastics all-around competition.
This USA team was all smiles and fist pumps. Why is that?
After all, it’s clear in sports competitions like the Olympics that the gold medalists win the competition—they turned in the best performance; the silver medalists turned in a slightly lower achievement; and the bronze medalists achieved the lowest achievement of the three.
One might then expect that their happiness would follow with the gold medalist being happiest, followed by the silver medalists, and then the bronze.
But that’s not the case at all. It seems to come down to social comparison, counterfactual thinking, and how we think about the success of others vis-à-vis our own—one of the four primary mindset triggers that we know moves people along the mindset continuum, between their fixed and growth mindset.
In now classic studies conducted by social psychologists Victoria Medvec, Thomas Gilovich, and Scott Madey, they found that both immediately at the end of an event and when the athletes are standing on the podium during the medal ceremony, those who finish with a bronze medal look significantly happier than those who won silver. The third-place finishers have bigger and more genuine smiles and they appear prouder and more excited about their win. Why?
Because research shows that our actual achievements matter less than how we subjectively perceive those achievements.
In the case of third-place winners, it comes down to how we think about our successes and what might have been. The bronze team’s counterfactual is not being on the podium at all. They are feeling spectacular because the alternative is that they miss the mark and don’t become medalists at all.
For silver medalists, it’s more complicated. Their counterfactual experience is that they could have won gold—and in many cases they just missed it by seconds or tenths of a point. Now, they have to settle for something less.
Just look at the joy on that third-place team’s faces. Bronze never felt so good!
Ok, now back to the USA Men’s Gymnastics team.
The men’s team is a blend of seasoned veterans and rising stars, each with a compelling story of perseverance and triumph, supported by their own Culture of Growth pod—often consisting of their family, friends, and coaches.
Paul Juda is known for his impressive skills on the parallel bars and high bar but he faced significant setbacks due to a severe elbow injury in his early career, which put his Olympic dreams in jeopardy. Paul’s recovery was long and arduous and his family was crucial in providing both emotional and financial support, while his coach, Josh Wyngaard, meticulously designed a rehabilitation program that allowed him to regain his strength without compromising his progress.
Asher Hong is the youngest gymnast on the team. He’s been challenged by the transition from junior to senior levels, which involves a steep learning curve, but his family’s encouragement helped him persist while his coach, Danell Leyva, created a personalized training program that helped Asher adjust to the increased demands of elite gymnastics.
Brody Malone’s path to the Olympics is marked by a fierce determination to overcome the challenges of training in a relatively small gymnastics community. He faced tough competition and financial constraints but with the support of his family, who made sacrifices to fund his training and travel, and his coach Justin Spring, who helped him hone his skills and guided him through the competitive landscape, he rose to success.
Fred Richard is renowned for his talent on the rings however his challenge required him to break through in a sport dominated by gymnasts from much more established gymnastics programs. His family made considerable sacrifices, including moving closer to training facilities and working multiple jobs to support his career. And his coach, Travis Davidson, played a key role in developing Fred’s unique strengths and navigating the competitive landscape.
Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse specialist, navigated the pressures of making the significant transition from collegiate to elite gymnastics and decided to specialize in the pommel horse after experiencing the challenges of adjusting to the higher levels of competition. Stephen’s family’s unwavering belief in his potential helped him stay motivated despite the challenges and his coach, Tim Daggett, provided guidance and tailored training to help him adapt.
Each team member was surrounded by a Culture of Growth that made their path to Paris possible.
AND…
Together, these men built a Culture of Growth around them.
How did they do it? As one of the veterans, Paul took on a mentorship role, helping his younger teammates with their routines and providing strategic advice. Asher’s enthusiasm, fresh perspective, and willingness to learn from more experienced teammates created a growth-oriented and collaborative environment. Brody’s dedication and leadership were pivotal as he shared his experiences and strategies to foster a supportive and cohesive team environment. Fred’s focus and discipline set the bar and his advice on mental focus and technical precision inspired the team as he scored the highest for the team in his event. And while the expertise that Stephen had developed over the years was critical, he spent competition day cheering on his teammates, getting them water, giving them feedback, and offering encouragement, which strengthened team morale (while also becoming a meme in his Clark Kent glasses waiting to transform for his event).
The victory was sweeter because they’d worked together so well as a team.
Just look at their joy when they realized they’d done what they came to do and, together, broke the 16-year medal drought for Team USA.
There are so many more Cultures of Growth stories to highlight but let me briefly share two more.
Another athlete who blew me away was Zhiying 'Tania' Zeng who made her Olympics debut at this year’s 2024 Paris Olympics. Hers is an incredible journey of growth and perseverance that illustrates the power of Cultures of Growth pods.
Born in China, at age 18, she expected to go to the Olympics for her birth country, as one of the best table tennis players in the world.
But then the game changed. In 1986, the “two color rule” was introduced, meaning that each side of the paddle had to be different colors now (instead of both black).
This thew off Zeng’s game because, as she explained, the two faces of the paddle produce different types of effects when they come into contact with the ball, and she would regularly rotate the paddle in her hand to confuse her opponents during play. Now, because of the different colored faces, her opponents could better predict her shots and Zeng didn’t make the Olympic team, retiring at age 20.
Yet, her love of the game persisted. Shortly after retirement, Zeng moved to Chile and coached various table tennis teams—creating a Culture of Growth pod for her students to support their skill development.
In 2000, she decided to get a “real job” and she stepped away from the game.
For 20 years, she didn’t play.
Then, during COVID, she bought a table and started playing again. She made it a goal to make the 2024 Olympics representing Chile. And, at age 58, she did it.
Zeng’s is a story of Cultures of Growth within Cultures of Growth.
By fostering a collaborative training environment, finding ways to be resilient and adapt to change, being willing to become both the teacher and the student, and learning from setbacks, Zeng created an atmosphere that supported her students—and her own—personal development.
She showed that it’s never too late to dedicate yourself to your goals and to go for them, no matter how improbable. Her willingness to be a beginner again allowed her to achieve her goal of competing at the highest levels.
And finally, let’s celebrate the Culture of Growth we witnessed at the final women’s gymnastics event of the Olympics. In a history-making sweep, Rebecca Andrade, Simone Biles, and Jordan Chiles composed the first all-Black gymnastics podium. Fierce competitors in their events, these women supported and cheered each other on as they—at the same time—competed against each other.
Instead of being demotivated or falling into the ultra-competitive zero-sum mentality of the fixed mindset, they found inspiration in each other’s successes.
And, when they all found themselves atop the podium, the Americans bowed down to the Brazilian gold medalist who they have watched and competed against for years.
Each one had their own Culture of Growth that made their success possible. Andrade is a national treasure for Brazil who overcame poverty and three ACL knee injuries. Now, thanks to her family and her coaches’ support, she’s her country’s most decorated Olympic athlete with six medals. Chiles’s coaches had her back—appealing her score and questioning whether the judges had given her appropriate credit for a skill in her routine. The score change took her from 5th to 3rd—earning Chiles her first individual Olympic medal. And of course, Biles, who has been sharing her story of strength and dedication to growth and development—both mental and physical—despite so many personal and professional odds with the support of her family and her coaches, earned her 11th medal—the most won by any U.S. gymnast in what is likely to be her final Olympic Games.
Together these women have been dedicated to building a new Culture of Growth for their sport.
No longer hampered by an infamous fixed-minded culture in which everyone is out for themselves; where interpersonal jealousy and back-biting are rampant.
These women have been developing respect and building their relationships over years of competition. They motivate each other and they acknowledge how the growth and development of one makes the others rise to the occasion and improve as well. They celebrate each other’s wins, and they support each other when they fall short.
Together, they knew that this moment on the podium was bigger than any one of them individually. It was a Culture of Growth moment for the sport of women’s gymnastics—both because the sport has never seen 3 black women gymnasts atop an Olympics podium when the sport has been historically dominated by white athletes, and for the tone of sportsmanship, inspiration, and genuine joy in each other’s success, these women set the tone for what is possible for individuals and their sport going forward.
As we wrap up the Olympics this week, let’s acknowledge our own Cultures of Growth pods. These are the people:
Who’ve Created a Collaborative Environment
Who’ve Helped Us Embrace Innovation and Adaptability
Who’ve Attended to Sustainability by Focusing on our Mental and Physical Well-being
Who’ve Provided Peer Support and Commitment to Collective Improvement
Who’ve Helped Us Learn from Challenges and Setbacks
And let’s recommit to creating and building Culture of Growth pods for others.
We may not all be competing at the level of these elite athletes, but in our own ways, this is how we all achieve greatness in our lives.
I’m wishing you all the joy of a third-place finish,
Mary
This is fascinating, and what a moment of synchronicity -- for a week or so now, I've been pondering the idea of mastermind groups (though I much prefer the term "pod," thank you for introducing me to it!). I don't know that I have a distinct culture of growth pod, myself. It's more that I have pod pieces, or paid pods (life coaching I subscribe to). How do I create my own pod?