Stephen Harper’s Olympic Moment: Visible Leadership At Its Best

Didn’t Stephen Harper look genuinely happy while he was being interviewed by Brian Williams inside CTV’s Olympic studio last week? It was a glimpse into the softer side of our otherwise stony-faced PM; he could not keep the grin off of his face.

No kidding. And why not?

What a dream scenario for our prime minister: a genuine sports enthusiast gets the best seats in the house to watch our hard-working, hearts-on-their-sleeves athletes win top-of-the-podium time and time again, a feat which culminates in the most gold medals ever won at a Winter Games.

If Stephen Harper was still thinking about prorogation, the economy, the budget, Parliament, Michael Ignatieff and all of the other headaches during his time at the Olympics, the rest of the country was not. In fact, no amount of planning, public relations strategies or crystal balls could’ve delivered this kind of feel-good profile for Canada, or for Mr. Harper.

And until Parliament resumed on Wednesday, our PM was riding the warm-and-fuzzy coattails of an incredibly successful Olympics.

We all know that sometimes great leadership is a result of nothing more than timing and luck – both of which Mr. Harper had in spades last week. But he also scores points for me because of how well he seized the opportunities that were in front of him in Vancouver.

You can’t deny that his was a brilliant case of visible leadership at our Olympics: there was our prime minister, at every opportunity, on his feet, in the stands, cheering on our athletes. Like the rest of us watching at home, he seemed to live and die with every goal, split-second timing result and judging score. He reacted like we did, and in the process, became more approachable and real to Canadians.

(Can we also not appreciate how he looked a bit bored sitting with all of the stuffed shirts during the closing ceremonies, because he’d really rather be watching another round of Olympic hockey?)

No doubt Harper’s image of “Fan in Chief” was helped along by a very PM-friendly media at CTV. But try as you might, you can’t fake that kind of enthusiasm. This was more than just putting in face time. This was a case of our prime minister putting himself out there, showing his genuine interest for his country and for our athletes. He also gets points for delivering key messages about Canada in 2010: we’re confident and strong, and ready for some long-overdue rah-rah about ourselves.

To me, that kind of image for Canada, and that kind of visible leadership from our Prime Minister, is above the line.
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And on that Note, A Final Word on the Olympics…

On February 1st, we gathered the 2009 winners of our Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures program, along with the program’s inaugural Hall of Fame inductees, for our annual awards gala.

At that time, we were 11 days away from the start of the Olympics. In my remarks to the audience, I reflected on the ambitious goals of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), of the federal government and of our athletes to “Own the Podium” and to win the medal count. I lauded the COC for having the courage to invest in the best athletes and coaches and to, in effect, create a culture of winning.

And then the Games began and there were plenty of naysayers…many from inside our own borders.

In an opening week mired by the tragic death of an athlete, and followed with other more trivial headaches like bad weather, a PR nightmare (due to a poorly placed, fenced-in-like-a-prison Olympic cauldron), useless "green" ice-cleaning machines at the Richmond Olympic Oval and less-than-stellar podium results, the criticisms started flying.

It did not look good.

Chris Rudge, CEO of the COC, had to face the pessimism head-on, conceding half-way through the games that “Owning the Podium” wouldn’t happen as planned. The media jumped on Rudge’s message (with a discouraging amount of glee and “I told you so”).

The challenge for leaders in times like these is to keep focused on objectives. To stay the course. And to overcome adversity.

Own the Podium is about creating a culture of winning. It’s about developing a class of athlete who shoots for gold, even if it means losing the bronze.

And for all of its criticism, that’s exactly what Own the Podium has accomplished – the program has created a new generation of athlete who wants only to be the best. Leaders know that building this kind of mindset, this kind of winning culture, is critical – not only to the health of an organization, but to its fundamental success.

We witnessed, for the first time, our athletes apologizing to Canadians for not medalling; crying tears of disappointment. And Canadian pride grew, as did our resolve. During these moments, our athletes and Canadians everywhere became united as a nation of people who wanted – and even expected – to win.

We hosted the world last month, and we walked away armed with 26 medals – 14 of them gold. More importantly, we walked away armed with confidence, belief and pride in our country. And perhaps Mr. Rudge, Own the Podium, the Federal Government and our Canadian athletes have shown all of us that when we have a vision that includes creating a culture of winning, we can achieve great things.

An above-the-line moment, if there ever was one.

SIDE NOTE: The government announced in Thursday’s budget that it will double funds for Own the Podium from $11 million to $22 million.