On an unusually warm and sunny April evening, we brought together members of our Women in Aviation and Women in Maritime groups in our recently launched Design Lab to attend an evening with two-time GB World Champion and Team GB Olympic silver medallist rower, Annie Vernon. In addition to these incredible achievements, Annie is also a motivational speaker and the author of Mind Games, which explores the psychology of elite athletes and won The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2020 for General Outstanding Sports Writing.

At first blush, one might ask what working in the shipping and aviation industries has to do with rowing. The answer? Whether operating in the field of elite sport or in a work environment, teamwork is absolutely key; no one understands this better than Annie. During the evening, Annie shared her experiences of aiming for gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after the team had secured three back to back world titles, only for the team ultimately to take silver; this taught the team how to learn from disappointment, and we were very lucky to hear Annie share with us what she has learned through her experience.

What is the role of a role model?

The key message on role models is to always be authentic to yourself. Role models are important and necessary in life, but try not to turn you into something you are not. When Annie first joined her rowing team she was surrounded by role models, and she tried to put everything she observed in her peers into her own performance, only to realise this meant she was trying to be someone else. While role models can give you ideas and information about how to be successful and what success can look like, it does not mean you should try to be someone you are not. Take what you can learn from your role models and adapt it to you so you can be all you can be and bring your best to the team; everyone has something different to offer.

Failure is not a bad thing

Do not fear failure; it can represent the perfect time to clear the air and focus on the fundamentals of what makes a team work. In this sense, all teams can use low-key, managed failures as an opportunity to learn and to show you what you need to focus on.

Don’t look back (too much)

During preparations for the 2008 Olympics, Annie and the team focused on previous wins and what worked well before. Annie thinks the key to a team’s success is not to look backwards, but to look forward, push onto new ground. This doesn’t mean ignoring the successes of the past, but embracing change and sometimes repackaging the fundamentals for what will work now.

A team does not always need to sing from the same song sheet

Annie explained how a culture of challenge can be intrinsic to a team’s success. This does not mean arguing and falling out all the time, but fostering an open environment where people feel they are able to express differing views, that they will be listened to, and that those views will be respected. Just as everyone has different strengths to bring to a team, so, too, will their opinions differ.

Listening to Annie talk about her experiences as an Olympic athlete was inspiring for all of us on so many levels. Not just about self-awareness and what you can bring to the team as an individual, but how you can learn from each other, looking forwards and challenging each other along the way to try new things and not to be afraid of failure. On this note, it brings to mind one of the key messages Annie left us with that evening – “if you win, you didn’t do everything right, and if you lose, you didn’t do everything wrong”. Inspiring words indeed, and something we can all take with us and apply to our professional and personal lives, even if there isn’t an Olympic medal waiting for us on the other side of the journey.