This week's Leading with Character blog is, "Consistency is Key to Success," and we'll learn a little bit about what it takes to succeed from a US Coast Guard Academy cadet, junior Nic Reeser.
Last fall, Cadet Reeser won the 2023 Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s Singlehanded National Championship. He didn’t just win – he killed it by coming in 11 points ahead of the next closest competitor. Unlike the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), there is no Division I, II, or III in intercollegiate sailing, governed by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). Every college and university that supports a sailing team competes in the same category. That means the smallest school—the 1,000-person Coast Guard Academy—must go up against all the big schools like Yale, Georgetown, Brown, Tulane, Stanford, Dartmouth, and many more.
Attributes of a Winner
So, what does it take to win at that level? Asked what matters most in a regatta, many sailors might justifiably point to tactical skills. Surely those are critically important. But it’s often not the most talented athlete who wins the competition, or the smartest student who achieves the greatest career success—especially when measured over a lifetime. What, then, is the key to success—on the racecourse and, by extrapolation, in the workplace? To find out, let’s turn to an interview in the February/March issue of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association’s publication, The Bulletin.
The Power of Consistency
According to Cadet Reeser, speaking about competing for the Singlehanded National Championship, “Winning in this fleet is all about consistency. I didn’t win a single race at the Nationals qualifiers this year. I was aiming to be sixth or seventh at every weather mark…I had to make sure there was no big risk-taking or critical failures.” For context, intercollegiate sailing regattas consist of many races over the course of a day or more—up to 14 in the case of the singlehanded championships.
Unlike most other sports, sailing is intensely subject to the forces of nature. Every racecourse and every race is different. Wind, currents, sea state, the waterway, the shape of the racecourse – all those factors and more can be ever-changing. That’s part of what makes it important for the competitors to be consistent. It’s a lot like life, isn’t it? Life’s not just a 100-yard dash that you win or lose. Rather, life is more like sailing with a series of races that are averaged at the conclusion of the regatta. Being consistent can lead to greater success at work and in life over the longer term.
Please click the link below to find out more about what Cadet Reeser thinks it takes to succeed and win.
https://lnkd.in/eyNXfRAM
Vice President, PGA of America
1moAmen brother! I hope to be one soon!