The Summer Olympics kick off today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I attended the U.S. Olympic Trials for Track and Field in Eugene, Oregon, during the first week of July. I witnessed Alysia Montaño's devastating trip and fall during the women's 800-meter final--an upset made even more dramatic as her calls for doping regulation reform were still unanswered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The longer Olympic officials ignored the scandal, the longer the Olympics risked its esteemed culture as the most revered sporting association in the world.
At the 2012 Olympics, Montaño finished fifth in the 800-meters. She placed behind two women from the Russian track team, which was subsequently found guilty of performance-enhancing drug use. Had the IOC taken the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) recommendation to retroactively disqualify the offenders, Montaño would have been awarded the bronze medal. In fact, The New York Times is calling the fallout between these global sports officials a "rare show of discord," "further fueling controversy that has threatened to overshadow the start of the Rio Games this week."
In a piece in Time magazine, journalist Simon Shuster tours Moscow's anti-doping laboratory and notes the general acknowledgement that "the trust has been shattered."
"On the advice of WADA, Russia may even need to hire a foreigner to lead its anti-doping laboratory, a move that Dikunets, the lab's acting director, says she would welcome. 'That might restore trust in us,' she says in a sad voice. 'It will show that we're open and clean.' But whether it will restore faith in the world of international sport is an open question, and the answer is not likely to come before the Games in Rio commence." --Time
As a former track and field Olympian and freshly appointed President of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Sebastian Coe has had a huge undertaking leading into the Rio Olympics. After the IAAF has been found with years of unchecked doping scandals, will Coe be able to lead the charge to increase transparency and rebuild trust of the IAAF and the IOC? As ESPN reported in January, the "Olympic sport governance remains a club whose members prefer to patch holes in the system than embark on a full gut and remodel."
The IOC isn't a standard corporate setting. It is, however, a huge international nonprofit with many of the same cultural considerations that large corporations and organizations grapple with--particularly the need to balance the requirements and expectations of a complex group of stakeholders. This can include everything from boards, shareholders, and governmental agencies, to employees, consumers, community members, and interested media. Add in the fact that these stakeholders interact between different countries around the world, and the question of culture becomes even more complicated and far-reaching. How do you maintain a strong culture in complex environments where those involved are so varied, and input sources are global?
It helps to define culture--what is it? An organization's culture includes highly visible items that represent it, values its stakeholders can articulate, and assumptions that are so ingrained that members of the organization can take action without much thought. It is important that organizations create a culture where everyone invested is aligned in what they see, say, and do. In the case of the IOC, there was misalignment--it said one thing and did another. Culture is hard for organizations to define exactly, but the IOC must paint a clear picture of its own in order to address the current crisis.
We can learn a few lessons from the IOC and the Olympic doping scandal on how to be on top of company culture.
1.Keep your culture aligned to an organizational mission
The IOC stands for excellence in sports at the highest level. By hesitating too long to address cheating and not protecting the integrity of the Olympic Games, the IOC let a problem fester and attract greater and greater scrutiny from governments, athletes, the media, and fans. The culture drifted away from focusing on competition at its best and, as a result, from a brand that represents excellence. No matter how complex your stakeholders, keeping your organization's actions aligned with its mission protects all of those invested, and a trusted brand.
2.Culture isn't just a word, it has tangible effects
Montaño--who was affected by the culture and inaction of the IOC--is a 30-year-old runner. She has only so much time in her career to compete at this level, and thanks to the cheating that's been unearthed, knows that she already lost out on prize money, performance bonuses, sponsorships, and the opportunity to represent her country in front of fans watching live in the stadium and on TV throughout the world. And, now, she still can't tell her daughter that cheaters aren't winners. These are all quantifiable and observable negative outcomes. It is always important to remember that beneath an organization's culture are individuals who are the engine of that organization's success. Culture affects individuals'--and your organization's--ability to soar or miss opportunities.
3.Be in touch with what's happening "on the ground"
Leaders don't always have a grasp of what's happening "on the ground," but they know they need to stay on top of culture or risk real problems. There are many ways to tackle this challenge before serious problems arise--from 360 reviews and building accountability into day-to-day operations, to making surveys on key data publicly available and inviting outsiders to audit processes and provide fresh perspectives. The important takeaway is to remember that there are multiple players who are vested in creating the best organization possible with a brand that the world can trust. Use them to your advantage. Don't let wrongs go so far down a path that it becomes painful to walk them backward. In the case of Montaño, she had been speaking critically for a while and was an important stakeholder for the IOC, one among many who wanted to believe and trust in the IOC.
By the end of the Games, we are likely to be focused on wonderful triumphs and successes on many levels--from the athlete's achievements to the host country's welcome and a global camaraderie that is unique to the Olympics and international sport. But it won't be long before the next Games are about to begin and the world will be wondering if we've learned our lessons yet.