On Episode Eighteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I’m joined by Adam Krikorian, a three-time Olympic champion, the head coach of the U.S. women’s national water polo team, and former head coach of the men’s and women’s water polo teams at UCLA. In this episode, Adam focuses on bringing out the best in others—in athletes and coaches, alike—and describes the process of achieving and sustaining performance excellence at the highest level of sport.
In short, winning is what Adam knows how to do. In his 17 years as a player and coach at UCLA, Adam won 15 national titles—11 as head coach, three as assistant coach, and one as a student-athlete. Now the head coach of the U.S. women’s national team, Adam led the team to gold at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic games. Since being named head coach in 2009, Team USA has earned gold in 19 of its last 22 major international competitions (Olympic Games, FINA World Championships, FINA World Cups, and FINA World League Super Final Crowns). This is a remarkable 86% winning record!
In this episode, our listeners will gain important insights into what it takes to build and lead a high trust, high performance team. They will see the wisdom of integrating a fierce competitive drive with humility and humor, and they will be inspired by Adam’s commitment to lifelong learning.
Adam and I explore the process of building and leading teams to achieve and sustain flow. Reflecting on his past experiences, Adam describes the role love plays in helping a team achieve flow. “When we are talking about a flow state in a team setting, you are adding so many layers and so many more dynamics to it. And I think the other thing that cannot be understated is if you want to try to get there, then there is so much love that has to be created within that group—there is so much unselfishness—that it’s going to be difficult to find that flow state within the team setting if there isn’t that love, respect, and trust that you have for one another. That’s what makes team sports incredibly special.”
We also discuss the importance of designing an environment to build a successful team. Adam highlights the value of consistency and discipline to create change and build team strength. “Pressure paralyzes. And when pressure is involved, bad habits blossom and they rear their ugly head. So, the environment we create in practice—and it can’t be like this every day—but we need to find moments in our training where the team feels the pressure and has to deal with adversity because adversity always appears. It always shows up.”
Purpose, people, and perspective are three key elements that help Adam navigate challenging and tedious times. Focusing on the larger “why” allows him to maintain focus. He says, “I need to go through all these baby steps: There is a reason to what we are doing. There is a purpose to what we are doing. The people that you are doing it with. Creating relationships through the journey…how important that is. Having the perspective. Knowing we are going through all of this—this monotonous stage—and that this is going to get us to this place. And it’s not always about winning. It’s about learning and growing. And understanding if you can have that perspective through the process, it can keep you dialed in and motivated.”
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