Everything you need to know about leadership you can learn from Elvis Stojko's training regimen

One of the most interesting and unusual interviews I completed for my recently published book, The Seven Strategies of Master Leaders: Featuring Key Insights from 32 of Canada's Top Leaders, was with Elvis Stojko. Why Elvis? He is one of the most accomplished figure skaters in the world, and one of the things that got him there was working with two coaches instead of one.

Coaching is a formal process, which typically has clearly defined goals. The coach may be paid either by the individual or by the organization. Coaching usually focuses on a specific skill, such as a presentations coach, or on integrating several skills. In her book Coached to Lead, Susan Battley states: "Coaching helps the best get better. At championship levels, even small incremental gains in performance can have a profound effect on the result, often being the difference between winner and runner-up, between capturing the gold medal or the bronze."

Research from the Centre of Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C., says that 35% of leaders "derail." At some point their careers come off the tracks. This can result in a person being fired, demoted, or put into a position where his or her career stagnates with little or no opportunity for future advancement.

There are many causes of derailment. As one moves up the hierarchy, different skills are required and sometimes what was once considered a strength becomes a liability. The person lacks tact or diplomacy, micromanages, over-relies on a mentor, is not politically astute, or lacks specific skills to be successful when they move up a level in the organization.

Coaching is an excellent way to help prevent career derailment or overcome it if it does happen. It has proven to be very effective in helping leaders at all levels learn from their experiences—both good and bad. And research shows that when participants receive coaching after a training session, the training session is 80% more effective. So it's important to make sure there's a good fit between the coach and the person being coached.

Another potential problem is that the further you move up the professional hierarchy, the less likely you are to get feedback—a situation known as the CEO Disease. Often by the time the person receives feedback, the damage is done and it's too late. This is an expensive way to learn—both for the individual who is let go and for the organization that has invested so much time and resources in hiring and training that person.

But let's get back to Elvis Stojko. Elvis won silver medals in men's figure skating at the 1988 and 1994 Winter Olympics. He also won three World Figure Skating Championships and seven Canadian Championships. At the 1991 World Championships, Elvis became the first person to land a quadruple-double jump combination (a jump with four revolutions followed by one with two revolutions). In the 1997 Grand Prix finals, he again made history by being the first skater ever to land a quadruple-triple combination.

I interviewed Doug Leigh, Stojko's coach throughout his stellar career, and asked him how long it took Elvis to learn how to do the quadruple-triple jump combination. "Basically a lifetime," he said. "Part of the process is training the muscles and memory system until you get the blueprint in your mind so you can do it on automatic pilot. At the same time you had to have developed amazing edges and astounding strength to do the jump. Another critical part of the process is developing incredible patience and determination. It takes a very special mindset. In other words, he had to develop emotionally, physically, and mentally. Elvis then started to knock off his goals, one at a time."

Clearly, doing a quadruple jump was a tipping point goal for Elvis. I interviewed Elvis and asked him how coaching was helpful to him.

Elvis Stojko: Basically I started skating when I was 4. I made my first attempt at the quad when I was 14 or 15. The quad was difficult because it takes a lot of power; in fact your power, technique, and timing have to be near perfect. There are days when the quad just doesn't work and it is very hard on your body. I landed my first quad two years later when I was 17 at the national championship exhibition practice in Sudbury, Ont.

Brad McRae: How helpful was Doug Leigh's coaching in helping you learn to land the Quad?

E.S.: Doug Leigh was great. He is very straightforward. He knows how to train you in being consistent. I had to constantly keep working on my timing. I knew that I would lose my timing even if I took a few days off. I would feel it.

My secret weapon was Glen Doyle. Glen was my Kung Fu coach and he helped me translate Kung Fu into the sport of skating. He helped me figure out which muscles to work on in order to get that extra power and strength to complete the jump. I met Glen when I was 16, and all the training on and off ice made the difference.

I also did a lot of video work. I watched the best in the world to get it into my head. I used to watch an average of two to four hours of video a day—up to 21 hours a week. Most of the time it was videos of my own skating that I watched from practice that day or other days. From time to time I would compare my technique with the top skaters in the world. Once I saw a difference or things I needed to work on, Glen and I worked on off-ice exercises to help certain muscle groups that were needed to perfect or make the jump more consistent.

B.M.: How hard was it to learn how to do the quad-triple-toe loop combination?

E.S.: The quad-triple was tough. I almost completed it in 1994 and just stepped out of it at the end. I landed it in competition in 1997. The quad-triple is difficult because the quad has to be technically perfect-you have to have the speed, balance, and power to pull it off. 

The benefits of coaching are obvious in the sports world, but it's not just for athletes. An area where I still need help is in learning how to sell my services and products. I got great feedback from a three-day intensive sales course I attended. The participants were videotaped making a mock sales call at the beginning of the course and then again making the same sales call at the end of the class. I learned that even though I am a trained counselor, I talked too much and listened too little. I also learned how to ask powerful questions and have equally powerful answers.

To make sure that I didn't slip back into bad habits, we had monthly coaching sessions for a year. I learned to see sales as a form of problem solving and negotiation, and very gradually I became more comfortable with the sales process.

Is there an area where coaching would be of benefit to you? If so, state as specifically as you can the skills, strategies, or combination of skills and strategies that you need to develop. How can coaching help you develop these skills and/or strategies? How can you find the best coach or coaches to help you?

And learn from Elvis Stojko. His strategic decision to use two world-class coaches resulted in world-class results. Do you want anything less?

Brad McRae is the director of the Atlantic Leadership Development Institute in Halifax, and the author of eight books.