Why Penny Oleksiak is a True Team Leader

Silver medallist Penny Oleksiak of Canada poses during the medal ceremony for the women’s 100m butterfly event in Rio. © Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

The women’s 4x200 freestyle relay on Wednesday at the Rio Olympics was an incredible battle for the Canadian team who won a bronze medal, the first ever for Canada in the event.

The Canada team, who started the race in about 7th place, slowly worked their way up, charging to the finish and maintaining a solid position in 3rd. Swimmers Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, B.C., Brittany MacLean of Toronto, O.N., and anchor, Penny Oleksiak also of Toronto, pushed themselves hard and put a lot of heart into the swim.

The spotlight has been on Oleksiak, only 16, who has been dominating the pool and currently has 3 medals under her belt. She received a silver medal in the 100 fly, a bronze in 4x100 free relay, and now another bronze in the 4x200 free relay.

A CBC online post quotes Oleksiak about her role in the race saying, “I don’t feel like it’s just me that’s like making history, I guess, which some people are saying, which kind of freaks me out because two of the medals that I have are because of so many other girls.”

“I definitely just want to share this experience with them and it just mean so much to me.”

There won’t be one Canadian watching from home, reading the latest news, or scrolling through social media who hasn’t seen her name come up. With her natural abilities, stunning success, and positive attitude, Oleksiak has positioned herself as a leader on her team. While being excited about her victories thus far in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Oleksiak attributes her success to the entire team.

She knows that it’s not just one person who drives the success of a team, but it’s the team as a whole who works together. That it’s not just her making history, but all four of the women on the team who contributed to the win.

This strategy is easily transferrable when starting your own business and choosing what kind of a leader you want to be for your team.

Whether you are just starting out and your business team only consists of you, remember that how you present yourself reflects not only on you, but on your business. If you are currently growing a business and bringing more team members on board to help handle the load, remember that building a positive culture will be a key to your success. Or if your company has grown exponentially and is crazy successful, remember that you could not have gotten there without the hard work and dedication of others.

Only the best leaders are humble and only those who are humble attribute their success to everyone around them, just ask Penny Oleksiak.

How will you choose to lead your team?

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