14 Lessons from Volunteering at the Olympics and Paralympics
I’m sitting now in my home, looking through the 3000+ photos I took during my experience volunteering at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Games ended a couple of weeks ago. PyeongChang is empty. The volunteers said sad goodbyes. It was like leaving family.
Think of it.
We worked long days together — sometimes starting at 4 a.m., sometimes ending at 2 a.m. We were housed at the same dormitory, ate at the same cafeterias, rode the same shuttle buses, huddled together in the bitter cold to keep each other warm, and cheered at the same celebrations.
We shared experiences, stories, photos, videos, selfies, and snacks.
We played games together in our downtime.
We recorded memories.
Now I reflect.
I reflect on my role as Support Staff for the Medalists.
What just happened over the last two months? What are my takeaways? What did I learn?
I’ve compiled a list…
1. Go with the flow!
It takes a lot of energy, effort and manpower to put on an event that the whole world is watching. When that many moving parts come together, you have to make time for everyone to do their part — which frequently means arriving early, getting into position and then waiting your turn.
I had to take off my fast-paced business world hat, and wear my go-with-the-flow hat.
Sometimes that meant changing my responsibility at the last minute — like the time I was assigned to support the Gold medalists. But then I was reassigned at the last minute because of language needs to support the Canadian athletes who won Silver in the Luge Relay Team.
Sometimes that meant running down the sliding center mountain to catch a bus back to the dorms.
I learned to accept the workflow, the pace, the last-minute changes.
This mantra makes the days feel smoother.
2. You don’t need a lot of stuff.
I lived out of two suitcases. For two months.
One suitcase was filled with my volunteer uniform items.
The other held my laptop, toiletries for two months, and a couple of outfits of regular clothes.
As long as I had my phone/camera/GPS, my credit card and my passport, I had enough basics to get by.
Turns out you don’t need a lot of stuff.
3. There’s power in unity of purpose.
When everyone works toward a single purpose, the group can accomplish much.
All the employees, the organizers, the management, the volunteers had a single purpose: Put on a great competition for the athletes and the spectators around the world.
Though we were divided into functional areas, we weren’t at odds with each other. We were all there to do the same thing. We all knew what our purpose was.
Stepping aside to let everyone do what they needed to do was a natural outflow of that mentality.
Most organizations of the world could really benefit from building unity and purpose in the participants.
4. Be patient.
Especially in crowds.
Especially waiting for communication.
When 7000 spectators walk out of the sports venue at the same time — and there’s only one road — there’s nothing to do but slow down.
This piggybacks the go-with-the-flow learning.
Our world is a crowded place. Be patient.
5. Cheer for everyone.
I loved this!
I had the chance to watch several competitions on my off-days: ski jumping, snowboard big air, bobsleigh, figure skating. Most of the spectators were Koreans.
The same phenomenon happened at each venue.
The spectators cheered with gusto for every athlete, for every success, for every great performance — regardless of the athlete’s nationality.
Of course, the spectators cheered wildly when their countrymen and women were competing, but they still cheered everyone else too.
And the athletes were cheering each other on too.
What a change from most of the sporting events I have attended.
Cheer for great performance.
Cheer for everyone.
6. Humility and gracious behavior win the Gold!
My team’s responsibility at the Olympic Games was to brief the medalists — just minutes after winning — about what would happen during the victory ceremony.
Understandably, those medalists entered our room hyped up — sometimes jumping and screaming, frequently hugging each other.
And we only had two minutes to convey a lot of information.
I expected to have difficulty getting their attention.
But every medalist I met showed gracious behavior — even if they had stood on a podium before. They were willing to let us guide them.
And when they won a medal by surprise, their humility was touching.
I’ll never forget talking with Chris Mazdzer (silver medalist in the Men’s Luge). The moment I said the words, “When you hear your name announced in Korean, then you step up on the podium,” he wiped tears from his eyes.
Humility and gracious behavior are gold medal performances in my book.
7. Be a generous host — like Korea and its people.
Thousands of people poured into Korea and tens of thousands descended on the PyeongChang and Gangneung areas.
I spoke to a taxi driver one day about it. I asked how he felt with so many people flooding the area. Of course, he was pleased that business was really good for him. But his other comment surprised me.
He said, “I like the excitement that the Games and the people bring. It’s exciting to be a part of it in some way.”
We disrupted their lives, yet they were generous hosts every day.
I was showered with presents. I was thanked constantly for volunteering by nearly everyone I met — even a clerk at a grocery store!
Be a generous host.
8. Be a gracious guest.
When your host is so generous, be sure to be kind and grateful.
I remember at the Closing Ceremony for the Paralympic Games when I was lost in the massive stadium trying to find my seat. I realized I was in the wrong section, so I turned to backtrack.
At that moment, a Chinese woman motioned that I pose in a picture with her family. I’m not really sure why she wanted a photo of me — some of the Koreans had previously told me that I looked like Bill Gates, so maybe she thought I was him.
So I posed with her large family.
Then they wanted shots of me posing with each of the couples.
Then they wanted shots of me with each individual.
One woman got a little frisky with her hand placement during the photo.
My friends had a good laugh.
I could’ve been rude and pushed them aside. But what would that accomplish? It would’ve hurt their feelings. And I would’ve damaged Bill Gates’ reputation in Asia. ;-)
In the end, I still found my seat with time to spare.
And now my photo is probably floating around social media posts in Asia with the tags #BillGates #Pyeongchang.
9. Help others make memorable moments.
As I mentioned, my team’s responsibility at the Olympic Games was to prep the medalists for the imminent ceremony. We were given two minutes to tell them everything they needed to know.
For the Paralympic Games, my team’s responsibility was to get the medalist to the evening Medals Ceremony on time and ready to go. We served as their escort through traffic, security checks and the backstage mayhem so they arrived at the right place at the right time.
Our goal in both cases was to prep them so they could soak up that moment of glory on the podium.
We always felt like proud parents when the athletes looked relaxed and confident during the ceremony.
There’s something satisfying about helping others make memorable moments in life.
10. Make friends fast — there’s no time to be shy.
Smile at everyone.
I learned quickly that with so many people on the move, it’s best to smile a lot and talk to everyone and make friends fast. You may not see them again.
I met interesting folks from all walks of life — athletes, coaches, organizing committee members, professionals, students.
I made friends from all over the world — South Korea, China, Canada, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Mongolia, Slovenia, Finland, India, Australia — and of course from all over the US.
Thank goodness for social media, which makes it easy to connect fast and carry on the friendship.
I kind of want to incorporate this protocol into daily life too: Make friends fast.
Why hold back?
11. Seize opportunities for meaningful, once-in-a-lifetime experiences!
I don’t really like the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime.”
I want some experiences to happen more than once in a lifetime — especially the great ones.
Maybe we should reserve the description “once-in-a-lifetime” for negative experiences. For instance… I had a root canal. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. (Hopefully.)
Before going overseas, I wrote an article, “Collect Meaningful Experiences, Not Stuff.” That notion weighed on my mind as I headed to Korea. I still endorse that maxim.
I met so many spectators who were understandably thrilled to be at the Games.
But when they heard my story — that I was there as a volunteer — I always witnessed the same phenomenon.
I could see their wheels spinning.
They started asking the same questions:
- How did you get involved?
- What are the requirements?
- What did you do about your job?
- How do I apply?
- What would I have to pay for?
They’re getting ready to seize their next opportunity for a meaningful, once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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12. Laugh a lot!
My roommate was the best example of this. He found joy in everything and he laughed a lot.
Our “boss” was also the same. He joked around a lot. And everyone loved him.
The cold doesn’t seem as cold when you’re laughing. The hours don’t seem as long either. And everyone seems to get along better when there’s laughter involved.
We looked forward to going to the “office” everyday, and a lot of that was because of all the people who made it fun.
13. Help everyone!
We were given this instruction in our training: Regardless of your role, if you come across someone who needs help, then help them.
I loved that attitude and I witnessed it in all the volunteers.
One day, my team was walking down the sliding center hill after a long, frigid day of volunteering. We ran into the USA Women’s Bobsleigh team.
Elana Meyers Taylor had hurt her foot and was looking for a ride down the hill. Our team deployed quickly and waved down vehicles to help them.
A couple of weeks later, she and Lauren Gibbs walked into our briefing room after winning the Silver Medal in Women’s Bobsleigh. I congratulated them and shook their hand, and Elana’s first words were, “I remember you.”
A good rule of thumb: Help everyone!
14. Leave it all on the field!
Walk away exhausted every day. Do your best all the time. That’s the mantra of every Paralympian and Olympian.
They set the pace.
We followed their lead.
Nuff said.
Upon Reflection…
I had two personal goals going into the Games:
- Meet a medalist. My role presented me with the opportunity to accomplish the first goal. In fact, I met dozens of medalists.
- Wear a medal. Choosing to smile at everyone and making friends fast gave me the opportunity to accomplish the second goal. I asked Evan Strong (USA, Silver Medalist in Men’s Banked Slalom Snowboard — LL2) if I could take a picture with him. He asked, “Do you want to wear my medal?” Uhhh… yeah, I do! Thanks, Evan!
But I walked away with so much more than these two goals. I value everything I learned during this experience.
Can’t wait to see how these insights change how I work.
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