He stood on the track intently looking down his lane.  He was loosely shaking his legs one at a time to keep them warm, to keep them relaxed.  He was training, but he needed to approach every run, every race, as if it were the Olympic Games.

Every time he stepped on the track he needed to be completely focused on the task at hand: run as fast as possible.  At this moment in time, in this epoch of history, for the next 10 seconds, nothing else could exist in his world but the wholehearted commitment to run as fast as possible.

With his coach he had developed a ritual to help him focus.  Knowing that he must put aside all the stresses and strains, all the worries and anxieties, all the concerns and commitments, everything from the real work in which he lived, he did what was necessary to get in the zone.

They began the ritual…

“What are your legs?”, his coach demanded.

“Springs, steel springs!”, he emphatically replied.

“What are they going to do?”, pressed his coach.

“Hurl me down the track!”, he exclaimed.

“How fast can you run?”, passionately prompted his coach.

“As fast as a leopard!”, he declared.

“How fast are you gonna run?”, urged his coach.

“As fast as a leopard!”, he more emphatically declared.

“Well let’s see you do it then!”, enthusiastically exhorted his coach.

And now, he was in the zone.

This is the fictitious account of a young Australian sprinter from the movie Gallipoli.  He fought and died at the WW1 battle of Gallipoli, but prior to the war he was on track to be the Australian record holder in the 100 yard dash.

Many years ago I coached high school sprinters.  I used the “steel springs” pre-race ritual from Gallipoli as a mechanism to help my sprinters focus prior to a race.  One of my sprinters actually began to run holding a small steel spring in his hand as a reminder to focus the power of his legs to propel him down the track.

I wanted to teach my sprinters how to engage mentally in their race.  Talk about a challenge – if any mind is scattered and distracted it is an adolescent mind.  However, as each sprinter began to engage in this ritual I saw an increase in focus and an increase in performance.

Focus is a key skill that any champion must master.  In fact, focus is a skill that every high achieving individual must master.  Focus is the ability to rule your mind.  It is the ability to put aside any thoughts that could be a distraction for the task in which you are currently engaged.

Focus in the ability to concentrate on the task at hand, to put aside any and all distractions that could prevent you from doing your best work: from being wholly engaged in what you doing at this point in time.  Focus is how you get in “the zone” – that place of high performance.

Leaders are plagued with, or should I say “blessed” with, many responsibilities, and, therefore, many potential distractions.  Leaders cannot carry all the burdens of their responsibilities all of the time.  Leaders must learn to compartmentalize their thoughts.

“What do I need to be focused on right now?” is a question you need to ask yourself throughout the day.  “Multitasking” is really another word for distracted work, for lack of focus.  Sure, often times you need to handle numerous issues concurrently.  But right now, for the next X number of minutes focusing on one task is what is necessary to produce your best work.

So what do you need to do to focus?  Close down multiple computer windows?  Turn off your cell phone?  Put your phone out of reach?  Put your phone on mute?  Close your door?  Hold your calls?  It is relatively easy to control your physical space, so start with that.

Now, learn to focus your thoughts.  Put aside the myriad random thoughts that knock at the door of your concentration.  Develop your own “steel springs” thought ritual of sorts.   Concentrate wholly on the task at hand.

Champions focus their thoughts, and leaders focus like a champion.