Karate in the mind

Friday, 11.08.2017 At the age of ten, Jörg Gantert was beaten up on his way to school. He swore to himself never to be defenseless again - even better: invincible. Thousands of hours of training later, he achieved his goal. In 1997, he won the world championship title in karate. Today, Jörg Gantert is a coach, speaker, and author. Recently, he was a keynote speaker at the Grosse-Hornke team day. In our interview, he explains how project managers can better withstand high pressure. Question: Jörg, how does your experience as a professional athlete help you deal with difficult situations in your profession? Jörg Gantert: For a karate athlete, a positive attitude is crucial. Am I full of self-confidence or am I afraid of getting hurt? At work, we should also pay attention to our thoughts, the images, and language patterns in our minds. Because our brain reacts to every word or image with a feeling. Terms like "difficult" or "failure" do not exist in my mind. Instead, I focus on powerful, constructive thoughts. This positive mindset does not happen at the push of a button. It requires mental training over a certain period of time. What does such training look like? Athletes put themselves in a positive mood by mentally reliving past successes. This can also be applied very well in the workplace. It is important to vividly recall the experience of success, such as a customer's thank you or praise from a supervisor. This mental imagery is combined with a physical movement. For example, athletes tap their leg with their hand. With this movement, they can evoke the positive emotional state at will and motivate themselves. It takes about a month to condition oneself accordingly. Concentrated mental training for two to five minutes three times a day is usually enough for the brain to associate the rehearsed movement with positive feelings. Higher, faster, further - companies and athletes always strive for the next, even greater success. How can one continue to improve at a high level? Everyone has the opportunity to do a little more than the competition. During my time as a competitive athlete, I incorporated training sessions into my daily life. In my parents' house, I only turned the light switches on and off with kicks. I rode my bike to training with no hands and did punching exercises on the side. Over the year, I managed to get about 48,000 additional punches ahead of my competitors. In project management, one can go the extra mile in a similar way, you just have to be creative. It is important to set daily goals, even if they are small. This requires great discipline. Where should that always come from in everyday life? To perform at a high level every day over a long period of time, one needs a strong intrinsic motivation, an inner drive. My athletic motivation stemmed from a negative experience. At the age of ten, I was attacked by two teenagers on my way home from school. They pushed me off my bike, dragged me into a bush, and started beating me. After what felt like an eternity, they let go of me and ran away. As I lay bleeding and in pain in that bush that day, a vision formed in me: I wanted to be so good at karate that something like that would never happen to me again. It was the so-called pain-joy principle that drove me to reach the top in my sport. Once one finds their vision, their purpose, they will be intrinsically motivated day in, day out. How can leaders strengthen the inner drive of their employees? Pressure or external rewards can only go so far in the long run. In my opinion, it is very important to fulfill the basic human need for recognition. Growing up in our achievement-oriented society, we expect appreciation for good work. Unfortunately, the reality in projects often looks different - employees expect recognition but receive it rather rarely. If the leader recognizes this and changes their behavior, it can make a significant difference. As important as appreciation is, trust is equally crucial. Employees who can work autonomously without constant supervision are more engaged. This does not mean that as a boss, I no longer care about what is happening operationally. I regularly approach my colleagues and offer them my advice and support. This way, I convey a sense of belonging to the employees. You lived in Japan for a long time to train with the best karate instructors. Can European companies also learn something from Japanese work culture? I would say it's more the other way around. In Japan, the focus on performance in companies is much higher than in Germany. Most Japanese employees live for their company. They have a maximum of one week of vacation per year, spend entire nights in the office. This takes a toll on health and consequently on the economy. Japan could be even more productive if companies allowed their employees more rest. In Germany, there has been a shift in values over the past 15 years: work-life balance, stress and self-management are important topics in companies today. From my perspective, this is a positive development. There must be a balanced mix of performance and relaxation. Only then is healthy growth possible. About Jörg Gantert In addition to his career as an athlete, Jörg Gantert completed an apprenticeship as a banker and studied business administration in Münster and Fresno, California. When he became world karate champion in Istanbul in 1997, he was already preparing for his second career. He joined a large industrial company as a personnel developer and simultaneously founded his own karate school. Since the year 2000, Jörg Gantert has been working as a coach, professional speaker, and author. His main topics are stress management, self-management, and motivation.