Month: November 2014

What I Learned at the Olympics

With the knowledge that I had been accepted to work with the Olympic Broadcasting Services at the Sochi 2014 Olympics I began to research what my position was all about. I never like to start something new without being prepared with at least an idea of what could come next. I pored over the paperwork and maps that OBS sent me. Getting lost in Russia was something I did NOT want to happen. (3rd night in…got lost until 3AM.) I asked professors what being a liaison officer was like and what the challenges were. They gave me some great advice. A liaison officer has to be affirmative, aggressive, and have some diplomacy skills. All of those things I needed to grow in! I knew then that this would be a great opportunity to learn from some of the best broadcasters in the world.

With that being said, step one was H U M I L I T Y.

hu·mil·i·ty
(h)yo͞oˈmilədē/
noun
noun: humility
  1. a modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness.

If you’re a self-conscious over-achiever like me, there’s a tendency to act like you know it all. However, working with OBS at the Olympics helped me walk that fine balance between confidence and admitting the fact you don’t know everything. I learned that asking “stupid questions” is a lot better than making “stupid mistakes”. Let them know that you can do the job…as soon as you know how.

Another lesson learned was E F F I C I E N C Y.

ef·fi·cien·cy
əˈfiSHənsē/
noun
  1. the state or quality of being efficient.
Being on the job in the Mountain Broadcast Center gave me a lot of opportunity to be efficient. A lot of brain time is figuring out how to do the task the quickest way possible…especially when you’ve got broadcasters who need to be at a press release ASAP! I learned to take deep breaths and utilize the resources I had available.

There isn’t a noun for this one…but it’s called Going the Extra Mile:

An adaptation of a commandment of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount : “Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain” (two). Figuratively, to do more than what is needed.
Don’t be that person who feels the need to clock out precisely when your shifts ends at 5PM. My bosses were my bosses because they weren’t afraid to do what needed to be done, regardless of the hours. They were a team. Even if you’re on the bottom of that totem pole, you’re still part of the team. Go the extra mile for them. I realized I was a part (however small) of a really big team that was producing an amazing, engaging, and beautiful broadcast of one of the most watched sporting events in the world! If doing extra work was what it took to help make that happen, I went for it!
I was able to spend a day in the Mountain Village where the athletes resided.

I was able to spend a day in the Mountain Village where the athletes resided.

The snow leopard and I were teammates!

Me and the snow leopard were teammates!