I am an Olympics buff. Every other year, when the Games come around, I am glued to the screen.
I was raised in a Canadian home in Vancouver, where watching figure skating was a weekend event. We followed the original quad king, Elvis Stojko, religiously. We watched Stars on Ice. We followed skiing. If it involved snow, we were watching. And no, not because we live in igloos.
So, when the Olympics arrive, Netflix and Prime take a back seat. I tune into coverage for hours, even curling. There is something fascinating about watching human performance under pressure. You see preparation, resilience, triumph, and sometimes very public mistakes.
Recently, one moment stopped me in my tracks. On February 10, Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid won a bronze medal. In the emotional high of his post race interview, he made a declaration of love to his now ex girlfriend. He called her his true gold medal. He said everything he had done was for her. And then he publicly admitted he had cheated on her.
Dead silence.
Intent vs Impact
As a leader, I watched that moment and thought this is what happens when emotional intelligence and situational awareness break down.
Let’s be clear about intent. I can understand the impulse. It was the week before Valentine’s Day. He likely wanted to make a grand declaration. To say that no medal mattered more than her. To show vulnerability.
But intent does not equal impact.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand not just what you feel, but how your words will land on someone else. Situational awareness is understanding time, place, and audience.
Announcing to the world that you cheated on someone while declaring your love for them may feel dramatic and heartfelt in the moment, but how does that make her feel? Exposed. Blindsided. Turned into a headline.
What may have been intended as redemption became humiliation.
The Leadership Parallel
As leaders, we have all had moments where we wanted to say something bold. To clear the air. To show heart.
But leadership requires a filter. Not to suppress authenticity, but to protect others from unnecessary harm.
There were additional consequences in that moment. It shifted the spotlight from athletic performance to personal drama. The Norwegian team has been performing exceptionally well, yet instead of celebrating the medal count, the media conversation pivoted to one athlete’s relationship confession.
The coach now has to refocus the team. Teammates must navigate questions that have nothing to do with sport. And a private individual who never asked for global attention is at the center of a media storm.
In business, the parallels are everywhere.
A leader announces a strategic shift without preparing the team.
A manager provides blunt feedback in a public setting.
An executive makes a personal disclosure that puts others in an uncomfortable position.
Often the intention is positive. Transparency. Honesty. Passion. But without awareness, good intent can create unnecessary fallout.
The Real Skill Leaders Need
The most powerful leaders I know regulate emotion before they communicate. They consider the receiver before the message. They understand the room before they speak.
That combination keeps trust intact.
When we fail at emotional intelligence, we do not just create awkward moments. We create trust fractures. And trust is far harder to rebuild than reputation.
I found myself feeling most for the girlfriend. She did not choose that platform. She did not opt into becoming part of an Olympic storyline. One person’s emotional impulse turned her into a global talking point. That is the ripple effect of low awareness.
The Takeaway
We spend so much time teaching our teams strategy, execution, and performance metrics. But how often do we intentionally teach emotional intelligence and situational awareness?
- Do we coach rising leaders on how to deliver hard truths privately?
- Do we model how to celebrate wins without creating unintended harm?
- Do we pause before reacting in high visibility moments?
High performance environments magnify everything. Wins are bigger. Losses are sharper. Mistakes travel faster. Leadership in those environments requires maturity.
I will keep watching the Olympics. There will no doubt be another dramatic moment. Human beings under pressure always deliver a storyline. The Games will continue to feel like a soap opera unfolding in real time.
But if there is one leadership takeaway from this moment, it is simple.
Before you speak, especially when the spotlight is on you, pause. Ask yourself not only what you want to say, but how it will land.
That is the difference between a moment of passion and a moment of regret.
