The 2010 Winter Olympics began with an inspirational and impressive opening ceremony that highlighted the unity of countries worldwide. Thousands looked on as people from around the world gathered peacefully to celebrate the spirit of sportsmanship and the effort exhibited by the best athletes in the world. The torch relay came to a close as four legendary Canadian athletes waited to ignite the Olympic cauldron. One by one they brought their torches forward, and then the situation got awkward.
The final four torch bearers were Wayne Gretzky, Nancy Greene, Steve Nash and Catriona Le May Doan. The final presentation was to include four columns that rose from the floor to create a large sculpture surrounding the Olympic cauldron. After what seemed like a ten-minute delay, the first three pillars slowly crept from underground to reach their final destination around the cauldron. The fourth pillar never left its underground waiting room.
Onlookers and participants waited anxiously for the final column to appear at Catriona Le May Doan’s post, and still nothing happened. The athletes gracefully attempted to hide their anxious faces as workers scrambled to correct the error that prevented the final column from rising. After a short delay, the four Canadian athletes carried on with the ceremony as they had in rehearsal, but without the missing column. Doan bravely held her torch to the audience as the other athletes performed their practiced routines. The ceremony ended beautifully and the Olympic cauldron remains afire.
Artistic director David Atkins released this statement when asked about the malfunction:
“It’s a very complex piece of equipment. As you saw, it literally had to dance its place into final position. Unfortunately, the trap that revealed it from the floor of the stadium, which worked perfectly well at the beginning of the ceremony… had some mechanical failure.
It was an example of the fact that we are all human, and the ceremony celebrated that fact in all sorts of ways, by virtue of the cauldron and the hand of God coming in to remind us that we have some sort of fallibility there.”
Problems and malfunctions are unavoidable in all areas of business. The key to overcoming these issues lies within the leadership of the organization. Leaders and managers have the opportunity to coach their employees through difficult situations. Strong leaders are capable of guiding their employees through the fire in order to make them stronger and wiser.
Effective leaders communicate openly and work through problems in order to create a learning environment for those involved. Working with employees to solve problems improves trust and communication. Employees need their leaders to show understanding and encouragement when problems arise so that they may learn to adapt and think under pressure.
The torch malfunction was stressful for those involved, but because of Atkins’ patience and leadership, everything was remedied in the end. An understanding and coaching leader is the key to successful employees and organizations.
For related content about leadership and the 2010 Winter Olympics please read: “What Do We Expect From ‘Real’ Leaders?” and “Canada Earns First Gold Medal on Home Turf.”
