A growing number of “fitness executives” are adapting the traditional input-output work ethic of the sports world to the workplace.
One drawback of the knowledge economy is that the fruits of one’s labour tend to be less tangible. It can be difficult for employees to draw a clear line from their efforts to their company’s performance or their own career progression. Thus motivation can be an issue, demanding new approaches to leadership. Setting aside such notions as “transformational” or “authentic” leadership, a new generation of CEOs is adapting the work ethic of sports, where the rewards of hard, consistent work are concrete, and the relationship between input and output is direct.
With a “fitness executive” at the helm, employees are measured by and rewarded for their efforts at the office and the gym. Henrik Bunge, CEO and “Head Coach” of Swedish sports-fashion company Björn Borg, exemplifies this leadership style. “We have so much to learn from sports culture”, he says. Weekly fitness classes are compulsory for Björn Borg employees, and the company’s culture emphasises teamwork, endurance and performance.
Fitness-focused leaders like Bunge are growing in number. The gruelling Ironman Triathlon has become so popular among executives that it spawned the Ironman Executive Challenge in 2009. As Harvard Business Review reports, “Between 2001 and 2011, the number of CEOs finishing at least one marathon doubled, and in a Swedish survey of nearly 3,000 managers, more than 90% said that physical exercise had a positive impact on their leadership skills.”
When Bunge was appointed CEO of Björn Borg in 2014, the company was seeing declines in net sales and profits, and it lacked a strong brand identity. Bunge set out to re-brand Björn Borg, with the goal of doubling sales and attaining a 90% employee engagement rate within five years. His plan centred on the staff becoming stronger. “We had to train harder, measure our goals better, and become a better team,” Bunge said. “If we were going to do this, everybody had to be part of it.”
Björn Borg’s KPIs have improved: Net sales increased by 27% between 2013 and 2016, and operating profits tripled. In 2016 employee engagement rose from 3% to 75%. However, the company will still need to grow its sales by another 56% and boost employee engagement by another 15% in three years to reach its 2019 goals.
It should be noted that from the employee’s point of view, this leadership style is not for everyone. Some at Björn Borg take issue with the physical challenges required of them, and discontent is reflected in staff turnover. The company’s employee exit rate increased from 8% to 25% between 2014 and 2016. But while there is no peer-reviewed evidence for a correlation between a company’s value and its CEO’s physical fitness, executives such as Bunge are true believers.
