{"id":1125,"date":"2019-08-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/five-tips-from-ideo-for-all-leaders-in-sport\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:30","slug":"ideo-jen-panasik-2","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/ideo-jen-panasik-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Tips From IDEO for All Leaders in Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Aug 20, 2019 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Five Tips From IDEO for All Leaders in Sport<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/ideo-jen-panasik-2\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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Jen Panasik, the design and consulting firm\u2019s Managing Director, welcomes sport into IDEO\u2019s world.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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\u201cYou could say today that I\u2019m an analogous experience to your world. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here,\u201d says Jen Panasik of IDEO.<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not leading a sports team but some of our conditions of leading high performing teams are similar enough that undoubtedly we\u2019ll find interesting overlaps to learn from one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panasik, Managing Director at the international design and consulting firm, is presenting at the 2018 Leaders Sport Performance Summit in Chicago<\/a> where she runs through the IDEO\u2019s growth from 1991 Palo Alto start-up to an organisation with almost 800 employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing multidisciplinary has been our strength from the very start and we are very much a talent business,\u201d she continues. \u201cWhat has changed the most is where and how we apply this talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s portfolio of work includes projects as diverse as designing a new school system in Peru, solving for food waste in hotels, and working with the NBPA to design programmes to support the emotional and physical needs of athletes after their pro careers.<\/p>\n

Throughout it all, IDEO\u2019s focus on human-centred design, which puts human needs and behaviours at the centre of the design process, has been underpinned by five core ideas that could offer leaders in sport something to think about.<\/p>\n

1. Be clear, beyond money, what you want to achieve<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panasik\u2019s first tip is perhaps the most important: \u201cWhat\u2019s kept us winning for over 30 years is a single purpose: \u2018We are a global design company committed to creating positive impact.\u2019 Everyone at IDEO from the hottest design talent to the slayers in accounting know and believe in this purpose. It motivates our talent towards one common goal, which is that we want to make a difference, for and with our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

She then tells the room: \u201c<\/em>I\u2019m curious what clear signal are you giving that allows others to follow. Our purpose is supported by seven values: be optimistic, as hard work requires positivity; collaborate, which is a big one not only internally but the way we work with our clients, it\u2019s quite symbiotic and requires a lot of their engagement as well; to take ownership so that we all have skin in the game; talk less, do more; be tangible; embrace ambiguity because everything we do is uncharted; make others successful; and learn from failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Bias towards action<\/strong><\/p>\n

For IDEO, actions speak louder than words. Panasik asks the audience: \u201cWhat can you get started in some small way now, especially if it\u2019s something that\u2019s been long-discussed and who might be the best perhaps unexpected leader to drive that forward?\u201d Sometimes that means seeking analogous experiences. She continues: \u201cOne way in which are teams get curious, energised and inspired to define what\u2019s new is by looking at analogous experiences. It\u2019s a creative exercise that stimulates new thinking. For example, when working with a hospital to improve functionality of their operating room, we spent time immersed with a NASCAR pit crew. To better understand how decisions are made in fast-paced high-stakes environments, the redundancy, high pressure and time constraints and teamwork were all direct parallels and helped to generate meaningful and sometimes unanticipated insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cA large amount of data can reflect on something existing but it can\u2019t always tell you what to do next. Innovative insights and ideas come from some of the most unexpected and extreme places, allowing for invention rather than analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Define the box before asking others to step outside it<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRelying on tools such as analogous experiences or rules in brainstorming actually amplifies creativity rather than suppresses it,\u201d argues Panasik. \u201cSo don\u2019t be afraid of tools and rules: define the box before asking others to step outside of it.\u201d She uses IDEO’s process of brainstorming to illustrate her point. \u201cStrange as it may sound, we have game roles for our creative practices because great design comes from having constraints.\u201d Thus, IDEO have seven rules for brainstorming: defer judgement, encourage wild ideas, build on the ideas of others, stay focused on the topic, be visual, hold one conversation at a time and, finally, go for quantity because there will be plenty of ideas and you don\u2019t know from where the spark will emerge.<\/p>\n

4. Recognition takes many forms and all are helpful<\/strong><\/p>\n

It could be formalised feedback in a meeting or it could be a box of chocolates placed on a colleague\u2019s desk as a congratulations for a job well done \u2013 even the smallest gesture has the biggest impact. \u201cWe took a close look a few years back about the type of feedback we were giving to each other,\u201d says Panasik. IDEO is trying to steer away from an approach of ruinous empathy \u2013 feedback designed to protect one\u2019s feelings, often to the detriment of a project \u2013 to one of radical candour, where one challenges directly while demonstrating that they care personally. It is a work in progress but reflective and celebratory feedback can be powerful.<\/p>\n

5. Secure your mask before helping others<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having life beyond the office is essential if you are to continue to bring your best self to work. \u201cSecure your mask before helping others,\u201d advises Panasik. \u201cHave a cohort of peers inside or even outside your organisation that you can recharge and learn from.\u201d With that she rounds up her presentation. \u201cAs you consider these leadership tips from the world of IDEO, I\u2019d like you to take on the role of an IDEO designer \u2013 you don\u2019t need to match your clothes to your post-its to do this \u2013 but seek out the interesting overlaps, potential connections, sparks and parallels, and see how they might apply to your particular context.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut don\u2019t stop there, find a way to develop ideas upon these insights and try them sooner rather than later, then put them into action. You\u2019ll likely have to keep trying and refining those ideas but you\u2019ll be more informed by just getting started and the time will be quick to make them even better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

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Jen Panasik, the design and consulting firm\u2019s Managing Director, welcomes sport into IDEO\u2019s world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1126,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[20],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-1125","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership-culture-performance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFive Tips From IDEO for All Leaders in Sport - Performance Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/ideo-jen-panasik-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Tips From IDEO for All Leaders in Sport - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jen Panasik, the design and consulting firm\u2019s Managing Director, welcomes sport into IDEO\u2019s world.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/ideo-jen-panasik-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T05:12:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/leaders.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2038\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1093\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/ideo-jen-panasik-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/ideo-jen-panasik-2\/\",\"name\":\"Five Tips From IDEO for All Leaders in Sport - 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