I’m so glad that I decided to stay up to watch the tail end of the IAAF World Championships. After critiquing the baton handover technique of our 4 x 100m women’s team from the horizontal comfort of my sofa, I then found myself on the edge of my sofa as the 4 x 100m men’s final unfolded. My vague recollection was that our men’s relay team had a record of batons dropped and numerous disqualifications.
I found myself yelling at the TV, willing our athletes on and being absolutely blown away as the baton flew from one runner to the next, almost watching in disbelief as Mitchell-Blake crossed the finish line, GOLD for GB!
Like me I am sure your celebrations were in part muted by seeing Bolt having to pull up on the final leg with what was attributed to hamstring cramp. But interestingly, some of his fellow team mates commented that they hadn’t practised together very much, and very little with Bolt. Relying on one man’s talent.
However, it was clear that our athletes had practised and practised and practised, as a team, each determined to lay to rest the demons of previous competitions and silence the critics. Their success was a clear demonstration of what can be achieved through teamwork and determination.
And that doesn’t just apply to sport. You only have to look at the teamwork that is taking place now across our sector, such as our joint focus with all the other legal regulators on bringing greater transparency to legal services consumers.
I’m fast approaching the end of my second year at CILEx Regulation. Over that fairly short time, I have seen and experienced a genuine interest among all the regulators to work together on common areas of interest to make life simpler for consumers, the public and our regulated community. There is a united feeling that what we are doing will bring about positive results in the future. We may not be standing on a medal podium, but we will have a real sense of achievement and success.