Cultivate an athlete’s mindset to turn eployees into vital performers

What does your company need to perform even better? Vital performers: employees who feel at the top of their game. Pro-Motion, a new organization in Amstelveen, can get them there. Pro-Motion develops and guides vitality programmes. So how do you become a vital performer? With an athlete’s mindset! Hello Zuidas talked with founder and organizational expert Enno Tjepkema about how this mindset can help everyone – even sport haters – achieve their full potential in the workplace.

FEELING VITAL

Maintaining satisfaction and high performance among all employees requires employers to be attentive to them. This goes beyond asking how they’re doing during accidental meet-ups at the water cooler. Rather, emphasizes Enno, you have to look at all the determinants of how vital a person feels and so to what extent they can perform at the top of their game. ‘For starters, you have to factor in a healthy alternation between work and downtime, because working constantly results in a structural overload. You have to break through that.’ And not, says Enno, by going out to dinner with clients or on a staff outing. ‘That’s not downtime, because your head is still at work.’ Just as important as enough relaxation, are physical, mental and emotional well-being. What’s going on in an employee’s private life also counts. going on in an employee’s private life. The atmosphere in the workplace matters too, because ‘if the work culture feels unsafe or unpleasant, performance suffers.’ 

ATHLETE’S MINDSET

For clients who come to Pro-Motion, Enno and his team – think: trainers, coaches, instructors and medical professionals, most from the world of competitive sport – look at all these aspects. The idea is that a person can only cope with a constant workload alongside their private life if they have enough resilience and endurance. In other words, if they feel Vital. This calls for a certain mindset, one that’s standard in the world of sport. Pro-Motion helps develop this athlete’s mindset.

VITAL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM 

‘Our guidance spans everything from running and boot camp sessions, to Pilates and dietary advice, to complete vitality programmes. The aim is to improve not only mental and physical health but, also the internal company culture, which we do through research, team building and culture change.’ Pro-Motion looks for example at how staff communicate and work together and how that can be improved. They also consider what employees themselves want and need. But it’s not all about sport. Pro-Motion also does a complete scan and then plans how objectives will be achieved. 

FOCUS

‘The main thing is to stay focused and avoid being influenced by irrelevant details, so you can see how to get from A to B – to your goal.’ Enno smiles, ‘It sounds logical, sure, but too often we’re side-tracked by all kinds of distractions, like our phones. Or we’re so busy that we stop taking care of ourselves – by eating poorly and not getting enough exercise.’ That’s a shame on a personal level, but it’s also bad news for your employer. ‘Studies show that healthy people are ten to twenty per cent more productive’, Enno points out. So: time to cultivate that athlete’s mindset!  

Enno Tjepkema is a former pro athlete who uses his knowledge, experience and business degree to translate the professional sport method to the corporate world as a coach and trainer. Pro-Motion’s clients include Pepsico and the UWV Employee Insurance Agency. Want to find out more about Enno Tjepkema and Pro-Motion? Visit www.pro-motion.health 

PRO-MOTION 

Laan van Kronenburg 14 1183 AS Amstelveen +31 (0)88 77 67 9 57 office@pro-motion.health www.pro-motion.health