Dr Cath Bishop – Author of The Long Win, business coach, medal winning Olympic rower and former diplomat Sport Stories Podcast

From being categorised as ‘not a sporty child’ to winning and Olympic medal and authoring a best selling book on winning. What and incredible insight and experience!
Dr Cath Bishop is an Olympian, former diplomat, business coach and author.
She competed in rowing at 3 Olympic Games, winning World Championships gold in 2003 and Olympic silver in Athens 2004. As a diplomat for the British Foreign Office for 12 years, Cath specialized in policy and negotiations on conflict issues, with postings to Bosnia and Iraq. Cath now works as a business consultant, leadership coach and author, and teaches on Executive Education programmes at the Judge Business School, Cambridge University and is a Visiting Professor at Surrey Business School.
Cath speaks at events globally on topics of leadership, high performing teams and cultural change. Her first book ‘The Long Win: the search for a better way to succeed’, published October 2020, was described by the Financial Times as ‘a deep and rewarding exploration of human motivation in sport, politics, business and our personal lives’ and listed in their Top 10 Business Books for 2020.
  
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Success Quotes or sayings:
I didn’t know how to access sport and fitness at an early age
The concepts were playing out – trying hard at school, wanting to learn and working out how I could become better at something
I was interested., curious and intrigued
I was conscientious and hard working and used these principles
Really understanding – what’s the drama behind the piece
Searching and being curious all the time
Find something that is so exciting I want to bury myself in it
I was categorised as not a sporty child
I saw opportunities which I believed were not open to me
There was a real joy when I found sport – it was all mine
Striving is a real part of me – I struggle to switch it off
The tension between the learning process and performance outcome measurements
An interest in looking at things beyond just the answer
Peoples answers and reactions gave you a sense there were ‘good ways to go’ and ‘bad ways to go’
What about them – this is what I often struggle with – the constant segregation
I was doing well but feeling  really uncomfortable at the same time
I feel uncomfortable about the labels we put on people
I was totally released from outcomes – it was a really lovely thing. I just wanted to do ourselves proud
I realised the was a process of ‘you just have to get on with it!’
You had to opt in – there was no option of opting out
The scenario was - I cannot run away so had to run towards. There was no spotlight on JUST you!
Focussing on yourself as well as others
I am afraid of the water and still am…. Yet being ON the water is my favourite place
Lots of things exclude you...how can we emphasise how to INCLUDE you
[Watch for] sweeping statements that teachers (and developers) make
Fun being so important even when we put in more training and take things ‘more seriously’
The performance narrative that arrived was dense and oppressive – but thought that is what you have got to do to be an Olympic rower?
I then threw myself