Collaboration Forum Series 4: Optimism in tough times (Week-6)

As a young boy growing up in Aberdeen during the 1990s, Neil Fachie couldn’t see very well. He was born with a hereditary eye condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa, which gets progressively worse with age. His central vision is blurry, and he can see large objects in the distance, but not much detail until they get closer. Following his diagnosis at the age of four, Neil didn’t really give it much thought, however; he decided the best way to cope was try his best alongside everyone else.

At the age of ten he found the running track. Sprinting in the open air offered a new-found freedom, and it was the start of a life-changing journey for him. Neil’s passion took him all over Scotland, competing on the track against able-bodied athletes. While his times didn’t always match the top performers, his love for the sport kept him in close quarters. During his teenage years, he slowly improved. As he began to find his flow on the track, someone suggested getting his sight tested, to see if Paralympic sport beckoned.

That’s when the penny dropped. Neil was told his vision was less than 10 per cent of a normal human eye. It was a shock, but he hadn’t known any different, and had continued to live his life as best he could. The difference now was that he could compete as a Paralympian. Neil’s horizons began to expand quite quickly, first with Scottish Disability Sport, and then British Athletics. He qualified to run 100m and 200m at the Beijing Games in 2008.

“I thought the Paralympics would be half the size of the Olympics, but when I got there, I realised it was massive and I fell in love with the event,” he said. “It was incredible to see people from across the globe, coming together in the athletes’ village, with different disabilities. It was the most diverse place on earth. I finished ninth in both my events and was inspired to look ahead four years to London 2012.”

As part of his career in high-performance environments, Neil has started to apply what he’s learned in other ways. In recent years, he has set up a coaching business, become an author and is thinking about life beyond the velodrome. But while Tokyo has been postponed until the summer of 2021, he is also targeting the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, before fully embarking on the next chapter.

In his 2020 book Earn Your Stripes: Gold medal insights for business and life, Neil develops a framework to help others succeed. He looks at drive, performance, the team, a champion mindset, and performing under pressure. It’s called the Five Stripes model. “If you master these five stripes, you can achieve champion status,” he said. “Earning your stripes takes time and effort, but the rewards are worth it.”

Drive is different to motivation because motivation comes and goes, he explained. You might watch a great speaker, or attend a sporting event, and leave feeling really motivated. But a few days later that feeling will subside. Drive is something else; it’s an internal feeling that can be called upon. Neil says whenever he’s feeling jaded, or lacking in motivation, he reflects on awakening those feelings. This could be simply changing his training regime to find the joy in cycling again. Through reflection he is able to access the same feelings of freedom and flow he discovered at the age of ten.

Neil also shared two contrasting views about performance. When he’s lifting weights in the gym, or riding sprints on the track, he will break down his goals. Instead of thinking about the number of reps, for example, he’ll think about the percentage he’s already completed. By breaking down the goal, and focusing on what he has already done, it helps him to achieve what he’s trying to do.

In a second discussion about performance, Neil spoke about burnout, in response to a short presentation from Abhishikta Talukder at Protiviti. She described some of the challenges that people have faced working at home, and how colleagues were finding ways to look after their wellbeing. Long days at the screen have been tough for everyone. Neil said the best way to maintain high performance was to find a secondary focus away from work. For him, walking the dog and writing the book, helped him to feel fresher getting back on the bike.

The importance of teamwork is also clear for a partially sighted tandem cyclist. Two bike riders travelling in excess of 50 miles an hour around a tight wooden track will only succeed if they work together. Neil explained, however, that even if the top two bike riders in the world rode together, they might not win a race. But two people with complementary styles, and power-to-weight ratios, could produce a world beating combination.

He also said it was easy for fans to overlook the group that works behind the scenes: from nutritionists and mechanics to physios and coaches, success on the track is only possible with a wider set of expertise. The team also spends a lot of time debriefing to understand what went well and what could have been better. Neil said this process was fundamental to success.