I am excited to share a powerful article from Meridith Elliott Powell that draws leadership and business lessons from the remarkable gold medal wins of the US Olympic Hockey Teams. Meridith has a unique ability to take timely moments in the headlines and translate them into practical strategies for leaders navigating uncertainty, competition, and change. In this piece, she explores what the men’s and women’s hockey teams demonstrated on the world stage and how those same principles can help organizations strengthen resilience, sharpen focus, and turn pressure into performance. If you are looking for insights on thriving in uncertain times, this article delivers clear, actionable takeaways.
What Are 5 Powerful Strategies We Can Learn From Our US Hockey Teams?
I am excited to share a powerful article from Meridith Elliott Powell that draws leadership and business lessons from the remarkable gold medal wins of the US Olympic Hockey Teams. Meridith has a unique ability to take timely moments in the headlines and translate them into practical strategies for leaders navigating uncertainty, competition, and change. In this piece, she explores what the men’s and women’s hockey teams demonstrated on the world stage and how those same principles can help organizations strengthen resilience, sharpen focus, and turn pressure into performance. If you are looking for insights on thriving in uncertain times, this article delivers clear, actionable takeaways.
5 Powerful Lessons the US Hockey Team Can Teach Us About Thriving In Uncertainty by Meridith Elliott Powell
I don’t know about you, but I am one of the millions of Americans who have never watched a hockey game. I don’t follow the sport, don’t have any family members who play, and I certainly wasn’t planning to tune in to watch either US Hockey Team compete in the 2026 Olympics — until their historic gold medal run captured the country’s attention.
In fact, I am not alone. Something like only 17% of Americans follow hockey – until now. Because, whether you are a hockey fan or not, it was hard not to be moved (and become a fan) by the incredible performance of the US Olympic Hockey Teams, and their incredible gold medal wins in the 2026 Olympics.
Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams took home the gold, beating the highly favored Canadian teams. The Canadian teams went into these Olympic games with history on their side, a far deeper roster of talented players – and let’s be real, in Canada, hockey is like a religion. Yet the US teams, both men and women, pulled out the win.
While we all enjoyed watching them win, celebrating with them, and feeling so much pride in our country taking home not one, but two gold medals, there is so much more we can learn from these US Hockey Teams about turning uncertainty to competitive advantage.
Think about this: both US hockey teams walked into these games not fully in control, not fully predicted to win, and not fully certain of the outcome — and yet they won anyway. Sounds familiar, right? This sounds very much like what many of us are dealing with in our organizations every single day.
So, what can we learn, what can we take away, and how can we apply what these young leaders have taught us?
You Don’t Need Certainty, You Need Readiness – both the men’s and women’s US Hockey Teams walked into the Olympics not knowing what to expect. This was a different rink, a different set of opponents, a different team, and certainty a different set of pressures.
Lesson: You cannot predict the future, but you can be ready for it – preparation is key to thriving in uncertainty. It is time to get in shape for change.
Focus On What You Can Control – both teams were labeled the underdog. They were facing a team that was arguably more talented, a crowd that favored the Canadians, and expert expectations that the US Teams were not going to win.
Lesson: When dealing with challenges and uncertainty, there is so much out of your control. Winners focus on what they can control. Both of these teams focused on mindset, execution and effort. Uncertainty punishes distraction and rewards focus.
Use Uncertainty As Fuel – I can only imagine the pressure at the Olympics is insane – the millions watching, the limited time you have to perform, all the time and effort you have put into this one moment. You have to choose whether pressure will prevent opportunity or fuel it.
Lesson: Shift how you view pressure and simply decide that the pressure is there to help you grow and succeed. Most of us operate at 60 to 70% capacity, and pressure, when used correctly, can unleash that last 30 to 40%, leading to unstoppable growth.
Lean Into The Team – I think one of the greatest stories from these Olympic games is that it was not about one player, a hero, or even just the players on the ice. Both teams understood that if they were going to win, it was going to take every player – working together, leveraging their talents, expertise and determination.
Lesson: Uncertainty is a team sport, and trading competition for collaboration is the way to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage. Looking for ways to leverage talents, experience and resources to put the mission about individual performance.
Play Offense – And last but not least, my favorite lesson is play offense. Both of these teams, despite what everyone else thought about their chances, showed up to win! They did not try to protect themselves, play small, or just not get beat too badly – no, they showed and played like they were the champions – and they were.
Lesson: The most important strategy for turning uncertainty to competitive advantage is mastering your mindset. You have to believe in your success – your belief will drive your actions, and your actions will drive results.
It was certainly the highlight of the Olympic Games, watching these two teams take to the ice, beat the odds and take home the gold. It makes me wonder what can happen in our businesses, with our teams, and in our lives, if we adopt the powerful lessons these young leaders have taught us all.
By: Meridith Elliott Powell March 9, 2026
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