Nicky Lowe [00:00:00]:
Hi, it’s Nicky Lowe and welcome to the Wisdom for Working Mums podcast show. I’m your host and for nearly two decades now I’ve been an executive coach and leadership development consultant. And on this show I share evidence based insights from my coaching, leadership and psychological expertise and inspiring interviews that help women like you to combine your work, life and motherhood in a more successful and sustainable way. Join me and my special guests as we delve into leadership and lifestyle topics for women, empowering you to thrive one conversation at a time. I’m so happy that you’re here. And let’s get on with today’s episode. If you’re a high achieving woman who constantly feels like you’ve got to go big or go home, that only the massive bold moves count, this episode is for you. If you’ve ever felt like success has to be dramatic or all consuming, I want to introduce you to a gentler, more sustainable way.

Nicky Lowe [00:01:08]:
And it’s called marginal gains. And in today’s episode I’ll explore how small changes repeated over time can lead to life changing results. Because the real magic often lies in the tiny overlooked improvements. But it’s taken more years of my life than it should have done to learn this. The kind of person that over functions. I feel like I’ve got to over deliver, overdo, do big goals to feel like I’m achieving. And I want to take you back to a moment in my life that brought this into sharp focus. My dad passed away four years ago and after his death I received some inheritance because my mum had died 20 years earlier.

Nicky Lowe [00:01:52]:
So this was emotional on many levels. And having having an inheritance is a very weird feeling because it comes with huge grief and loss of receiving that money. And I wanted to carefully consider how I invested that money. And I made a decision that might surprise you. I chose to invest some of that money in getting my teeth straightened. And I kind of feel embarrassed to admit that because on one level it could appear vain or frivolous but. But actually for me it was deeply meaningful because it was a way of remembering my dad. And what you need to know is that actually I have my dad’s exact smile.

Nicky Lowe [00:02:37]:
I actually have a picture from my wedding day. And as my dad and I were traveling to the church together in the wedding car, as we pulled up at the church, our photographer captured a photo of us. And I hadn’t realized before exactly how similar our smiles were. We always talked about that we were the ones with the strong teeth in our family. My mum had so many fillings and her teeth weren’t great, but my dad’s always had this kind of this great strong teeth. And I’m the same. But as a teenager, I wore braces, and I wore them for a few years and had these beautifully straight teeth. But what nobody tells you is that that can shift again.

Nicky Lowe [00:03:19]:
I think these days people are given retainers, but, like, I spent years getting perfectly straightened, and then over the years, they’d become crooked, and my front tooth was starting to kind of project out, and I kind of started to feel like I was looking like Nanny McPhee. So I wanted to reclaim that smile that I shared with him. And I thought that was a really beautiful kind of way of remembering him as well, because we shared exactly the same smile. So I began a teeth realignment journey, and it basically involved wearing one retainer after another, each for about a week. And there were many weeks involved. And at first. First, nothing seemed to change. And I started to get really frustrated, really bored.

Nicky Lowe [00:04:01]:
I kind of lost momentum because I wasn’t seeing the results. But luckily my dentist knew that this is what happens in the process and really kept me accountable. But little by little, shift by shift, my. My kind of smile really started to transform, and I really started to know the difference. And. And that process wasn’t just about my teeth. It really became a lesson for me in marginal gains. How these seemingly insignificant changes, consistently applied, can completely reshape not just our teeth, but our lives.

Nicky Lowe [00:04:38]:
And actually, elite sports is a great place to see the power of marginal gains. And about 17 years ago, I started working with a company called Lane4, and it was founded by Olympic gold medalist Adrian Morehouse. And if you’re of a certain age, you probably will remember Adrian’s name because he dominated British swimming in the 1980s, and he won gold in the 100 meter breaststroke. I think it was, in the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Now, I got to admit, when I first joined Lane 4, I didn’t know what Lane 4 meant. But if you know competitive swimming, Lane 4 is reserved for the fastest qualifier, basically the elite performer. It’s like pole position in Formula one. It’s the lane where the favorite gets to race, the kind of the one to watch, because they actually have a bird’s eye view of all their competitors in the other lanes.

Nicky Lowe [00:05:35]:
And it’s the lane of least resistance, so you get the least wake from your competitors. So Adrian had called his business Lane 4 because it was the kind of where high performance was inevitable. And that’s exactly what Adrian wanted to create. He. When he transitioned from being an athlete and retiring. He became an entrepreneur and he started Lane4 to help people to lead, perform and really thrive at their highest levels, whether they were in the pool or the boardroom, or balancing the demands of life and leadership like we are. And through my work with Lane four, and I’m still proud to do that work today, I’ve had the incredible privilege of learning directly from Olympians and Olympic sports psychologists. And it’s given me a front, front row seat into the mindset, the discipline and the psychology that kind of fuels, sustains and makes high performance inevitable.

Nicky Lowe [00:06:27]:
And that experience has shaped how I support high performing women. Because what I learned from elite sports is this, that excellence doesn’t come in big leaps. It actually comes from small, intentional, repeated steps. And I think one of the most striking examples of marginal gain in action comes from Sir Dave Brailsford. He’s the man behind the meteoric kind of success of the British cycling team. And I share this because when I often share sports stories, they’re often sports that I’ve not personally followed, but because my work with Lane four kind of, I have access to all this amazing information around kind of the sports world. And back in the early 2000s, British Cycling, despite being around for decades, had only ever won a single Olympic gold in track cycling. Across its 76 year history, the sport was fragmented, it was underperforming and under funded, and it was really starved of a performance culture.

Nicky Lowe [00:07:34]:
And Dave Brailsford was brought in and he was a passionate athlete and coach who had competed semi professional and later he’d earned degrees in sports science and psychology. And he joined British cycling as a consultant in the late 90s. And he really started rising quickly through the ranks. And by 2003 he became their performance director. And he inherited a team that was really both hungry for success, but also for kind of like a high performance identity. And Dave introduced a principle that was really rooted, I suppose, in humility and curiosity. And he basically said, let’s categorize every, everything that it takes to win a bike race and then just improve each piece by 1%. And it was a strategy that was really the aggregation of what we’re talking about today, of these marginal gains.

Nicky Lowe [00:08:27]:
And the improvements were logical. Kind of. They looked at bite seat ergonomics, like how do we get the most comfortable and ergonomically fitted seats? It was about optimizing their training. It was about aerodynamic suitcases and helmets. But actually Dave knew that true transformation lies in the details, so he went deeper. So he and his Team did things like they sourced the perfect pillow and mattress combination to ensure that their, their competitors got really top quality sleep. They painted the inside of the support vans white so even the tiniest dust could be spotted and eliminated so it didn’t interfere with kind of the, the, the maintenance of the bikes. They brought in a surgeon to teach hand washing to reduce sickness and keep their riders kind of on track.

Nicky Lowe [00:09:18]:
They tested massage gels heated over shorts, fabric technology and even what alcohol to clean their tires with. And they did it with like this scientific rigor. And it looked meticulous, maybe even obsessive to some people, but the payoff was phenomenal. By the 2004 Athens Olympics, Britain won two cycling golds and that was its best ever performance since 1908. And then four years later in Beijing, they got seven out of ten track cycling golds. It was like a staggering, I think like 60 haul of the gold medals. And in London 2012, they claimed nine Olympic medals and seven world records, basically dominating globally in front of their home crowd. And they also saw victories in Tour de France with people like Bradley Wink.

Nicky Lowe [00:10:17]:
Bradley Wiggins, if I can say his name, he became Britain’s first ever winner in 2012. And actually over the next six years, British riders captured five titles. So that was a massive turnaround. But every triumph stemmed from hundreds of tiny, focused improvements, each on their own. Seemingly minor, but collectively it was monumental. And Dave Brailsford famously said, if you break down everything that goes into riding a bike and improving it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together. And I think there was a story apparently that Bradley Wiggins was on the brink of his Tour de France victory and wasn’t even allowed to carry his own suitcase. Staff would do that for him.

Nicky Lowe [00:11:06]:
Kind of reasoning, like, why risk a back injury? Like, after all of this work? And that attention to detail, the professionalism layered upon, like the marginal gains is really what built champions. So next time you think small changes don’t matter, I want you to remember Sir Dave and the British cycling team. Because momentum is quiet, but it is powerful when it’s done in those small increments. And another example that I often share is from Sir Clive Woodward. And Clive Woodward took England rugby team to win globally. So he was behind the England rugby team’s transformation. And in 2003, England Rugby had been, I suppose, respected as a global competitor, but had never won the World Cup. And Clive, who was a former player and then became, I think he was a CEO of a tech company.

Nicky Lowe [00:12:02]:
So he Was like this visionary leader, then became head coach. And in 1997 he saw a chance really not just to train harder, but smarter. Because when he took over the team, he knew that they weren’t going to get any more funding than any of the teams in the world. He hadn’t even got like higher talented, you know, they were incredibly talented team, but they weren’t any more talented than any of the other global teams. But what he saw was this idea of what he called critical non essentials. He called them cnes critical non essentials. And they were the kind of these small symbolic details that when done well, created a culture of excellence but also belonging. He did it in a way that really brought the team with him because he knew that England had no massive advantage.

Nicky Lowe [00:12:53]:
Every team had talent and investment, as I said, but if he could find a hundred things to do 1% better, that they’d stand apart. So some of the critical non essentials that they put together was players actually had the same hotel room on every trip for kind of this calmness and familiarity. I think up until that point, I think players had shared rooms just from a cost perspective. And he was like, no, every player has their own room. We need to prioritize kind of sleep and kind of an environment that just allows them to replenish. He actually got them to wear tailored suits and luxury shoes when they did their, you know, they were traveling on their team bustle to events because it reinforced that identity of professionalism. He really branded the team bus and the locker rooms with kind of inspirational quotes to create that emotional pride. He had individual development plans for every player, even players that weren’t necessarily on the first team and were going to be played.

Nicky Lowe [00:13:54]:
He recognized that that focus and attention to detail for every single person was important. And they each had personalized match preparations, whether it was music, meditation, breath, work. And I think one of the things that they also did, he got them to wear tight, tighter kits and so that their shirts were tighter. And it wasn’t kind of to show off their muscles or their bodies. But what he recognized was that competitors would try and grab hold of your kind of shirts to drag you down when they were kind of chasing you across the rugby pitch. And it would stop as much of that as possible because if they were tight, there wasn’t anything to grip onto. And each micro detail added up. And in 2003, for those that can remember, England won the first Northern hemisphere team team to win the rugby World Cup.

Nicky Lowe [00:14:44]:
Because up until then it been Southern hemisphere teams like New Zealand So his mantra was 100 things 1% better and it’s because, and hopefully what you’re hearing from this, it’s not about finding that one big fix, it’s about caring about the small stuff and doing it consistently. So as you hit that, I hope it started to get you thinking about what your cnes, your critical non essentials could be. And I think it’s worth talking about some of the science behind these tiny wins. And if you’ve ever come across James Clear and his book in his best selling book, Atomic Habits, you’ll absolutely get that. And I’d like to kind of bring his voice into the conversation about marginal gains. Because what I love about James’s work is he doesn’t just talk about willpower or motivation to get these kind of marginal gains done. He brings the science and more importantly, he makes it simple and actionable. He shares the idea of that if you improve by just 1% each day for a year, you won’t be 365% better, you’ll be nearly 37 times better.

Nicky Lowe [00:15:56]:
That’s 3678% more because it’s the power of compounding. Those small improvements stacked up consistently don’t just add up, they multiply. And that’s how powerful these tiny shifts are. We don’t often notice those changes day to day, like me with my teeth straightening. But over time it’s transformational. And here’s where it gets really interesting because James says we often focus too much on big goals, like run a marathon, get promoted, lose 10 pounds. But really what drives change are the systems that we put in place. And he puts it this way, you don’t, you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.

Nicky Lowe [00:16:40]:
I’ll say that again because I think this is really important. You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. So instead of assessing over the end results, he asks, what’s the system that will carry me there? Is it laying out your gym kit the night before or blocking out 15 minutes of deep work each morning? I don’t know, a quick journal entry before bed. Because what James really wants us to understand is this. Every small action you take is a vote for the kind of person you want to become. And he talks about write one sentence a day, you’re casting a vote for becoming, being a writer. Walk for five minutes a day is casting a vote for being someone who values their well being. Saying no to something that drains you is a vote for boundaries.

Nicky Lowe [00:17:30]:
So over time, those votes build your identity. And he’s an identity is what sticks much more than motivation. So James offers this simple framework called the four Laws of Behavior Change to build good habits and also break bad ones he talks about. The first one is make it obvious. Second one is make it attractive. Third one is make it easy. And the fourth one is make it satisfying. So rather than willpower, it’s actually the design of our systems.

Nicky Lowe [00:18:00]:
So if we’re designing our days, our environment, and ultimately our lives. And this is why I love linking with what James teaches in the world of high performance. Because in both kind of leadership and motherhood, we’re shaping outcome in the everyday, the seemingly ordinary. And when those small winds start stacking, that’s when we get the real transformation. So let’s bring this back into your world. I get it, you’re balancing a lot. But what if thriving isn’t about doing more, but choosing one small shift and really doubling down on that? So it could be, you know, just delegating one task this week or a five minute tech free zone saying no without guilt, or maybe prepping a single healthy lunch ahead of time. Because these are your marginal gains.

Nicky Lowe [00:18:58]:
They’re small, they’re gentle, they’re doable. But they compound. And with time, they build momentum. So I’d love to ask you, what’s your 1% today? It might feel small, it might not look much, but trust me, this is the power of quiet transformation. You don’t need to revolutionize your life overnight. You can take that pressure off. You just need to start stacking these small, meaningful wins. So if this episode spoke to you, I’d love for you to share it with a friend or a colleague who might need to hear this message.

Nicky Lowe [00:19:41]:
And until next time, take care. And remember, tiny changes can change everything. If you’ve enjoyed this episode of Wisdom for Working Mum, I’d love for you to share it on social media or with the amazing women in your life. I’d also love to connect with you. So head over to luminate co.uk where you’ll find ways to stay in touch. And if this episode resonated with you, one of the best ways to support the show is by subscribing and leaving a review on itunes. Your review helps other women discover this resource, so together we can lift each other up as we rise. So thanks for listening.

Nicky Lowe [00:20:22]:
Until next time, take care.