Last Sunday, my 7 yr old and I were cheering on my brother in the half marathon at the Sydney Running Festival. While we were waiting for him to run past us, someone nearby was yelling encouragement to all the competitors. I was unsure whether he was an event official or just an enthusiastic spectator, but I was fascinated by the effect he had on me, let alone the competitors!

What I noticed about this person is that he wasn’t just clapping and cheering, he was very specific in his encouragement and praise. We were standing about 500 metres from the finish line and I could hear him saying “You’re almost there – push through the pain”, “You’ve made it this far – finish well”, “Amazing effort – give your all right to the finish”, and so on.

He was also consistent and made sure he could be heard by all the competitors as they ran by him. I was getting inspired and I was just watching the race! So I can only imagine what it meant to the competitors.

What a great message for women in business. Despite any thoughts you may have to the contrary, you cannot succeed in business without a cheer squad.

You need people around you who know what they’re talking about, who can give you specific encouragement and advice, and who are committed to championing you. You need people at every step of the way who can tell you what you need to hear (not just what you want to hear!). Your motivation will increase immeasurably and you will be amazed at how much more productive you can be.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender