This month, we meet Eva André, an elite athlete and member of the French freediving team, to challenge our perceptions of performance. This open conversation sweeps away the culture of productivity at all costs and demonstrates how the sustainability of the action and the strength of the collective redefine success.
Has your vision of performance evolved since the beginning of your career?
Eva André: Totally. I used to be focused on performance statistics. The ultimate benchmark was the pursuit of a record, no matter what the cost. I see performance now more as a long-term perspective. I am always looking to improve, to dive deeper, but I have to do it properly so I can sustain my career. The statistic I achieve should be the consequence of a perfect action, and not the goal itself.
People tend to imagine that your job is quite solitary, because you are all alone underwater. But I imagine there’s a strong collective element to it, that you have a support network around you. How does that influence your individual performance?
Eva André: I wouldn’t achieve anything at all if I worked alone! First, because without the team, I wouldn’t be safe. You can’t do a dive without safety precautions. When the team is there, you know they have it covered and you can let go, and that’s pretty exceptional.
I’m trained by a coach and surrounded by several friends who are also competitors. That collective experience sparks the desire and gives me the means to push myself further. I am lucky to work in an ultra-competitive and stimulating environment. It helps us inspire each other and support each other; share experiences and expertise to fill the gaps we have.
At what point in your journey did you realize that you could inspire others too?
Eva André: It was when I started sharing my experiences on LinkedIn. Managers and executives came to see me and said: “Could you come and talk to my employees? I think they would like it.” That's when I realized there was a real demand from businesses: the demand for a different perspective, to draw inspiration from other stories. I realized that my journey was not only useful to me, but that it could be useful to others. It's something very precious that really inspires me, but it also brings genuine responsibility.
In the world of work, leadership is often associated with something masculine, something that takes up space and is imposing. You are a young woman, a very high-level athlete. In your position, do you feel you are challenging perceptions of power and leadership?
Eva André: I think my approach to power and performance is perhaps a little more feminine. But it's not something I'm trying to intellectualize or work on; I just strive to be fully authentic. I believe that the key to leadership, when you are a woman who does not necessarily fit into predefined codes (or a man who may not appear to be a classic leader), is authenticity. It’s about saying: “OK, I'm going to fight with my own weapons, I’m going to be myself, and I'm not going to try to disguise myself to please others or influence them.”
I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not. That’s what really touched people the first time I spoke on stage. I don’t pretend to be a lecturer or take on the persona of an elite athlete, I’m just myself. I’m like everyone else; it just so happens that I have experienced some rather exceptional things. In fact, I often say that my career happened because of a misunderstanding. I was in the right place at the right time, I had a talent for it and I met the right people. But on stage, I'm exactly like the audience. My daily life is different from everyone else’s, but deep down, we all experience the same things. That's what I find fascinating about the connections with the business world: the relationship with failure, questions about resilience, and the need to rely on a competent team... The challenges are the same.
So, what is your relationship with failure?
Eva André: Probably no different to everyone else’s. I try to run away from it and avoid it as much as possible, but when it happens, you just have to deal with it. I don’t really subscribe to the idea that failure doesn’t exist, and that it’s all about the lessons you learn. Sometimes failure is just annoying; it costs time and money. If you can avoid it and follow guidelines that work, you should do that. But when failure happens, it’s your responsibility to make something else out of it, something greater. That’s what I’m trying to put in place, even though it isn’t easy when you're right in the thick of it. But the idea is to say to yourself: “I don't have power over everything that happens to me, but, it is my responsibility to do something about it so that this failure doesn't mark the end of my career.”
Do you think that your authenticity helps youto give others the courage to step off the beaten path and overcome their fears?
Eva André: I feel like I’m getting there, yes. And that’s quite surprising, because I am usually full of doubts and fears. I’m always frightened of failure or not being up to the task. But when I share that with others, it strikes a chord, because they recognize themselves in it. By talking to them about my own flaws, I'm telling them a little about themselves. They say to themselves: “If she's scared and she does the thing anyway, it means I can too.” This honest relationship with fear and disappointment gives others the keys to push themselves further. It’s about saying to yourself: OK, it's difficult, OK, I’m afraid, but it's not impossible.
How do you keep on reinventing yourself and shake off assumptions that people make about you?
Eva André: It's very difficult because the pressure is intense. When I started getting media attention and giving talks, I was incredibly proud to present my 90-meter dive. Except that the following year, I had to go back to diving, and whenever I struggled, I felt an imposter syndrome that is very difficult to shake. I think the only way to resist that kind of pressure is to be surrounded by people who see you for more than just your records.
Because it’s vital to keep things separate. I have done things, I am here to talk about those things today, and the lessons I’ve learned, but that doesn’t define who I am. It is an essential job, and it is the same for someone who puts a lot of energy into their work and gets into a highly coveted position: you have to keep in mind that you are more than your title or your job. When you do that, you avoid putting all your eggs in one basket and you can ease the pressure of achieving your results. That's why I try to wear as many caps as I can. It's not easy because a performance project like this takes up a lot of time and headspace, but I also try to leave room for other things. Freediving is one thing, but I am more than just a freediver.
Our vision of performance is changing. It’s less about individual pressure and more about teamwork, sustainability and listening to your body. What do you think are the key skills we should be working on for the future?
Eva André: I think the key skills are relaxation, flexibility, and enjoyment. I really like this sentence: “There are no imperatives underwater.” It’s true in any hostile environment, with limited resources and high pressure. Imperatives never yield good results; not on the body and not on the mind.
The essential skill for a long life, a long career and the achievement of ambitious goals is being able to cultivate an appetite for performance. As soon as you start looking at statistics and figures, you cut yourself off from your body and your sensations. Competition demands performance at any given moment, and that’s not always conducive to self-awareness. Nourishing that appetite and enjoyment is the only way to avoid burnout and to stay committed over the long term, whatever the field.
