The other day I watched the Netflix documentary Miracle: The Boys of ’80, which is about the 1980 United States hockey team that upset the seemingly invincible Soviet Union team in a game that became known as the Miracle on Ice and then beat Finland to win the gold medal. It remains one of the greatest sports stories of all-time, in part, because it was bigger than a game.

The description of the documentary begins with this line…

“Belief was their strategy.”

Now, don’t misunderstand…

They put in the time.

They prepared physically.

They prepared mentally.

They devised tactical schemes.

They deployed their resources intentionally.

They made roster decisions deliberately.

They equipped the players to be at their best.

But a key piece of the strategy for winning a gold medal was…

Belief.

They had to believe they could do it in order to do it.

But they didn’t start with belief because, initially, nobody – including the players – believed they could win.

Belief had to be built.

And it was built through…

Preparation.

Practice.

Experience.

Learning.

One practice session and one game at a time.

And it was built.

And it made winning possible.

It’s been said that “leadership is a transfer of belief.”

So, leaders, what are you doing to build belief?

In turns out, that belief is, indeed, a strategy for accomplishing your goals.