When a champion takes to the track, all the competitors know who they're up against, even more so than the public. If they've already felt him breathing down their necks, or tried to outwit him, then they have personal points of comparison against which to judge their chances. Sometimes the champion's confidence is such that the die is cast before the performance even begins. Altitude is the right word to describe the prestige that precedes and accompanies them. It's even part of their success.
As they develop their skills, each of them is gradually confronted with higher levels of demand as they progress. He or she encounters more seasoned competition, also endowed with a certain aura of self-confidence. In this context, failures are virtually inevitable and are enough to make anyone doubt. Only the most persistent manage to gain even more altitude and maintain their "ascendancy". At these levels, altitude cannot be simulated; it must be developed through emotional work, in parallel with that on the technical qualities required in the field, be it sporting, intellectual, economic, political, scientific or artistic.
We've all enjoyed a certain altitude, whether as a parent, a leader or a member of a group, and we've also experienced it in front of someone we hold in high esteem. This altitude imposes a presence that's hard to ignore. In the presence of people of repute, people lose their nerve, take risks, break with convention, forget their critical faculties or produce exceptional efforts. All kinds of unusual phenomena occur in their environment.
In education, prestigious teachers can afford to be more demanding of their students. But it's also easier for them to fall into arrogance or condescension.
Once a reputation is amplified by the media and networks, it can quickly become a challenge that is virtually impossible to tackle alone. After a certain threshold, many stars give up and reduce their public presence to a minimum. Some develop a kind of technical schizophrenia, a public and a private personality. Managing to dissociate who they really are from the idea people have of them is perhaps what those who remain at the top of their game do best. They play and enjoy their position rather than suffer from it.
What is this "altitude" made of in those who wear it? How does their self-assurance translate into arrogance? How does it spread in people's minds? How can it be put to good use? This dossier examines these questions.
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Illustration: Shutterstock - 2474324031
