What Elite Athletes Can Teach
You About Being A Better Business Leader
Playing sports at an
elite level requires commitment, humility, and perseverance—all necessary
traits of great leaders.
Playing sports at an elite level requires
commitment, humility, perseverance, and other attributes similar to those of
great leaders. In fact, elite athletes can tell us a great deal about how to be
better leaders, says Stan Beecham, author of Elite Minds: How Winners
Think Differently to Create a Competitive Edge and Maximize Success.
"The obvious similarity is that they’re both competitive
arenas," Beecham says. In his coaching practice, which includes both
executives and elite athletes, the training and mental toughness required is
similar for both types of clients, he says. Business leaders can draw a number
of lessons from those who play sports at an elite level.
When linebacker Bradie James
retired from the Dallas Cowboys in 2014, he devoted himself full-time to his
franchise businesses. James had some success with MOOYAH Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, but was looking for new
challenges in the business world. After discussions with management, he joined
the company’s corporate team as director of brand engagement, working in
marketing, operations, and sales.
For both executives and elite
athletes, training and mental toughness is required.
James credits his time on the Cowboys with making this transition.
"As an athlete, we thrive in chaotic situations. [On the field], there are
so many different things that are going on—the crowd, the opponent—you have to
do your job. What you have to do is just hone that ability," he says. He
used the ability to quickly assess needs and actions that he developed on the
football field to do the same for his new employer.
One of the first things elite
athletes learn is that they can’t work in a vacuum, says elite performance
coach Michelle Cleere, author of From Here to There: A
Simple Blueprint for Women to Achieve Success in Sport and Business. You need the
right training and coaches to help you succeed.
Developing relationships with the people who can help you get
better is second nature to athletes, but perhaps less so to business leaders,
who may try to achieve more on their own, she says. Look at yourself as an
athlete, she suggests. If you need to get better in a particular area, think
about where you can get the extra coaching or training you need to develop that
skill set.
Where elite athletes practice far more than they actually compete,
business leaders are often expected to compete relentlessly, often with little
practice, Beecham says. That can leave them ill-prepared when the stakes are
high. While there is an enormous focus on numbers and successes, less attention
is paid on building a solid process that prepares people to achieve those
goals.
The options aren’t "win or
lose." They’re "win or learn."
That process includes training, mentoring, stretch assignments,
and assessment of strengths and weaknesses before "game time," he
says, whether that’s a big sales presentation or taking on a big project.
Beecham points to John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, who was
well-known for not talking about winning or losing, but rather how he wanted
the game played.
"What I'm saying is what a lot of business leaders fail to do
and I would say that in the sport, they do better than this," Beecham
explains. "Good coaches in sport really do talk about the process, the
things that we need to do to focus on to do well. In business, they don't do
that as well," he adds.
When Ryan Kwiatkowski was a
professional volleyball player in Belgium, he learned quickly how to manage his
time. Three or four practices per day, traveling to matches, and other demands
made it important for him to be organized about what needed to get done and
overcome procrastination, he says. Now, he is director of marketing for his
family’s financial services firm,Retirement Solutions, Inc. in Naperville, Illinois, which
manages more than $100 million in assets.
"I take a look at the work day in chunks and focus on very
specific targeted activities throughout the day," says Kwiatkowski,
"similar to how it would be during practices."
Recently, Kwiatkowski’s team didn’t land a big business pitch.
While the news was disappointing, the former volleyball pro drew on his
athletic experience to rally his team. The options aren’t "win or
lose," he says. They’re "win or learn." Review what happened and
where improvements can be made to be a better competitor next time, he says.
When you’re a linebacker in the National Football League taking a
beating from the other team, overcoming adversity is part of your job. James
says that one of the key lessons he learned playing pro ball was that you have
to bounce back. You’re going to get hit. You’re going to have bad days, he
says. But you’ve got to figure out a way to get yourself back in the game,
renewing your resolve, determination, and enthusiasm to make another run, even
when you might not feel like it.
"You don't fail by falling, you fail by staying on the
ground. It's about getting yourself back up," he says. That kind of mental
toughness is an essential part of long-term success.
As captain of the Cowboys, James says there were times when he had
to be the liaison between players and coaches, resolving concerns. Today, he
uses that same skill as he helps build the MOOYAH brand. His experience as a
franchise owner allows him to bring a different perspective to the corporate
team, and he speaks out regularly to make sure their voice is heard.
"Sometimes you say, ‘You know what, the team is banking on
this, so let's look at it from a different perspective. Let's try a different
way. I'm all in no matter what we do, but let's make this one adjustment. What
do you think?’" James believes that ability to get people to work together
toward a common goal is a skill that will serve you in business and in life.
GWEN MORAN
https://www.fastcompany.com/3063959/work-smart/what-elite-athletes-can-teach-you-about-being-a-better-business-leader
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