The other week, I interviewed. And hired. An ex-athlete, and it got me thinking about why former sportspeople make such great hires for dynamic businesses.
Alright, let’s dive straight into a truth that’s as clear and sharp as a well-maintained ice skate: athletes often turn out to be rockstars in the corporate world. Wondering how the discipline of sports translates into smashing success in business? It’s not just about competition; it’s about a whole set of ingrained habits and mindsets that athletes develop, which happen to be gold dust in business.
Here’s the kicker: An investigation by British Universities & Colleges Sport unveils that alumni who engaged in sports at the university level command an average salary premium of 18% over their peers who did not. According to a global study by EY and espnW, 94% of women in C-suite positions played sports. If that’s not compelling enough, consider that over half of them (52%) played at university level.
We’re talking about a breed of people who are not only used to hard knocks and getting back up but are also master strategists, team players, and goal-setters. Let’s unpack why athletes often end up on the winners’ podium in their business careers too.
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1. Goal Setting. It’s Their Bread and Butter
Athletes eat goals for breakfast. From a young age, they’re taught how to set clear, tangible goals and the steps needed to achieve them. This isn’t just about aiming to win a race; it’s about the incremental improvements needed to shave off a millisecond here or add a kilogram there. In the corporate jungle, this translates into setting performance targets, smashing sales goals, and strategic planning. They don’t just aim for good; they aim for gold-standard results.
2. Discipline and Resilience. They’ve Got it in Spades
Let’s face it, getting up at 5 AM to dive into a cold swimming pool or hit the track takes a special kind of stubborn. Athletes do it daily, rain or shine. This discipline overflows into their work ethic, making them relentless in their pursuit of corporate success. Resilience built in training and competition. Handling losses, injuries, and failures without throwing in the towel. Equips them to navigate business downturns. Where others see disaster, they see a challenge to overcome. They are driven by the fulfilment that comes from reaching the finish line, whether it’s the end of a race or the successful culmination of a business project. Athletes don’t just work hard; they keep going when others might give up.
3. Team Dynamics. No ‘I’ in Team
Athletes understand that the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. They’ve lived through the highs of team victories and the lows of losses, learning that collaboration and communication are pivotal. In the corporate world, this experience translates into leading teams with empathy and insight, fostering a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.
Many successful athletes have their strongest Working Genius in galvanising others. They get that to win big, you need to pull together and know how to rally a team and inspire them towards a common goal. This ability translates well into leadership roles within a business setting, where they can motivate their teams to push forward, overcome obstacles, and achieve collective objectives enthusiastically.
4. Performance Under Pressure. Cool as Ice
Ever watched a penalty shoot-out? That nail-biting moment is what athletes live for. Handling pressure is part of their training. When it comes to the high-stakes environment of business negotiations, tight deadlines, and critical presentations, athletes often remain unflappable. High-level athletes develop a keen sense of discernment through sports, learning to make split-second decisions and understanding the nuances of their sport. This transfers to business as evaluating situations, making informed decisions, and providing insightful advice that guides strategic directions. Their ability to focus and deliver when the heat is on makes them invaluable in any business setting.
5. Continuous Improvement. Always Leveling Up
In sports, the goalposts are always moving. What was fast yesterday won’t win tomorrow’s races. In the words of my new hire “perfection is a benchmark”. Athletes are in a constant state of self-evaluation and improvement, seeking even the slightest edge to boost performance. This culture of continual personal and professional development can ignite innovation and drive in business, keeping their teams competitive and cutting-edge.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Athletes bring to the table a cocktail of qualities that every business craves: resilience, discipline, teamwork, pressure management, and relentless improvement. They’re not just playing games; they’re mastering the art of winning, whatever the arena. In the corporate world, that’s not just valuable; it’s often the difference between the good and the truly great.
Now, next time you’re looking to hire, and you see a candidate with a sports background, you might just want to think twice about passing them over. They could be the very people who’ll help your business not just play the game, but change it entirely.
What should you do next?
If this post has annoyed you slightly, good. The issue is probably not effort. It is design. The business is asking you to carry decisions, standards and exceptions that should now belong inside the team.
The goal is not to disappear. The goal is to build a company where your best work is not dragged back into every operational tangle.
That is the point. Scaling is not adding more people around the same bottleneck. It is rebuilding the business so the bottleneck is removed.
Four ways to take this further
- Book a call. If growth is now making the company slower, heavier or more dependent on you, I can help you decide whether the constraint is people, strategy, execution, cash or your role as founder. No obligation, no pitch. You will know quickly whether this is the right kind of help.
- Grab the book. F**k Plan B covers these principles in more depth, with the practical founder lessons behind customer obsession, honest communication, hiring, small teams and managers who coach.
- Watch: 5 founder mistakes that kill growth. Five founder bottlenecks that quietly stop growth between 50 and 100 people, and how to clear them.
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Your move. Open Slack, Teams or your inbox. Find the decision that should not have come to you this week. That is where the scaling work starts.