If you’ve ever watched a professional athlete out on the field or in training, you’ll have noticed that nothing happens by chance — their success is the product of consistency, focus, competitive spirit, and leadership. We like to call this a pro-sport spirit which can be applied to the workplace just as successfully as the sports arena. For example, here are 5 tips from the athletes’ playbook that are sure to improve your productivity at work.
Consistency
To become accomplished at any sport, an athlete must put in the work every single day. This means practicing the same skills over and over again, getting better step by step, until finally, they become a champion. This consistency when applied in the workplace can have equally impressive results. By taking just a few small and consistent steps a day to improve individual performance, positive habits are formed that when practiced again and again, will boost productivity and success long term.
Focus
Whether it’s aiming a ball towards a basketball net or hitting a shuttlecock at just the right moment in a game of badminton — both require immense focus. The brain must concentrate, learn and adapt quickly, before putting that thinking into practice. It’s about Learning AND Doing — true focus followed by immediate, decisive action. When applied in the workplace, this kind of focus ensures that learning opportunities are fully absorbed and transformed into Doing and productivity.
Competition
Sporting activities such as football or tennis necessarily draw on strategy or a “game plan”. This is not only great practice for staying motivated and on task, but it also teaches players to visualize and self-actualize. Competition naturally forces us to zero in on what we want to achieve, calculate the necessary steps to get there, before executing with precision. Productivity soars in the workplace when individuals cultivate a similar, healthy sense of competition.
Self Leadership
Every professional athlete knows their talents and resources well and how to activate them. They are self-starters who know what it takes to be successful and lead themselves towards that goal. Self Leadership in the workplace similarly requires each employee to know themselves well and how they can add value. With this knowledge, and through Individual Empowerment, individuals can become self-starters too which results in Productivity AND Happiness.
Team Leadership
Team sports allow each individual to explore their talents and contribute to a whole group objective. Nobody wins alone — every player matters, regardless of whether they’re providing support, defense or taking the lead. It’s an excellent example to follow when communicating with your own team at work and for fostering each other’s unique strengths and talents. Knowing and supporting one another drives productivity in the workplace as everyone works to “win” together. The individual is the strength of the team and the team is the strength of the individual.
