How to Own Your Femininity: From Sports to Business to Motherhood

We just love that today’s most feminine athletes are no longer confined to cheerleading and synchronized swimming, and are equally as grateful that we don’t have to wear aprons all day and vacuum the living room while waiting for “darling” to come home with the family car. Thanks to these last few liberating decades, women can now get our hands dirty and race to the top with the best of ‘em, bucking the trends and - not only in sports, but with business, and most importantly, motherhood. In fact, I've always wondered the direct correlation between accomplished women athletes and their typically high rates of successful business endeavors. Consequently, the same women with this “go getter” mentality turn out to be great wives and moms. Were we always destined to become these motivated, resilient, pioneering emotional giants that many call “Super-mom”? Doubtful. But as a former competitive athlete and coach, as well as a mom of two, I’m strongly convicted that certain applied sports principles lay the foundation to becoming better business women and mothers. 

1. Athletes learn to deal with adversity

Learning success and failures began with being an athlete. At age fourteen, I was forced to put my running on hold and recover from a knee injury. After an outstanding previous season, I sat out for two months with a huge fear of a permanent future setback. Focusing on daily recovery rather than the long-term "what ifs” is what repaved a successful path for me and I knew from then on that I wanted to focus my studies on mental resiliency for athletes. As both parents and business women, we too have important long-term goals, which inevitably come paired with life's minor setbacks. This same resiliency required of athletes becomes even more crucial if we can build upon these small daily victories to ensure long-term business success and great parenting. The most successful people have typically failed and sacrificed more than your average person - just like the middle school MVP practicing drills on the field on her birthday in the pouring rain.   

2. Athletes learn to take “safe risks"

Parents with athletic backgrounds typically understand the emotional victories that come with stepping out of our comfort zones. Some of you might be thinking, 'please don’t let my daughter take the same risks that I did in sports (or life, for that matter!)'. But former athletes are more comfortable than we realize when finding a risky, safe balance. Because we practiced “safe-risk-taking” when diving for the ball, for example, or running that extra inch without totally collapsing, we’re now better equipped to face the fear of letting our kids and business experience risk too. Playing it safe is not always the answer. Studies show that some of the most successful entrepreneurs are also some of the biggest risk-takers. Learning to delegate responsibility within your workspace not only promotes a more unified, trusting environment, but this form of control release will likely increase business productivity as a whole. As with parenting, if we’re too restrictive or overprotective because we let our own fears cloud our parenting judgment, then we inadvertently teach our children two paralyzing lessons. First, that the world is a very dangerous place; so dangerous in fact that they need constant protection. Second, is that they’re not capable of managing by themselves. Thanks to constantly overcoming adversities though sports, we, as parents and entrepreneurs understand the importance of "extending the leash” and giving our kids the self-confidence they need to not only excel with sports but to become strong, competent individuals in life.   

3. Athletes learn to unify their team with trust and respect for the individuals

So the old saying, “There’s no ‘I’ in ’team,” stands true, and no teammate likes a pushy dictator. As a professional woman, my knowledge and career experience alone will never enforce significant business changes or decisions without first having trust and respect from the team. The true key to leadership for any endeavor is to simultaneously value our personal relationships with individual team members, yet continually value the group as one unified force. Even with our “higher-ups,” the best business women understand how to first “get in the door” with the right people. This means building quality relationships with everyone and getting to know them on a “personally-professional" level, just as we did with our own sports coaches.   

4. Athletes can accredit themselves with personal stats and athletic accomplishments

If you ever considered “going pro” with your sports career, then you know the significance of numbers. Just as college recruiters valued our season player stats and standings, our personal worth in the business world is often measured by business revenue data, growth trends, and progress tracking. It’s great to let potential employers, partners, or even employees know of your athletic background but most importantly, the valuable lessons that you took away. Many companies, for example, actually find stability in recruiting former athletes because the workplace can require competitive mind-sets, experience with adversity, and other attributes that would add long-term value to the team.   

5. Athletes learn to recognize and apply their personal strengths to achieve goals

When shifting out of a competitive sport, its important to remember the significance of keeping your own personal identity. I was not “the runner". It was what I did, not who I was. The key is to recall your personal athletic strengths and focus on those with business. Were you a great motivator? Was communication your strong suit? Any good coach knows to play their best talent with specific strengths. And the business world is no different. Know what you’re great at and sharpen those skills so that your worth is attributed to them, which carries far more weight than even your sports medals or stats.   

6. Busy athletes become pros at time-management

Remember those days of scarfing down a banana and granola bar as your best friend lays on the horn in your driveway 15 minutes before practice? Some things will never change. But as for balancing work, family, fitness, etc., those same time-management principles that once suited your busy athletic life are now more crucial than ever as a mom. Know where your values are. Schedule your priorities (hopefully with your kiddos and partner at the top!) and set boundaries for those valued tasks. Being present and mindful of “the moment” is key to any woman successfully balancing both business with motherhood. When it’s family time, work goes away. The best part about knowing your priorities and staying committed to them is not only a valuable life-hack for you, but most importantly, sports moms get to be the household example and “level the playing ground” by demonstrating these key principles to their own little athletes! Let them watch you play, play with them, and model how to succeed, fail, and the pure enjoyment of being a mom, wife, and business woman!   

7. Female athletes learn to own their femininity in a "man’s game"

I’ve always been highly competitive, which has, at times, challenged the views of some men and women. Unfortunately, women are still faced with the reality that, as with sports, some businesses have a history of being driven by men. Nowadays, however, we can go so far as to say that women actually have an advantage over men in many sports. There’s a reason why United States soccer fanatics are thanking the women for taking this year's World Cup title. Numerous psychological sports studies have shown that female sports team members, when compared with their male counterparts, typically exhibit deeper levels of trust and loyalty amongst each other at faster rates. And in the business world, it’s no different. As women, we get to set the bar for the emotional arena because we're innately wired to care about others and serve their best interests. Who better to conduct business than one who is sincere and trustworthy?  We also get to educate and hone in on the emotional components of our business and model success to other young men and women. We all know, for example, that most purchases occur because someone loves how a product or service makes them feel, rather than its technical details. Similarly with motherhood, we can utilize this emotional skill-set to encourage our children for who they are, rather than become stuck on specific scores or outcomes. And the most rewarding part about women athletes who apply these success principals to their work life? We’re now in great candidacy for becoming “Family MVP". Continue to encourage sports in your family as a tool to address any emotional components that your athletes might experience. Just as you needed positive encouragement as an athlete, remember that children, and even teens will perform significantly better if they aren’t feeling negative tension or pressured hostility, but rather, praised for their strengths. If we can emphasize to our kids the enjoyment that comes with the game (rather than simply winning or losing) or praise them for, say, their commitment-level at practice, then they will actually learn to value some of those lifelong success principles that many of us picked up from simply playing sports.   For more information on positive sports parenting, here’s a series of sports parenting training videos. How has playing sports helped you in your life and business?