Women and Sports: It’s the Battle that Counts
Competitive sports attract competitive people. And so it makes sense that 94% of women in C-Suite positions are former athletes (according to a 2018 study by Ernst & Young). It makes equal sense that, according to Fortune, 95% of the (predominantly male) Fortune 500 CEOs are also former athletes.
The benefits of athletics are well-documented: Sports teach discipline and hard work, and the importance of fixing errors and moving on. Sports train you to stay cool under pressure, overcome fear, and face high-stakes situations with confidence. They teach you that even when you think you can’t take another step, there’s always fuel left in the tank. And perhaps most important, they teach you that even though you will sometimes lose, you should always play to win.
What’s often left out of this list of benefits is the pure joy of competing, which is something that all successful executives share. As an All-American basketball forward in college, I loved the physicality of the game—the intense battling for position in the paint. And I was serious about winning, turning my previously mediocre team into a championship-winning unit.
That intensity is very much alive in my professional life. I don’t think in terms of “surpassing the market leader,” I think in terms of killing the competition. I don’t just aim to build great teams, I build unstoppable, unbeatable teams. I demand excellence. I give 150% to everything. Because that’s where the joy is—in working your behind off to be the best, and then performing at the highest level against the competition.
And there will always be competition—colleagues nipping at your heels trying to overtake you, competitive brands trying to reposition you. It’s all a game. And so, female executives, it’s important to find the joy in the game, in the battle. It feels good to get back up after being knocked down. It feels good to think strategically and outplay an opponent. It feels good to blow away a potential client with a brilliantly concepted pitch that leaves the competition in the dust.
The research tells us that sports give girls self-esteem and confidence. That’s great, but it’s just the start. Success is in putting your confident self out there for the world to see, and jumping into the game, not knowing which way that game will go but giving everything you have to make it a win.
Remember, it’s all just a game. Find your joy in the battle.