The Sports That Make Great Business Leaders

1. Holding Up to Your Weight

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: I'd say Greco-Roman wrestling is the sport that breeds leaders because it breeds independent thinkers who can critically think quick and on-their-feet, who are constantly pitted against themselves and external forces, but push onward to persevere. Plus, I give wrestlers a lot of props because I used to be one, and being able to cut 8lbs in 3 hours to make weight for a weigh-in is just admirable.

Thanks to: Danny Wong of Custom Dress Shirts | Blank Label.

2. Warrior Spirit For Business

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Martial arts develops great business leaders. Martial arts teaches discipline, goal setting and confidence to a level that is unmatched by most other sports. The discipline and goal setting skills will teach business people perseverance in their careers. Confidence will result in better communication skills, which of course are important for leadership. Respect for others is another aspect of martial arts training which helps business leaders in ethical judgments.

Thanks to: Clint Cora of Clint Cora Motivational Speaker.

3. Shoot Par To Be A Great Leader

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: PAR in golf and business are synonymous.
1) Great Golfers "P"repare for each shot with a routine. Business leaders should have daily routines for the start of their day as well as prior to important meetings.
2) Great Golfers are "A"ware of their emotions. Business leaders should be aware of what emotions drive their engines and harness those emotions.
3) Great Golfers have a post-shot "R"outine and review. When events do not go as planned, business leaders must review and learn from mistakes.

Thanks to: Gregg Steinberg of drgreggsteinberg.com.

4. The Frostbitten Entrepreneur

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Want to be a better entrepreneur? Take up Alpine Climbing. Only the strong survive up there-just like Wall Street. Alone on the mountain you learn what it means to be self-reliant and to survive harsh storms. Up there, every detail is important. Every movement calculated. The smallest error could be the difference between life & death. If you had more resources you could almost certainly succeed-but you're an alpinist, so you venture 'light & fast' into the wilderness-reliant only on yourself.

Thanks to: Brian Aitken of Alister & Paine.

5. Coxswains Make Great Leaders

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: The coxswain is rowing's equivalent of the jockey, steering the boat and acting as leader of the team.
The coxswain must:
1. Be motivating - making rowers stretched to their limit physically want to work harder
2. Be an expert on skills, in order to coach the rowers on their technique
3. Be an expert on group dynamics in order to develop a strong team spirit
4. Be confident and commanding enough to give orders to the rowers (who are twice as big as you and tired and grouchy).

Thanks to: Rochelle Kopp of Japan Intercultural Consulting.

6. Sailing Lessons For Business

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Sailing and business have much in common. Sails work at precise angles and in precise shapes, and must constantly be adjusted for changes in the direction or strength of the wind. If you watch the Americas Cup, you’ll notice a constant, calm chatter between team members to keep the boat tuned. The most functional businesses operate with the same calm level of discussion, brainstorming and coordination. These lessons carry back to the workplace in leadership, productivity and communication.

Thanks to: Rich Jepsen of OCSC Sailing.

7. Rowing - Sport For Leaders

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Rowing happens in perfect synchronicity, and in the best boats the strongest and the weakest are identical even to the trained eye.

The dynamic between rowers is unique. A great oars-person is able to accomplish two things - totally commit to the goal, and TRUST OTHERS to do the same.

Great leaders do what rowers do - no team wins on the shoulders of one player, and great Rower Leaders know how to bring teams together with total commitment and trust from everyone on the team.

Thanks to: Bruce Smith of Community Rowing Inc..

8. In The Spirit Of March Madness

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Basketball can:
1) Promote adaptability: Basketball can be an incredibly fluid game where players need to quickly adapt to unique situations.
2) Develop situational leadership. Every player needs to be aware of the on-court situation, which changes drastically throughout the game.
3) Develops an acute sense of "team". Many basketball players leave the game with a good feel for what comprises a true team - a valuable asset when former players eventually transition into leadership roles.

Thanks to: Joe Frontiera of Meno Consulting.

9. Kick Your Way to the Top!

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: For developing skills for business leadership you can't beat martial arts. Training in martial arts cultivates discipline, focus, perseverance, confidence and courage. Many business leaders wear black belts in the dojo as well as the office. If you don't want to become a black belt, you'd do well to learn how to think like one! The black belt mindset of excellence and continual self-improvement serves you as well in business and personal life as it does in the dojo.

Thanks to: Jim Bouchard of Think Like a Black Belt.

10. Wrestlers Are Responsible

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: In wrestling, athletes compete as part of a team but also on an individual level. This instills strong personal responsibility for the outcome of the event. For business leaders where the buck stops with you, what could be better preparation?! At the same time, wrestlers are encouraging teammates for success to help achieve their common vision of a team victory. Yet, another great development experience for future business leaders who will rely on their teams to achieve the company’s goals!

Thanks to: James Gellas of Pictopia.com.

11. Driven By Sports

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: I don't believe that any one particular sport is better than another at developing successful business people. I believe it is due to the entire team working toward, and being committed to a common goal. Goal setting is crucial whether you're managing an office full of employees or fellow team-mates on the field. Early development of goal setting techniques and the disciplined training needed for accomplishing those goals are clearly what provided some people with an advantage over others.

Thanks to: Jhan Dolphin of j robert Consulting.

12. Take A Hike For Success

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Football and the position of quarterback. The quarterback leads their team. The QB calls the plays and makes sure everyone is in place before they leave the line of scrimage. On offense the quarterback touches the ball on every play. The confidence that a QB has will help them be successful off the football field in business opportunities.

Thanks to: Derrick Hayes of WOE Enterprises .

13. Football Team 2 Executive Team

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Football teaches team dynamics, specifically how to work with different personalities and skills sets. If you're a captain, you have to learn how to get the best of out of your players by exploiting their diverse abilities. Football imparts strategy – the ability to make and execute a game plan, as well as on the spot changes. It requires a high level of feedback and communication, just like in the workforce. You're taught to experience failure and then to get back in the game.

Thanks to: Michael Denisoff of Denisoff Consulting Group.

14. Field Of Dreams

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Any team sport that teaches how to get along with teammates. No time clock and the defense controls the action. The key to winning is to minimize mistakes and take advantage of the other teams mistakes. Your instantaneous unilateral decisions will influence the outcome of the game. Good hitters fail most of the time. Statistics appear in every newspaper in the U.S every day. Managers must constantly be thinking innings ahead.
You can be a hero and a goat within minutes--how humbling!

Thanks to: Greg Pryor of Sports-Aholic, Inc..

15. Athletes & Leaders

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Many employers are attracted to the intense training and focus that becomes second nature for athletes. All sports build character if approached properly, but hockey requires invaluable skills just to be decent. It's imperative to make quick decisions, train ruthlessly, be tough mentally and physically, be a team player and learn on the fly. While many sports demand physical and mental concentration, there are very few that do so with the intensity and speed that hockey does.

Thanks to: Nicholas Vita of Vita Partners.

16. Baseball Leads All

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Baseball is the one sport that most prepares people for entrepreneurship. It is impossible to win at baseball if you dont have someone at one position, everyone must work together to accomplish the goal. Hitting is also a lot like sales, you give the customer an opportunity to progress themselves and they must put in some effort to achieve it. Finally, there is a lot of strategy involved in baseball. Shifts, steals, etc... Risks must be taken to cover the most likely outcome.

Thanks to: Jeffrey Cumro of Better Life Chiropractic & Wellness.

17. Business Is A Contact Sport

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Prevailing in challenging times is not a question of ability – people are able. Success hinges on opportunity and intention. Opportunity and intention are what football is all about.

It’s time to step up the game. Sometimes, a certain roughness is necessary: we need to talk straight, stand our ground, say no, and negotiate everything. As in football, we need to use our time wisely; most games are won in the last two minutes.

Do you have a two-minute drill?

Thanks to: Mimi Donaldson of MimiSpeaks!.

18. Golf Reveals Character

A Sport That Breeds Leaders: Golf is the sport that is most analogous to life, especially with leadership and entrepreneurship. We will fail more often than we will ever succeed because It is littered with inherent failure and distractions. Only through these failures do we actually learn.

It forces ownership of our mistakes and successes because we have no one to blame or praise but ourselves. We must manage our emotions, control our negative thoughts, and stay relaxed especially when things are not going our way.

Thanks to: Dr. Rob Bell of Drrobbell.com.

Compiled by Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Tags: mike michalowicz, toilet paper entrepreneur

3 Responses to “The Sports That Make Great Business Leaders”

Lori Webb Says:
April 1st, 2010
I know that I’m a little late to the party however, he is my two cents.

As an all around athlete, I have participated at varying levels (from casual to competitive to coach/trainer) in the following:

Track & Field, Cross-Country, Gymnastics, Basketball, Soccer, Cheerleading (Basketball & Football), Skiing, Tennis, Softball, Ice Skating, Golf, Biking, Swimming/Diving, Martial Arts and Sailing.

And through my experiences, as well as my association with friends who have participated in other sports, I believe each and every sport provides its own unique opportunity to create great business leaders. While I could go into detail on each of the sports I, myself, have participated in….I will spare you and just give the one example below.

On any given day success in Track & Field are up to timing and serendipity. The winner of any race or event is determined by who is best, at that moment, to leverage their mindset, drive, abilities, their training, the elements, team support and the competition.
Mike Michalowicz Says:
April 2nd, 2010
Hey Lori!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great to see ya on the site! How are things in Denmark? Your visiting the US in a few weeks, right? Any who, thanks for all the tips. I like the idea of sailing…. it is a blend of man & machine, which business is more and more about.
Martial Arts Develops Business Leaders « Martial Arts Karate Kung Fu Blog Says:
June 2nd, 2010
[...] #business I recently voted for martial arts as the best sport to develop business leaders in this entrepreneur business blog. Check out the various contributions about different sports for business – my contribution is [...]