You’re in a sports management career and facing tough times. How can you build resilience?

- Embrace adaptability: the sport industry is dynamic, being open to change and pivot can help a lot - Continuous learning: stay updated in latest trends in sports management - Network strengthening: connect with peers, mentors and professionals - Focus on long-term goals - Promote team culture

One of my favorite coaches explained how all of life's "stressors" would affect athletes more than they realized. As the athlete matured over the years, they were normally able to handle these stressors better than when being at a younger age. There are dozens of stressors that athletes, coaches, and managers deal with each and every day. Having a network of trusted coworkers, friends, and family members, can help someone navigate through potential problems. Utilizing stress in a positive fashion and turning it into energy and motivation seems to be a fantastic mental weapon. A good team psychologist can play a great role in aiding a sports organization in dealing with stressors that can be weighing heavy on individuals.

Just ENJOY! I know that it may not sound reasonable in a time of misery (bad results, problems with the organizational culture, or else) as this is still one of the most exciting industries that you may devote your professional life to. I try to celebrate every single day I can have with professional sports as this has been my ultimate goal for a career to be a part of it. Of course, it would be great to stay on the top forever but sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. And it is only you who decides how you experience it.

There are plenty of teams that have to navigate through the storm before they achieve success. A growth mindset is an essential outlook on developing a better team, but it cannot be used as an excuse. Development can mean a lack of immediate success and you may experience more lows than highs. Having patience through this process is extremely important, as long as there is extreme belief in the system at hand. Growth is not guaranteed and and may take longer than expected. However, there needs to be a certain point in time when development/growth turns into a successful product. If setbacks and mistakes continue to happen during the "growth process" and the system does not produce success and REAL betterment, then it was a failed attempt.

It is important to have a network of people with different perspectives. Having "yes" men/women around you can give a needed confidence boost, but having a trusted support group that will tell you "no" is more valuable. Throughout my career I was fortunate enough to have 5-6 coaches that I could trust with important matters. Having a web of trusted mentors and colleagues was something that I personally relied on throughout my professional career. Understanding that these allies should have your best interest in mind which will not always correlate to the easiest or most attractive choice ahead, can open your mind to paths that you were not able to visualize by yourself.

Knowing How much does our body cope up with challenges is the key to building the resilience and become mentally and emotionally strong in tackling the setbacks. In sports, One should have the self awareness on his overall wellbeing, abilities, motivation levels. Should have individual goals and should be very determined in achieving them with highest level of passion. Should check on the progress at regular intervals and understand what further challenges one will go through in the process. If necessary take outside coach's help in becoming better and achieving the set objectives

You develop resilience by taking responsibility for bad outcomes. Take responsibility for negative outcomes, and do not blame others for your own misery. Own the wins as well as the losses. It is extremely important that you remain credible and do not dismiss the causes of problems. Make sure you own the solutions and drive them forward, don't rely on others, no one is going to solve your problems for you. And always assume that there will be times when you are no longer the best choice, as Jürgen Klopp said at the end of his time in Dortmund: "Either I go or we have to replace the whole team." He took responsibility and left Dortmund, just to come back even stronger on the soccer stage to lead Liverpool back to its former strength.

It happened to me when I left LaLiga. I decided to create content on a daily basis on LinkedIn and I have not paused ever since. I landed a job in the industry and I'm helping it growth with my role at World Football Summit. Honesty is essence in the sports industry and being loyal to resilience. You know it's hard and boring many times, but it works. Seems like a huge industry but it is lead very very few. Take a voice.

To strengthen your resilience in your sports management career, it's crucial to have a positive mindset. Train yourself to see setbacks as temporary challenges and opportunities for growth. Be open to change and adjust your strategies according to the evolving dynamics of the sports industry. Break down complex problems into manageable parts and develop systematic approaches to solve them effectively. Seek feedback and learn from both successes and failures along the way. Remember, setbacks are a natural part of any career journey. Reflect on your past experiences where you've overcome challenges, and reinforce your confidence in your ability to persevere.