6 lessons from pro football players to become a professional at a workplace
The best top two ever for the Premier League title battle
(Image credit: BBC Sport )
On 12th May 2019, I watched the football game between Liverpool and Wolves. It was the deciding game between Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title. What I got impressed by the match was the professionalism of Liverpool players, the coach, and their supporters. How many of us can try to keep the best performance even when we know we would not get the title despite the best effort. The Reds ended the campaign with a 2-0 win over Wolves to finish on 97 points. But, it was not enough to overcome Manchester City, as they beat Brighton to be crowned champions for a second successive season. Liverpool finished with 97 points, only one point fewer than City. It was the highest ever points tally for any runner-up in any of Europe's top five leagues. The top two amassed 195 points which were the top-flight record for the champions and runners-up. They passed the previous Premier League record in their 36th game of the season. They also recorded the most combined wins for a top two. Besides, City and Liverpool have also broken the record for the fewest combined defeats.
The mentality is needed when you give everything to win it, but you lost it.
Like the Liverpool players and the coach , how many of us can celebrate the winner and deal with the setback??
“Congratulations to City, they deserved it by one point. It was a great title race and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it,” Van Dijk said.
“‘Frustrated’ is the right word. I think we are all going to be a little disappointed because we are so close. To get 97 points, to play football like we have played all season, we have to be very, very proud.?
“I don’t care about another opinion, but we work so hard every day to be challenging to be as close as possible, but City were just a tiny little bit better than us, and that’s football as well.
“It doesn’t mean it is all over. We take a lot of things with us, we will take this on, and hopefully, we can challenge next year and do even better.”?
The mentality needed to be a professional in high competition
Since I have played football since I was a ten years old kid despite the amateur level, I have learned lots of principles from the sport. When I was a university student, my senior player in a college football team got the job and talked to me as follows.?After almost 20 years later from the conversation, I think I saw the job would be professional, but he looked at it from a different perspective.
My senior member: "What job do you want?"
I said to him: "I want to be a professional in any field like a professional football player. I am by far from a professional sports player due to my physical limitation, but I think I can become a professional at a workplace."
He told me, "A job is not a football. It is different."
Working at a third-party agency is in a high competition like a professional sport. The best effort from an agency recruiter is not enough to make the hiring happen. Successful recruitment highly depends on clients, other companies that hire the same type of talents, and candidates. The hard thing at an agency side is an external recruiter needs to take responsibility of the others. If clients slow down the hiring process whatever the reasons are, an agency on a contingency basis cannot get any financial rewards. If candidates change their minds whatever the causes are, an agency on a successful basis cannot get a commission. It is easy for an agent to blame the others, but the adverse reactions do not bring any money. Some people may criticize agency recruiters that they mind only about their commission. I do not feel negative to talk about the revenue I made because I could get a commission only when I helped my customers (clients and candidates) happy.?
There is no guaranteed formula for successful hiring the same as a professional football match. Sometimes I win, and other times I lost despite my best performance. I was disappointed when I failed to win the top revenue performer's award even when I achieved a double increase from my previous year. I was getting cocky when I got the top title, and it cost me by the setback for six months. I felt humiliated for zero results for half of a year right after I achieved the highest record in the company's history. I have learned tons of tiny things that matter on hiring.
Moreover, I may completely fail today but need to wake up tomorrow from a significant setback. The skill gap is almost none between the winner and runner-up. No one finds the perfect formula for winning every single game. That's challenging but fun for me to stay in the recruiting industry. I must have learned about the mentality both in hard times and easy times.?The six lessons are to survive in competition and become a professional.
6 lessons from professional football players and coaches:
Chance
They need to grab a chance that does not always show up. Otherwise, others get the opportunity. Professional football is a zero-sum game. Experienced players know if they do not keep pushing themselves to a higher competitive level, a younger player is more hungry to take over the place. In recruiting agency, skills and knowledge are essential. But, determination for success goes over the shortfall of experiences. If I do not stick to chances at whatever costs, my expertise brings nothing.
Open-minded
Professional football players are on a performance basis. If they have strong cognitive biases and overconfidence, they will quickly lose a game against an inferior team. In recruiting, a company cannot hire a suitable candidate when they stick on unnecessary criteria. How many times do you see the job posting that requires 7-10 years' experiences in a specific function? The range itself is not a problem. The problem occurs when a corporate recruiter makes the wrong judgment due to their cognitive biases. Some internal recruiters reject a profile with five years' experience. It does not matter for them although a candidate has a successful fast track record. Lack of open-mindedness hides the failure of hiring and business opportunity loss.?
Resilient
Professional football players embrace the winner although they almost lost heart in the loss of the match. They will learn from their mistakes and put them all in the next game. In headhunting, when I approach the talents and the companies, they have the right to refuse me. But, I also have the right to refuse to give up, refuse to settle, and refuse to be normal. Everyone loves a good comeback story from failures. It is inspirational and needs for any significant achievements.
(The update after the posted day: Liverpool won UEFA Champions League 2019 on the 1st of June 2019. The UCL decides the best team in Europe. Liverpool made the good comeback story three weeks after the loss of the Premier League title.)
Proactive
Professional football players know the tiny things that matter about winning. Before things happen to them, they prepare for the opportunities. The outstanding player like Cristiano Ronaldo keeps finding the best space and the best moment to get a goal. He gets himself ready for getting more goals because the chance suddenly comes without notice. The ball hits the bar and comes in front of him does not mean that he gets lucky. He prepares his physical conditions before the game and attempts to show up at the best moment that he can make things happen. In recruiting, the scheduling of an interview can save hiring. A follow-up call for clients and candidates is critical for success. Those are small things that amateurs can react to when they face problems. Professionals are proactive to prevent shortfalls.
Supportive
Most forwards in associated football have a strong ego. Forwards want goals more than anyone else. However, they know that football is teamwork. One outstanding player cannot beat a team of decent players with better collaboration. So, each forward collaborates to make space for a goal. Each forward have strength and weakness so that they can help each other. If two players are the same type, one player needs to sit on the bench.
In headhunting, headhunters need multitasks such as client development, candidate sourcing, and persuasion. No headhunters can master all the different tasks at the highest level. Each headhunter has strengths and weaknesses so that each other can help as a team. When I helped other recruiters who compete with me , I learned a lot from them. The support to others is not only for them but also for your learning of others' perspectives. Your support helps you get to the next level.
For the customers
Professional football players work hard for their careers but also for their supporters. If a team with limited resources quickly gives up a match against top-ranking teams, no one supports their team. The fans would like to see their team battles and aim for winning until the last minute. I felt impressed on Liverpool's fans standing up to appreciate their team although the team lost the Premier League title.
In headhunting, the customers are clients and candidates. If I cannot help them, I do not get anything. Moreover, as the owner of a headhunting agency, I hire members. So, if I cannot help my members to help clients and candidates, I get nothing and lose money. I see the business as my customers keep supporting us despite our mistakes. If the team does not make the best efforts for the customers, the team loses the loyal supporters quickly. It is the same as the rule of a professional football team.?
Final thought
I set the lists above as TI Agents' shared values (aka, "corps for customers.") I get many insights from the professional sport, but knowing and doing has a huge gap. Thus, the essential point to becoming an expert is that I needed to convert knowledge into my daily habits throughout daily practices.??
What did you learn from professional sports? Or, what similar things did you find between professional sports and the workplace?
Please feel free to put your comment.