Why Sports Matter for Young Women.

I got my first job in research 33 years ago. Today, I still very much consider myself a researcher at heart, but my primary job function is defined by two C level roles: Chief Research Officer and Chief of Staff to an owner of a $5B food and beverage company. Because I am a woman in a high-level role in a still male-dominated environment, I now spend a significant amount of time mentoring and in service and leadership capacities.

In addition to my main job(s), I am also executive sponsor of my company's internal employee Health & Wellness initiative, as well as one of three executive sponsors of our company’s DEI initiative. As a keystone component, I championed an enterprise-wide mentorship program matching mentees with mentors across the business outside of reporting structure. In a company of 10,000, this was no small task. I see these two “extra-curricular activities” as inextricably intertwined. Supporting employees’ holistic health and wellness requires pipelining the right kind of talent, providing opportunities and mentoring, and – importantly – removing or addressing the barriers some face more than others. I believe this is how we optimize workforce talent, increase employee engagement, reduce voluntary attrition, and ultimately, reap the benefits of more diversity throughout the organization.??

When I speak about this - whether during a keynote address, a town hall meeting, a mentoring session, or even over an impassioned dinner, I am often asked for my thoughts on the components of professional success.

How did I get to the role I’m in? What advice do I have for others? What are the markers of future success? How can we increase the chances for women? For those facing barriers?

Surely success is multifactorial, but of the many influences I can detail, the one with the single biggest effect on my personal outcome was participation in sports.

I learned more about how to be successful in a C-suite role from playing sports than from any other single source or experience. And yes, that includes a college degree, prestigious internships, traveling the world, consuming innumerable books and podcasts, watching TED Talks, and attending conferences. And no, I was not an Olympian or even a Division I athlete. But I have participated in team and individual sports for my entire life.

I started dance lessons at the age of 3. By 8, I was the only girl on the t-ball team (and, in fact, the entire league). At 10, I joined the swimming and diving teams. The next year I started playing tennis. Then field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball. I wasn't the best at any of them (which, to be honest, irritated my competitive spirit quite a bit), but I showed up and I always gave it my all and it taught me so much about myself and the world.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that earning a degree in psychology gave me both hard skills (not the least of which include statistics and the discipline of empirically-sound research) and soft skills that are incredibly valuable working in challenging collaborative environments. Studying English gave me the ability to analyze, synthesize, and write.

Spending three decades in an office environment allowed me to study others, learn how to act in a meeting, and how to present and persuade in an engaging and effective manner.

Conducting large scale research internationally gave me a lens on business, consumer behavior, and the world few have the opportunity to develop firsthand.

But on a day-to-day basis, what really set me up for success? What really equipped me with the skills needed to navigate the challenges of my career?

Sports.

My years on the field hockey and lacrosse fields, the tennis and basketball courts, and in the pool swimming laps in cold water shaped both my work ethic and my personality. Being part of a team, learning how to show up, and how to compete and push myself gave me discipline, confidence, and the sense of empowerment necessary to push boundaries.

In 2020, Ernst & Young conducted research on women in boardroom and found that 94% of female C-suite executives played sports growing up. The reality is the vast majority of women who make it into the highest levels of business played sports. I am not an anomaly. Of course, correlation is not causation, but this correlation is undoubtedly compelling. You can download the full E&Y report here. I encourage you to read it in its entirety.

I found this excerpt particularly compelling: “The?World?Economic Forum has estimated that it will take over a?century?for women to achieve political, social and economic equality with men. We need to speed up the clock. Gender equality at work cannot happen without gender equality in society — and sport is a powerful way to advance women in society.”

Research is beginning to reveal that sports are so much more than for sport. Sports offer important life lessons, invaluable coping skills, lifelong health and wellness habits, and the psychographic characteristics correlated with happiness, empowerment, and success.

The E&Y report also includes a powerful quote by Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“Sport is a powerful platform to foster gender equality and empower women and girls.”

There is so much to be learned from playing sports that directly applies to the business world: ?collaboration, teamwork, determination, goal setting, leadership, resilience, grit, and character.

Compared to traditionally accepted markers of future success like college, internships, and the advocacy of mentors, participation in sports focuses less on technical competence and more on character.

What did I learn from sports that benefits me every day in my job working in a male dominated industry and with almost entirely male peers?

I will share just one of my many stories relating sports to business. Growing up, I went to a very large public school in the suburbs of Philadelphia. In junior high I joined the lacrosse team. Prior to trying out, I had never even seen the game of lacrosse being played. By the end of tryouts, I was one of three girls who made the varsity team in eighth grade, which made me fall in love with lacrosse.

As the oldest child of four in a young family without a lot of discretionary money, I used mostly borrowed school equipment which in this case meant an old wooden lacrosse stick that had probably in the athletic storage room for decades. By my second year on the team, my parents bought me a new fiberglass lacrosse stick as a gift for a holiday. I was thrilled.

I was not put in as a starter for my first game with the new stick. As I stood on the sidelines watching and waiting, anticipation mounted. I couldn’t wait to play with it. It was lighter, the pocket was tighter, and it was more accurate. I knew I’d be a better player with this better equipment. Only a few minutes into the game, a teammate’s stick snapped in half. She ran to the side of the field frantically yelling for a replacement. Before I knew what was happening, someone grabbed my stick from my hand and tossed it onto the field to her.

My new lacrosse stick was in the game without me. I watched from the sidelines holding back disappointment and tears.

There are so many lessons here. I had to decide which mattered more – my feelings or the team’s success?

Was my value about my equipment or what I brought when I was playing?

How do I respond when faced with an unexpected outcome?

What does it mean to be a team player?

I’ll tell you what I learned about being a team player. I learned to do the running even when you don’t feel like it. I learned that sometimes making an assist is just as important as scoring a point yourself. I learned to throw an elbow when you need to, to be humble when you win, and positive when you lose. I learned how to support others and work toward a common goal. I learned to keep going when I’m tired, in pain, not the center of attention, not in control, or when things don’t go my way. I learned that sometimes you just have to show up again tomorrow to grow and push through it. I developed confidence in myself, my judgment, my opinion, and my value. I gained the assurance that I can and will continue to evolve and lead with dedication, hard work, and practice.

It is critically important for women in positions of power to use their voices to raise up others and share the influences that made the difference for them.

The lessons learned through sports help young female leaders rise. Providing these opportunities and removing barriers that stand in the way is the responsibility of those of us who cracked the code.