I’m not a very good tennis partner. It’s the same with volleyball: No one wants me on their team because I’m diving after every ball. I can’t help it. 

I’ve been playing singles tennis for about 30 years. It’s enriched my body and mind, but more surprisingly, it’s given me a lot to think about when it comes to executive leadership.

Play Up and Play Down

I honed my skills catching pickup games at public tennis courts. It’s still my favorite place to play. When I first started showing up, nobody wanted to play with me. 

I had no skills – I wasn’t a challenge. Those players who invested time in me were invaluable. They were patient with me, even when I threw my racket in a fit (which, in my opinion, is a tennis rite of passage). Facing off with those better players stretched my skills in ways that would not have been possible if I had been limited to squaring off with other beginners. 

Staying a big fish in a small pond would have been good for my ego, but hardly ideal for my professional or athletic development. We all need mentors who are willing to call us on our weaknesses, although this comes at a price – we have to be humble enough to ask. Seeking out people who are better than you at what you’re doing and taking the time to absorb their life lessons gives you the opportunity to live more than one life and capitalize on their hard-earned lessons. This gives you an edge in your field.

As I’ve grown professionally and advanced in my career (and my game), I’ve never forgotten those gracious, kind retirees who gave me their time on the court. It’s important to me to take the time to play the guy who just picked up a racket for the first time this morning. I want to give back what others have invested in me.

Shake It Off

When you watch the big tennis players on TV, you can see it – I find myself whispering at the screen, “Get out of your head…”

To achieve success as a tennis player, at certain junctures, you must decide to put things behind you and keep them there. Games, sets, and matches can take minutes or hours, and it’s up to you to determine whether you’ve got the mental fortitude to start fresh when it’s time to resume play. Serena Williams always blows me away when it comes to this. She plays better when she’s down because she’s got this drive that doesn’t quit. She’s got to have her EQ dialed in. 

Knowing how to manage your emotions is fundamental in any industry, and those who figure out how to channel their frustration into improvement (in a healthy way) are going to excel leaps and bounds beyond their competition. And they’ll be happier while doing it. I’m a CHRO for a large healthcare organization, and the current climate in my field has emotions at an all-time high. We are not only dealing with staffing shortages and plummeting morale, but also caught in the middle of socio-political issues that have the potential to distract us from what’s really important. Being able to move forward from each brutal blow to pull together as a team, while prioritizing mental health and general well-being, is the only way we’re going to get through this season when there’s no end in sight.

Think About Where You Want to Place the Ball

In many sports, we talk about focusing on the long game. There are a lot of decisions to make before you even make contact with the ball. Tennis is no different: I’ve got to have a visual idea of where I want this ball to go before it even gets to my side of the net. I’m making quick decisions and calculating where I expect my opponent to be and how I’ll have the best chance to make them run.

This ability to visualize where you’re going and commit to getting there is transformative in the workplace. It’s all about honing our skills and then trusting them. Making decisions, committing, following through. Adjusting things when they don’t have an ideal outcome. 

In my professional life, I’ve got to focus on the bigger picture when I decide how to place that ball. I need to make a lot of decisions that are likely to upset people one way or another, but that goes back to harnessing my emotional intelligence in order to take those things in stride and learn as I go.