Human Performance: Learning from Others and Breaking the Rules

One of the best professional lessons I have learned as a sports performance professional is how much we gain from those people who work outside of our chosen field. I find it sparks creativity for me and challenges me to “up my professionalism game”.

Several years ago, my boss/colleague/dear friend, Brad and I were sitting around the dinner table, sharing beers and talking shop with my relator. As the conversation continued about hopes and dreams for where Brad and I wanted to take our athletic department, we couldn’t articulate our mission and vision. So, sitting around a table together, with guidance from my relator, we sketched out the first mission statement for our department. This small act was GAME CHANGING for us.

Once we developed the department’s mission and vision, we had a roadmap to work from. Now, we were able to clearly identify what questions had “yes” answers and which had “no” answers. With a clearer mission, our growth as individuals, professionals and as a department expanded in so many directions.  All because we were open and receptive to learning from professionals outside of our field, the work happening within the walls we controlled skyrocketed. My relator had little to no experience in “my world” and I had none in his, but he was very successful in his chosen field, and I knew I needed to listen to what he had to say.

Brad recently passed this article from Harvard Business Review on to me (side note: when you find those people in your life who push you, support you, and walk next to you in your pursuit of growth – never let them go). It is a quick read about the willingness to be vulnerable and thus keeping the competitive edge. In the e-mail Brad sent me with this article attached, he wrote nothing other than a quote from the last line in the article: “When growth becomes the goal of everyone in the organization, complacency doesn't have time to take root and radical ideas can emerge time and time again.”

Take the 3 minutes to give this a read. Be willing to break tradition. In my opinion, one of the most dangerous statements is “because this is how we have always done it.” It’s a dream killer.