French is the language of love, but sports are the language of business–a cultural “language” that involves much more than sports terminology and the latest scores.
Doing sports is fun and healthy, but sweating it out on the playing fields also has another asset: It can help prepare you to be an executive because it teaches transferable skills–such as self-discipline–that will expedite your career advancement. And, it can position you to make powerful friends and influence important people.
For women who want to get ahead, sports may be the ticket to the camaraderie–also known as male bonding or the old boys network–that gives access to inside information and the latest deals.
The old boys themselves will tell you that sports may be a fast track way to learn the moves, dodges and feints associated with success in Corporate America. And they should know.
“For women, the road to the boardroom may well lead through the locker room,” concludes a survey of 401 women executives conducted by OppenheimerFunds and its parent company, MassMutual Financial Group. The report is titled, “From the Locker Room to the Boardroom: A Survey on Sports in the Lives of Women Business Executives.” The locker room referred to is not the men’s but the women’s locker room.
The point of the study is that whether you started out playing on gender-free Little League teams or were part of all-female ones–or both–the friendships formed can lead to being a winner in business.
It’s all in the game.
In fact, playing a sport in shorts and T-shirt might serve to groom you one day to become one of the “guys” in suits: An astounding number of the women executives studied–327 of them, or 82 percent–grew up playing organized team sports on school teams, in intramural games or in recreational leagues.
The No. 1 sport they played was basketball, which has moved for women to full-court exhausting play from half-court exhausting play. Twenty-three percent of the executives played it. Next was volleyball, at 22 percent; followed by softball, 17 percent; tennis, 15 percent; track and field, 10 percent; and soccer, 8 percent.
Two-thirds of the women report they continue to play sports or to exercise frequently, honing their physical and business skills at the same time: According to the survey, “The vast majority [of the women executives] say lessons learned on the playing field have contributed to their success in business.”
As proof of the power of being active in sports, the report notes that Janet Reno, former attorney general of the United States, has been an active athlete since childhood; Sally Ride, first U.S. woman in space, was a nationally-ranked tennis player; and Debbie Fields, president of Mrs. Field’s Cookies, is an accomplished equestrian. And, as we all remember, didn’t Oprah Winfrey run in a marathon?
Whether the activity is a team or individual sport, the lessons learned on the playing field help women–as they have helped men–to be more confident, competitive and to assume leadership positions. In addition to the sheer joy of athletic activity, sports teach us the value of the contribution of each participant, how to get along with other people and to take pride in our own individual accomplishments.
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Having been an active jock all my life, I personally know the value, on and off the field, of being athletic. That’s why I think it’s so important to look at some of the sports options women have and to ascertain exactly how each of them helps open the golden doors of executives suites.
Basketball: Knowing how to slam dunk comes in handy when making effective business presentations. Volleyball: Recognizing a setup when you see one is a good defensive strategy. Tennis: All may be fair in love and business, but “love” in tennis means nothing. Soccer: You can use your head, not just your feet. Track and field: Don’t jump the gun.
And the value of participating in any sport: It evens the playing field.
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Carol Kleiman’s column also appears in Wednesday’s Working section and Sunday’s Business section.