Business Lessons You Can Learn From Your Favorite Sports Team

Comparing sports to business is not a new idea. The similarities are undeniable, so it makes sense that many business experts use sports terms and analogies to explain complex business concepts to the uninitiated.

Recently, these similarities came to life for me, as I watched my daughter’s high school volleyball practice. It turns out, most of the problems they encountered on the court were the same ones I had coached my corporate clients through the day before.

Here are three key insights I took away from the game that any one of us in business can put into practice come Monday morning.

Business lessons I learned from sports

Encourage diverse personalities

Every sports team has a few natural leaders, just like it has some members that prefer to be in the background. There are outspoken players, painfully shy players, and everything in between. Watching my daughter’s team on the court, I could see all of these personalities at play—sometimes to the chagrin of the coach. The key to getting the girls to play as one team was finding ways to improve communication on the court.

Sound familiar? In our work environments, there are myriad personalities and working styles. One team member might love to lead meetings, while another is more inclined to sit back, absorb the information, and save his comments for later. This isn’t a bad thing—it would be exhausting to have 15 extroverts in one team meeting. A diverse team will encourage creativity and bring a variety of perspectives to the work you’re doing.

To have a successful team, it’s vital to understand and embrace these different personalities, and to find ways to foster communication and build common ground.

In our own company, we use DiSC® personality tests to identify communication styles. The results help us discover the best ways to communicate with other team members, and minimize the number of potential misunderstandings.

Focus on strengths

In sports, there is no misconception that every individual is going to be great at all positions. That’s why we assign roles, placing team members where they can be most effective.

In volleyball, for instance, the tallest girl on the team might be assigned to play middle blocker (the position responsible for playing defense against the opponent’s hitters). She probably has the longest arms on the team, and a great vertical, so the position makes sense for her. On the other hand, the setter, much like the quarterback in football, usually has the greatest communication and leadership skills. This person is in charge of making decisions about when and where to hit the ball.

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

• 5 Reasons Why Sales Managers Must Learn to Recognize Personality Types
• Tips for Managing a Diverse Employee Base
• Diversity Is Good for Business—Here Are Simple Ways to Build a More Diverse Team
• Why Workforce Diversity Is Key to a Small Business’s Success
• Diversify Your Candidate Pool When Hiring

The same strategy should be used in your company. Rarely is one team member good at everything. Select job functions based on each team member’s strengths. One person might excel at sales, while another is a go-to for editing and copywriting. Don’t know what their strengths are? Ask your team members what they enjoy most about their jobs. Find out what motivates them to come into work every morning, and build that passion into their official roles.

Keep training

My daughter and her teammates are competitive and spend several hours a week running drills, practicing rotations, and working to improve. In fact, as with most teams, they practice far more than they actually play.

Adopt this training habit in your own life. This could mean engaging in professional development opportunities or reading an industry-specific book. Whatever it is, the more time you spend practicing, planning, and training to get better at your job, the more edge you’ll have on the competition.

Run a better business from watching sports

Business doesn’t have to be complicated. The next time you sit down to watch your favorite team, watch how the players and coaches interact. You can learn more than you think.

RELATED: 7 Habits of Highly Effective CEOs