My personal goal for my senior year of high school was to be a captain of the football team. Yes, we had team goals, like winning conference and the state championship, but I really wanted to be a leader of the team. The voting process was that everyone on the team had to write down the 4 players’ names that they thought should be captain for the year. After tallying up the votes, I was fifth on the list…

My coach pulled me a side afterwards and told me that if he could have five captains then I would be the fifth, however it just was not the case. He encouraged me to continue to lead by example and to be a vocal leader. Even though I was not going to be representing my team at the coin toss, he ensured me that everyone would still respect me as a leader of the team.

Honestly, I was disappointed.

I wanted to be one of the actual captains for the past 3 years of my life. To be let down like that hurt a little bit, but I knew I still had to fulfill my role on the team. People were counting on me to do my job and to do it well. After a day or two, I did not let it get to me anymore. I knew my role and my purpose and I wanted to do the best that I could to help the team.

I needed to overcome the situation that occurred and move on for the better of the team. In the business world, people are always striving to get that new job or job promotion. In a sense, it would have been a promotion for me to be captain. Even though you might not get what you want, you always have to remember that the team still needs you. Learn from the experience and that way the next time you are going for that job or promotion you are ready and can win the competition. It is extremely important both in the business world and the world of sports to be able to overcome adversity and strive to be better. Without mental focus and clarity, I could have sulked the whole season and had a miserable senior year. Now, I know how to be a leader even without the title and I know how to accept a challenge and overcome adversity.

In the game of football, there are 22 players allowed on the field at any time. It is you and 10 other guys on one side of the ball, and 11 opponents on the other side. The mentality that my high school program developed was that every player needed to do their 1/11th.

Doing your 1/11th means to do your part on the field. Everyone has a specific task on each given play and the 10 guys beside you and your whole sideline is counting on you to do what is asked. If one person does not fulfill their job responsibilities, the whole team is at fault.

The Best 11 Not the 11 Best

One of the sayings the coaches also used to use was that they were going to put the best 11 players on the field, not the 11 best. Now, this may be confusing at first, but it actually makes perfect sense. They wanted to put the 11 players that were the most successful working together on the field at the same time. They did not care if someone was a better athlete or thought they should be playing over someone else. It came down to who was going to work the hardest for their teammates beside them, and if they thought that a good athlete wanted to perform for themselves rather than the team, then that individual would not play.

Translation to the Business World

• Work together in teams in both situations
• If you can not work well in a team you will not play, or keep your job
• Communication skills are imperative
• Have to respond well to leadership, or lead yourself
• Teaches you the importance of listening

Playing football taught me how to be a part of a successful team. If even one person is giving less effort then the rest of the team, it brings the whole team down. A successful team includes a group of people that know their duties and how to execute them and are striving to accomplish a common goal.