Is your team performing at its best?

Before I left the corporate 9-5 world, full of morning teas, office politics and more meetings than I could ever imagine are necessary, I dreamed of working in the fitness industry. I have always been sporty and while I always enjoyed the office jobs I had, I often found myself craving a career which would enable me to be more active while I worked.

I thought about becoming a personal trainer or working in a gym, I dabbled in teaching group fitness and on more than one occasion considered if teaching gymnastic full time was an option. All the while I naively believed that any or all of these roles would offer me more time (and motivation) to dedicate to my own personal fitness and wellbeing, while doing something I was passionate about.

The final straw came when a job I was newly appointed to had me sat in a windowless corridor with no one to interact with. After a particularly challenging day, I bit the bullet and traded my shift dress and heels for active wear and trainers and started working full time in the fitness industry after purchasing a gymnastics club.

That was eleven years ago now and while I have no regrets about the decision I made to walk away from office life, it’s not quite been the ‘fitness’ fairy-tale I had maybe dreamed of, and needless to say, my personal wellbeing has fallen to the bottom of the seemingly never ending to-do list on many occasion.

I had completely underestimated how tough the sporting industry can be, let alone running your own business. Being self-employed is hard, employing people can be really challenging, managing client relationships is a delicate balance and something which you can never switch off from; and I have learnt that the sporting industry as beautiful as it can be, can also be as ruthless and cutthroat as any corporate workplace, if not more-so. And if all of this wasn’t hard enough to manage, juggling family life as well leaves very little time to think about much else, including wellbeing.

Some of the hardest working teams I have been fortunate to work with have been in the sporting industry, my own teams included. But regardless of the wonderful experiences and services we offer our clients, we don’t always dedicate the time we should to our own health and wellbeing or that of our employees.

We often work anti-social hours including late nights and weekends. We pass like ships in the night with our team members (and families) working different shift rotations to meet the long hours that our industry and athletes require.

People who choose to work in this industry often do so out of love, and a lifelong passion for what they do and will go over and above for our clubs, teams, athletes and bosses.

We write training programs for our athletes, carefully scheduling for periods of skill acquisition, consolidation, peak performance, and rest. We employ professionals to further support our athletes, providing guidance in areas beyond our own expertise such as physiotherapists, nutritionists, and psychologists. We check in with our athletes regularly and provide opportunities for them to reach out if they need additional help or support with personal challenges. 

If we know what is required to ensure peak performance from our athletes why don’t we apply some of the same principles and practices in the workplace? If we invest some time and energy into nurturing, caring for, and providing wellbeing support to our team members, can they not perform at their best too, along with our athletes.

Maybe it’s time to start listening to the advice and guidance we pass onto others and start doing as we say.

If our physical and mental health are in good shape, there is no limit to what we are capable of achieving.