Chapter 8: Training for a Winning Career: Career Athletes and Coaches

An athlete is a person who competes in sports that involve physical strength, speed, and/or endurance (Athlete, n.d.). Sports psychologists (Harmison, 2011) have found that the more challenging sports become, the more important it is to utilize mind-body training and coaching to consistently achieve high performance. Organizational life, like competitive sports, is full of challenges. Being successful at work and in life, or “winning” over the course of our career, requires resilience and endurance. Little has been written about incorporating mind–body training in the workplace to achieve career goals. Strategies from sports can be applied to help individuals maintain healthy, high performance (Lloyd & Foster, 2006). This chapter will highlight ways that individuals can take their work performance to the next level year after year as Career Athletes and how leaders can realize their own potential to become Career Coaches.