This fall, I’m entering in to my final year at the University of St. Thomas and I’m cherishing my last few months before I have to get ready for the workforce. Over the past three years, I’ve been stretched to balance multiple packed schedules, wake up daily at 5:30am for our before-class practice, and spend long weekend nights in the van. However, during my time as a Tommie, some of my best memories have come from my time on the Women’s Tennis team.
Being a student athlete (while it’s a truly amazing experience), is incredibly tough, but the things I’ve learned have ultimately driven my personal and professional development. Here’s five key lessons I've learned on the tennis court and how they’ve helped me prepare to enter the work world.
It’s essential that every team develops a culture of fun and connectivity before positive results can be expected. Of course, we want to be successful on the court, but we first focus on establishing a team bond where we can have fun off the court.
This could even be as simple as creating team rituals. For the Tommie Women, it was essential that we stopped for a Dunkin’ Donuts run before our away matches. While some may argue that donuts probably aren’t the best thing to have before any type of physical activity, we decided that Tommie Tennis Runs on Dunkin’ and we simply needed to uphold our tradition.
I’ve witnessed strong company culture first hand at Pioneer. We pride ourselves on our HHC (Humble, Hungry, Connected) culture and unlike most firms, every Pioneer lives and breathes HHC. Yes, we produce high quality work efficiently, but we know how to have fun and I enjoy going to work every day because of this. In fact, our Business Operations team has nicknamed themselves the Mullets because they are productive, yet still have that “party in the back” fun.
No one wants to be a part of an athletic team when you’re miserable. This is the same for work teams as well. A strong internal culture will not only make your time at work more enjoyable, but you will also be more productive, efficient and have less stress.
Collegiate tennis is based on the majority winner of 9 individual matches, six singles and 3 doubles matchups. Even during a singles match when you may be on the court alone, it’s important to realize that you have a team backing you up, cheering you on, and that your match is part of the overall match win that the whole team is working towards.
You can’t win a tennis match on your own. You must be working together with at least five others to achieve success. Supporting your teammates is key.
I recently got thrown in to my first “big girl” consulting project to help support HR change for a major retailer alongside six other Pioneers. I have recently been spending lots of time compiling external research on the best of the best HR practices across the world and creating a report to display this information to our client. Other members of the team focused on surveying competitors and some on interviewing our client’s HR Business Leaders. Individually, none of these pieces would produce a solid deliverable, but together we are working to create comprehensive content.
In the work world, just like within a tennis match, we have our individual responsibilities to do well. But more importantly, it’s about working as a team to combine our individual puzzle pieces to create the most cumulative output.
It’s no secret that I’m not the best player on the Women’s team. In fact, I’d be lucky to classify myself towards the middle of the pack. However, I’m looked up to and respected by my teammates. I can still be a valuable leader of a team without being the most skilled player.
Initially, it was a daunting task to take on a leadership role among some of the best players I’ve had the privilege to share a court with. I’ve learned that leadership skills such as motivation, empathy, communication, and decision making don’t rely on tennis ability. As part of a team, we all bring different talents to the table, this is my contribution.
At Pioneer, I have been working alongside many incredibly smart professionals. Even as the newest (and youngest) person on the team, I’m still given opportunities to lead all things social media and marketing. I have the least amount of professional experience and I’m still respected across a team that values my leadership - that’s good culture.
Learning how to lead people who may be perceived as more experienced or skilled than you can seem tricky – but it’s not impossible. Every team needs a leader, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be the best player. Don’t be afraid to step up to lead.
On the court, I’m the player who will hit four hundred balls back and keep a match going on for hours. I’m constantly running to get balls back in play and working hard to wear down my opponent. I have a lot of grit, something that I define as the combination of positivity and perseverance. This balance keeps me internally motivated to play harder, longer and faster.
This grit is fueled by my consistently upbeat and positive attitude. With this “can’t give up” mindset, I’ve played matches for multiple hours straight against opponents who quite honestly have better skills than me. However, in most of these cases, my positive attitude helps me outlast my competitor. Often, the Teddy Roosevelt quote “believe you can and you’re halfway there” pops in to my head and I use this to my advantage.
In the consulting world, firms are constantly working to create the most innovative and well-matched solution for a client. There will be times I will fail on the job; we all make mistakes. What’s important is being willing to work harder and go the extra mile.
Before I started at Pioneer, I sent a cold email to the generic Pioneer email account asking to learn more about the team and what they did. While an internship wasn’t in the cards that summer, our HR Director, Jon, encouraged me to reach out in a few months. It took fourteen months of communication from when I first reached out to when I started my internship. I’m so glad my grit kept me going and that I kept reaching out because I'm gaining incredible amounts of real-world experience at my internship.
While it’s easier to define adversity on the tennis court as playing a tough team or being down in the first set, difficulty will come up in the workplace and it’s essential that you know how to work through it. When faced with adversity, the power of positivity is enormous. You have no idea of the ripple effect you will create if you have a positive attitude.
Following every match and practice, we have a team huddle where we discuss how the day went and areas for improvement. We end these huddles by saying “Tommies” together.
After one especially big conference comeback win, I distinctly remember our coach suggesting us to do a “baby Tommies” cheer, (a cheer that we say at a much lower volume to display our need to win, but doing so humbly). At the time, it would have been much more satisfying to scream out our Tommie pride. Looking back, it felt much better knowing that we can be gracious winners. Now, the “baby Tommies” cheer has become a staple among the Tommie Women.
The same humility is key at practice. As athletes, we have an internal drive to continuously improve and better our game. This comes with feedback, which can sometimes be harsh and critical, and learning how to apply it to our game. Being coachable and willing to accept critiques makes us better individuals and ultimately, a better team.
Humble is one of the key values at Pioneer. Something that drives our everyday actions and thought processes. It’s impossible to not be coachable here. Even at the partner level, Pioneers are constantly looking for help and aren’t afraid of asking for improvements. Pioneer wants to be in the background supporting major transformations for organizations. That deserves a “baby Pioneer” cheer.
As an athlete and a working professional, you’re going to get nowhere if you can’t accept feedback. Yes, celebrate your big wins – you deserve that, but remember the power of staying humble and continuous growth and work towards that.
As I’m entering my senior year at the University of St. Thomas, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on my experiences and how Tommie Tennis has led me to be more prepared for the work world after graduation. I’m grateful for the struggles and hardships as well as the amazing memories I’ve created with my teammates; it’s something I’ll cherish for a long time.
To my fellow students, how has being a Tommie set you up for success? To my professional connections, what else do you recommend that young professionals try to learn early in their careers?
Katie O’Connor is an intern this summer at Pioneer Management Consulting, an organizational change management, business strategy, business operations and data analytics firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She also is looking forward to her senior year at the University of St. Thomas in the fall.