How making good choices affects your career
The decisions you make off-the-court are just as important as the decisions you make while playing basketball. Not making good choices can be extremely costly for you, your sponsors, and the sport in general. Even small, everyday decisions can potentially have a significant impact on your career.
Much of your earning potential is related to your reputation on and off-the-court. Teams want to hire players who are known to be hard working and reliable. Sponsors want to work with athletes who make good choices and stay out of trouble in public. And fans want to cheer for athletes who have a reputation for being good people in all aspects of their lives.
There are three keys to making good choices regarding public behaviour as an elite athlete:
Be very aware of your surroundings
In today’s day and age, privacy is giving way to 24-7 media coverage and instant access to information. (Social) media keep us connected, they also present a real challenge to public figures trying to maintain some privacy off the field of play. You can’t control these social media phenomena, but you can control your actions by making good decisions.
Always assume that someone else is watching and before you act, take five seconds to consider the potential consequences of your behaviour. It may sound silly, but a good rule of thumb is WWMMT – “what would my mom think?”. If your mom wouldn’t approve, you can bet someone with a phone or camera might think it’s worth posting online.
Remember that you are a public figure and representative of basketball
When you chose to be an elite athlete, you also accepted that you may become a public figure. People will recognise you, look up to you and want to know more about you. It may seem unfair that you have to sacrifice some of your privacy, but that is simply part of the ‘job’.
As a public figure, people are watching what you do and are often waiting for you to make a mistake. Any behaviours that tarnish your reputation could also tarnish your relationship with sponsors and employers. Always keep that in mind. If certain actions off-the-court could lead to career or financial losses, then think twice before you carry them out.
Keep in mind that the past will stay forever
You might be young now. Perhaps, you still don’t know if you will become a professional player. If you are reading this, there are high chances that you will. So, please, keep in mind that whatever happens now will remain forever. Social media is here to stay. Same as your actions appearing on it. Keep this in mind and start making good choices today. Don’t wait until becoming a pro athlete. Your posts and actions from today will influence your future opportunities.
Making smart choices mainly involves common sense and respect for those who may be affected by the decisions you make.
8-step strategy for making big career or life decisions
Making big decisions in life can feel overwhelming. To make the process more manageable, consider using the following eight-step strategy.
Step 1 – Identify your objective.
What are you trying to achieve or clarify by making your decision?
Step 2 – Do a preliminary review of your options.
Quickly identify whether you have many or only a couple of options to assess.
Step 3 – Identify what is at stake.
For big decisions regarding health, family, career and finances, you will want to ask yourself what is at stake and how you prioritize those values. While the decision is ultimately yours to make, at this step it can help to have the opinions of others because having more information can make you more confident in your final decision.
Step 4 – Assess the importance of the decision.
This will determine how much time and energy (and money) you invest in the decision making process.
Step 5 – Budget your time and energy.
From this point, you will want to organize your decision making process and set deadlines for making a final decision.
Step 6 – Choose a decision making strategy.
Will you measure the pros and cons of the situation? Will you weigh the opinions of professionals more heavily than others? Will you trust your intuition? Having a plan on how to actually make the final decision will help you determine what is most important for you to consider.
Step 7 – Identify and evaluate your options.
As you get deeper into the decision making process, you may discover new information that causes you to view your options in a different way.
Step 8 – Make your choice…on time.
With all the information in hand, now it is time to make your final decision. And do your best to honour the timeline you created in Step 5 to ensure that you take action and don’t ‘overthink’ the issue.
Who can I turn to for help when making career decisions?
Knowing where to turn for advice can be just as important as having a plan for making the actual decision. However, only use the advice of others to inform your decision-making process – don’t rely on it as the sole basis for your final decision. The interests of those around you may not always be entirely in your best interest, so keep that in mind and make decisions that serve you best based on your values and priorities. You are ultimately responsible for the decisions you make.
When facing big decisions, consider asking advice from:
Players' Mentor. This is a person that has been in your shoes. He probably understands your situation better than anyone else. Furthermore, he/she will just seek your best interest and he/she has been trained to provide this professional advice (see further: Players' Mentor).
Team leaders. Your coaches and trainers can offer advice when facing tough decisions regarding your on-court performance. However, for career-oriented decisions such as possibly looking for other professional opportunities or other teams, it may not be best to confide in team leaders right away.
Agents. Part of your agent’s job is to provide you with advice about big decisions that can affect your career. He or she can provide information about the market that is specific to your needs and situation (see further: Agents).
Financial and legal advisors. If you receive financial and legal advice from someone other than your agent, you may want to consult with them before making any major life decisions. They can provide you with important information about the potential monetary and legal impact of decisions you might make. They can also serve as a useful “second opinion” to what your agent or other primary advisor may suggest (see further: Finance).
Family. Family know you very well and can offer a lot of helpful insight from a personal perspective. However, they may not always fully understand the professional impact of decisions you need to make. So, always keep in mind a balance between the personal and professional aspects of your decisions. What you choose to prioritise (career, family, health, finances, etc.) will guide you, so remember that throughout your decision-making process (see further: Family).