Activités sportives et Carrière

Go Ahead, Let Them See You Sweat
Tara Weiss, 07.18.06, 10:00 AM ET

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Click here to see how to get the most out of office sports.

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Tara Weiss
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Sometimes you've got to sweat a little to get what you want at work.

Consider this: A member of Deloitte and Touche's tennis league told team captain Marc Crockette that her opportunity to work abroad is a direct result of playing on the team. She was hitting ground strokes before a match with one of the firm's partners recently and casually mentioned that she'd love to work abroad. He told her that a two-year position recently opened in the company's London office and voila! She had an interview.

Joining your company's athletic teams can enhance your physique and your career. How? The boundaries between cubicles and corner offices disappear on a court, field or pitch. If you work at a large- or even medium-sized company, you'll probably meet people you otherwise wouldn't even nod at on the elevator. "Company partners and people in the mailroom play together," says Crockette an auditor of employee benefit plans at Deloitte . "Your title is left behind the moment you leave the office."

Click here to see how to get the most out of office sports.


When Mark Junio was hired at General Casualty in Sun Prairie, Wis., ten years ago, his manager neglected to introduce him to the company's senior execs. Not knowing the top brass made him feel like he was at a disadvantage. So, soon after he was hired, Junio joined the company's bowling league and quickly became friendly with the organization's key officers because they bowled together weekly. "Now I'm at the point where I can discuss business with a senior person with confidence," says Junio, a claim unit manager in the workers compensation department. "That comes from bowling and having a few beers afterwards."

Sometimes the benefits go both ways. Junio recently posted an opening in his department and wound up hiring a fellow league member. He only knew her from the league--he didn't even know what department she worked in. But when her application crossed his desk, he not only knew who she was, he knew her personality and temperament were right for the job. The position was a promotion which came with greater responsibility and a higher salary. "Anyone can interview well, but when I hire someone I need to know, 'Is this someone I'll take out to meet a potential million dollar customer with,'" says Junio.

For Guy Perry, an associate at the law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, his reputation on the company's soccer team has earned him a newfound reputation at the firm. Partners and other associates who don't play on the team have heard about Perry's attitude on the field. "They heard about the team and said to me, 'I heard you're pretty good and you play pretty hard,'" says Perry. "That translates into more respect [at work]. You walk around and raise your head high."

Playing together makes working together much easier. Perry finds that associates with less experience than him – he's been at the firm for eight years – have an easier time asking him questions about projects since they know him on a casual basis. "It makes being in the building more pleasant," says Perry "If I go to the cafeteria and see two familiar faces, it makes for a more pleasant working experience."

Creating cohesion among co-workers is so important to some companies that they send their staff to places such as the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in Texas, which has a corporate program designed to foster trust and communication among co-workers. Andy Furman, director of experiential learning at the Ranch, takes groups to complete a ropes course, rafting or on scavenger hunts. He says these sorts of activities go a long way to building a cohesive workforce. There's nothing like dangling through the air at extreme heights to get a staff to bond.

"The goal for most groups is to get better communication going or more trust," says Furman. "We do four or five activities on the high ropes that are 40 to 50 feet in the air. They have to climb up there or do the zip line. That pushes them out of their comfort zone. It help with encouragement skills."

In addition to expanding your network and bonding with colleagues, joining a corporate team can sometimes have other benefits too. Junio, of Wisconsin-based General Casualty, met his now wife through his corporate bowling league. Since she worked in a different department the two might not have met. "She approached me after seeing me at bowling and it came to where we were having friendly wagers over beer over who bowls better," says Junio. "One thing lead to another." The rest is corporate bowling league history.

Click here to see how to get the most out of office sports.

knadienment
Taurus

Excuses moi Taurus, la photo au dessous de ton nom, est ce toi?

je sais que tu as un grand sens de l'humour alors j'ai pensé que c'était toi, j'ai fait le rapprochement.

Salut