Is elite sport the key to business success? – five good tips from Áron Szilágyi

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 01. 15. 08:42

Swordsman Áron Szilágyi has already written himself into sports history, as there was no previous example of someone winning in individual elimination sports at three consecutive Olympics, and even if we ask artificial intelligence, he will be on the top step of the podium at this year’s Paris Games as well. There is a lot of similarity between a successful sports career and successful business management: both require goal-oriented strategic thinking, motivation and flexibility, and, according to Áron, empathy and self-knowledge are indispensable. How do you process failures and why do you pay attention to thanking even your masseuse for support after a competition? Our world and European champion shared what he thinks managers can learn from top athletes in the latest episode of Protechtor’s corporate and management knowledge sharing series.

Regular participants of conferences dealing with business and organizational development, self-training and business performance are successful athletes and coaches, just think of Dénes Kemény, who used the most effective methods of leadership and motivation as the captain of the Hungarian national water polo team for many years. There are more similarities between the business world and sports than we think, the key to success lies in strategy creation, good communication, agility and the ability to cooperate – in addition to preparation and the acquisition of professional knowledge. Of course, in corporate life, we rarely achieve serious results alone.

“Building and managing teams that effectively support our goals are crucial both in sports and in the corporate world. By understanding and applying the strategies and insights of experienced coaches, business leaders can create cohesive, high-performing collectives that are truly the engines of success. There are no permanent recipes that can be applied to all situations, so it is worth listening to as many aspects as possible and finding the most suitable way for us”

– says Gábor Laczkó, one of the founding owners of the Stylers information technology company group that created Protechtor.