From a team sports elite athlete to a top management position
Born in 1997, Michelle Chevalier is part of Gen Z. In Michelle’s case, Z stands for zeal, zest and reaching the zenith. Michelle always wanted more than the average person. Enjoying school and her spare time wasn’t enough. She wanted to be a top performer in sport – on a women’s handball team, to be precise. And, in typical Michelle fashion, she didn’t just join any team.
Michelle played in the Nationalliga A division as part of the Yellow Winthertur team, competing for both Swiss titles as well as the European Cup together with her team members. While her fellow school pupils enjoyed their spare time and spent their weekends relaxing, Michelle went through tough and vigorous training. Her success would prove her right, as she made it to the Top 4 of Switzerland’s women’s handball together with her team.
For her Bachelor’s thesis at Zurich’s University of Applied Sciences, she examined the impact of such a commitment to sport on a person’s career. Do vigorous training, total commitment and dedication to sports and a team have an impact on a profession, and could it even benefit people’s careers?
She examined this theory by interviewing former champion athletes such as Beni Huggel (ex-professional footballer) and Roger Schnegg (longstanding top volleyball player), business representatives such as Heinz Karrer and Peter Spuhler, as well as the Headhunter Helmut Zimmerli-Menzi. The results weren’t surprising: elite team sports promote soft skills that form a solid foundation for professional success. Effectively applying and transferring these skills to the workplace can help achieve top management positions, providing a unique opportunity to transition from being a top candidate in the field to becoming a top management candidate.
Among the skills identified, communication, mental toughness, resilience and preparation were among the factors mentioned most often by the interviewees. Resilience and the ability to perform under pressure were identified as valuable traits for addressing challenges in top management roles, while social skills were identified as crucial for effective leadership. Each of the experts reported having had leadership experience in sports, emphasising the value of the platform that team sports offer for developing leadership qualities. These results further strengthen the theory that participating in professional team sports promotes the development of valuable skills that can be directly applied to top managerial positions.
Overall, the study provided convincing evidence of the connection between the skills required in elite sports and top management positions. The challenges and pressures encountered throughout athletic careers form an excellent foundation for thriving in a dynamic business environment. Combined with their qualifications and experience, the soft skills acquired by athletes provide a competitive advantage in the business world, leading to
extraordinary success.
Michelle has since successfully completed her Bachelor’s degree, achieving a grade 6 for her thesis and starting her career as a Project and Business Development Manager with Schindler, a sure sign that her career has taken off. We will continue to follow her progress and are certain that she will be just as successful in her career!
Michelle Chevalier, team athlete (handball) and professional