Share knowledge

In a field divided, collaboration is key

As we wrap-up February, I wanted to share my biggest reflection to date. The importance of “sharing”. We are in a highly competitive field - and at the same time we aren’t. It really is a “build your own adventure” type of field.

I’ve worked for a wide range of small and large companies with varying perspectives on the field and how we go about our work. Most recently, I observed an exchange between professionals about how much knowledge do they want to share because they don’t want to give away “all their secrets”. I had quite a negative reaction to that for several reasons:

1. We do not hold secrets of the universe

2. There has never been one specific model or theoretical orientation that has proven more effective than another

3. Even if you did…the only differentiator is you.

Let’s examine this a bit further:

We do not hold the secrets of the universe. The field of psychology is segmented and operates in silos. Which means, sport psychology is no different. There are many concepts that overlap between the subdisciplines and one concept may be novel in sport psychology and yet have decades of research in it in other subdisciplines of psychology. Our ideas are built from others work…be humble here.

Efficacy of approaches. The #1 factor to successful outcomes is the relationship between professional and client. Period end of story. Each model and framework has been developed for specific purpose and all equally helpful (so far to our knowledge).

The differentiator is you. I have colleagues who are highly territorial of their work and the idea of sharing models and approaches escapes them. Even to the point of signing non-disclosures, etc. I do not share sharp opinions too often in this community, but in this specific area, I do not hold back. This is nonesense and cripples the field. Here are two reasons why:

1. Non-competes are a thing of the past, so you can’t stop someone if you wanted to.

2. You and I can literally teach the same model, lesson, or skill and our clients will have a completely different experience. This happens because of the differences in our personalities. Perhaps I want to pause and ask questions after a certain point? Perhaps I want to offer examples and my examples are different from each other. The point is, there is much variance - even within similar models and approaches.

THE PATH AHEAD

Why do I share all of this? The more you know, the more ideas you will have and the deeper your insights will grow. Whether it is how to approach consulting, different techniques/interventions for training, varying uses in assessments, or designing programs. There is so much knowledge and experience out there, that I encourage us all to share.

• It will only help the field to grow and gain visibility

• You will only strengthen relationships with your peers

• You will gain insights and access to entirely new populations and research that you never knew was out there

Out of all of my lessons learned in my career, this has been the most rewarding.

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Coming down the pipe for March

Interventions and Strategies

• For this month, I’ll share some of my favorite strategies across client work and business

• We will have another community member spotlight on philosophy and approaches to work

Thanks for being part of the community and please feel free to send more thoughts on topics for conversation!!!