Justin tuck: How preparation leads to success off the field, too.
Justin Tuck is arguably one of the top defensive sack leaders to play in the National Football League (NFL) amassing 66.5 sacks and two Super Bowl championships during his 11-year NFL career. In May, Tuck graduated with his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was recently selected as a vice president in the private wealth management division at Goldman Sachs, which selects only 3% of the 300,00 annual applicants. Justin recently spoke about preparation to CNBC and said, “At the NFL level, not being prepared means Tom Brady throws 400 yards against you. Not being prepared at a place like Goldman Sachs means that some of your trusted clients are losing money.”
If asked, most active and former NFL players would identify “preparation” as a key to transitioning from the NFL. While studying NFL free-agent players who were in the middle of transitioning from the NFL, this is an opinion that was frequently heard from study participants. Although most players expressed the belief that they were prepared for the transition, many still experienced cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges.
Unlike Justin, at the time of their participation in the study, many of the players were uncertain about what they wanted to do next. However, the data revealed the perspective that there are three realizations that must occur in order to transition out of the NFL: (1) a recognition that it is time to move on, (2) an awareness that it is likely you are never going to play football again, and (3) an understanding that the “real world” is much different from the football world, which was perceived by participants as having a different set of rules that govern acceptable behaviors.
The recognition of a set of rules that differ from those in the NFL is endorsed by many who have undergone the transition experience from the NFL to next, particularly to a new career in corporate America. This shift in setting requires an adaptation of previous beliefs and behaviors. For example, in the NFL, one is critiqued daily through film review sessions with coaches who provide instant feedback on ways to improve performance. In this environment, mistakes are publicly broadcast and pointed out in front of teammates during meetings. Providing feedback in this manner is viewed as ensuring a certain level of accountability in the NFL world; however, outside of the world of sports, this kind of approach is commonly viewed as problematic. In this case, making the shift from the “NFL world” to the “outside world” requires learning to provide feedback to colleagues and direct reports in a way that allows for performance improvement without a potential loss of psychological safety. This adjustment in behavior can only occur with awareness and flexibility, and one must be willing and ready to make such a shift in approach—one must be prepared.
While study results yielded three realizations that are essential in the transition out of the NFL, there is one additional realization that NFL players should be encouraged to make: realize that all the skills and talents that led to achieving an NFL career can be utilized in the transition to the next.
Most NFL players possess valuable characteristics such as work ethic, discipline, commitment, and ability to persevere, which can be applied during the transition from the game into the next. These qualities are universal foundational principles for just about every career, and just as they have contributed to gaining access to the highest level of professional football, they can be relied upon to assist in the adjustment to social norms that might differ from those experienced while playing in the NFL.
Individuals who make it to the rarefied air of the NFL have a proven track record of their ability to prepare. They have demonstrated the willingness to engage in the daily actions that can lead to the achievement of a set of goals, and the persistence to master the fundamentals that lead to success. Despite the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral challenges that accompany the transition from the NFL to the next, let this be a reminder that with preparation, you are equipped with all that it takes to perform at the highest level, whether in the “football world” or in the “real world”.
