How can I manage my career?
Key Learnings
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Setting a clear and precise objective helps you to concentrate your efforts and gets you heading in the right direction.
Divide your goals by time slots: (a) lifetime goals; (b) career goals; (c) season goals.
By making better use of your time, you can achieve your goals much more easily.
Prioritise tasks based on importance and urgency and remove non-essential activities.
Making good choices is crucial for success as much of your earning potential is related to your reputation on and off-the-court.
Only use the advice of others to inform your decision-making process – don’t rely on it as the sole basis for your final decision. You are ultimately responsible for the decisions you make.
Networking is the art of building alliances and can help you get a job, find a sponsor, make new friends, get new ideas, etc.
Preparing for your professional life after basketball is just as important as your current career on-the-court.
During your basketball career, you can invest in your development through part-time education.

How can I explore different networks?

On a daily basis, you probably interact with colleagues, friends and even strangers. These interactions are all opportunities for networking. Here are four types of networks:

  • Personal networks.
    These include family, friends, and close associates. You usually choose these types of networks through mutual interests or connections. Personal networks are more social than other types of networks and are based on an exchange of help and support.
  • Organisational networks.
    These include project groups, committees, and councils. These networks are focused on whom you need to know to achieve objectives within a specific time frame. They are typically based on power, knowledge, and influence.
  • Professional networks.
    These networks are comprised of colleagues and peers. Professional networks are based on common professional interests. They can be internal or external, meaning they can exist within a place of business or outside the office as part of an industry in general.
  • Strategic networks.
    These include external contacts and connections. Strategic networks can be established by making alliances with individuals from social, political, civic, or religious organisations or other groups with whom you may have regular contact.
     

You may have already started thinking about how you can expand each of the four networks described above – new groups you could join, meetings and conferences you’d like to attend, new people you’d like to talk to, etc. Social media are also a great way to expand your network. However, it is important to remember that the people you already know could be the most influential people in your network – your third grade teacher, your mom’s best friend, your dentist, etc. may just know the person who could help you achieving your professional and personal goals.

As a basketball player, it is also very important to network with key people, both for your basketball career and for your post-basketball career. These include your National Federation, your league, your different clubs, coaches, agents, teammates, etc. During your career, having a good relationship and being polite with coaches might give you the opportunity to change your team in the future. Similarly, having a good relationship with your National Federation might give you your first post-basketball job opportunity. Keep this in mind each time that you interact with the different stakeholders.