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From tennis courts to boardrooms: How Kasia Siwosz leverages athletic discipline in business coaching

Kasia Siwosz seamlessly transitioned from the rigorous world of professional tennis to the dynamic field of business coaching. As a former WTA tennis player, she honed her skills through intense training and unwavering perseverance.
Kasia Siwosz

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Kasia Siwosz, ormer WTA tennis player. Source: Supplied.

Kasia Siwosz seamlessly transitioned from the rigorous world of professional tennis to the dynamic field of business coaching. As a former WTA tennis player, she honed her skills through intense training and unwavering perseverance. These traits now form the bedrock of her coaching philosophy. Siwosz emphasises the importance of discipline and focus, qualities she believes are crucial for success in both sports and business.

“Tennis taught me how to push beyond my limits and stay focused under pressure,” Siwosz says. Her clients, who include top executives and elite professionals, benefit from this disciplined outlook, learning to navigate their careers with precision and dedication.

Building mental fortitude

Mental fortitude is a cornerstone of Siwosz’s coaching. In tennis, players must stay focused, manage stress, and adapt strategies on the fly. Siwosz helps her clients develop similar mental resilience, essential for thriving in high-pressure business environments.

Her coaching sessions include strategies for stress management and mental clarity. “In both sports and business, staying calm and composed is essential for success,” she explains. Techniques like mindfulness and cognitive restructuring help her clients enhance their mental resilience, enabling better decision-making and sustained performance under pressure.

Strategic planning and goal setting

Siwosz’s coaching emphasises strategic planning and goal setting. Just as athletes set specific goals to track their progress, she encourages her clients to establish clear objectives and create detailed plans to achieve them. This structured method fosters accountability and warrants continuous improvement.

Clients break down long-term goals into manageable milestones, making large objectives less daunting and allowing for regular assessment and adjustment of strategies. “Success is a series of small steps,” she notes. Celebrating incremental achievements keeps clients motivated and focused on their ultimate goals.

Embracing a growth mindset

The concept of a growth mindset is integral to Siwosz’s coaching. She encourages clients to view challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. This perspective shift fosters continuous learning and improvement.

Drawing from her tennis career, where overcoming setbacks is part of the game, Siwosz helps clients reframe failures as learning experiences that build resilience and adaptability, essential for success in any field. “Every setback is a setup for a comeback,” she asserts. Siwosz empowers her clients to embrace challenges with confidence and perseverance by instilling this belief.

High performance and accountability

Creating a culture of accountability is crucial in Siwosz’s technique for coaching high performers. In sports, accountability is critical for team success and individual improvement. Siwosz brings this principle into her coaching practice, encouraging clients to take ownership of their actions and results.

Regular check-ins and performance reviews are a staple of her coaching sessions. These meetings provide an opportunity to assess progress, address challenges, and adjust strategies. Siwosz sees to it that her clients stay on track and remain committed to their goals by maintaining a consistent feedback loop. “Accountability is about being honest with yourself and taking responsibility for your progress,” she says.

Navigating high-stakes environments

Many of Siwosz’s clients operate in high-stakes environments where the margin for error is slim. Her background in competitive sports uniquely qualifies her to help these individuals manage the pressures of their roles. She uses her experience to teach clients how to stay composed and perform at their best, even under the most challenging circumstances.

Siwosz incorporates techniques such as visualisation and scenario planning into her coaching. These methods, commonly used by athletes, help clients prepare for various outcomes and maintain focus during critical moments. “Visualising success can significantly impact actual performance,” she explains.

Enhancing team dynamics

Siwosz’s coaching focuses on nurturing individuals into team-oriented leaders. 

In her tennis journey, Kasia experienced firsthand the stark contrast between the solitude of professional play and the communal spirit of university teams. “In professional tennis, the emphasis is often on ‘I,’ but in collegiate tennis, the focus shifts to ‘we’,” Siwosz reflects. This realisation—that collective efforts often yield greater rewards than individual pursuits—shaped her approach to coaching.

Through personalised coaching sessions, Siwosz employs methods that foster trust, improve communication, and strengthen team cohesion. She emphasises the satisfaction derived from shared victories, encouraging her clients to adopt a mindset that prioritises team success over personal accolades. “A strong team is the foundation of any successful organisation,” she often states, highlighting the joy and fulfilment found in achieving goals as part of a united group.

Kasia Siwosz’s journey from professional tennis to business coaching highlights the transformative power of athletic discipline in achieving success beyond sports. Her blend of mental fortitude, strategic planning, and accountability has made her a respected figure in the life coaching industry. By fostering a culture of teamwork and leadership, Siwosz continues to inspire and guide high achievers to reach new heights in their professional and personal lives.