Around the time of Google’s introduction, sports psychologist Jack J. Lesyk started receiving cautious e-mail inquiries from a different type of clientele: corporate executives and company presidents.

“I had never made the connection before,” says Lesyk, who works with high school, Olympic and professional athletes as director of the Ohio Center for Sport Psychology in Beachwood. “These high-level executives were feeling the same pressures as pro athletes.”

Clearly, some of the same attributes for winning on the field apply to success in business. In 2008, Dallas Cowboy legend Roger Staubach sold the commercial real estate company he built for $613 million, for example.

Top collegiate and professional athletes and successful business leaders often share the same psychological drivers. “They’re both passionate and motivated to succeed,” says Lesyk. “But more practically, they’re able to translate those long-term goals into very specific behaviors.”

Here are some lessons Lesyk shared to help you succeed in 2012 regardless of your field of competition.

Use your resources. Successful business leaders connect with their network of colleagues and peers for support through tough times just as athletes look to coaches, trainers and teammates for a new perspective. “Know who your support system is,” Lesyk says. “Don’t be afraid to lean on them.”

Focus on the process. You want to boost profits; athletes want to win games. How do you get there? Athletes target specific skills during practice that have lacked during competition. For you, focus on a neglected market or finally invest in a new product or internal improvement project. “You can only influence the end-product by what you do today,” Lesyk says.

Rough 2011? Start with a clean slate. Many athletes approach Lesyk in the midst of a performance slump or injury. Likewise, rebounding your company after tough times requires you to “stay in touch with what you love about what you’re doing,” Lesyk says. “That’s where we get our energy from, loving something.”

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