IAm Ahmed Shawky Mohammed 

You can often find me sprinting on the treadmill or spinning furiously on the exercise bikes at my local gym. When I'm not getting my cardio in, I'm often in the weight room pumping iron during an intense BodyPump class. On other days, you might catch me contorting into a downward dog or warrior pose during a yoga session. And when time permits, I still make sure to get outside for recreational team sports like football and volleyball.

Fitness has become much more than just physical activity for me — it serves as a training ground for life. The same skills and mindset I've developed through sports have impacted my personal and professional path in so many ways, positively contributing to my abilities when it comes to determination and grit, discipline, creative problem-solving, collaboration and teamwork, and effective communication.

Positive Impacts

Sticking with a difficult workout or pushing through the pain of a 10K run teaches determination. Sports require grinding through challenges without giving up. The same goes for pursing your goals in work and life. Playing sports and living a fitness lifestyle gives me the grit I need to overcome obstacles.

Discipline is needed to reach fitness goals, stick to workout schedules, and maintain proper nutrition and rest. Sports teach commitment, prioritization, routine, and organization. Much of my professional achievement can be traced to these attributes that I've seamlessly learned from my sports fitness journey.

When a workout routine becomes ineffective or an opposing sports team unexpectedly changes their strategy, I'm forced to think creatively for solutions. Sports constantly challenge you to assess situations, recognize patterns, and devise innovative approaches. This ability to solve problems under pressure has served me well in navigating workplace challenges.

Moreover, team sports like football require coordination, communication, and working together toward a shared outcome. Football has taught me to motivate others, provide support, and celebrate collective achievements. These collaboration skills also help me thrive in workplace teams and relationships.

In my career as a CAE, I was tasked with building an internal audit team for a large organization. I focused on hiring a diverse team, while creating an inclusive and safe environment where every member of the team could be themselves. When challenges inevitably emerged during an engagement, I drew on my sports mindset to motivate the team. I provided hands-on guidance and encouragement, pushing them to persevere like teammates grinding through a tough match. Celebrating milestones reinforced their progress and capabilities.

Lifelong Learning

A career turning point for me was in 2009 when I tore my Achilles tendon during a football game with EY colleagues in Abu Dhabi. Despite the pain and a six-month recovery period post-surgery, this setback allowed me to introspect.

During my recovery, I reflected and discovered my calling: aiming higher every day and inspiring and nurturing talent. This revelation led me to engage with higher education, teach internal auditing, and help shape the next generation of internal auditors.

Although my tendon healed, the experience left an enduring mark. Those immobilized months unveiled my path to making a difference. This vision guided me through Europe and the Middle East, assisting organizations in transforming their internal audit teams. What began as a physical setback ignited a profound purpose that continues to drive me today. The torn tendon redirected my career toward empowering others to make an impact and thrive.

Sports and internal audit are both journeys of continuous improvement and progression powered by focus, discipline, and purpose. Just like great athletes, the most successful professionals never stagnate but rather constantly push themselves in new directions. Staying active in sports keeps me in a mode of striving to learn and progress in all aspects of life. Fitness keeps me moving towards my potential as a dynamic person and professional. The personal growth that comes from sports helps me bring energy and passion to everything I do.