In his book 'Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered', Austin Kleon offers invaluable advice on how sharing your creative process can lead to meaningful connections and unexpected opportunities. In this post, we’ll explore these insights through the lens of a sports science career.
Kleon’s book, Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share your Creativity and Get Discovered, deals with how to show your work. Before we get into that, I first want to address what it means to ‘show your work’ and crucially, why it can be valuable.
What Does It Mean to ‘Show Your Work’?
For some, sharing work online is about gaining fame and fortune. But for many it’s a way to refine ideas, gather feedback, and contribute to ongoing dialogue. Science is a never-ending journey, and being open to changing your mind is essential.
That’s why showing your work matters – it’s not about becoming an influencer, but about being intentional in sharing your progress, embracing feedback, and treating your work as a continual process.
I’ve previously discussed the value of auditing your online presence and sharing insights online for sports science career development (see my video below on career tips). Showing your work online not only makes you more discoverable to potential employers but can also open up a range of career opportunities. Realistically, the first thing any prospective employer will do is google you! Personally, sharing my work has been transformative, leading to research collaborations, speaking engagements, and new job prospects.
But I didn’t have all that in mind when I started sharing online many years ago. It began as a blog a decade ago in memory of my mentor, the late Nick Broad. Yet, by committing to a process of sharing online over many years, I’ve enhanced my science communication skills and built a wider network than I ever imagined. It's had a compounding effect on my career.
The following ten ways to show your work are taken from Kleon’s book, to which I’ve added my own thoughts and experiences, along with some examples from our community. While some of these I do well myself, others certainly remain a work in progress. Whether you’re creating regular content or just sharing sporadic thoughts online, be intentional about the platform(s) you use and how you present your work.
You Don’t Have To Be A Genius
The biggest challenge to creating content is overcoming imposter syndrome. Even with years of experience, doubts can persist. But showing your work isn’t actually about being an expert—it’s about learning and bringing others along on your journey. Kleon recommends “think about what you want to learn and make a commitment to learning it in front of others”. Yet, this takes bravery, humility and vulnerability.
"Think about what you want to learn and make a commitment to learning it in front of others" - Austin Kleon
For example, Emma Moore shared online the code from a project analysing Australian team structures from x and y coordinates. I appreciate this post because Emma acknowledges there may be a more efficient way to code it, but is nevertheless sharing her learning for the benefit of others. She also cites Alice Sweeting's R package, which is important to provide credit where its due (as discussed further below).
Kleon suggests embracing a beginner’s mindset, whether you're an amateur or an expert. I’ve also spoken about this previously as a benefit when I worked in ice hockey without knowing the sport. A beginner’s mind can help you to avoid cognitive entrenchment because you’re not stuck in ‘what’s always been done’.
Kleon also suggests you can develop your knowledge by finding ‘Scenius’: social genius. This term was created by musician and producer Brian Eno, and is described as ‘the intelligence of a whole operation or group of people’.
Creatives can learn much from the collective; a whole scene of people supporting, contributing, and stealing from each other! For instance, platforms like Sportsmith thrive on collective input, offering invaluable resources for the community.
Think Process, Not Product
Document your journey; be a storyteller of your own creative process. Instead of focusing solely on the finished product, Kleon advises sharing your process. Taking people behind the scenes not only builds connections but also fosters deeper relationships with your audience.
There’s no doubt that fans and sports scientists alike take interest in seeing behind-the-scenes of preseason testing. Another popular example is to show behind-the-scenes of data dashboards. One group doing this particularly well are Sport Horizon, who provide sport-specific data analytics courses and also share plenty of free content through their blog and YouTube channel demonstrating ‘How To’s’. Below is my interview with Johannes and Ciaran, which includes a tutorial of getting started with PowerBI:
Share Something Small Every Day
Kleon talks about creating content in terms of daily units. I don’t think this is necessarily about committing to posting every single day in absolute terms, but more the mindset that little and often is better than striving for perfection (Full disclosure: I find this a challenge myself!!).
The question “What are you working on?” should be a regular prompt. Share small, unpolished pieces of your work regularly. It doesn't need to be perfect, but also remember, once shared, it becomes public!
Someone who shares his thoughts and works in progress is Ryan McLaughlin from VALD, such as this post in which he posed questions about a topic. This led to various comments and offline conversations, which in turn led to a follow up post.
When sharing ask yourself: “Is it helpful, useful, or interesting?” If the answer is uncertain, it might be worth saving for later.
In addition, Kleon differentiates between “stock” (durable, long-term content) and “flow” (regular updates), suggesting that creators find patterns in their flow and develop them into stock.
Open Up Your Cabinet Of Curiosities
What are YOU curious about? Open up your “cabinet of curiosities” and share what fascinates you without guilt. In my case, my posts and videos on artificial intelligence (AI) stem from a personal desire to learn how AI can enhance sports science.
Be open, honest, and authentic. Your passion and interest will resonate with others, but always remember to give credit where it’s due. Cite research, link to social media posts, and admit if you’ve lost track of where something came from! Yann Le Meur’s infographics have a powerful impact on the sports science community and by citing the original research, he adds credibility and value to his contributions.
Tell Good Stories
Stories have the power to connect with audiences on an emotional level. In all honesty this is something I’m trying to develop further. As a scientist, my default is to turn to facts and figures, but people are often drawn to the human side of the story. People like to hear stories, experiences, and case studies from my time working across the Premier League, NHL, NFL, and now as a consultant. This is why podcasts are such a popular method for showing your work.
Kleon emphasises the importance of structure and narrative in making your work compelling. He references Dan Harmon’s story circle, which has 8 stages that take the listener through three acts from the known order, through chaos, to the new order.
Teach What You Know
One of the most generous things you can do is teach others what you’ve learned. Share your “trade secrets”—your “cookbook” of recipes. This could be anything from creating tutorials to sharing new research. The goal is to make people better at something they want to improve upon.
Of course, the challenge of doing so in sports science is that the context and nuance of a particular setting or approach can be lost. This is certainly a challenge I spend a lot of time thinking about, how to reduce the science down into a recipe that still translates across different environments.
It is up to skill of the practitioner to determine when something translates appropriately to a particular environment or not. The cookbook approach is one of the reasons, in my opinion, that Alex Natera’s run-specific isometrics have been so popular and effective. Alex does a fantastic job of respecting the complexity of the science, while boiling it down into practical applications.
Don’t Turn Into Human Spam
Kleon warns against becoming “human spam”—someone who only broadcasts their own ideas without engaging with others. To be a good creator, you must first be a good consumer of content. Listen to other perspectives, connect with collaborators, and look for ways to contribute to the broader conversation. In sports science, being a connector can lead to fruitful collaborations and shared successes.
Learn To Take A Punch
Sharing your work is a vulnerable endeavour, so it’s essential to develop resilience. Not every piece of feedback will be positive or constructive, but learning to discern valuable input from noise is key. One way to do this is by now caring what everybody thinks, but just caring about what the right people think.
Protect your sensitive work by keeping it private until you’re ready to share, and remember to keep your work in perspective—it’s what you do, not who you are. And when faced with negativity, don’t be afraid to block or ignore trolls.
Sell Out (The Right Way)
There’s no shame in getting paid for your work. If someone likes what you do, it’s okay to say, “Like this? Buy me a coffee.” Creators often put a lot of work into the information they share, and a small note of thanks or purchase can go a long way.
However, Kleon advises discerning between opportunities — say yes to those that allow you to do more of the work you love, and no to those that are solely about financial gain. Clearly, this is an idealistic perspective and depending on the stage of your career, one that may not yet be attainable, but perhaps something to aim for.
“If an opportunity comes along that will allow you to do more of the kind of work you want to do, say yes. If an opportunity comes along that would mean more money, but less of the kind of work you want to do, say no.” - Austin Kleon
Stick Around
The final piece of advice is simple: don’t quit. Use the end of one project to spark the beginning of the next, allowing momentum to build over time. But balance that with breaks. Despite the earlier ‘posting everyday’ tip, Kleon recommends taking sabbaticals—whether they’re every few years, or just a small break each day or week—to recharge and gain perspective. He reminds us, “If you never go to work, you never get to leave work.”
Balancing this need for rest with the idea of consistently posting can be challenging. However, showing your work is a long-term investment that can significantly impact your career. The effects compound over time, and as long as you stay the course, the benefits will accumulate. So, stick around, but don’t hesitate to take breaks or change your approach when needed. It’s about sustaining your passion and creativity for the long haul, not burning out.
Final Thoughts
I’ll leave you with two quotes that encapsulate the essence of "Show Your Work!". Firstly, as Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, wisely put it: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product you’ve launched too late”. This underscores the important of courage – the courage to share, to connect, to learn, to teach, and to keep going, even when it’s tough.
As Alain de Botton wisely notes, “Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.” Embrace the journey, share your process, continue evolving as a creator, a sports scientist and as a human being.
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