Amanda Munsch wrote a fascinating post on the DDI blog titled “Three Leadership Lessons I Learned on the Soccer Field.†Here’s the opening.
“My first job after college was as an assistant collegiate soccer coach. Little did I know, that first job would also be my first leadership position. Looking back now, and having read the book Your First Leadership Job, I only now appreciate how ill-prepared I was to take on the challenges I would face. Here are three lessons I learned…â€
Amanda calls them “leadership lessons,†but they’re also lessons for you if you’re responsible for leadership development where you work.
Leadership development: Technical expertise and knowing the job
It would be easy if everyone who was a productive individual contributor would also turn into a productive manager, but you can’t count on that. Leadership is a particular type of work and not everyone will be good at it. But remember that any boss needs to know enough about the work to understand what’s going on.
Leadership development: Leading peers and street cred
As Amanda points out, leading peers can be both uncomfortable and difficult. But there are challenges when you lead older, more experienced teammates or when you lead a crew of newbies, too. In leadership, the challenges come from all directions. An effective individual contributor develops street cred in the reputation that he or she carries into the leadership job.
Leadership development: Performance conversations
I trained leaders for decades and I don’t think I ever met one who liked those performance conversations. Amanda is not different, but she points out that you can learn how to do those conversations better. But beware: you can’t teach people to be willing to do those tough conversations promptly. They have to show up with that.
