Learn how coaching high school volleyball helped this author become a successful leader - read on to find out more!
“Leadership is a skill you were born to develop.” - Major Williams
The stages of becoming a leader
Do you want to become a better leader? There are several ways to learn about leadership. There are books. I read them, there are training programs, I was in one of the best.
Then there is coaching High School Volleyball.
That’s what brought me through the three stages of transformation.
Three Stages of Transformation
Awareness
My awareness started with a small business mentorship program in Phoenix AZ, sponsored by APS. APS is an electric company that serves Arizona. It was called AAAME, pronounced “Aim”. Which stands for APS Academy for the Advancement of Small, Minority, and Women-owned Enterprises. I believe the origins of the program and don’t quote me on this was to help build up their small business vendor base. They wanted to support local small businesses but realized they were not equipped with the fundamental business skills needed to manage the work required. It later expanded into a program open to Phoenix area businesses.
"We see the world, not as it is, but as we are." - Stephen Covey
This program was life-changing for me. Before AAAME, I saw myself as a behind-the-scenes software developer who wrote great code. After the program, I saw myself as a leader that solves problems. I was no longer limited by my title or my skill set; I had the confidence to take on tasks that I once thought were beyond my scope. With this newfound perspective, I even hired a developer shortly after leaving the program. AAAME changed my programming and gave me the confidence and knowledge to reach for greater heights.
AAAME created the awareness of my purpose to lead. I was left with several questions
What exactly do leaders do?
Does this mean I must have all the answers?
Does this mean I make more money?
How do I lead?
Where are my followers? I mean… I need followers to lead right.
Now What?
I started the second phase of the transition.
Preparation
I start by seeking out information. In this case, in the form of books. I learned about John Maxwell and his leadership approach. So I started buying his books. I purchased 2 books
The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership
Developing the leader within you
I quickly learned leadership is hard work. Had nothing to do with Title. How many followers did I have? Having all the answers? Or making all the decisions.
I had to first lead myself and become great at it. Then help others do the same.
It was rough at the beginning. I went to work doing that in my business. At least I thought that was what I was doing. Because I was still a problem solver, I was quick to jump in and solve problems for my team. Helping solve my team's problems was helping them solve problems, right. And this would help them become better problem solvers. We all know the answer to that. Not even a little bit.
Now entering my HS varsity coaching career. It is important to win. There is also a responsibility to prepare these young players for adult life. Both of these things I could only influence. I could not do it for them. There is also some pressure to win. When coaching a competitive sport like HS varsity volleyball. Your results are on several websites, put in newspapers, and the school announcements the results the morning after every game. If you lose enough, you will be fired. Frankly, I think it is important to be in a pressured environment when working on transformation.
When coaching a high school women's varsity volleyball team. I only had influence, I could not play the game for them and I could not become an adult for them. I had to learn how to influence the expected result instead of directly creating the result. My success depended on their success.
I had to learn how to effectively prepare the 6 young women on the court to make smart decisions and thrive in an unpredictable environment with constantly changing teammates. To do so, I had to identify the key factors required for success and teach them how to implement them. Despite not being a volleyball player myself, nor particularly skilled at the sport, I had to rely on others to fill in for my weaknesses. To ensure the players had everything they needed to be successful, I had to form a team around me.
During this time I had to:
Understanding what motivates each player
Develop a relationship with each player
Meet each player where they were in their development
Teach them the skills needed to be successful in their role
Show them how their role ties into the overall success of the team
Set a standard of performance
Get out of their way and let them become the best version of themselves
Learn how to part ways, when needed
Build a team around me (coaching staff) to make up for my weaknesses
All of these things are things leaders must do. I was able to avoid doing all of these in my business but could not when it came to volleyball.
I began using these newly acquired skills from coaching to my business.
It was then I began to realize, I am a leader.
Realization
I’m sure there are other ways to develop your skills as a leader but coaching a HS varsity volleyball team is what did it for me. Maybe one day I will write about how my efforts to build a HS Volleyball Program developed my skills of building a legacy.
Until Next Time…
