leadership lessons learned in the pool
Pandemic-world has gotten me thinking a lot about leadership.
I have been thinking about how elected officials have led in response to pandemic-world. I have been thinking about how business leaders have had to adapt and pivot in a constantly changing environment. I have been thinking about leadership in schools by educators as they work to keep students engaged. And, I have been thinking about leadership at home. How are families managing? As the world around us seems to be shifting faster than quicksand we need strong leadership now more than ever.
To me, leadership is about consistency. It is about showing up. It is about making a plan. It is about making hard decisions. It is about knowing you can’t please everyone. When I think about leadership I was reminded of one of the first times I found myself in a leadership role when I coached a competitive synchronized swimming team while attending university.
The swim club hired me not because I knew anything about coaching but because of my background as a former competitive synchronized swimmer. The directors of the club thought I would be a good example for the girls and share my knowledge and experience with them. I was pretty sure it would be a breeze. I would show up at the pool, run some drills, choose some music and teach a new routine to the team. They would all be excited to participate and I would immediately command their respect and trust.
Boy was I wrong. The first few practices I was woefully unprepared and no amount of winging it could hide my incompetence. I realized that I needed a plan. I had been fortunate enough to have been trained by some of the top coaches in Canada when I was swimming and I starting to understand just how clueless I was about how much preparation happened behind the scenes. Practices just seemed to happen from what I could tell. At the end of the first week I sat down and revisited some of my old training logs and started to put together a program for my team. It would be a mix of conditioning, technical training, choreography and then practicing the program that would ultimately be put together.
At the start of the second week I showed up ready to rock. I had a binder. I had a whiteboard. I had a whistle. I was now legit. Except for one not so small glitch. This quirky bunch of teenaged girls had already experienced four practices of disorganized, fly by the seat of her pants, Sarah. They were having nothing of the new structure I was suddenly expecting them to participate in. To be honest, it was mutiny in the pool when I posted the warm up on my shiny new whiteboard. No more goofing off. No more walking when the water got shallow, no more extra long breaks. They were ticked. It was clear to me that I had to figure out a way to earn both their respect and trust as their coach.
I persevered. I told them that if they wanted to compete and not come in last they needed to put in the effort. They needed to trust that I wasn’t just being some jerk making them work hard but that there was a plan for success. After a lot of grumbling (as only teenage girls can do!) they started to settle down and, over the next few weeks, practices became more focused. As we started to get into a rhythm with me running things like a drill sergeant and the girls reluctantly participating we made a deal. If they worked their butts off for the first part of the week we would do something fun and unexpected at the end of the week.
The girls took this deal to heart. They worked hard. After one practice, for fun, we had ice cream from the ice cream truck. Another time I went in the water with them and we played a massive game of underwater tag. As the season went on we were all motivated to do well but we also bonded as a team. We were focused on the same goals. And bit by bit I earned their trust. I was even privy to dating woes and teenage drama! It was such a privilege to lead these girls.
As we approached the final swim meet of the year I was super nervous. I wanted them to swim well so badly. I told the team that as long as they put in their best effort the rest would take care of itself. Control what you could control. As they walked onto the deck and prepared to start their routine I could barely watch. Everything was in their hands. They put in a great performance. There were some miscues but overall they swam very well and ended up in fifth place. They had worked hard all year and when I pushed them they responded each time. I was one proud lady!
I learned a huge lesson in that first year of coaching. As a leader, you can’t just show up and hope the people you are leading automatically agree with what you want them to do. I needed to show the girls I coached that if I was asking them to work hard I also needed to work hard. I needed to earn their trust. I needed to gain their confidence. I needed to show up at each practice prepared, ready to work and be willing to make the tough decisions to move the team towards our goal.
As I write this, in the heat of pandemic-land-world, I get frustrated looking at the news and seeing some politicians say one thing and do another. Decisions are being made that affect our lives now more than ever but, in many cases, there is a lack of consistency, transparency and trust. I also see other leaders pivoting their businesses to continue to serve their communities while managing the ever shifting constraints. Leaders who make sure their staff is cared for in tough times. Leaders in our communities who bring together a group to figure out safer alternatives to beloved traditions such as Halloween. Leaders that focus on the collective good. Leaders that can share hard news with compassion. Leaders who are clear about their plan and lead by doing. These are the leaders I look up to.
Coaching synchronized swimming taught me what can happen when you lead by example. If you aren’t willing to do the work yourself you won’t gain the respect of those you lead. At times in the years since I have forgotten this lesson. But it is worth remembering now more than ever. I am grateful to those teenage girls for their patience and trust. They gave me the space to fumble and find clarity about the the type of leader I aspired to be.
My lesson learned in a swimming pool so many years ago taught me that just because you have a title you are not automatically a leader. Be consistent. Do the work. Build the trust. The rest will follow.
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