Not many people know this about me, but I love soccer, or – as my colleagues across the pond call it – football. My four daughters all play and have for years. However, it was not until this last year in an incident with my 7-year-old that I realized a great parallel between the sport I love and personal leadership.
My 7-year-old Brianne really wanted to play keeper, but had never played before. We practiced at home, but before a big game on Saturday we decided to get up early and do an intense practice. The big game is not very difficult to you and me, but it certainly was for a 7-year-old and she was nervous. She stood in the goal box as I moved the ball beneath my feet, side to side, trying to confuse her before I kicked it in with very little strength behind the ball. Before each kick, I asked her if she was ready. She would raise her hands, roll her eyes at me for warning her, and then scream, “Yes!” She got it each time and rolled it back to me saying, “Don’t take it easy on me.” As you can imagine, I still asked if she was ready and rather than kick with all my strength, I would scoop the ball on my toe with the kick so it would rise up, but she got it each time. After each one, she still said, “Harder!”
I told myself I would kick it harder, so I moved the ball around and kicked it. I didn’t realize it at that second, but I forgot to ask if she was ready and kicked it with all my strength. Her hands were down, the ball caught her in the face, and almost like in a cartoon, took her off her feet and down into the net. My wife and I ran over and helped her up. I of course was being given the evil angry stare that only a child can give a parent and my wife was glaring as only a wife could. Through the daggers of pain and anger, I apologized profusely and finally got her to stop crying. There was no blood and nothing was broken, thankfully.
I said to Brianne, “I am so sorry I did not say ready before kicking it at you.” And here it what that little me said, “If I’m going to stand in the goal box Dad, then I should be ready. The ball can come at any time and it’s up to me to figure how to do my job as keeper.”
I was shocked. Now take that one statement, reflect on it, and ask how it applies to your life at work. We choose to be in our job and ready for anything. We should never expect anyone to say, “Ready” before the kick comes in, nor should we ever expect it to come in easy. If we get complacent or stop trying to be the best, we will miss the ball. Like in soccer, we have a job to do and the freedom within our set boundaries to do anything it takes to do it well. When it is out of that area, we have a team to support us. We are always expected to be alert, at the top of our game, and perform to the best of our ability every time. The pressure is always on to be successful and to help out the team, regardless. People often struggle with this. Sometimes statements like, “I wish they would have told me this was coming”, “Why does this have to be so hard” or “I’m going to quit because I don’t like the pressure” can creep up.
We have all chosen our jobs; we have stepped into the goal box. We are in the starting lineup, not on the bench. We need to stop that incoming ball. Be ready, always, and realize that when you step into your position, you have stepped in the goal box. Realize there is a team out there to help us and strive to play together, but they are expecting you to be playing for the best of the team. Here comes the ball, are you ready?
Today, we proudly announced that we have selected 
