What Being a Soccer Captain Taught Me About Leadership

This is a sports story, but it’s really about innovation and teamwork. Growing up, I played competitive soccer and wanted nothing more than to be the next Mia Hamm, the most famous and gracious US women’s player of the 90’s. I even had three ACL surgeries to show for it, and I played with top-ranked girls in the state.

I wasn’t the fastest or the highest scorer, but I anticipated. I could read the field, and I knew what plays we needed to win and who on the team could make that happen. I always showed up on time, ready to work hard and create a backbone for the team. For these reasons, I was made team captain across several competitive teams. “General,” they called me, a name I laughed at but also took to heart.

In innovation, just as in team sports, everyone has a part to play. Some people are amazing designers, some are brilliant strategists, and some are exceptional project managers. You need so many types of people to make innovation work, and you also need a leader who can bring out the best in each of them.

The most effective leaders aren’t always who you’d expect. They may not be the most talented at every skill or the most flashy, but they can recognize what needs to happen and quickly articulate it, so everyone keeps moving together. 

Often in innovation, my job is to make everyone feel comfortable with where they’re at in the process and anticipate how we can move forward together to make our goals, pun intended.

In my senior year of high school, I tore my ACL (again) and had to watch from the bench.  It was heartbreaking. And yet, I watched with pride as my teammates stepped up in my absence and continued to win. As a leader, you know you’ve succeeded when you are replaced, and the team still excels without you.

It remains one of my proudest accomplishments.