I was asked recently to volunteer as an assistant coach for an 8 week women’s cycling clinic. I was keen to do it, as I’ve volunteered in other years and it’s always inspiring to be around other women athletes who want to stretch and grow.
What was particularly inspiring this year, was the head coach for our 12 cyclists and the other two assistant coaches. All three of them exemplify to me, collaborative leadership.
What did I find so inspiring?
- The Head Coach (read: Leader) assumed we all had something valuable to contribute. Not only that, but she actively asked us where we might want to contribute. What parts of the clinic might each of us want to take on to teach? What did we think of the curriculum? What are our ideas?
- The Assistants were always willing to take on the requests. It’s not that we could all teach everything, and that wasn’t the intent. It was that we were all willing to consider where we could best help. We were each also encouraged to step up to the level we wanted to. It wasn’t about pressure but about acceptance and contribution to the well-being of the women and what they can learn. That’s inspiring!
- The Head Coach and the Assistant Coaches all have faced and overcome obstacles. The Head Coach talked about the challenges in some of the racing and endurance events she’s been in. She’s talked about the dark times in the rain and the cold when she’s been deep into the course. One of the Assistant Coaches returned from an epic fondo (a long cycling event), cycling 170 km and in the most adverse conditions. She was courageous enough to share some of her most vulnerable moments. The third coach took on organizing the whole clinic. That was a gargantuan task, and she did it with so much ease and modesty and collaboration that most women don’t even know what she’s done this year to pull the clinic together.
Can you feel your heart swell? Mine is in the retelling. There are certain leadership qualities that only a collaborative or servant leader can display. Qualities like:
- Noticing you and valuing you. Giving you the message that you matter.
- Knowing that we are in this together and that it’s about the higher purpose.
- Sharing our challenges and vulnerabilities with strength and with the knowledge that challenges make us grow.
I know in my heart that collaborative leadership is what this world needs and what I am dedicated to supporting and spreading the word about.
Practical Reflection
If you’re a leader (or team member, parent, coach), here are three small ways you might bring collaborative leadership into your world this week:
- Look for opportunities to show others they matter. Practice the 5As from David Richo: attention, acceptance, appreciation, affection, and allowing.
- Remind those around you of the higher purpose for your work. As a former volunteer coordinator, I remember deliberately sharing with volunteers the connection of their work to a higher cause. In leadership lingo, that’s called “Inspiring a Shared Vision.”
- Respect everyone’s bandwidth. If you notice someone stepping back, resist judgment. Instead, try a check-in. Be willing to share the truth about the hard parts for you and to hear the same from others. Collaborative culture grows from how we receive each other, not just how we perform.
This clinic reminded me how enlivening collaborative leadership is and how engaging it is to be included, valued, and inspired.
You with me?
Warmly,
