This past month I’ve been reflecting on what makes a winning team and what makes a great leader. These questions have been puzzling corporations and teams globally for decades. Today I serve as the President of Leaderology, a management consulting firm specializing in leadership development, but my career path had a rather unconventional beginning.
Before entering corporate America, my journey began in a chlorine-filled pool where I competed in swimming and water polo, eventually progressing to the U.S. Senior Women’s National Water Polo Team. The years I spent on this team were some of the most challenging, skill-building, and self-developing of my life. As a result, I’m constantly inspired by athletes who achieve excellence at the highest levels of the game. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) is no exception.
Plenty of ink has been spilled about the USWNT’s leadership and advocacy surrounding equal pay, LGBTQIA and civil rights issues. But when I take a closer look, I find there are several lessons from the field regarding why this team has thrived – lessons I believe emerging and executive leaders can apply to perfect their teams and lead them to further greatness.
Co-Captains Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe were each pegged as favorites to win the Golden Boot, an award that recognizes the athlete who scores the most goals at each World Cup. It is coveted by every top striker on the planet. The media was worked into a frenzy as to which of these two might take home the award. But it begs the question: was all the debate reflective of what was occurring in the locker room and behind the scenes between the two captains? The truth is a resounding no. Interviews with both Rapinoe (the ultimate winner of the Golden Boot) and Morgan revealed that very early on they both agreed that one of them needed to bring the Boot home, regardless of who it was.
Like winning teams in the corporate world, the USWNT doesn’t permit any room for competition among or between its players, and its captains always publicly project a sense of a harmony and partnership. Successful leaders always keep their eye on the prize, never forgetting the core values of the larger team. No matter what is going on around them – externally or internally – winning teams remain reliant on the strength of their core values.
Anyone following the team throughout the World Cup could tangibly tell that the players were fearlessly authentic both on and off the pitch. They have intentionally created an environment where psychological safety can thrive.
Psychological safety can be defined as "being able to show and employ one's self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career" (Kahn 199). The diverse opinions and backgrounds that comprise the USWNT allows for both new and tenured players to act boldly when expressing ideas or trying out new strategies. This approach allows the team to move beyond simply conforming to the ideas or opinions of a single outspoken individual and into a richer level of insight, strategy and execution. This can only happen if a proper environment has been cultivated.
At Leaderology our mission is to build fearlessly authentic leaders and equip them to address evolving business challenges, and allowing psychological safety to exist is one of the primary ways to achieve this. Even as I lead my own team, I’m acutely aware that although I may be the most experienced member, I don’t have all the answers. By creating an atmosphere of psychological safety and mutual respect, my team members confidently share ideas that, even though they may not seem complimentary to where the conversation has been going, oftentimes end up being the right conversation that help us all recognize the intention behind the dialogue. Allowing space for these ideas to be shared is extremely important to a team’s internal health and organizational performance.
The USWNT have won the FIFA Women’s World Cup four times in the last three decades. I was fortunate to be there when the team claimed their first championship in 1999, and to witness the now-historic moment when Brandi Chastain boldly ran down the field, ripped off her jersey and flexed her arms in an ecstatic gesture of competitive greatness.
Since then, several World Cup ‘first-timers’ have joined the team. What has resulted is an established group of teammates bringing “legacy” experience and success to the field. But they don’t just rest on previous wins and competitive models: the veteran players have made an intentional effort to bring the ‘newbies’ along by modeling their core values through their actions and behaviors, as well as being open to the new ideas and innovative methods these new teammates bring with them. Even more, the tenured players are frequently the loudest supporters of the rising stars on their team.
Following this year’s final match when the U.S. beat Netherland in a 2-0 victory, Rapinoe was interviewed about her famous goal in the 61st minute. She took that opportunity to put the spotlight directly on rookie teammate, Rose Lavelle. Lavelle is one of the youngest members on the team, a first-time athlete on the World Cup Stage who scored a solo goal in the 69th minute to secure the team’s win in the final. Rapinoe was clearly in awe of Lavelle’s accomplishment and excited for the career journey that lay ahead for her.
What the veteran core players of the team know all too well is this: the collective team thrives when its legacy leaders serve as mentors, support systems and champions of the emerging talent.
Following their win, the USWNT appeared on Good Morning America. When asked, “What is the best lesson a coach has taught you?” the consensus among these World-Cup-winners was simple: “Never stop learning. Always have something new that you can keep on improving on.”
Despite the team’s unbeatable talent, Coach Jill Ellis always saw room for development and encouraged the team to lean into their individual and collective evolution. Winning teams know that mastery comes from the pursuit of developing toward goals, not the finite achievement of them. Effective leaders recognize that top talent must be constantly challenged, and that the strongest teams are the ones that possess the humility and direction to know how to hone their strengths and improve upon their gaps.
There are many lessons to take away from the field. In order to build high-performing and winning teams, leaders must create cultures of psychological safety, embrace continuous learning, encourage multi-generational teams and be cognizant enough to know when to encourage competitive efforts where they truly matter.
Game on!
Jillian is the President of Leaderology and responsible for developing the company’s go-to-market efforts and strategic direction. She is a former member of the U.S. Senior National Team for Women’s Water Polo and won four NCAA National Championships at UCLA. After her athletic career, she transitioned from the pool to the board room and believes that truly remarkable leaders bring diligence and intentionality to their daily leadership practices, working hard and striving for continuous development.