My daughter plays soccer and she loves to play defense. She practices kicking hard so she can clear the ball out whenever it gets to her side of the field. Recently she played in a tournament where it was indoor soccer on a field not much larger than a tennis court.
The ability to clear the ball out is not needed in indoor soccer. Ball control and quick passing are key. Soccer is still soccer and the context of indoor vs outdoor means you play differently.
Leadership is like soccer in this regard. Context dictates “how” you play the game. We must practice leadership in different contexts to get good at it. The frame I use for these contexts is:
- Self
- Team
- Organization
The skills of leadership to develop self are different than the skills to develop your team. Those skills for team and self are not as effective for leadership of an organization.
Great leaders practice all three contexts.
When you sit down to think about your strengths as a leader use the three contexts and organize your development by the contexts to be more effective in your development.
