Lessons Learned From Curling

My favorite sport is curling.  I’ve been curling since I was 13.  Although I had taken about 5 years off from curling when I had my daughter 8 years ago, I’ve curled competitively and recreationally for more than 20 years.  There are some lessons learned from curling that extends beyond throwing a rock to the button and sweeping your heart out when the skip yells, “HURRY!”

The lesson I would like to blog about today is teamwork and leadership.  There are 4 players on a curling team: the lead, second, third, and skip.  Each player on the team has a role and strength.  The lead is consistent with draws and an effective sweeper.  The second is precise with take-outs and also an excellent sweeper.  The third is the best all around player who can draw, take-out, sweep, and strategizes.  The skip is the leader of the team.  The skip is the decision-maker.  He/she calls the shots, throws the last rock, and sees the big picture.

The biggest challenge for the skip is leadership… to set a team climate or culture so that each player is willing to work together, communicate regularly, and help each other to become individually and mutually better at the game.   Furthermore, the skip must be able to recognize the strengths of his/her team members to capitalize on them.  A curling team with the best skip, best third, best second, and best lead does not necessarily make the best team.  If the team is not communicating, working together, or focused on the game (versus outcome), then the team is bound to lose.  Sometimes a team composed of average players who work collegially and cooperatively often make the best teams.  As a result, each individual player on that team becomes the best at their position.

In curling, the best feeling as a curler, whether if I am skipping, throwing, or sweeping, is to have a rock perfectly positioned in the house because each person on the team fulfills their role to the best of his/her capacity and functioned as one.  I know Bloggies… don’t judge.  But, the feeling is incredible.  The team feels awesome because each player made that one shot happen.  In the end, that one shot could be the TSN Turning Point of the entire game.  Every shot matters.

There are two general types of leadership… transformative vs. transactional.  We have all experienced both types of leadership… on the curling ice, in the classroom, or at the workplace.  The tranformative leader believes the team CAN DO IT, motivates them to strive to do their best, and involves himself/herself in the process of doing.  The transactional leader derives much of his/her leadership from power, directives, and focusing on what’s going wrong to make things better.  One team is working together to achieve a common goal, the other team is working as a group of individuals focused on self-interest not necessarily towards the same goal.  Which team is better?

The context does not matter… curling, schools, or corporations… what does matter is leadership.