Finding Your Left Foot
Professional soccer fans are most certainly familiar with Lionel Messi. Widely considered one of the world’s best footballers, Messi is known for having what many consider the best left foot in the sport.
The success of Messi’s soccer career was a focus of Marcus Buckingham’s ATD 2018 keynote address, during which he spoke about excellence – notably, that it doesn’t have to be, and in fact usually isn’t, well-rounded. As Buckingham explained, Messi’s incredible skill relies mainly on his left foot, which is so honed that he doesn’t need to rely equally on both feet to excel, as many professional soccer players strive to do.
Buckingham’s point, which he punctuated in the video clip below of one of Messi’s famous goals scored during the Copa Del Rey Final in 2015, was this: “people do not need to have every skill, or be well-rounded, in order to be good leaders or team members.”
I hope watching the video below inspires you to dig deep into your “left foot” and help those you serve do the same! Helping people find their left foot and then cultivate it intelligently is what great leaders do to build highly effective teams.
shaymikalson 