Soccer Moms Aren’t Your Regular Soccer Moms Anymore: Kick It In!!

When I’m at the soccer field with my son and he’s pounding those goals (well, sort of), my mind is always thinking about how I can help him make his game better. Now don’t get me wrong, he’s good and all, it’s just that I kind of need to show him what to do to make the soccer ball go into HIS OWN TEAM’S net. Yep, we have a lot of work to do.

For moms who juggle a business and a family, we have to constantly be the manager (of sorts) and find viable ways to make the team (family, employees) successful so that the investors (clients, soccer team) will want to continue doing business with us. It’s not easy task, but it can be done.

On a soccer team, the players are working collectively to get that perfectly round ball into the net. Everyone’s working together passing the ball back and forth, dribbling and shifting it to make it line up with the “goal” of getting it to the net. All of these actions are managed by a mild-mannered (not) coach who very gently nudges the team to success. As a business woman, that coach is you. You have to show your employees how to maneuver the ball (product sales, customer service) to make it go to the net (in the black, the bottom line). If you do this successfully, your employees enjoy longevity (soccer team goes to the playoffs) and profitable bonuses (a trip to the ice cream store).  Here’s how:

• Encourage team behavior.  Implement strategies that require the employees to all work together. They will be playing together for a long time.
• Show them when they need to step up their game. Do this in a productive fashion by pointing out what doesn’t work…and why.
• Reward productive employees by giving them recognition in the newsletter, a lunch out on the company or maybe even a CHECK.

 All of these ideas working together can make a winning team. Now all I have to work on it showing my soccer player what it means to stay “on sides.” More about that later…

What are some of the things you have to juggle?