E265 | Darcy Norman: Cultural Intelligence: Lessons in Leadership from the World of Professional Soccer

What happens when you walk into a situation and quickly realize it isn’t what you expect? 

How do you respond and learn to adapt?  

How do you know where you need to change and where to stand firm?

Currently Head of Performance with US Soccer, Darcy found himself asking these questions after he and his family moved overseas, to a country where they couldn’t speak the language and they were largely unfamiliar with the surrounding culture.  In the midst of navigating the lonely moments that he and his family were experiencing, Darcy’s willingness to reflect deeply on his values and level of self-awareness propelled him into the leader he is today in all scopes of life.

After working over 25 years in the Human Performance industry in multiple Director positions, Darcy has spent the past 10 years focused on creating and implementing methodologies and applied data, building strategic relations, hiring, training and managing performance staffs at the highest level.  Having lived and worked in four countries with scores of invitations for speaking engagements around the world, Darcy’s professional relationships and networking span the globe in all sports.

In today’s episode, we expand on this reflection process, and several other topics, including:

 

• The role of self-awareness in contextual intelligence (25:50)
• Embracing yourself as a leader, even if you don’t see yourself as one (34:45)
• How having a basic understanding of power dynamics and context can improve your ability to analyze and address a situation optimally (47:00)
• The 2 most important questions to utilize in a staff evaluation (59:00)

How to Connect with Darcy:

Website: Darcy Norman Consulting

Twitter: @DarcyNorman

Email: dnorman@ussoccer.org OR darcynormanconsulting@gmail.com 

LinkedIn: Darcy Norman

Referenced Resources:

Multiple times in the episode, Darcy mentions the importance of understanding and developing the skill of utilizing power dynamics within your context.  Become a more influential leader, and learn how to recognize and manage power basis by attending our Apprenticeship workshop!  We only have a handful of workshops left in 2023, so don’t wait.  Check out our entire schedule and sign up today HERE.

We also did a great episode covering power bases a while back.  Here’s a direct link to it for easy reference: E63: Power Dynamics in Leadership

If you want to get more out of your podcast experience with Art of Coaching, try “linking your thinking” and utilizing our FREE Reflection Question worksheets, just like Darcy.

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