She didn’t choose the role, but she owned the moment

She didn’t choose the role, but she owned the moment.

My soccer-loving daughter doesn’t play goalie, and she has no desire to start. But when her team needed someone to step in, she showed up—nervous and out of her comfort zone. What she did during a high-pressure play surprised everyone… and taught me a powerful leadership lesson about courage, action, and stepping up even when it’s not your thing.

If you've ever found yourself in a role you didn’t ask for—or a challenge you didn’t feel ready for—this one’s for you.

• Read the video transcript

  This last weekend, my daughter Harper found herself in the position she despises most on the soccer field. That's goalie, going one-on-one face-to-face with a boy.

  So in indoor, all the girls have to take a turn playing goalie. And so it was her turn in this game and there aren't very many teams in the league, and so they end up playing some boys teams as well.

  And of course there's a penalty while she's in the goal. So in indoor, what happens is the boy is lined up at midfield and she has to be back in the goal, and when the ref blows the whistle, it's fair game. From there, you can stay back in the goal or you can come out.

  So I know Harper is so nervous at this point, but the ref blows the whistle and she decides to come full force out, sprinting directly at the boy. And it totally shook him up and she kicked the ball away and stopped the penalty kick. It was so exciting.

  So, two lessons we can learn from this.

  First, I know she was terrified in that moment, but she chose to take action and it ended up giving her courage. Oftentimes courage comes from movement. It comes from action. I know recently I've been working on a project in my work that I had kind of put off for a while 'cause it kind of scared me. And now that I'm taking steps toward it, it, it just is feeling so much better. I'm feeling excited and I'm feeling more courageous. So courage often comes from action. Go move toward that thing that has been scaring you.

  And the second lesson is that Harper did not want to play goalie. She hates playing goalie. She would much rather use her feet, but she took her turn and she decided to fully own the role. So even if you're in a position or working on a project that you don't really like at work, own it. Give it your all. And guess what? When she did that, she ended up leaving that game actually liking the position a little bit more.

  So move, take action to build courage and own the role regardless of how you feel about it.