How I Became a Leader: Stories of Competency, Experience, Inspiration and Motivation from Cohort Participants
Leaders aren’t born to lead and great leaders don’t set out to be leaders. They set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role, it’s always about a bigger purpose.
If we are not born as leaders, how then do we become leaders? We need to develop and master leadership skills.
How To Develop Good Leadership Skills
At TeamCatapult, we also see the transformation inherent in leadership competency development as a winding road best navigated in a cohort.
It’s a journey, an inside game.
It takes time.
Team coaches need time to…
- Experience a new way of leading
- See new behaviors and different ways of working (and see them modeled)
- Try these new behaviors out in a safe space for learning
- Notice different impacts and learn how to make the decision to try something different
This is the arc that sits at the core of all of our programs. Our experience and data over the last decade has shown that it is an absolute necessity for leadership development that will create a lasting organizational impact.
Next we’d like to share several leadership journey quotes with you, from several of our cohort members.
The Pathway to Competency
“There are over 100 Agile certifications in the world! I wasn’t seeking the certification seal, I was seeking the practice and skills that come with being able to demonstrate with the certification process that I possess the capabilities with the kind of professionalism that I hope to bring to my teams in everything that I am doing. I thought that this cohort and this particular education path was the right one for me because of its focus on practice, its focus on community. That I would be working with other coaches with a similar capability or a similar level and that I would be guided through this process by expert coaches who had been through this process before. What brought me to this particular path was improving my game and upping my capabilities.”
~ Christopher Curley
“I’ve been able to sharpen the knowledge I’ve attained with the book knowledge and getting not just the certification.”
~ Rick Gonzalez
The Importance of Gaining Experience
“Being in the course is an amazing opportunity…even if you think you have enough knowledge or experience you will find more!”
“Very informative…Real life application…”
“The biggest difference between then and now is I’m able to listen more attentively and hear from multiple perspectives. With this experience I’m more prepared and humbled to see what the future will bring. I’m expecting more fulfilling work.”
~ Shivakumar Venkatraman
“This is the real deal because I can speak like a true coach. The practices and the dedicated coaching session helped point me in the right direction as well as listening to my other classmates’ journeys.”
~ Rick Gonzalez
“The most impactful (part of this experience has been the) approach to the coaching opportunity. I now have the skills to ask a question in a way so the team can hear the question and transfer ownership to the team. I’ve gained the confidence to be okay with not having the answer to questions.”
~ Chris Kaeberlein
Leadership Inspiration Is Everywhere
“…a great opportunity to learn new tools that can be used not just for work but in your personal life…”
The cohort leads me into the future – it leads me to exploring more about my future, how I can use my skills, other than what my original intention was. I find that I am using it more in my day to day life. It makes me more intentional in my interactions with others for a better outcome. Even at the grocery store and talking to the clerk, it makes your experience more uplifting to learn more about others, and interacting with them in a different way.
~ Rose Hyde
Motivation To Keep Learning: Leadership is a Journey
“This is the start of a journey for me, not the end. The cohort has given us room to grow.”
~ Christopher Curley
I joined (the cohort) because of “curiosity, passion and desire to grow…to discover myself. I know who I am and discovered my strengths and was able to experiment with my coaching, training, mentoring within a structure. I think I am at the beginning of a long path. I really want to deepen it everyday. The cohort taught me that we are in continuous evolution. For my role in the future, I will practice my role in a more structured way, maintaining neutrality and being more present! I completely changed my perspective with the abilities the cohort brought to me.”
~ Cristina Paternoster
Becoming a Good Leader with TeamCatapult’s Guidance
TeamCatapult helps leaders and their teams have different conversations to move through change to create better results without sacrificing relationships in the process.
Imagine leaders at all levels who are able to realize the true promise of collaboration.
Collaborative leaders have access to their full leadership range and are able to:
- Guide with influence and vision
- Can lead from the front and the back
- Grow other leaders
- Navigate complex change
- Read a room and unstick stuck teams
- Demonstrate communicative competence in difficult conversations
- Access the collective intelligence of the whole
Are you ready to take a new path? Are you excited to start your leadership journey?
Start here! 
