Understanding the first leadership lesson

In today's episode, Mattias talks about role models and shares the story of him learning an important leadership lesson as a schoolboy.

Having role models

Role models are essential for everyone. While they are important to have at all stages of our lives, Mattias believes they can have an even more significant impact early on. However, some people might not have people they can look up to growing up and need to find role models later in life. In connection to this, Mattias mentions that there is an "expiry date" for how long you can blame your parents for things that might go wrong in your life. No matter if they were good role models or not - at some point, you need to take responsibility for your own future.

Everyone can be your teacher. There are short encounters with people and relationships that last a lifetime. No matter what connects you to a person or for how long, if you truly listen, you will be able to learn from every single person in your life.

The first leadership lesson

One of Mattias' most influential teachers in his life was actually his teacher in school when he was about 10 years old. He didn't know it back then, but that teacher taught him his first very important leadership lesson.

During their PE lesson, the class was divided into two revealing teams to play "Brännboll". Mattias, as always, was very competitive and had a lot of criticism for his teacher who was also the judge of the game. After some time, his teacher lost patience with him and told Mattias to be the game's referee instead. Once he was put into that position, he tried to lead the game - but then all the other kids had many opinions about his decisions.

Understanding the lesson

For decades Mattias looked back at that day and questioned the decision of his teacher to put him into that spot. Eventually, he understood why his teacher chose to do so, and he realized that this was an important lesson for his adult life. As soon as you put someone into a leadership position, people will have opinions - always.

If Mattias were a role model for someone, he would wish that he could be the push of faith some them - the person who shows that you can realize your dreams when taking that first step in the right direction.

💡 EPISODE TAKE AWAY
As soon as you put someone into a leadership position, people will have opinions - always.

Who has been a role model for you?