Developing Young Leaders: Stacking Momentum
September 16, 2024
Developing Young Leaders: Stacking Momentum
Stacking Momentum: How to double down on action to tackle bigger things
Over the past two weeks in our Developing Youth Leaders lessons, we focused on building a bias to action and creating momentum. We then moved on to how to stack momentum and tackle bigger challenges.
We began by asking the kids what tasks they needed to be told to do and which tasks they took on independently. We discovered that the kids were more willing to take on tasks like practicing their sports but struggled with things like schoolwork. One surprising response was practicing the violin.
Through this lesson, we helped the kids identify areas where they were hesitant to take action and explored why. Building on last week's lesson, "Believing You Can Learn," we found that in areas where the kids were less confident or didn’t enjoy the activity as much, they were more hesitant to take action. While this isn’t surprising, making them aware of it helps them recognize where they might be stopping or slowing down, allowing them to tackle more challenging tasks.
Leaning into Weakness
We connected this to one of their workouts by allowing them to choose from 4 upper body movements and 4 lower-body movements. After picking their workouts, we discussed why they selected certain movements. All of them picked the movements they were stronger in, instead of leaning into weakness and improving. This approach helped them see how their decision-making could lead to hesitation and how leaning into their strengths can be a natural tendency.
In the following week, we repeated the exercise, letting the kids design their own workouts. This time, we noticed that some kids chose different exercises that they knew they would struggle with. This exercise also provided an opportunity for them to receive more coaching and learn new movements.
We then moved to the next week's lesson on "Stacking Momentum and Diving into Harder Challenges." We discussed the importance of maintaining momentum and pushing harder even after achieving a milestone. It’s a common tendency to want to take a break or celebrate after a significant accomplishment, but that’s precisely when it’s crucial to keep pushing forward. We explored how this applies in their lives and identified examples from sports where they felt confident and took on harder challenges.
Our goal is to help them recognize that leaning into their strengths is natural, but it’s through tackling weaknesses and pushing past comfort zones that real growth happens. We’re proud of the progress they’re making and excited to see how they apply these lessons beyond the gym—in school, hobbies, and everyday life.
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