HOW TO DEVELOP SKILLS YOU’LL NEED TO CLIMB THE LEADERSHIP LADDER
By Eric Rolls
n many fields of work, years of experience can bring opportunities to move into a bigger role or higher status within the company. That’s certainly true in the snowsports industry… but what if the opportunity
I
comes sooner than you ever anticipated? Take it from me, you can survive and even thrive when thrust into (or entrusted with) a leadership role.
TA-DA, YOU’RE A TRAINER! A few years back we had a poor snow year on the East Coast, and the small ski area I taught at in northern New York closed down. An instructor for all of two years, I’d proudly achieved my PSIA Alpine Level I,
dreams. Barely a Level II, all of a sudden I was the highest certifi ed snowboard instructor on
staff . Guess who was
“voluntold” to train all the new hires and remaining instructors? Yep, yours truly. I jumped into the deep end and did
my best. When disputes inevitably arose among some instructors about the priority of specifi c lessons, I was reminded that, given my certifi cation level, I should use my best judgment to divvy up lessons at
in the moment and be able to somehow justify it if a question came up.
JUGGLING TEACHING AND LEADING Was I an instructor, a manager, or a leader? I guess I was juggling all three roles. Luckily I had some great mentors to emulate, but it was challenging nevertheless. T ere were moments where I had to just tell people what to do out of necessity. And let me tell you, having to reprimand a friend for skipping lineup on a powder day is not easy. Powder craze is tough to manage but
anyway, I needed to fi gure out
why many things went great and other interactions failed. After a lot of introspection, I discovered that the best results came when I was very passionate about the goal or outcome and expressed that clearly. For example, I was very passionate
INTERACTIONS PROCEDURES RULES GOALS
about trying to make the right decision so everyone was happy. I often included their insight and desires into the decision, and I still try to use a diplomatic approach to this day. When the decision is clear, it works brilliantly. When the decision gets drawn out or more complicated by trying to please all, it sometimes backfi res. Making a quick decision guided by
your own judgement is sometimes vital, especially if the guest is waiting. With some of the people I was leading, I’d had built up enough teamwork and trust with them that they wouldn’t even question my choices. For others, I learned to give a brief “why.” Getting to know who I was leading was super important.
followed by my AASI Snowboard Level II. So I felt quite marketable in my new search for a fulltime instructor job. Following the snow and a passion
for tree riding, I moved to Vermont and landed a new teaching gig. Little did I know that a similar desire for even more snow and adventure had driven all the highly experienced snowboard instructors there to travel west for big-mountain
68 | 32 DEGREES • FALL 2015
lineup before taking out my own classes. I have to admit, the line between doing
and leading was a little fuzzy. I’d often take the lesson nobody wanted just so it wouldn’t look like I was cherry-picking my own lesson assignments. I didn’t want to show bias to my buddies either, but I couldn’t give them all the worst lessons or they wouldn’t be my friends after work. I tried to make the best decision I could
HOW TO BOLSTER YOUR OWN LEADERSHIP SKILLS Whether you’re systematically climbing the snowports management ladder of success rung by rung – or just want to be prepared if an opportunity to lead falls in your lap – no less an authority than LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner has some great advice for you. In an interview in the November 2014 issue of
ISTOCK
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