The guest speaker at the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce Luncheon was Jillian Ellis. In 2014 Jill became the head coach of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. Under Jill’s leadership, the team became the first in international women’s soccer history to win a World Cup and Olympic gold in back-to-back years.
Jill spoke about the process of bringing a team, a group with diverse skills, personalities, and experiences to the summit of achievement. That involved the precise measuring of the performances of individuals and the team and building the trust and commitment of the team members. In preparation for the competition, Jill had the team experience playing in adverse, unfamiliar conditions, and losing, to learn from those experiences. It is remarkable that Jill was able to facilitate each person to process the disappointment of a loss, honestly evaluate her performance, and move forward as an individual, and with a renewed commitment to the team. These lessons, and the value of commitment, focus, and the team as a family transcend soccer. The lessons are applicable across every domain. The attendees, members of the business community, were riveted. Jill conceived, articulated, and implemented a plan to achieve the highest summit: US Olympic Gold!