How Soccer Explains Leadership Podcast

In Episode 153, we are going way back to the first half of our first season and recasting one of our most impactful and most downloaded interviews. In this conversation, Eric Pfeiffer, Founder and Senior Consultant of MPWR Coaching and Collegiate Soccer Player, talks with Phil about emotional intelligence, dealing with insecurities, self-love, permission to fail, the journey of growth, conflict resolution, and much more. Specifically, he discusses:

· His story and how his experience playing soccer intersects with other areas of his life and leadership (3:25)

· Emotional intelligence and why it is critical to success in soccer and leading others in any area of life (7:36)

· How coaching sports organizations is the same as coaching any other organizations (9:47)

· Insecurities, how they affect us in soccer and other areas of life, and how we can overcome them in sport and life (14:01)

· How self-love is different from narcissism and why the distinction is important to understand (19:06)

· Permission to fail and why it’s necessary to learn how to embrace failure and fail forward (22:21)

· How insecurities and emotional unintelligence manifest themselves in our lives (and on the soccer pitch) and why overcoming them is essential to flourishing in life (25:19)

· The journey of growth and phases of development for anything worth doing (30:18)

· Creating a culture that celebrates healthy failure (33:27)

· What soccer teaches us about conflict resolution and how we can work through conflict together in a healthy way (42:09)

· How he uses the lessons he learned from soccer in his marriage and parenting (48:39)

· His recommendation of a book that impacted his thinking of the intersection of soccer, life, and leadership (53:34)

Resources and Links from this Episode

· Audio with subtitles available on our YouTube channel (video not available due to technical difficulties)

· MPWR Coaching website

· Eric Pfeiffer on LinkedIn

· HSEL Facebook Group

· Warrior Way Soccer

· Coaching the Bigger Game Program

· Phil’s email for DISC Training

· Providence World (to financially support HSEL)

· Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World, by Raphael Honigstein