I have the privilege of being a Lego robotics coach in the FIRST Lego League. There are over 40,000 teams in the First Lego League in 98 countries, and 640 teams in Minnesota alone.

Our team is called the Plaidiators. We’re made up of five homeschoolers between the ages of 10 and 13. We just wrapped up our season recently, and I’d like to reflect on the leadership lessons I learned through this experience. This is all for the kids and not associated with my day job. However, I learned a few things that directly apply to my profession of leading teams in enterprise technology.

If you are curious about Lego robotics and would like to better visualize how a tournament works, check out this short highlight video I made from the State Championship last week.

Part 3

This article is part 3 of 3 in a series. Two years ago, we just wrapped up my inaugural season as a Lego robotics coach. As a rookie coach, I learned as much as the kids, if not more. I wrote an article reflecting on the engineering and character lessons and how they relate to my leadership experience at work. You can read Part 1 here.

Last week, I covered our Lego robotics journey over the past few seasons along with some key lessons on integrity and automation. If you missed that one, please read Part 2 here.

Public speaking

A focal point of Lego robotics tournaments is the robot performance itself, however, that’s not all there is. There are also several subjective judging sessions where the team is evaluated on their research project, robot design, and core values.

Robot performance, programming, and design is my coaching focus. My co-coach, Amanda Lembke, primarily works with the team on the research project and their presentation skills. We both work on developing the team’s expression of core values.

This might shock you, but geeky introverted middle-schoolers aren’t naturally gifted public speakers in front of a panel of uniformed adult judges. It’s a real stretch and challenge to get the team well-prepared for this aspect of the competition.

The way we looked at it, a high-performing robot is a baseline requirement, and the public speaking was a necessary, but secondary requirement. When crunch time came, the team focused on getting the technology right at the expense of practice time for the speaking opportunities.

Wow. As I type this onto my screen, I am struck by how completely and directly this applies to the professional world of enterprise technology. At work, we too have a tendency to spend all of our time getting the technology perfected and leave little time to prepare the communication that impacts the business and management.

I know what it feels like for my team members to explain their robot design to a judge, because I feel the same way when I need to explain my technology projects to the top management of the company. It’s intimidating. While I prepare as much as I can, I rarely over-prepare for those opportunities.

Innovation

While I didn’t spend enough time preparing my team for their public speaking opportunities, we did take some time to do focused preparation the day before the State Championship. I took a partial day off of work to run the team through mock-judging exercises so they could be ready. The last topic we covered was the innovative aspects of their robot design and programming. Judges always like to hear about the unique aspects that make a team special and memorable.

In that moment, I looked at my watch and realized I needed to get going into the office. I told my team that I had a speaking opportunity to share some of the results of my company’s innovation program with our top management.

I remember the look on their faces. They got it. Probably more so than any other school sport, Lego robotics directly relates to the real professional world of engineering and technology.

Mentoring

Another aspect I love about Lego robotics is the inter-team mentorship that happens throughout the season. About a month ago, we had the tremendous opportunity to have the previous year’s State Champion, JP2 Remix, join the Plaidiators for one of their practice sessions. The experience was rich and generous. The Plaidiators stood in awe of the mastery JP2 Remix had to share. JP2 Remix was confident, yet humble, since they were only passing on what had been imparted to them by reigning champions from seasons past.

Similarly, the Plaidiators always looked for struggling teams that they could assist with their years of robotic knowledge. It’s humbling for the team to realize, that no matter how “beginner” they feel, there are always teams that are struggling to learn what they have mastered. Similarly, no matter how “expert” they feel, there will always be better teams, unless somehow, they manage to beat 40,000 other teams to become World Champion.

I see this and practice this all the time in my professional life at work. I benefit enormously from the sage advice from those who are slightly ahead of me in my career. I, then, do my part to pay-it-forward to those slightly earlier in their career journey who have yet to learn some of the things I’ve figured out.

Writing this blog is one way I pay it forward every week. Know that everything I’ve managed to learn, I received from some generous soul who walked beside me and took their time to teach me a thing or two.

A sport for the mind

Lego robotics is an awesome sport for the mind. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it. Unfortunately, I grew up in a time where there was no such thing as Lego robotics, but kids these days have an incredible opportunity to work hard, have fun, and compete in a sport that builds real relevant skills that our economy values and desperately needs.

This blog series isn’t just about Lego robotics. It’s about our work as technology leaders. The lessons I’ve learned as a Lego robotics coach have absolutely contributed to my development as a technology leader. Have you learned something from these lessons? Please share this with your colleagues.

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