Curiosity #71 - What Curling Can Teach Us About Leadership

🎤 Quotable quotes: “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team."

— Phil Jackson

Every four years it happens.

Millions of people who have never held a broom suddenly become curling experts.

We lean forward on our couches. We shout at the television. We confidently say things like “You’ve got to sweep harder!” as if we have been training for this moment our entire lives.

Curling has that effect.

It looks simple. It is anything but.

In fact, curling is basically the Higgins of Olympic sports. Quiet. Understated. And then suddenly, everyone is obsessed.

🏟 Why This Matters for You

At first glance, curling does not scream athletic dominance. No chest pounding. No viral highlight reels. No dramatic slow motion celebrations.

Instead, you see this:

A stone sliding slowly across ice.
Two teammates sweeping furiously in front of it.
Constant communication.
Tiny adjustments.
Shared strategy.

Sound familiar?

Curling wins the way Higgins leads.

Not loudly.
Not theatrically.
But intentionally.

Higgins does not dominate the room. He supports it. He stabilizes it. He reads it. He knows when to speak and when to simply make sure everyone else is positioned to succeed.

That is curling.

One person releases the stone. But the outcome depends on the sweepers reading the moment, adjusting in real time, and trusting the plan.

Here are a few curling level leadership lessons:

1. The spotlight is rarely the whole story.
The throw gets the camera. The sweeping wins the point.

2. Quiet leadership still moves the game.
Higgins does not need to shout to influence the room. Curling teams do not need theatrics to execute. Precision beats noise.

3. Alignment matters more than ego.
Everyone is aiming at the same target. When the team communicates clearly, small corrections prevent big misses.

4. Support is not secondary.
The sweepers are not side characters. They are essential. Leadership often looks like helping someone else’s effort succeed.

In a world obsessed with speed and spectacle, curling reminds us that coordination, patience, and trust still win championships.

And maybe that is why we are fascinated.

Because deep down, we know the Higgins types are the glue.

🏁 Final Thought

The Olympics remind us that greatness comes in many forms.

Some athletes sprint.
Some flip.
Some fly.

And some slide a stone across ice while their teammates sweep like it actually matters.

Ted Lasso would tell you this.

There is no small role on a great team.
Only people who choose to play it well.

— Nick & Marnie
Your tea sipping, broom sweeping, Higgins appreciating friends

More leadership musings

🍪 Biscuits with the Boss: 

Icebreaker time:

Where in your life are you the one throwing the stone?
Where are you the one sweeping?

Bonus question:
Who is the Higgins on your team, quietly making everything work?

📚Beard’s collection:

🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where 

Integrity. Commitment. Excellence. Those were the core values in play with Easton Utilities as we worked on how to Lead it Like Lasso. So many good takeaways from the day! (Even better - some of them were how they were going to lead not just their teams but their families. Ted would love that!)

Believe! 

Nick & Marnie