Linnéa

 Palme  VS  Pia  Sundhage  November  15th  2017  

 
Sports-­‐psychology-­‐Woman  in  Sport  (Pia  Sundhage)  or  Women  in  Sports  (the  team)  
Interview  with  the  Swedish  soccer  coach  Pia  Sundhage  by  Linnéa  Palme  
 
It´s  early  morning  and  we  take  a  walk  in  the  north  of  Djurgården  in  Stockholm,  Sweden.  
The  asphalt  passes  into  clay  in  the  woods  as  the  trees  pile  up  behind  us,  and  the  houses  
gets  smaller  and  smaller.  I  who  am  educated  in  leadership  and  sports-­‐psychology  have  
chosen  to  talk  with  one  of  Sweden's  top  coaches  in  sports,  and  that  is  because  I  want  to  
learn  more  about  humans  and  how  we  work  in  our  environment.  
Pia  has  been  coaching  the  Swedish  national  soccer  team  2012-­‐2017,  a  job  she  left  last  
summer  and  today  she  is  coaching  young  girls  age  15-­‐17.  
She  has  also  been  in  the  USA  as  the  head  coach  of  the  United  States  Women’s  national  
soccer  team  in  2008-­‐2012,  with  107  matches  won  91  and  lost  6  and  also  the  wonderful  
gain  of  two  Olympic  gold  medals.  
 
This  setting  we  are  dealing  with  today  is  not  entirely  new  to  Pia,  as  she  was  educated  as  
a  young  woman  nearby  at  GIH  school  of  Sports  where  she  is  also  a  doctor  of  Honor  
today.  She  used  to  do  some  running  here  in  youth,  often  in  the  same  environment  where  
I  take  my  daily  running  after  leaving  children  at  school.  
I  have  studied  Sports  psychology,  Organizational  psychology,  Creativity  psychology,  
Project  Management  and  Leadership  in  many  different  forms  at  Lund  University,  and  I  
am  now  wondering  how  Pia  Sundhage  thinks,  if  she  is  thinking  like  me  and  if  we  have  
something  to  learn  from  each  other,  if  we  could  exchange  ideas  and  set  of  minds?  
 
Her  e-­‐mails  are  amazing,  fun,  fast  and  intelligent  and  we  analyze  Friday  and  Mondays  
achievements  (Men's  World  Cup  qualifiers,  Sweden-­‐  Italy)  in  our  own  way  on  e-­‐mail,  
before  our  meeting.  Already  here  I  see  that  we  think  differently,  but  still  the  same,  and  I  
get  more  curious  on  this  woman  and  our  conversation  to  come.  She  seam  to  be  like  me,  a  
fast  thinker,  straightforward,  analytic  and  reflecting  with  a  lot  of  humor,  and  it’s  very  
narcissistic  of  me  to  want  to  meet  her.  
 
In  psychology  and  Sports  psychology,  I  have  learned  a  lot  about  mankind  and  motive  but  
also  on  motivation  and  drives  and  I  wonder  if  Pia  is  using  this  knowledge  I  know  about  
in  her  coaching.  
 
Her  own  motivation  is  very  clear  too  me,  her  drives  and  her  goals,  it´s  all  about  hard  
work  and  a  stubborn  goal-­‐head  thinking.  And  I  already  know  before  we  meet  that  she  is  
interested  in  learning  new  things,  otherwise  she  wouldn’t  been  where  she  is  today.  And  
she  wouldn’t  want  to  meet  me.  
And  I'm  curious  about  how  she  got  there,  how  the  travel  of  life  looked  like  and  how  
social  support  of  family  worked  in  her  own  life.  
 
Love  of  the  game  
Her  big  blue  eyes  are  bright  and  kind  and  very  curious,  and  I  can  see  Pia  five  years  in  
front  of  me,  how  she  became  interested  in  soccer  at  the  early  age  of  5.  
So  eager  that  she  was  ready  to  take  the  name  of  a  boy,  Pelle  when  she  was  7  years  old.  
As  that  was  the  only  alternative  in  order  to  play  with  the  guys.  To  take  a  position  in  the  
team,  she  changed  her  name  for  a  while,  her  gender  and  her  identity  to  please  the  coach.  
  
 
 
When  she  grew  up  in  Sweden,  there  were  only  soccer  teams  of  boys,  and  to  join  the  team  
she  became  one  of  them,  she  became  a  boy.    
This  transformation  of  gender  was  something  that  was  accepted  and  also  supported  by  
her  own  family,  who  understood  her  love  of  the  game,  and  she  got  a  nice  leather  ball  that  
cost  49  Swedish  kr,  that  was  a  lot  in  1960´s  in  a  small  village  outside  a  small  town  of  
Ulricehamn  in  Sweden  and  it  was  a  wonderful  gift  and  beginning  for  Pia  and  the  game  of  
Woman  soccer  not  only  in  Sweden  but  the  world.  
 
 
Family  and  childhood  skills    
Her  mother  worked  as  a  waitress  often  late  at  night  and  her  father  worked  as  a  buss  
driver  and  the  six  siblings  took  care  of  each  other  at  home  alone,  the  older  ones  took  
care  of  the  younger  ones,  as  big  families  tend  to  do.  
How  they  played  and  took  care  of  the  household  and  each  other,  and  how  they  worked  
as  a  team  from  early  start.  In  her  family  they  often  said  when  a  sibling  should  come  to  
help  “How  difficult  can  it  be?”  
They  had  all  different  roles  in  the  family,  like  a  team  and  her  own  role  in  the  family  was  
the  role  of  a  clown,  she  was  constantly  joking  and  making  a  mess  and  her  mother  sent  
her  away  to  school  a  year  early  because  she  was  so  difficult  at  home,  this  is  Pia  at  an  
early  age.  
She  also  tied  her  shoes  at  an  early  age,  she  wanted  to  tie  her  soccer  shoes  so  
much  that  she  learned  to  do  it  herself,  so  the  motivation  existed  early  on  and  the  fine  
motoric  skills  that  is  important  small  muscle  coordination  was  well  developed  at  an  
early  age  and  can  be  a  sign  of  intelligence  and  language  development  in  Pia.    
The  mathematical  ability  was  also  well  developed;  she  loved  playing  around  in  the  
world  of  mathematics  on  her  owns.  Through  piles  and  charts  and  diagrams  that  she  used  
to  make  herself  for  fun,  things  that  she  later  recognized  in  the  world  of  the  school.  
 
Competing  
Her  brother  always  competed  with  her  as  they  ran  fast  the  floors  and  flushed  the  toilet  
upon  arrival,  to  show  the  win  of  gain,  the  win  of  success.  This  competing  in  family  was  
always  there  and  still  is,  but  the  toilet  flush  is  not  there  anymore  but  instead  Olympic  
Gold  medals.  
 
Childhood  
When  she  was  10  years  old  and  goes  to  Bogesundskolan  in  Ulricehamn  and  she  can  
continue  to  play  with  boys  and  join  in  a  soccer  context  meaning  only  boys,  the  very  same  
context,  as  when  she  was  7,  8  and  9  years  old  and  when  she  is  15,  she  plays  in  the  
National  Swedish  Team  and  the  year  is  1975  but  this  time  as  a  girl  or  young  woman.  
Her  father  told  her  that  if  you  want  to  be  a  soccer  player  you  should  do  this  
and  that,  like  sleep  early,  eat  this,  do  this.  
And  the  small  girl  Pia,  listened  eagerly  to  father,  to  everything  he  said,  because  she  loves  
the  game  of  soccer  and  wanted  to  be  part  of  this  bright  future  so  she  listens  to  him  with  
love.  
She  tells  me  "Dad  thought  me  to  stand  with  both  feet  on  the  ground  while  mom  gave  me  
wings"  
As  a  child,  she  also  wanted  to  be  a  schoolteacher  and  today's  coaching  is  a  substitute  to  
that  dream.  To  teach  her  knowledge  to  others,  knowledge  of  being  a  player  herself,  a  
real  good  player,  in  the  national  team  for  many  years,  is  a  form  of  teaching  knowledge  to  
others,  sharing  your  experience  and  your  skills  and  knowledge  is  a  gift.  
The  new  job  today  after  quitting  the  National  Swedish  Team  is  that  she  will  coach  15-­‐17  
year  old  girls  the  future  of  Sweden  and  this  will  be  a  new  era  in  her  life,  where  new  
challenges  will  occur  that  will  make  her  grow  in  her  learning  process,  to  constantly  be  
on  her  way,  curiosity  and  appetite  for  life.  
 
 
 
Communicating  youngsters  and  span  of  attention  and  memory  
I  can´t  resist  on  telling  her  on  memory  and  working  memory  and  attention,  how  children  
develops  working  memory  late  and  that  the  ability  to  keep  relevant  information  is  hard  
as  well  as  decision  making  when  your  young.  It’s  also  hard  to  concentrate  on  several  
things  at  the  same  time.  How  she  may  have  to  address  these  young  girls  differently,  
these  youngsters,  with  their  short  span  of  attention  and  memory  in  a  different  way,  than  
she  is  used  to  with  grown  ups.  
That  decision  making  is  harder  in  youngster  as  the  Pre-­‐frontal  cortex  in  the  brain  that  
stands  for  what  to  decide  and  when  to  decide,  that  executive  functions  is  not  fully  
developed  before  the  age  of  25,  that  these  young  girls  cannot  make  relevant  decisions  on  
play  and  position  and  timing  of  motor  movement  as  older  people  can  do.  
That  Pia  may  have  to  communicate  with  these  young  girls  again  and  again  throughout  
the  training,  to  repeat,  repetitions  in  different  stages  of  the  conversation  but  also  
repetition  of  words  on  different  positions  of  the  soccer  ground,  just  for  the  information  
to  enter.  
 
From  play  to  coaching  
I  ask  her  on  the  transition,  from  playing  herself  to  coaching  others,  and  at  the  age  of  21  
she  becomes  an  instructor  in  an  elite  soccer  camp.  This  transition  was  due  to  her  intense  
comments  and  wonder  about,  that  she  had  comments  on  the  game,  on  everything  they  
did  and  she  made  some  serious  thinking  over  and  over  again,  and  she  told  the  coach  on  
her  thoughts  so  many  times  that  Kaj  Hansson  in  Gothenburg  believed  in  her  ability  to  
further  develop  the  game  and  to  coach  the  young  players.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  
new  era  of  her  life.  
 
 
 
Love  of  Dylan  and  the  ability  to  believe  that  she  can  perform  
The  music  and  love  to  the  guitar  has  been  there  always,  the  love  to  Bob  Dylan  songs  and  
to  Simon  and  Garfunkel  has  always  been  important.  
When  she  was  ten  years  old,  she  begins  to  play  on  the  guitar  and  recently  she  performed  
Dylan  songs  with  a  band  at  a  hotel  in  Stockholm  in  front  of  audience.  
In  Pia  the  Self-­‐efficacy  is  strong  as  well  as  motivation  the  Self-­‐efficacy  is  the  ability  to  
believe  that  the  task  is  done,  as  well  as  the  intention  to  manage  the  task.    
She  says  that  she  compare  this  concert  with  delegating  on  a  soccer  ground,  that  she  feels  
safe  with  the  gig,  because  she  knows  that  the  others  can  play  and  perform  well.    
She  have  also  a  previous  experience  of  successful  gigs,  that  she  also  had  of  the  national  
team  winning  gold  medals  and  she  can  go  back  to  these  previous  experiences  and  
memories  to  motivate  herself  to  perform  better  next  time.  
She  also  got  the  dedication  and  expectation  of  accomplishing  the  task  well  as  she  is  
Self-­‐conscious,  aware  of  what  she  can  and  cannot,  do,  she  is  aware  of  her  own  
limitations  and  what  she  can  accomplish.    
But  I  say  that  she  must  be  able  to  play  the  guitar  well,  that  she  is  probably  very  good  at  
it,  as  I  wouldn’t  have  chosen  to  go  on  stage  if  I  was  not  good  at  all,  even  if  I  know  my  
limitations  and  ability  and  have  a  strong  Self-­‐efficacy  I  wouldn’t  do  it  at  all.    
 
Leading  others  
One  can  say  that  she  is  a  leader  who  is  good  at  delegating,  feeling  trusted  to  trust  in  the  
abilities  of  others,  while  being  confident  in  herself.  This  is  also  reflected  in  how  she  
approach  others  and  trusts  them  in  developing  skills  and  how  she  is  taking  care  of  the  
team  in  general,  incorporating  skills/people  for  food,  massage,  doctors  and  other  
coaches,  a  whole  team  of  people  who  need  to  interact,  like  taking  care  of  the  own  family.  
As  she  is  good  at  relaxing  when  she  gets  home  and  turns  off  everything  and  takes  a  walk  
with  the  dog  or  rest  in  the  sofa  playing  Bob  Dylan  on  guitar.  
 
Early  specialization  
She  specializes  early  in  soccer  and  has  not  practiced  many  other  sports  at  that  time.  
Starting  of  with  different  kinds  of  sports  to  later  specialize  in  a  specific  sport  is  good  for  
the  sport  that  you  later  invest  in  things  I  was  thought  in  Sports  Psychology  at  university.    
But  all  the  people  I  met  at  a  high  level  of  soccer  have  all  had  one  thing  in  common,  they  
went  for  the  ball  straight  away  in  the  same  time  they  learned  to  walk  they  went  for  the  
ball  and  they  never  stopped  playing.  Maybe  some  of  them  tried  another  sport  for  a  short  
period  of  time,  but  the  headed  for  the  ball  again.  
 
We  talk  about  education  in  Sweden,  that  it  would  be  good  to  have  some  
sport  every  day  every  morning.  And  now  that  we  are  introducing  more  sports  on  
schedule  in  Sweden  (1  hour)  next  year,  we  are  both  satisfied,  because  we  know  that  
physical  activity  gives  better  learning.    
When  she  was  a  child  it  was  three  times  a  week  today  my  youngest  of  7  has  
twice  a  week  in  school  plus  leisure  time  playing  tennis.  In  a  study  at  Lund  University,  
there  has  been  a  connection  between  sport  and  increased  performance  in  other  school  
subjects  in  boys  but  not  in  girls,  girls  are  so  talented  anyway  (joke)  but  the  guys  need  to  
run  around  more  to  be  able  to  get  concentration  on  learning,  to  be  able  to  sit  still  and  not  
mess  around.  
 
Importance  of  place  
We  talk  about  the  importance  of  the  place,  the  ground  of  soccer,  how  important  it  is  to  
love  the  lawn  with  the  two  goals  as  Pia  does,  as  I  love  the  tennis  court,  the  esthetics  and  
beauty  of  lines  and  the  small  yellow  tennis  ball,  but  I  also  love  the  sound  of  the  ball  the  
repeating  bounce,  but  she  does  not  care  about  the  sound  of  the  soccer  at  all  like  me.    
We  talk  on  different  forms  of  sport  and  motivation,  we  already  now  that  girls  play  to  be  
social  and  that  is  a  reason  why  so  many  leave  Sports  in  high  school.  
We  talk  on  better  fitness  or  health  or  to  play  for  the  sake  of  fun  (see  our  definition  of  the  
word  fun)  I  ask  her  what  the  most  important  thing  is  in  sport  and  her  response  it  is  to  
have  fun  I  am  totally  agreeing  to  that  and  I  ask  her  if  she  is  agreeing  to  my  definition  of  
the  word  fun.  Fun  is  when  one's  ability  is  in  line  with  what  you  do  when  you  do  anything  
you  can,  but  at  all  times  the  rib  is  a  bit  higher  so  you  grow  and  learn  and  develop.  But  
not  too  high  because  then  you  race,  the  ribs  roll  over  and  fall  down.  
Fun  is  also  when  the  rib  is  not  too  law,  when  you  are  not  challenged  then  you  get  bored  
and  end  up.  
 
Flow  
When  I  play  tennis  I  quickly  get  into  flow  and  that's  why  I  love  to  play  tennis,  I  never  
wanted  to  play  with  someone  who  talked  too  much  during  practice  during  the  game.  
When  I  studies  Sports  Psychology  I  also  played  tennis  twice  a  week  and  during  my  
practice  I  was  intellectual  thinking  about  how  to  play,  this  hindered  my  performance  but  
was  very  interesting  and  my  teacher  told  me  stop  “Linnéa  now  you  are  thinking”.  The  
year  after  a  studied  Work  and  Organizational  Psychology  and  my  tennis  went  better  as  I  
did  not  think  on  the  psychology  of  tennis  but  played  instead.    
I  also  know  that  practicing  different  languages  makes  better  performance  in  sports  that  
language  and  motor-­‐skills  works  well  together.  That  Selection  and  what  to  select  is  
easier  when  you  are  trained  as  a  child  in  different  languages.  
 
Talents  and  Persistence  
We  talk  on  the  game  and  on  doing  things,  not  once  but  doing  them  over  and  over  again,  
without  overdoing  them,  that  when  the  doing  gets  into  becoming  Persistence.  
Pia  also  talks  on  talent  and  to  have  ability  of  performing  and  that  we  choose  our  
occasions  to  persists.    That  you  need  a  sort  of  resistance  to  perform  well.    
That  you  do  and  do  and  do  just  as  she  does  as  she  talks  a  lot  and  laughs  a  lot  with  the  
very  blue  eyes.  
 
 
Resistance  
We  also  come  across  resistance,  one  must  feel  and  experience  the  resistance,  there  may  
be  resistance  in  the  feedback  itself  in  a  conversation  or  resistance  in  an  accomplishment  
when  performing  it  technically,  and  then  you  have  to  resist  that  resistor  and  there  is  
another  rib  or  a  heavy  stone  to  be  moved.  Like  the  myth  of  Sifyssos.    
It's  crazy  just  then  and  when  it's  happening,  but  once  you're  over  the  resistance,  you've  
learned  something  about  yourself  and  it's  a  lovely  feeling  that  you're  constantly  growing  
a  little  bit.  
 
Swedes  Curling  children    
There  are  many  children  who  end  up  with  performing  sports  at  the  age  of  16,  when  they  
start  high  school  and  we  wonder  if  it  may  be  due  to  over  curling  of  children,  due  to  
stressed  parents,  they  push  the  child  on  the  bike  or  put  them  on  their  scooters  in  small  
uphill  roads.  Instead  of  letting  them  walk  themselves,  with  their  own  steps  into  life.    
This  will  result  in  personal  resilience  and  the  lack  of  making  mistakes.  
If  you  don’t  get  the  chance  to  make  mistakes  yourselves,  if  you  are  constantly  curled,  you  
do  not  learn  that  you  can  succeed  if  you  train  again.  That  you  have  to  train  again  to  gain  
the  effect  of  learning  and  to  be  able  to  handle  the  task  itself.  
If  you  make  mistakes  often  and  you  learn  to  make  mistakes  often  and  that  making  
mistakes  is  very  ok  by  your  parents  watching  this  will  help  you  gain  strength  and  not  
give  up  to  easily  when  facing  resistance.    
That  you  learn  that  every  time  you  make  the  mistake  it  goes  wrong    
And  doing  things  a  little  more  right  next  time  will  change  the  performance  to  better  and  
it  will  sucedelly  develop  and  graduate  into  a  full  technic  skill.  
And  one  gets  more  motivated  in  the  game,  in  sports,  in  performance.  
Many  children  end  up  with  gymnastics  at  school  at  16  because  of  this,    
Because  it's  too  difficult  and  they  are  also  used  of  hearing  constantly  that  they  are  so    
Good  at  everything,  without  practicing  are  they  splendid,  and  that’s  not  even  true.  
And  then  one  day  they  notice  themselves  that  they  cannot  perform  and  then  they  give  
up,  instead  off  trying  again,  to  do  more,  and  to  get  better  everyday.  And  this  is  when  they  
leave  Sports.  
 
To  get  better  every  time  you  practice  is  a  learning  process.  
If  one  learns  that  life  is  a  learning  process  that  requires  practice,  knowledge  is  not  fixed,  
determined,  permanent,  without  a  changeable  flow.  If  you  are  told  that  you  are  fine  even  
when  you  are  wrong  and  at  the  same  time  do  not  get  too  curled  you  get  the  social  
support  even  in  the  mistake  and  then  you  do  not  give  up  as  easily  and  continue  with  the  
sport.  
 
Support  in  life  is  essential  to  grow  
Support  in  life  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  life  for  well-­‐being  and  health,  and  
Pia  received  great  support  through  life,  support  in  her  own  ability,  support  in  her  
coping,  and  support  when  she  did  the  wrong  thing.    
Supporting  her  to  be  called  Pelle,  and  therefore  she  relies  heavily  on  her  
own  ability  and  knows  that  she  can  learn  from  her  mistakes.    
Her  choices  were  also  her  own  early,  which  also  reduces  anxiety  and  stress  in  her  
leadership;  she  has  chosen  her  own  life,  motivating  others.  
 
Decision-­‐making  
I  ask  how  she  makes  her  decisions  and  she  tells  me  that  she  likes  to  make  decisions  with  
others;  through  others  and  that  through  this  you  see  problems  in  different  ways.    
You  highlight  the  problems  from  different  angles  from  different  eyes  and  from  different  
perspectives.  
   
The  choice  of  being  attentive  and  7  minutes  or  need  for  routine  
Attention  is  something  she  also  chooses,  being  attentive  or  present,  if  questioning  her  
own  expectations  is  one  in  the  present,  she  adds.  I  can  also  see  her  in  front  of  me  when  
she  brushes  her  teeth  and  stands  and  slams  for  1  minute  on  each  leg  to  practice  the  
balance  every  day,  this  is  a  decision  she  made  to  be  attentive  and  to  be  present  and  also  
to  train  the  balance.  The  time  may  not  be  important  or  the  length  of  the  practice,  more  
important  is  that  se  is  doing  it.  One  day  when  I  write  that  I  have  done  some  running  for  
estimate  7  min,  she  answers  first,  running  for  7  MINUTES!  but  later  she  writes.  Often  we  
say  "well  said"  would  be  better  if  we  could  say  "well  done"  as  an  answer  to  my  7-­‐minute  
workout.  
She  really  does  some  great  things  like  standing  on  one  leg  for  a  while  because  she  needs  
routine  and  structures  in  her  life.    
 
Stress  in  life  and  being  on  time  
How  does  she  handle  stress,  is  she  a  person  who  is  stressed  by  playing  a  national  game  
or  by  training  soccer  during  pressure?  She  answers  no  to  that  question  that  she  is  not  
easily  stressed  by  the  soccer  but  instead  more  stressed  about  things  outside  the  plan,  or  
outside  the  leadership,  likes  being  stressed  to  find  a  place  at  a  certain  time.  She  is  always  
on  time;  this  is  something  she  learned  as  a  child,  to  respect  other  people's  time.  
 
Physical  needs  
In  Maslow's  staircase  we  also  meet  the  physical  needs,  either  being  generous  or  shy,  and  
Pia  reflects  the  needs  of  all  the  players,  even  in  the  environment  and  not  only  on  the  set,  
that  the  environment  allows  you  to  perform,  that  we  are  doing  well  together.  
That  everyone  is  not  equal  but  everyone  has  the  same  value  is  things  Pia  
believes  in.  That  we  are  each  other's  environment  and  then  we  perform.  That  everyone  
is  feeling  accepted  and  belonging  to  a  community,  provides  the  social  needs  of  this  
staircase.  She  does  not  spend  the  same  amount  of  time  on  all  of  the  players,  and  she  does  
not  get  the  thing  that  everyone's  medals  individually,  even  for  bad  performance,  that  
does  not  work  at  a  World  Cup  or  EM.    
Everyone  is  different,  but  everyone  has  the  same  value  is  something  she  emphasizes  
once  more.  If  everyone  does  not  feel  that  they  have  attention  all  of  the  time,  is  something  
else  but  Pia  tries  to  mirror  their  players,  reflecting  their  needs.  
 
Talent  and  falleness  
We  pick  up  talent,  to  have  a  fall  in  sport  for  something  and  I  explains  the  personality  in  
being  an  entrepreneur  or  an  creative  person,  both  of  them  has  some  features  in  
common,  that  they  are  persistent  and  goes  on  doing  it,  so  timing  and  skills  are  important  
but  also  to  continue  the  game  and  not  to  give  up  and  to  continue  throughout  the  game  
but  also  the  life.    The  years  are  a  form  of  perseverance,  something  that  Pia  has.  
 
When  and  why  in  communication  
We  get  into  communication  and  talks  on  the  subject,  and  I  wonder  if  she  jokes  
consciously  if  it's  because  the  communication  itself  are  going  to  sink  more  easily  to  the  
belly,  and  she  answers  yes,  so  it's  not  just  a  result  of  being  the  family  clown.  
She  also  prioritizes  her  choices  for  when  communication  is  going  to  be  
important.  It  is  important  when  communicating,  when  it  is  the  right  time,  to  convey  her  
opinion,  criticism  and  joy.  One  occasion  for  timing  was  when  she  had  her  feedback  calls  
at  an  airport  almost  an  entire  day  with  the  national  team.  This  meant  a  lot  for  the  team  
and  for  Pia  that  she  had  this  conversation  at  this  certain  time.  She  also  wants  the  team  to  
feel  that  they  work  for  something  meaningful  and  can  challenge  themselves  and  find  
some  kind  of  self-­‐realization  in  playing  together.  
When  a  team  member  makes  a  mistake  in  an  achievement,  they  talk  about  
it  throughout  the  group  and  in  front  of  the  group,  because  they  know  each  other  very  
well  and  as  a  leader  she  feels  that  this  is  working.  
 
Rewards  and  punishments  on  the  various  players.  
Sometimes  I  think  about  Pia's  assignment  when  she  took  care  of  the  Swedish  national  
team  and  she  talks  warmly  about  her  leadership  philosophy  based  on  two  legs:  R&A,  
Relationship  and  Achievement.  We  are  each  other's  environments  and  we  do  each  other  
well.  Like  taking  up  the  Situation-­‐Oriented  Leadership,  which  is  very  good  because  the  
situation  changes  and  she  can  switch  in  different  leadership  styles  with  her  players  to  
support  and  instruct  them  to  achieve  highest  achievement  and  development,  but  is  not  it  
even  a  Transactional  Leadership  with  goals,  rewards  and  punishment  used  here?  When  
she  tells  me  about  punishments  in  shapes  of  doing  more  exercise  training  I  am  thinking  
on  BIS  and  a  BAS  personalities  and  how  that  would  have  worked  with  rewards  and  
punishments  on  the  various  players.  
That,  according  to  psychological  factors,  man  and  brain  can  be  divided  into  BIS  and  BAS  
types  of  motivation  and  emotion.  The  fact  that  BIS  people  are  driven  by  the  right  brain  
hemisphere  in  Prefrontal  Cortex  and  the  Limbic  system,  which  are  responsible  for  
negative,  and  avoidance  behavior,  do  not  work  rewards  equally  without  punishment.  
While  BAS  people  are  driven  by  positive  thoughts  and  left  hemisphere  in  Prefrontal  
cortex,  these  people  work  rewards  to  a  greater  extent,  but  not  punishments.  And  leaders  
(Pia)  must  have  a  greater  ability  to  understand  what  drives,  motivates  the  players  and  
look  more  at  the  person's  personality,  needs  and  goals,  and  what  it  can  take  on  and  how  
it  can  best  work  out  each  individual's  unique  ability  to  perform  at  best  way.  
 
Leadership  and  negotiating  of  team  salary  
And  I  wonder  if  her  specific  type  of  leadership  really  should  be  a  change  leadership  in  
the  future  because  she  leads  women  /  girls  in  a  women's  club  and  female  soccer  players  
do  not  have  the  same  salary  for  the  same  work  as  the  men's  /  boys'  teams.  And  if  you  
compare  off-­‐plan,  it  will  take  100  years  before  we  have  equal  pay  for  women  (if  we  don’t  
move  to  Island),  and  then  get  a  change  with  long-­‐term  contracts,  by  now  we  saw  that  it  
took  a  whole  year  of  negotiating,  that  is  devastating  to  the  players,  they  do  not  have  to  
play  under  such  uncertain  relationship.  If  Zlatan  went  out  in  strike,  everyone  would  
scream  but  when  a  female  women's  team  laughs,  no  one  is  listening  and  it  takes  only  a  
lot  of  time,  time  to  not  know.  A  change  leadership  would  provide  tools,  tools  needed  
when  the  organization  is  not  linked  to  other  society.  It  is  Pia  to  introduce  
meaningfulness,  comprehension  and  manageability  and  through  this  create  a  sense  of  
context.  But  at  the  same  time,  leadership  in  crisis  would  work  at  certain  times  because  
the  national  team  will  be  gathered  and  trained  for  very  short  periods  in  something  that  
will  have  immediate  effect  at  major  competitions  such  as  the  World  Cup  and  the  World  
Championships  and  at  the  same  time  be  released  to  their  respective  home  team  during  
periods  before  matches  at  home  where  things  can  also  happen  suddenly,  without  Pia  
having  control  but  affecting  them  all  when  seen  again.  
And  during  big  races  then  something  suddenly,  something  unexpected  due  to  external  
events  happens  in  this  case  acute  damage  and  new  players  on  schedule  suddenly  may  
occur  also  need  different  combinations  of  leadership.  
 
Fish  in  water  
Pia  seems  to  be  a  phenomenal  fish  in  water  that  can  handle  such  big  challenges,  
swimming  on  such  deep  water  and  if  you  transfer  it  to  organizations,  one  might  think  
twice  a  day,  a  safe  workplace  without  major  changes  or  a  stormy.  
Many  fishes  have  /  require  their  different  forms  of  leadership.  And  Pia,  she  is  practicing  
leadership  as  a  combination  of  them  all  and  she  calls  it  Situational  Leadership,  or  two  
legs,  but  she  actually  practicing  much  more  than  that,  and  there  are  not  so  many  Pelle  
who  had  managed  it  for  a  changeable  time.