Member Spotlight: Alicia Myers

Leading as Herself

Alicia Myers has never really stopped moving. From baby ballet at two torunning out for her first VFLW games, sport has been part of almost every dayof her life. Her leadership style has grown out of all those teams, and it isrefreshingly honest.

“I have always been involved in lots of sports since I was a little twoyear old doing baby ballet!” she says. Through primary and high school, mostnights meant driving to a different training, from dance and footy to tennis,swimming, netball, martial arts and bouldering. “I was never not doing somesort of physical activity.”

A lot of that started with family. “My sisters and I usually playedsports together, so I think a big part of it was wanting to be with them andlike them.” Trips to the footy with her dad sealed the deal. Even now, sheadmits, “I get itchy to play sport or go watch it when I am supposed to be onholidays!”

She’s won a couple of flags and played in Darwin. Still, the momentsthat stay with her are quieter. Being part of a close knit team, or grindingout a gritty come from behind win, is what she remembers most.

Captaining her team a few times taught Alicia something unexpected. “Italways taught me how much I didn’t know! It’s tough fronting up to a group ofpeople every week who expect you to know what to say and do.” What she tookfrom it has shaped how she leads today: “The best leaders are justauthentically themselves, not necessarily the loudest or best on the field.”

Alicia had heard friends talk about Empowered to Lead, but it was aconversation with her coach at the start of the season that tipped her over.“She really hammered home how much of an impact it would have on my footballand leadership skills, which is what pushed me to apply!”

She was expecting something content heavy and was pleasantly surprised.“I enjoyed the more reflective nature of the course and how interactive andcollaborative the weekly zoom was.”

Her standout moment came in a breakout room grouped by DISC profiles. “Iwas so surprised at how much I related to the other people in my profile, andhow similarly we approached leadership and life!” The lesson has stuck withher. “If you tailor your approach to situations and conversations based on howpeople like to receive information, not just how you like to deliver it, youcan have a lot more success getting through to others.”

The course gave her practical tools to use when things get tough, likeviewing situations from above or below the line and using magic golf to getunstuck. “Being able to fall back on one of the ways of viewing situations…makes you feel like you have a plan and as such gives you lots of confidence.”

She’s already putting that into practice. Lately her team has beenheading into half time flat, so Alicia now uses the break differently. “I havestarted using this time to check in with myself and utilise the third space toreset for the second half.” On the really hard days, she runs back out as heralter ego, the version of herself she’s working towards.

Being vulnerable in the group helped too. “Stepping up as a leader inthat environment made it easier to translate that to other aspects of my life.”

Through it all, sport keeps reminding her not to take things tooseriously. “It’s easy to get bogged down and focused on results but in sportand in life you have way more fun enjoying the journey and having a laugh withthe people around you.”

Looking ahead, Alicia wants to keep challenging herself to lead at ahigher level of sport and in her career as she steps into the workforce. Shealso has a clear hope for women’s sport: equal pay and equal support, for along time. “Women’s sport push through adversity and still succeed constantly,imagine what could happen if they started on level ground.”

So what does it mean to her to Play Like a Girl? “It means to be confident and willing to take on any challenge, while bringing others along with you.” That’s exactly what Alicia is doing, one half time reset at a time.

‍