5 Lessons That Sports Taught Me About Leadership

True story.

I have never been the most skilled player on any team that I’ve played for in my life.

I definitely have never been the most athletic either.

Despite this being the case, I was always one of the hardest workers, if not the hardest.

I gave 110% every practice, every workout, every drill and every game. It was the only way I could stay on the court or field because talent alone wasn’t going to get me by.

I just didn’t have it like that.

That effort and hard work gave me a shot to make it in sports. It gave me a chance to get paid to play. It also showed me how to lead by example.

If you ask any of my former teammates, most of them wouldn’t think of me as a vocal leader because I never talked a lot, but I guarantee they would say that they always respected me and looked up to me because I put the work in every single day.

I didn’t make excuses. I didn’t half-ass anything. I just did what I had to do to be the best player that I could be for the teams-sake.

If I wasn’t working hard, I knew that I was doing a disservice to myself and my team. Becoming a leader was just a byproduct of effort I put in and sports taught me that.

You don’t always have to talk to lead and that’s a common misconception that a lot of people seem to have.

Leadership is about more than that and sports taught me what true leadership means and how to leverage it in life.

The 5 Lessons That Sports Taught Me About Leadership

1. Lesson 1: It’s always bigger than you. Most players have egos, especially at the pro level. Hell, nowadays most players have ego’s in high school. Whenever you’re on a TEAM, it’s always bigger than you. A true leader sacrifices their own wins and personal gains for the greater good of the team. That’s true leadership and understanding that is what makes the great teams work long-term.
2. Lesson 2: Be willing to step out and take a risk. The ability to take initiative and do something first is a fear that a lot of people have. Leaders aren’t the ones in the back of the army shouting commands. They’re the ones out front leading the charge. Whether it was putting my body at risk diving on the floor and taking charges in a game or stepping out and leading a defensive drill in practice, I took risks that inspired others to follow me.
3. Lesson 3: Become the person who you would want to follow. In order to become a great leader, you have to embody a great leader in every situation. This means making sure that you’re doing the right things that any great leader would do on or off of the playing field. Great leaders have different traits and reasons as to why they’re great, but you have to identify the type of leader you want to be and what style fits you best. Understand what that looks like and model the person that you would want to follow. Sports taught me that even though I might not vocalize and verbally inspire others, I can be a transformational leader through my actions which is the type of leader I would personally want to be around.
4. Lesson 4: Sometimes you have to just shut up & listen. As much as we look at and listen to great leaders, the main thing that they all have in common is that they listen more than they talk. I learned that in sports, effective communication happens when you take the back seat and listen to what your teammates and coaches have to say before getting your point across. Leaders make sure that others are heard before they are and they also make it a priority to understand things from different perspectives. Listening is not just a necessary skill for leaders, it might be the most important skill of all.
5. Lesson 5: Actions & words both matter equally. We often hear that it’s not about what you say, it’s about what you do. The truth is that it’s about both. Leaders can talk a good game, but imagine if the best players never backed up their words? Imagine if Michael Jordan talked a good game about how the Bulls would be a great team, but never competed in practice or actually won championships. He simply wouldn’t be regarded as the player he is known as today. The combination of talking, inspiring and backing it up is what makes him a phenomenal athlete. That combination plus his competitive natures makes him a legend, but also a great leader to those who played with him.

We Need More Leaders, Not More Followers

There’s an old saying that goes, “In order to lead you must first follow.”

Well, I’m telling you that this couldn’t be any further from the truth.

We need more leaders in this world and you don’t need to follow first to learn how to become a great one.

The problem is that we already have too many followers as it is.

There are too many people who want to keep up with trends and do what everyone else is doing because it seems like the cool thing to do.

There are too many people who limited in their self-expression and conform to the norms of society.

While sports taught me a lot about what a leader is and isn’t, it also taught me to be completely comfortable with my abilities and talents.

I never try to be like others because I recognize what is unique about me as an individual.

Once I reached a certain age, I didn’t try to play basketball like the players I idolized growing up because I learned what I was good at and what would make me successful as an athlete.

The truth is that once you decide who you are and who you want to be, the people who matter will still accept you and will be inspired by you. The ones who don’t accept you or follow you, won't matter anyway.

You aren’t in this world to please or lead every single person.

So never let anyone tell you that you need to follow first.

You’re already leading whether you realize it or not.

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