Leadership is simple but not easy



The literature available about leadership is infinite. Life coaches, motivational speakers, pastors, etc. spread the word on how to be the next hero. But you can't really capture the essence of leadership in words. Albert Einstein famously said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." In other words, leadership isn't that easy.
In some ways, however, it is as simple as possible to comprehend. It's really a lifestyle choice. It's the way you carry yourself around your teammates and coaches. A team is a special fraternity that a lot of people get left out of and don't understand. The first step in being a leader for your team is understanding this exclusivity. Not everyone can join the club, so it is your responsibility to hold up the values that make your entity special.
Not everyone can be a Michael Jordan or Phil Jackson - two wildly different types of leaders, and two leaders as part of the same team. They were the head and heart of that Bulls' monster that devoured six NBA titles in eight years. All great teams need this type of ying and yang, and a lot in between. "Role players" is a great term. It connotes that every player has a role in the show, and they do.
Find your role by being yourself. You're on the team. Now find the best way to contribute. If you're just not as talented as Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen then don't try to be. You'll be a better leader by following your coach's designs. Any good coach envisions his team as the season unfolds. And we all know "the season" begins the first time your team is together as a group.
Any group effort is just that - effort, or work. Never let anyone outwork you. It's contagious. Michael Jordan whipped his teams into a fury, and Phil Jackson was the puppeteer fueling the energy by teasing it out of the rest of his players. If someone was slacking they were ostracized - they were losing their membership credentials. They weren't meeting team expectations. If you work your hardest then nobody can take that away from you.
Chicago Cubs' Manager Joe Maddon talks about the infectious effect of making the simplest effort. His "Respect 90" mantra is as simple as it gets. If you can run hard to first then you can run hard in every situation. Why not? Is anything else that much harder? Why would you have a reason to work less as hard?
Find your role and honor it by being an example. That starts with humility. C.S. Lewis wrote, "True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less." Translation: team comes first. If your coach is asking you to take on a role you think is inferior to your skills then you better talk about it. He has reasons he's asking you to do something he probably knows you don't want to do. It's a challenge, and sports as well as business is a challenge by definition. When you understand that you are a leader. It's simple, but it's not easy.
Tamer El-Sagheer
Skillinside

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