3 Leadership Traits Players can Develop
How many times have you watched a game and have listened to the announcers refer to a player as a good leader? I hear it all the time and after a number of years I’m finally starting to understand what I wished I knew as a younger player. I’ve come up with my list of 3 traits that leaders need to have.
1. Hardest Workers: The best leaders are the hardest workers. They lead by example in every drill by going all out and always treating the drill with respect. They often will show up early to practice and leave late. They invite others to share in their work ethic often and try to include other players in what they do.
2. Motivational: The best leaders bring out the best in the other players by challenging them and motivating them when the situation calls for it. This doesn’t mean that they scream and yell all the time but it does mean that they can pull someone aside and talk to them to get them going the right direction.
3. Coach on the floor: This one is key because each coach wants that player on the court who can bring out what the coach wants. The coach doesn’t want to have to motivate all the time when the leaders of the team should be the ones keeping everyone in check. The coach on the floor is the guy who backs what the coach wants and puts the team first despite the individual success. These players are referred to as self sacrificing because of the personal stuff they give up for the good of the team.
When I was in high school my coach wanted me to be that player to challenge the others and get them to the right spots. He wanted me to be vocal and lead because I worked as hard or harder than all of them. My issue was that I was too worried about people liking me to be that way when that is what my team and my coach needed. I knew what the coach wanted and I did that and I worked harder than anyone else, but I didn’t push the others like I should have. Believe it or not that still haunts me today a little bit. The players I was with wanted me to lead them and push them and I didn’t realize it at the time.
We are all like that even today. People surrounding us are looking for leadership from people they truly respect. I am more mindful of these situations now and take advantage when necessary. Just another example of how sports mimics real life.
