The Importance of Leadership in Business and Sport
There are commonalities in both business and sport but until you look inside yourself you’ll never know how they can benefit you
Whether you`re a sportsperson or a business person leadership is one of your greatest assets.
And if you aren’t firstly leading yourself properly then you truly can’t be the best leader of others.
And the great thing is if you’re not leading well, you can still learn the skills to improve.
As Vince Lombardi who was an American professional football coach said:
“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”
And to start leading others successfully you need to look at how you can self improve.
By even asking yourself questions like:
“Am I truly happy?”,
“Where am I going in life?”,
And
“What have you to give that is better than others in my field?”,
You`ll begin to understand how you lead your life.
Of course, these are very broad questions and ones that make you think very deeply.
Yet it’s from that dept that you’ll find the real answers that will push you to your utmost. Now that’s not to say that the answers that you find within yourself will be the ones you want to hear or even the ones that are going to make you a great leader. But, it’s vital that you start to understand where you’re at.
The basic answer to:
“Am I truly happy?”
Is either, ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
And if it’s a negative it doesn’t mean you can’t change it to a positive.
If you understand where you want to go you only have to find a way of getting there. By deciding that you want to go in a different direction you’ll begin to feel happier straight away.
Of course, it’s a big decision and one that may upset your life for a while to come but by changing your mind you’ll see the course of action that you need to take to feel happier for longer.
By asking yourself:
“Where am I going in life?”
You may be tapping into deeper introspection that could make you feel down for a while.
But that’s what’s needed because you can’t know where you want to go if you don’t know where you’re starting from in the first place. You may be a million miles away from where you’d dream to be but by drawing a line at the end of where you are in the present you’ll be able to push forward and look back with more satisfaction as you progress to where you’re intent ongoing.
But you need to be realistic too.
By figuring out the answer to:
“What have you to give that is better than others in my field?”
You’ll begin to frame how you’ll be received when you get where you want to be. And it gives you a guideline on how to get there. Everyone has something to give but finding out how it improves others is key to your long-term motivation of how you’ll eventually lead successfully.
When you’re happy, understand where you’ve come from, and know what you can give will sustain your passion and self-belief in how you lead yourself and what you can give that is beneficial to lead others too.
Now you may wonder at this point:
“What has this all got to do with leading others in sport and business?”
The truth is the answer to leading others in sport or business is only as good as the skills you have learned as a leader and the intention you have to lead in the first place.
Whether its athletes, sports’ people, or employees in business you can’t be a great leader without having basic skills such as being able to understand and establish your style of leadership, communicating your instructions properly, and having those who follow your instructions respect what and how you’re trying to achieve things as a leader.
Because to be a great leader there needs to be a sustained period that you guide others and that comes from general respect by those that employ you as the leader and those that you are leading over that time frame.
And as a leader in sport and business things will go wrong.
No matter what team you manage you`ll lose games and your direction will be questioned by others. It’s the same in business. Not every deal will work out and money will be lost in the meantime.
Central to the long-term success of both sport and business is the ability to do as the great old leader Vince Lombardi spoke about.
And that’s hard work.
So before you begin to lead, look deeply into yourself and know that what’s there will guide you to understand yourself and others to a place of success in the future.
Get FREE Access To Dr. Conor’s VIP List Here (Limited Time Only)
