Developing Leadership In Sports And In Life

A t h l e t e S t a r t . c o m
Table Of Contents
Table Of Contents 1
What Is Leadership? 2-3
Personal Development And Team Leadership 4-6
Strengthening Your Team Leadership Through Personal Development 7-9
Leadership Vision and Development 10-11
Leadership Skills and Traits 12-14
Leadership Quotes 15-17
Conclusion 18
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1

What Is Leadership?
Leadership, what is it? Definitions of leadership, there is not a single
definition that everyone agrees on. Manfred Kets de Vries, a professor at
INSEAD, says that leadership is a set of characteristics, behavior patterns,
personality attributes that makes certain individuals more effective in
achieving a set goal or objective. Another way of describing leadership is
to say that, to get the best out of people, individuals, teams, organisations,
they need to be led, guided, persuaded, motivated, inspired, to be
committed, to do their best, to work together to achieve a common goal.
True leaders are recognized as being the leader, and their teammates or
coworkers accept that they need to be guided by that leader, but they do
not feel that they are mere subordinates. A good example is the captain of
a sports team - hockey, baseball, cricket, soccer, football, athletics - these
are individuals who have an individual role to play, yet find time and ways
to motivate and encourage others to do their best, to use their own
individual skills, knowledge and experience (scoring touchdowns,
defending, winning races, hitting home runs) while at the same time
working together as a member of the team to achieve team goals.
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2

Leaders all have something that brings diverse people together, to work
as a team, to aim for and work hard to achieve a common goal. It is,
perhaps, a special talent, or characteristic, or personality trait, or set of
circumstances that they find themselves in, or perhaps a combination of
all of these. Perhaps leaders are born with this ability, perhaps it is
something that can be, or has to be, learned.
What Is Leadership to you?
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3

Personal Development & Team Leadership
If you happen to be the captain of your team, then you are definitely the
leader of the pack! You, too, are part of the variety on a team. How well
you work together with your teammates will tell how successful you are.
Are you a leader who teams with success?
True teamwork not only takes time, but it takes the willingness to
contribute to the team's greater good and simply not look out for
number one. It has to begin with a real desire to work on the group's
behalf. Be sure to examine your motives. When you have a successful
team, you will find that all of the teammates reap the rewards. Ineffective
teams are often composed of some selfish team members who only
watch out for their own personal goals and not the goals of the team as
a whole.
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As the leader of the team, you should strive to instill the following
qualities into your members so that your team will be effective:
1. To have a shared vision of the team's mission and its goals,
2. There should be a willingness to incorporate one's individual talents
for the team's betterment.
3. There should be open communication lines between you as the team
leader and members of the team and among the team members
themselves.
4. There should be an appreciation of individual differences within the
team.
5. Team members should be recognized and rewarded for their efforts.
It is a fact that talent does not always guarantee success. Successful
teams come about because there is a blending of talent, the melding of
minds and mindsets, and there is also the ability to be able to focus on
the bigger picture. Members of the team need to feel the following:
1. To be heard
2. To feel that they are important
3. To be appreciated, valued and recognized
4. To have the opportunity to express their own individuality
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5

These attributes can all occur on teams that are well led without having
to sacrifice team spirit. It is wrong to think that even the best team
leaders strive to treat everyone the same way. Since all of the members
of a team are individuals, not everyone needs or wants to be treated just
like everyone else. Some team members are self-motivated while other
need support and reassurance.
When you have developed personally as a team leader, then you can
take steps to pass on personal development to your team members.
Remember that teamwork develops over time. Your team can strengthen
itself daily through experience and relationships that develop with other
team members over time. When you, as a team leader, give time and
attention to these team leadership development tips, you will find that
your group will soon be teaming with success.
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Strengthening Your Team Leadership
Through Personal Development
You've always known that you are a team player, and you've probably
always known that you are ready to take on the task of team leadership.
However, what you might not know is that no matter how good you are
at team leadership, and no matter what kind of a team player you are,
personal development is a way to make you stronger, more successful,
and better and what you do, overall.
Personal development means that you are focusing on the skills that
you have in order to improve them, and also that you are learning new
skills that can benefit you life in general, and of course, benefit the team.
When you are working on your personal development, it means that you
are never finished learning. You are a strong, successful person and you
are focusing on ways that you can make yourself even more so. Working
on personal development allows you to become even more concrete in
the areas that you know you excel, and begin to develop brand new
skills that are going to be beneficial to everyone.
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A team leader is someone who is good at personal development. This is
because as you go through life, and as you lead your team, things do
not stay the same. Part of personal development is focusing on
changing for the better, and helping yourself to learn the skills that are
necessary for you to change. When you become the leader of a team, no
matter what that team is dealing with and no matter what level of
expertise that team is at, you are going to be working with the same
people over time. You are also going to be doing the same things, no
matter what level of sports or business you are working in, and no
matter what number of things you have to do as a team leader.
However, as time goes on, you know that you are going to have to
change the way you do things. New skill sets come to the forefront, and
there is always something different that you can do to make your team
run smoother and to help your team excel. Therefore, you are going to
have to always be open to change, and ever ready to adapt to the times.
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Personal development is like going to school - you are going to keep
your mind open to new possibilities and you are going to be able to
change and grow with the world around you. No matter what kind of
team leader you are to begin with, by working on your personal
development, you'll be able to get much stronger and much clearer in
your leadership style. This is the best way that you can excel at team
leadership.
What can you do to strengthen your team leadership?
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9

Leadership Vision & Development
Leaders who are passionate about their vision (they ALWAYS have a
vision), are careful to make sure everyone on the team knows what that
vision is. They will indoctrinate everyone so that it is not simply a vision,
but a tangible part of the environment, so much so that it will go home
with their teammates at night. Everything that flows, then, is a reflection
of that vision, because the vision becomes the beacon that guides the
actions of everyone in the organization.
There are some things Leaders can do, if they want to develop their own
leadership skills:
1. Keep focused on the primary goal for your team. Never let yourself be
distracted from that.
2. Surround yourself not with those who only agree with you, but with
the right people for the job you need done, then lead them and provide
them the tools to do the job.
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3. Recognize the benefits of having different personalities around you.
Not only do separate skill sets come with different personalities, but
different approaches that are essential to your team success.
4. Make sure things are working as you expect, and that you can make
appropriate changes timely. Failure to do this with speed up the failure
of your team or organization in total.
5. Know when you have exceeded your limitations, and acknowledge it.
Then get help to overcome it.
Each of us has the capability to be a leader. We will only become
effective leaders, however, when we lose our fear of making mistakes,
and share responsibility for achievement of the goals of the team. If
those goals are our individual measures of achievement, then the team
or organization will work to succeed and achieve; if they are not, we will
be the transient leader that gets things going, but fails by failing to share
credit and push for only the good of the team.
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11

Leadership Skills & Traits
An important aspect of good leadership is the ability to work and relate
with others. There are ten qualities that characterize successful
leadership in the area of relating and communicating with other people.
1. Availability
A good leader is available and in touch with people. An important
leadership skill is the ability to recognize needs and be able to respond
to them quickly and in the moment.
2. Creating Positivity
A good leader realizes the importance of relationships and is proactive
in creating a positive atmosphere. Successful results are born out of
positivity rather than conflict. Good leadership will prioritize keeping
conflict and negativity to the minimum.
3. Approachability
A good leader is approachable and has an open door policy. Good
leadership creates an environment where openness and honesty can
occur in an atmosphere of fairness rather than judgment.
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4. Appropriate use of authority
Don’t misuse your authority is the whole mark of good leadership. A
good leader will not use their position of authority for self promotion or
in a controlling manner. Successful leaders use their positional power
with wisdom and sensitivity to the appropriateness of the
circumstances.
5. Confidentiality
Good leaders conduct peep talks, 1on1 conversations and meetings in
an atmosphere of trust. They display appropriate confidentiality and
respect towards others and about others.
6. Self Motivated
Good leaders set and use goals to motivate themselves and others.
They understand the importance of personal and team development.
Successful leaders do what is necessary to upgrade their knowledge
and skills and be on the cutting edge in their field. Successful leaders
not only motivate themselves in personal development but also motivate
those around them.
lead groups without aggravating conflict and minimizing negativity.
They are skilled in creating a sense of team unity. They are good at
balancing the strengths and weaknesses of the team for best results.
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7. Provide Support
Good leaders are able to provide positive support for those for whom
they are responsible. They recognize the importance of encouragement
and inspiring confidence and also give recognition of a job well done.
8. Maintaining Motivation and Team Spirit
A good leader provides motivation to improve the performance of their
team to challenge them to maintain quality results.
9. Clear Communication
A good leader is an excellent communicator. Their leadership involves
communicating clearly the goals and procedures required of a task.
They set clear, attainable, and measurable goals.
10. An Understanding of Group Dynamics
A good leader understands the dynamics of group relationships.
Successful leaders have the ability to lead groups without aggravating
conflict and minimizing negativity. They are skilled in creating a sense of
team unity. They are good at balancing the strengths and weaknesses of
the team for best results.
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14

Leadership Quotes
Many times the words of others actually have far more impact and
insightfulness than when those words are read within the pages of a
dictionary. Quotations are rooted in actual performance, of leaders who
have been there done that. They can be easily incorporate into every part
of your life everyday.
These quotes helps to define or explain leadership:
Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do
things right. -Warren G. Bennis
Leadership appears to be the art of getting others to want to do something
you are convinced should be done. -Vance Packard
Leadership is all about getting results. -Peter Drucker
Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to
achieve what they want to achieve. -Tom Landry
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Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. -Warren G.
Bennis
Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their
problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost
confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is
a failure of leadership. -Colin Powell
The purpose of leadership quotes:
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't
blow an uncertain trumpet. -Theodore Hesburgh
The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. -Ken
Blanchard
The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
-Harvey S. Firestone
Leadership is unlocking people's potential to become better. -Bill Bradley
Leadership demands that we make tough choices. -Alan Autry
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A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with
people, of getting things done. -Dwight David Eisenhower
More Leadership Quotes:
The only real training for leadership is leadership. -Anthony Jay
Leadership is the ability to do, not the ability to state. -Paul Von
Ringelheim
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it,
no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a
football field, in an army or in an office. -Dwight David Eisenhower
Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting
other players involved. It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's
the only way you're going to get respect from the players. -Larry Bird
You can take these leadership quotations and transfer them to 3x5 index
cards. Read them 3 to 5 times each day and within a month you will
remember them. Then you can infuse them into your conversations with
teammates to business associates and show everybody just how smart
you really are.
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Conclusion
We hope you develop a better understanding of leadership on completion
of this eBooklet. Only if this eBooklet is understood is it’s benefit
reached.
Or possibly you are trying to explain how to develop leaders within your
team, business, organization or community? This leadership eBooklet
may help you achieve that goal.
Keeping in mind the important points about leadership, we hope this
eBooklet on leadership proves to be very informative to you. Use this
information well and thanks for reading.
By Maurice Lawrence of Athlete Start
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Developing Leadership In Sports And In Life

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