Pro Sports Habits to Embrace

We all know that the road to being a great leader isn’t easy. There are tough decisions, seasons of hardship, and plenty of distractions. In my life, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to interact with some of the best leaders in the sports industry. Through our time together, I can’t help but always notice how their good habits come into play and generate success for them and their organizations.

1. Know Yourself

This is one habit that people easily forget about. Knowing yourself means deciding who you’re going to be and staying true to that. Most of us have taken some sort of personality test; don’t ignore the results. Keep your strengths at the forefront of your mind. Leverage your strengths and be accountable to what makes you unique.  

In pursuing this habit, if it is true that we become like the people we surround ourselves with, be sure to evaluate who you’re spending your time with. Ask yourself: are my friends honest and trustworthy and full of integrity? Are they building me up, are they true friends? Simple questions like these help us to know if we are in the right place or if we need some new friends. 

 2. Lead Authentically

In our world today, it’s not hard to spot fake news because there is so much of it. People are becoming better and better at recognizing when you’re being insincere or fake. We believe younger athletes in general can smell out insincerity in a coach; it is like a 6th sense for them.  So how can we tell when we’re being insincere or self-seeking? The moment you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you’re most likely drifting out of line. Take a step back. Think about how you can be more authentic. Ask others how their day is and then tell the truth about your day. People gravitate to a leader who genuinely cares, not someone who leads in order to get what they want. President Theodore Roosevelt said it well, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

3. Grow in Your Humility 

The habit of humility can be difficult to develop. We can think that humility is self-deprecating, when really it just means putting others before yourself and recognizing that nobody’s perfect - including yourself. A lack of humility in leaders is easy to sniff out. For example, when an assistant coach is more concerned with becoming head coach than putting players first, he/she won’t last. Eventually the players will come to realize that the assistant coach cares more about himself and his career than about the team. 

So how do we grow in our humility and make it an ongoing habit? A simple start is by learning phrases like, “I’ve got a lot more to learn” and “I don’t have it all figured out yet.” Be willing to admit your shortcomings and your lack of perfection. A lot of leaders struggle with saying, “I don’t know” because they think it’s a sign of weakness. Yet it’s in moments like this when we increase our transparency and decrease our judgment that we best embrace humility.

Be on the lookout for the great leaders around you, take note of their good habits and incorporate the ones that are most important to you. The rewards you receive will pay dividends for the rest of your life.