Championship Saturday

Championships are not only about what you do, but about who you become.

John Maxwell writes about leadership, including The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player. 

Here is an excerpt:

If you want to be an enlarging team player, then do the following:

• Believe in others before they believe in you. If you want to help people become better, you need to become an initiator. You can't hold back. Ask yourself, What is special, unique, and wonderful about that teammate? Then share your observations with the person and with others. If you believe in others and give them a positive reputation to uphold, you can help them to become better than they think they are. 
• Serve others before they serve you. One of the most beneficial services you can perform is helping other human beings to reach their potential. In your family, serve your spouse. Free up time and resources for enriching experiences. On the ball field, find a way to get your teammate the ball. In business, help your colleagues to shine. And whenever possible, give credit to others for the team's success.
• Add value to others before they add value to you. A basic truth of life is that people will always move toward anyone who increases them and away from others who devalue them. You can enlarge others by pointing out their strengths and helping them to focus on improvement. But remember this: encourage and motivate people out of their comfort zone, but never out of their gift zone. If you try to push people to work in areas where they have no talent, you will only frustrate them.