What Is the Most Important Tool of a Leader?

Coaches lead with tools. Some lead exceptionally, others not as well. Great leaders add value, inspire, and take teams where they cannot go alone.

Coach Don Meyer was legendary for many reasons:

• Openness. He took questions online (even mine). 
• Clarity. Coaches evolve from blind enthusiasm, to sophisticated complexity, to mature simplicity. 
• Learning. He kept three notebooks - one for new basketball information, another for new general information, and a third for gratitude to his wife. He gave her this at the end of each year. 

He also preached what I call PUSH-T, push through. Passion, Unity, Servant Leadership, Humility, and Thankfulness. 

Navy SEAL team leader Jocko Willink considers humility the most important. Remind yourself to be "gracious in defeat and humble in victory." 

Humility keeps us working, dedicated to our system, realizing we will never be THE best but always work to be OUR best. 

Humility doesn't mean thinking less of yourself, but thinking less about yourself. 

In "The Undoing Project," Michael Lewis shares that behavioral economist Amos Tversky, literally "the smartest guy in every room" was at a dinner party. As was Murray Gell-Mann a Nobel Laureate famous for discovering quarks. Gell-Mann was pontificating on every subject. Tversky took him aside saying, "Murray, there's nobody on the planet as smart as you think you are." Maybe that was a lesson in humility. 

The book, "Chop Wood, Carry Water," teaches humility. The story "A Lesson in Patience" from Charles Ngo teaches humility. This piece from 2011 discusses how Ego Is the Enemy. 

Sports teaches us fragility and failure every day. Consider these possible headlines:

• Brilliant Baseball Mind Chaim Bloom Fired by Red Sox
• Shohei Ohtani Tears UCL, Faces Tommy John Surgery
• Legendary Coach Bill Belichick Under .500 for Last 3 Seasons
• Revolution in Turmoil for Unexplained Inappropriate Behavior
• $140 Million-Dollar Man Trevor Story Batting .183 

"Show up" every day. Strive to be the best student, the hardest worker, and "never cheat the drill." 

Stay hungry; stay humble. 

Lagniappe. The Japanese are legendary for practice... all day, every day. When a coach was asked about his players' studies, he answered, "not my problem." 

STOP, STEP, STAY are key highlights from this presentation. Great defenders play 'calm'.