Leadership, Mentoring, and the Individual

"Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence."

Find a mentor and become one. As a sophomore, you can mentor another team member. You don't have to be a senior or a captain to mentor teammates.

"Good is the enemy of great." Sadie Jaggers became a better player by following Gia Vlajkovic's advice, "Don't try to make a perfect pass; make a good pass."

"Leaders make leaders." The primary leaders in your life are your parents. They guide you, encourage you, console you. Nobody gets everything they want in life. That's okay. Do more to earn the things you want. 

"Model excellence." Bring the best version of yourself to home, school, and the court every day. Be on time. Be prepared. Be stretched out, physically and mentally ready to go when you "cross the red line." 

Everyone leads. Lead by never being a distraction. Lead with academic excellence. Lead with positive attitude and superior effort every day. 

Be a great teammate. If you're not playing as much as you want or in the role that you want, ask how to do better while having positive attitude, making good choices, and doing your best. 

Study leadership. "Position is not leadership." Sometimes people with authority or titles aren't the best leaders with dictatorial, selfish, uncaring attitudes. "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap was the CEO of Sunbeam. That did not end well. 

From Brave AI: 

• Earned the nicknames “Chainsaw Al” and “Rambo in Pinstripes” due to his ruthless cost-cutting methods and aggressive management style.
• Was accused of poor behavioral controls, lack of empathy, and potential psychopathic tendencies by Fast Company magazine.
• Faced allegations of accounting fraud at Sunbeam, which led to an SEC investigation and settlement.

Legacy

• Despite controversy surrounding his management style and alleged accounting fraud, Dunlap remains a notable figure in the world of corporate turnaround management.
• His aggressive cost-cutting measures and restructuring strategies were often effective in the short term, but also led to significant job losses and long-term damage to company cultures.

Where can you study leadership? 

• Study leaders in your lives. Embrace the positives that you see and reject the negatives. "That is not who I want to be." 
• Read about leadership. Legacy by James Kerr shares the leadership style of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Leadership in Turbulent Times discusses the personal and Presidential leadership of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lyndon Johnson. Those are good starting points.

Think for yourself. Remember the advice of Michael Useem in The Leadership Moment. After an event, ask: 

• What went well?
• What went poorly?
• What can we do better next time? 
• What are the enduring lessons?