19 Leadership Lessons Pastors Can Learn From Athletes

The best leaders are humble, especially pastors.  This means pastors can learn from a variety of sources and individuals.  One of the places I learn the most from is the world of athletics.

Athletics requires teamwork, sacrifice, overcoming adversity, practice, preparation, responding to coaching, constant evaluation and all the results are measurable.  Sports is a leader’s paradise.

In the August 17th edition of Sports Illustrated, two athletes who are at the top of the profession, Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, were profiled.

As I read the articles I gleaned 19 Leadership Lessons Pastors Can Learn From Athletes.  Check out the profiles below and see which of these practices you can apply to become a better leader.

Writer Ben Reiter’s profile of Paul Goldschmidt

1. Great Leaders Continually Improve – Paul Goldschmidt has gotten better every year.  He has done whatever is necessary to become one of baseball’s best players.
2. Great Leaders Set High Goals – Hitting instructor Alan Zinter remembers a rookie Goldschmidt saying, “I want to be a Gold Glove first baseman.”
3. Great Leaders Work Hard – Former teammate Cliff Pennington said, “When your best player is also your hardest worker, well, it’s gold.”
4. Great Leaders Are Committed To Daily Discipline – Goldschmidt is very disciplined with his daily routine, right down to how his coffee is prepared and at what temperature.
5. Great Leaders Focus On Others– Pitcher Josh Collmenter often hears Goldschmidt compliment other players after his home runs.  Collmenter says, “What he is doing is secondary to what everybody else is doing.”
6. Great Leaders Finish What They Start – Once Goldschmidt established himself as a major league player, he completed his final year of college online.
7. Great Leaders Are Constantly Experiencing New Things – Growing up, Goldschmidt’s family did not have the financial resources to travel.  As an adult he now visits many places around the world including Australia and Europe.
8. Great Leaders Are Readers – Recently, Goldschmidt has become an avid reader.  One of his favorite books is Jon Gordon’s classic The Carpenter.
9. Great Leaders Celebrate Victory In A Big Way – Goldschmidt says, “My greatest memory is when we clinched to play in the playoffs.  To celebrate and do the championship thing with 25 guys, our coaches, front office, that was the coolest thing ever.”

Austin Murphy’s profile of Antonio Brown

1. Great Leaders Produce Measurable Results – Brown’s 129 catches in 2014 were the 2nd most in league history.  Over the past two seasons, Brown has amassed an amazing 229 catches for 3,197 yards and 21 touchdowns.
2. Great Leaders Give Great Attention To Small Details – Small details done with excellence produce great results.  Brown runs the most precise routes in the league.
3. Great Leaders Start Fast – You never have to recover from a good start.  Former player Chad Johnson says, “There are two people in the NFL (Odell Beckham Jr. and Brown) who can stop on a dime, then reaccelerate to full speed in two seconds.”
4. Great Leaders Work Hard – This quality deserves a second mention.  Head coach Mike Tomlin says, “When you have Antonio Brown working that hard, (rookie receiver) Sammie Coates doesn’t have a choice.  Antonio is a better worker than he is a player.  And he’s a great player.”
5. Great Leaders Struggled Early – One the primary teachings of Biblical leadership is struggle is necessary for strength.  Brown grew up in the rough section of Miami where he was disowned by his parents at age 16.
6. Great Leaders Stay Hungry – They are never satisfied.  Pastors often refer to this holy discontent.  Brown says, “There’s always a new place to go.  I’m still so young, still got a lot more to do.  If you get caught up in what happened before – it’s kind of over, know what I mean?  You get stuck.  You lose your edge.”
7. Great Leaders Pay A Higher Price – While in college Brown put athletic tape in the shape of the ladder agility drill in his hallway.  Therefore, he did the drill each time he went to his bedroom or bathroom, usually 10-15 times per day.
8. Great Leaders Are Highly Valued And Rewarded – As a 6th round pick, the Steelers immediately knew what they had.  Therefore, they gave him a new five year, $42 million contract after his second season.
9. Great Leaders Have Proper Perspective – Rather than holding out and getting compensated like other top wideouts, Brown chose to play instead.  He says, “Holdouts never go well.  It always ends badly.  Besides, I make a lot of money.”
10. Great Leaders Have A Higher Purpose – Brown says, “I feel that God puts us through that kind of hardship for a reason.”

What is one thing from this list you can apply today to improve your leadership?

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