Everyone wants to become a better leader but only a select few are willing to pay the price needed for lasting success.  Allow me to give you 10 Things Only Top Leaders Continually Work On.  

Less successful leaders either do not know these lessons or they become complacent, satisfied or simply give up.  Don’t be one of these leaders.

Listed is the source where the lesson originated from followed by the lesson itself.

ESPY Awards

  • Time Management – Never waste time but it when it is gone, it cannot be replaced.  “Time is something that cannot be bought, it cannot be wagered with God, and it is not in endless supply.  Time is simply how you live your life.” – Craig Sager accepting The Jimmy V Award For Perseverance.  For his full speech, see the video above.

Inc Magazine – February 2016

  • Speaking Truth To Yourself – Columnist Amy Morin reminds us of these four pieces of advice when things get tough – This has happened before.  Failure is the path to success.  This won’t matter nearly as much in five years.  And live according to your values.
  • Creating Winning Habits Which Form A Winning Culture – Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank says, “Winning is a part of our culture – it’s who we are.  And culture is formed on habits.”

Inc Magazine – July/August 2016

  • Getting More Sleep – Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, says, “We lose 11 days a year in productivity because of the epidemic of sleep deprivation.”  Most experts now recommend being in bed by 10:00 PM.
  • Narrowing Their Focus – You always see more when you look at less.  Lolly Daskal notes, “When you know your own ambitions and foibles, you make smarter decisions that link clearly to your future goals.”

Books

  • Being Brave – The ability to have hard conversations and make hard decisions is always something leaders need to improve upon.  Navy SEAL commander Rorke Denver says in his amazing book Worth Dying For, “If you want to be brave, you must practice.  Practice manages fear, practice sharpens performance, practice build self-confidence.  Any one of those three can be lifesaving in a gunfight, but they will also make you braver in everyday life at the office or walking down the street.”
  • Being Humble Or You Will Be Humbled – “The lesson of humility comes to everyone eventually.  Either you learn its value, or life drills it into you – and life can be a painful teacher.” – Louisville Cardinals head basketball coach Rick Pitino in his book The One-Day Contract: How to Add Value to Every Minute of Your Life

Music

  • Not Quitting –  Persevere because longevity buys you credibility.  “Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” – Miles Davis

Sports Illustrated – October 5, 2015

  • Sharing The Credit – Nothing gives a leader more credibility than when he/she gives credit way.  Notice the following quote from golfer Jordan Spieth after winning the 2015 FedEx Cup as the sport’s best player.  Eight times he uses the phrases “the people”, “Our”, “we”, “team”, “those” while using “I” only twice.  This is a clinic on good leadership. – “I have the opportunity now, with a year like this and a ($10 million) bonus like that, to celebrate and to share it with the people that have made it possible.  And that’s kind of the plan.  Our team did an unbelievable job this year.  Everything was exactly how we needed it to be to peak at the right time.  If we can continue to do that, then we’ll have more seasons like this.  But right now, we’re going to enjoy it, and I’m able to help out those who made this possible.  Because it was not a single effort.”

Sports Illustrated – June 6, 2016

  • Being Willing To Change – Change is inevitable.  Relevance is not.  “It’s hard to see the change in your sport, and hard to accept and swallow sometimes…But I don’t know why other sports are more accepting of that change.  Baseball is the only sport where people try to hold on to the past and prevent that change from happening.” – Toronto Blue Jays outfield Jose Bautista.  For Bautista, there is one thing harder to swallow than baseball refusing to change its unwritten rules on celebration – Rougned Odor’s right hand

What is one lesson from this group of 10 can you begin working on TODAY to become a better leader?

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