There are many good teams in ministry, business, and sports. But only a handful of these teams become great. One of the key ingredients for teams going to the next level is, you guessed it, LEADERSHIP.
Nowhere was this better demonstrated than with the 2015-2016 NHL Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. One of the primary reasons they won the Cup on Sunday night was because of the leadership of star player Sidney Crosby.
Crosby is an Apex Leader, one of the greatest to ever play his sport. As I read this ESPN article written by Scott Burnside, I gleaned the following 17 Ways A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team:
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Delivering Superior Results – Crosby has won two Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two scoring titles, two Hart Trophies, and now a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Making Others Better – All of Crosby’s 19 playoff points were assists.
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Previously Struggling – Struggle is necessary for success. Crosby missed the majority of the 2010-11 season, including the playoffs, with a concussion.
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Paying The Price Necessary For Success – Crosby said, “I was just thinking about how hard it was to get to this point.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Celebrating Success – Crosby added, “Just trying to enjoy every second of it. It’s not easy to get here.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Focusing On Team Success Over Personal Success – Crosby continued, “I look at this as a total team effort.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team Through Hard Work – Crosby said, “I just tried to work hard every night and do my job, just like everyone else.” Teammate Chris Kunitz added, “He’s the all-encompassing guy, one of the greatest players to ever play the game because of how he can adapt to the game and how hard he works at everything.” Mark Recchi goes on, “He just played the game every night as hard as he could.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team With Consistent Excellence – Crosby noted, “I don’t know if I did anything different or specific.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Investing In The Next Generation – Assistant coach Rick Tocchet said, “I think his leadership, for me, especially when we called a lot of young guys up. He really wanted to lead these guys. He had them over to the house for dinner.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Giving Others A Sense Of Security During Difficult Times – Tocchet added, “Any time it got a little hairy in games, he was talking to them.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Caring For Their Teammates As People First – Shown above, Crosby immediately handed the Stanley Cup to Trevor Daley who was out injured with a broken ankle. What made this act significant was Daley’s mother was home battling cancer and got the privilege of seeing her son lift the Stanley Cup.
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Having Great Character – Daley said, “He’s a great hockey player, but he’s an even better person.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Honoring The Team’s Veterans – Crosby understands what moments like honoring Daley mean to the rest of the team. It creates a culture of honor and respect.
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Being Willing To Adapt And Change – Teammate Chris Kunitz said, “He can adapt and change his game to different things.”
- A Leader Can Make A Good Team A Great Team By Leading By Example – Kunitz added, “He had to go out and lead through example, and became a better player.”
- Only Mature Leaders Can Make A Good Team A Great Team – Recchi said, “I see a mature leader that played the right way every night, regardless of whether he got points or not, and he led the team that way. And that’s important when your leader leads like that.”
- Only Resilient Leaders Can Make A Good Team A Great Team –Recchi concluded, “He didn’t let things get to him.”
What is one thing you learned from Sidney Crosby which will make you a better leader?
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