20 Things Successful Leaders Are Thinking And Talking About

The following are 20 Things Successful Leaders Are Thinking And Talking About:

Various Interactions

• “The 20-60-20 Principle I learned from John Maxwell.  20% are your leaders and bought in to what your church is doing.  20% will never be on board.  60% are undecided.  It is the job of the top 20% of leaders to bring the 60% undecided on board.” – Piedmont Church senior pastor Ike Reighard
• “God rewards your ambition, not the work of your hands.” – my lunch with NorthStar Church senior pastor Mike Linch quoting Ron Dunn
• “Marketplace leaders invest in success.” – Church of the Highlands senior pastor Chris Hodges at the Courage To Leader Live Conference
• “There is no differentiator in a knowledge economy.  Strategies are no longer a differentiator.  It’s about execution.  You can only execute if you have an unbelievable culture and team.” – David DeWolf, President and CEO of 3Pillar Global, on the Alan Stein Raise Your Game podcast

Best Sports Leadership Writing On The Web

• Successful Leaders Avoid Losing Before Focus On Winning – “You can’t win a game until you learn how to keep from losing.” – Bill Belichick
• “A true quarterback in my view has to do three things.  You have to think.  You have to throw.  You gotta lead.  There’s going to be a lot of different ways but in the end if you can’t think, you’re going to have a limited career.”
• Successful Leaders Create Opportunities For Others – “There’s no play a coach can call from the sideline which he knows is going to work right.  It’s my job to find the guy that’s going to be open.  If I don’t think someone’s going to be open and I can get someone open, that’s when I’m going to get the advantage.”

ESPN Super Bowl Countdown, February 2nd

• “Trust your players.  Put them into positions to have success.  And then weather the storm if things don’t go the way you want early…  Be where your feet planted.  Produce in the moment.” – Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay
• Every Leader Has A Defining Moment – “It’s amazing what Super Bowls do for perception.  It defines my career.” – Steve Young
• Successful Leaders Value Data And Know How To Use It – “Great quarterbacking is about data ownership.” – Young
• Genius Is Making The Complicated Simple, Not The Simple Complicated. – “What makes Sean McVay special is he makes the complex simple.” – Louis Riddick quoting Jared Goff
• Your Success Is Determined By Those Around You – “Getting with the right people can dictate the success of the quarterback.” – Riddick
• “What makes Andy Reid great is his ability to adjust and adapt and make players reach their highest potential under his leadership.  And that flexibility is what makes him special.” – McVay

Sports Illustrated February 2020

• Successful Leaders Are Repetitive Leaders – “I always repeat the same things… Things don’t go zero to 100.  But with the day-to-day, trying to win a match here, a match there, trying to improve… People say, ‘This is a sacrifice.’  But for me this is not a sacrifice because I do it with enthusiasm.” – Rafael Nadal when asked, “You’re 33 years old.  You’re world No. 1.  How do you explain that?”

Sports Illustrated March 2020

• The Best Want To Work With The Best – “It’s a positive thing to have people you like, that you admire, near you.  And to be bald to compete against him will help me, and together we’ll push each other to reach a higher level.” – Major League Soccer MVP Carlos Vela on his team, the Los Angeles Galaxy’s, addition of Mexico’s all-time leading scorer Chicharito Hernandez
• The Most Valuable Thing A Leader Can Bring Is Positive, Sustainable Energy – “My best runs I’ve been able to continue building on that energy ball and not lose a lot from making mistakes and losing connections on turns.  Everything is so grounded and so in tune with itself that everything keeps building.  That’s directly related to my physical energy.” – Mikaela Shiffrin who in 2019 won 17 downhill skiing events in four disciplines and has 50 wins faster than anyone in history
• Successful Leaders Have Competitive Stamina – “I’m not a God-given talent.  I ain’t the best shooter.  I’m not the best ball handler.  Not the most athletic.  But I battle.  I fight.” – The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler
• Successful Leaders Create Opportunities For Others Through Their Intellect – “A lot of young, talented Americans can beat you off the dribble but don’t have the next piece, they can’t unbalance the defense on their own.  Christian (Pulisic) is very much a playmaker who creates opportunities for others through his speed, control and intellect.  And it’s the intellect part that’s taking the longest for American players to catch up with. When the game is moving that fast, you gotta have the next move picked out.” – Tim Howard

The Herd With Colin Cowherd February 25th

• “Our job, our responsibility is to get out of that bell curve.  Most guys are going to be in the middle of that bell curve.  And to be great, you have to be in the bottom of that bell curve.  The only way to do that is to get outside the box, to think differently and be aggressive.  We’re very fortunate in Philadelphia to have an owner who encourages aggressiveness.” – Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman

The Herd With Colin Cowherd February 29th

• Smart Leaders Know Who Their True Competition Is – “We’re competing with sleep.” – Netflix CEO Reed Hastings

What is one thing you read above which will make you a better leader?

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