I am infinitely fascinated by greatness and those who are considered “The Best of the Best.” In fact, my book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is a study of the best leaders, pastors, coaches, businessmen and women, businesses, athletic organizations, and coaches in the world.
This is why when The Top 10 Men’s Tennis Players appeared in my television lineup, I made the The Tennis Channel and Fox Sports program appointment television. I was not disappointed and now want to share the lessons learned about achieving greatness I gleaned from those profiled.
The following are 10 Leadership Lessons From The Top 10 Men’s Tennis Players Of All-Time:
- Roger Federer – From Roger we learn The Greatest Leaders Respect Their Industry And Craft. Rod Laver said, “He respected the game so much he played his best tennis all the time.”
- Rafael Nadal – From Rafael we learn The Greatest Leaders Have Great Self-Awareness. Tracy Austin said, “Who thought at the beginning of his career he would win two Wimbledons. And he became a little more aggressive, shortened up his backswing, stood a little closer to the baseline. So I have tremendous respect for those players that knew their shortcomings and were able to adjust and improve their game.”
- Rod Laver – From Rod we learn The Greatest Leaders Have Great Consistency At The Highest Level. Eleanor Preston said, “Consistency is the Holy Grail in tennis. It’s all about producing your best level of tennis on a consistent basis within a match, within a week, and within a year. And Laver did that on a huge scale.”
- Novac Djokovic – From Novac we learn The Greatest Leaders Are Masters Of The Fundamentals In Their Area Of Discipline. Joel Drucker said, “If I was showing someone how to play the game, I would show them Novac. His discipline, his footwork, his technique, all of it. So air tight. Such balance, such good posture. Such good movements, all the little details. He’s a little bit of what we call ‘A player’s player.'”
- Pete Sampras – From Pete we learn The Greatest Leaders Love The Big Stage. Paul Annacone said, “I just remember the glow in his face and smile on his face before major finals. You know walking on the court in the finals at Wimbledon. It’s one thing to say you love the big stage. It’s another thing to believe it and he did.”
- Bjorn Borg – From Bjorn we learn The Greatest Leaders Have The Greatest Self-Control. Borg said, “When you’re out there for a long time.. and you end up losing, you really feel angry. I was really angry inside but I did not let out my emotions.”
- Ivan Lendl – From Ivan we learn The Greatest Leader Have The Greatest Preparation. Lendl said, “If you train consistently it directly transfers itself into consistent matches.”
- Jimmy Connors – From Jimmy we learn Great Leaders Have Great Passion. Bjorn Borg said, “When you walked off the court with Jimmy you knew he’s going to give 110%. He’s a big fighter and never gives up. He tries so hard.”
- Andre Agassi – From Andre I learned two things. Great Leaders Understand The Value Of Time. It was said of Agassi, “His ability to take time away from you, he saw the ball so early, you had no time to setup and hit the shots.” The second lesson was Those Closest To You Determine Your Level Of Success. Agassi found a new mentor in Brad Gilbert because “I realized I had a lot of room for improvement.” He then hired Gil Reyes who took his fitness to a new level. Reyes said, “There was nothing I could do to get him younger. There was nothing I could to change his physical characteristics. But I could get him prepared.” After enlisting Gilbert and Reyes, Agassi won 6 additional major titles.
- Ken Rosewall – From Ken we learn The Greatest Leaders Limit Unnecessary Mistakes. Laver said, “It was the consistency. You had to beat Ken. Anytime he walked on the court he had the ability to play his best tennis.”
What is one thing you learned from these legendary athletes which will make you a better leader?
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