Many leaders I know are blessed with God-given talent. They are smart, charismatic, uniquely skilled, well-educated, and seemingly have all the potential in the world. But many did not reach their potential. Why?
Kevin Durant
On August 7th the United States Olympics men’s basketball team won the gold medal by defeating Spain 87-82. The Americans were led by Kevin Durant who scored a team-high 29 points. During the games, Durant further cemented a claim to being the world’s best player by becoming America’s all-time Olympic scoring leader with 435 points in 22 games.
In addition to his three Olympic gold medals, the following are a list of just some of his current NBA career accomplishments:
- 2007-2008 Rookie of the Year
- 2013-2014 NBA Most Valuable Player
- 2 NBA championships
- 2-time Finals Most Valuable Player
- 11 All-Star games
- 2-time All-Star game Most Valuable Player
- 4-time NBA scoring champ
- 23,883 career points
Durant is an uber-talented player who has exceeded the potential spotted in him as a teenager. But while he is blessed physically at 6′ 10″ (some say he is a 7-footer) with incredible athleticism and shooting guard skills, it is his work ethic which is noteworthy.
As shown in the graphic above, Durant’s head coach while in Oklahoma City, Scott Brooks, said “He works each day like he’s trying to make the team.”
Maximizing Your God-Given Talent
The following 10 Things Leaders Must Do To Maximize Their God-Given Talent we learn from Brooks’s comment:
- Go to work every day… and put in extra hours.
- Do the lonely work… the work no one is watching.
- Do not be entitled.
- Do not take shortcuts.
- Be humble and a continual learner.
- Have a GREAT attitude. In other words, play well with others and get along with people.
- Don’t dwell on success. Always be looking for the next challenge.
- Put team goals ahead of your own.
- Respond to coaching.
- Outwork Your Talent.
- ***BONUS*** Be the embodiment of the team’s culture.
In closing, I have two questions for you. First, are you as a leader maximizing your God-given talent? If not, what is one thing you learned from Kevin Durant which will help you do so?
The Top 60 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 1 is my latest ebook. For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world. People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional. Hope seems to be in short supply. Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.
Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.