Author’s Note: This article is not AI-generated or edited. Creativity is yours and yours alone.
“The minute you get away from the fundamentals, the bottom can fall out from your game.” (Michael Jordan)
In over 25 years of coaching and building championship teams, I’ve never met an infallible leader. We all make mistakes. We serve “double faults.” We miss some shots.
Occasionally, we as leaders forget the basics–those fundamentals that drive understanding, collaboration, and cohesion.
There is a price to pay for letting the basics slip from our memory, which include yet are not limited to the following:
❌ Miscommunication among team members.
❌ Creating false perceptions.
❌ Allowing ego to dictate decision-making.
❌ Lack of trust and credibility.
❌ Subpar performance and outcomes.
Ultimately however:
The game of leadership is about progress, not perfection.
Here are some of the leadership fundamentals that I’ve been reminding myself as we w/ (Viola Cipriani) navigate our Huskie men’s tennis team through the tough terrain of the Mid-American Conference and work with companies who want to perform better under pressure:
THREE LEADERSHIP FUNDAMENTALS
#1: Everyone wants to be loved.
The more we as leaders love our team members, the more love (loyalty, respect, trust, etc.) we’ll earn in return.
Appreciation is an under-rated asset. We can all do better and show a little more love.
#2: Keeping score in relationships is a bad play.
Giving without expectation is the King or Queen’s motto.
This doesn’t nullify The Law of Reciprocity–it actually amplifies it. When people trust your motives, most (not all) will naturally respond in kind.
#3: The onus is on the leader.
As head coach, it’s my responsibility to set the parameters around what winning teamwork and leadership looks like. Our players don’t “run the show”–that’s my job.
The same principle holds true in any organization.
If you have a leadership role and direct reports, the onus is on you to establish the tone of each relationship (unless communicated otherwise).
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To your success,