Nelson Mandela's 8 Lessons of Leadership

I took this one from a 2008 Time Magazine article by Richard Stengel. These are the 8 Lessons of Leadership from Nelson Madela:

1 - Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring others to move beyond it.

2 - Lead from the heart - but don't leave your base behind.

3 - Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in front.

4 - Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport.

5 - Keep your friends close - and your rivals even closer.

6 - Appearances matter - and remember to smile.

7 - Nothing is black or white. - Decisions are complex, and there are always competing factors.

8 - Quitting is leading, too. - Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task, or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make.

Don Shula on Reducing Practice Errors

This one is from George Selleck's book "Court Sense." Selleck references a five-step plan that Don Shula used for reducing errors in practice. This one is good for any leadership, management, teaching, or coaching position.

1) Tell people whay you want them to do.
2) Show them what good performance looks like.
3) Let them do it.
4) Observe their performance.
5) Praise progress and/or redirect.

Coach K on Motivation

Mike Krzyzewski talked about motivation in one of my all-time favorite books, "The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team":

Motivation can come from many different sources.

One source is reinforcing that sense of perspective that you taught your team early on.

Another source is reviewing your established standards, giving your team the chance to see how they have performed based on those standards and how they can uphold them at an even higher level.

Another element of getting your team motivated is rallying support from the outside by broadcasting your group's message...Typically a group's message is some combination of your goal and your standards: This is what we are going to do and this is how we are going to do it.

Bringing about those emotions and harnessing the energy that they create is the essence of motivation.

Roy Williams' Coaching Philosophy

Obviously, Roy Williams has had a ton of success as a head coach at both Kansas and North Carolina. In his latest book, "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court," Coach Williams talks about his basketball coaching philosophy.

"My philosophy is that basketball is the simplest game in the world - IF you can get five guys moving in the same direction for a common goal. Coaching is all about me getting my five guys to do what I want them to do better than you can get your five guys to do what you want them to do. If you have one guy looking out for himself, you're in big trouble. If you have more than one, you have no chance."

Leadership from Ronald Reagan

In honor of the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and the 100th anniversary of his birth, here are some quotes from President Reagan on leadership:

- The challenge of statesmanship is to have the vision to dream of a better, safer world and the courage, persistence, and patience to turn that dream into reality.

- A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough.

- We did not seek the role of leadership that has been thrust upon us. But whether we like it or not, the events of our time demand America's participation.

Thanks to leadership-skills-for-life.com for sharing.