Football and Leadership

I love watching great teams play. I love watching top athletes perform and top coaches lead. I love identifying the leaders on the field and seeing what they are doing to affect performance and influence outcome.

Leadership. It’s a topic that transcends both sport and business. It plays a major role in the success of both.

When you study leadership, behind every great team is a great leader. Someone who calls the shots, guides performance, and builds a resilient, passionate, and winning culture and isn’t afraid to make tough decisions (sometimes these are gut-decisions!).

Furthermore, a leader is someone who drives vision, sets expectations, provides guidance and feedback, and allows opportunity for growth. A leader is someone who practices what they preach, does their best every single day, and demonstrates on a daily basis of what it’s like to operate at high-levels.

Leading a team means there are a lot of moving parts at any given moment. There are always going to be different projects, different personalities, and different problems and hurdles that have to be dealt with in the best way possible. Leaders are effective communicators.

It is not always easy being a leader. But it is so darned rewarding. And I believe that regardless of role, title, certification, or rank within an organization, that everyone is a leader. The most successful organizations are made up of a team of people that ALL act as leaders. And they do it around the mission and vision of the team.

I know for me personally, I take great pride in my team of 38 trainers, coaches, Pilates instructors, massage therapists, and administrative staff. They do a great job fulfilling our mission to motivate, educate, and inspire our clients to greatness. They create IMPACT daily. They are bona-fide super-stars and I love them.

We have many moving parts at Fitness Quest 10 and my team is like a well-oiled machine that allows us to get a lot done in a day, week, month, and year. And one of the reasons for that is because of my IMPACT Principle #5.

IMPACT Principle #5: The bigger your dream, the more important your team. Attract, hire and develop a GREAT team. Place the right people, in the right place in your business, and coach them to be successful.

Your people are your brand. And they ultimately will help the organization fulfill the mission and vision if the TEAM is right. And my team is one of the main reasons why we’ve reached great success at Fitness Quest 10.

Additionally, I’m proud when someone I’ve mentored becomes successful. Whether he/she is someone I’ve coached in my Mastermind, has been through a Mentorship, a current teammate, or even a past teammate.

In this example, I want to highlight someone that used to work at Fitness Quest 10. No joke. It’s someone I’m extremely proud of and has gone on to do great things in his community.

Vince Gabriele was an intern at Fitness Quest 10. Then he became a trainer. Then he became the Director of Football Operations for us. He served admirably with us for 5 years before leaving in 2007 to move back to Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, to start his own gym, Gabriele Fitness Performance. And for the past 5 years, Vince has formed a solid team of 10 teammates and he has made it his mission to develop the absolute best team for his business. And they are thriving!

Vince recently spoke at my 3.5 Day Mentorship on “Building a World-Class Team” and did a phenomenal job. Listen in to this short 7 minute video clip from the Mentorship on Vince’s best practices that he has implemented with his team that have allowed them to amass great success in a short-period of time. And they will apply to you also.

Click To See Vince Gabriele Discussing Leadership: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gadsl4QfDFc&feature=youtu.be

Think about YOUR team. Regardless of the role on your team, I want you to think about your teammates. And to paraphrase the words of Jim Collins in “Good To Great”:
•    Are the right people on the bus within your business?
•    Are the right people on the right seats in the bus where they can best thrive and contribute to the success of the organization???
•    Are YOU doing everything you can to contribute to the team positively, regardless of your role???
•    What one thing can YOU do for your team today to make them feel appreciated, acknowledged, or even loved?

Regardless of your role within your team, commit to developing others, as well as yourself. The commitment to giving back, serving teammates, leading teammates, and helping teammates grow is a principle that will help any team with strong character and desire achieve massive success and significance. It has worked well for my team at Fitness Quest 10 and I know it will work well for your team also.