Successful Leaders Emanate Positivity
“Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” – Bill Bradley
Have you ever considered the way leadership has shaped your life? The words and ideas placed in your mind by individuals you look to for guidance and support can have a profound impact on your everyday life and overall success.
Consider the Chicago Cubs’ World Series win in 2016. When Joe Maddon became the team’s manager in 2015, he approached the players with positivity opposed to the negative remarks many other managers and coaches offer players. Because Maddon pushed positivity and encouraged his players to have the “I am a winner” mindset, they had the most successful season they’d seen in more than a century.
Maddon did this with the help of Mental Training Coach Josh Liftrak, who joined the Cubs leadership in 2014. Liftrak created a mindset training program for the team to help push through barriers. He and Maddon focused on emphasizing that each player has a choice. Each day you choose to be the human being that you want to be. You also choose to stay awake and find a way to be aware and be the very best you can be.
Liftrak’s mindset coaching has three parts: Courage, Urgency, and Belief. By this, Liftrak means players have been mentally trained to have the courage to do the right thing at the right time. Urgency refers to the desire to get better right now and not put it off until tomorrow, or the next day. The biggest part of the Cubs’ mental training is the Belief portion of the training. Liftrak and Maddon both pushed their player to believe in themselves, their teammates, and their training.
The leadership team helped implant the “I am a winner” mindset into the players with this approach. The payoff was the Cubs at the World Series for the first time in 108 years.
By using their positions of power to spread positive energy, they were successful in reaching their goals. While you don’t need positive energy to be a leader, you do need it to lead successfully. The energy of the entire business or team you lead is impacted by the type of energy you are bringing to the table. If you are constantly negative, your employees and players will be too. They won’t likely believe in themselves, their work, or the goals of the team if you don’t depict positive energy surrounding the team’s goals.
Maddon will likely be seen as one of the best sports leaders of all time when his career is over. By leading with a positive energy, Maddon led the team to what seemed unimaginable prior to his arrival – a World Series victory. He plans to continue this method of managing the team entering the 2018 season. Maddon has been awarded MLB Manager of the Year three times. It has been predicted that he will be named to the MLB Manager Hall of Fame as well, especially if he leads the Cubs into another successful season. The Cubs manager said they are going into spring training and beyond with “energy and enthusiasm.”
All in all, successful leaders constantly emanate voices of positivity and perseverance. Whether you are on the field, on the court, or in the office leading with good energy can make all the difference in the world. If your goal is to be a constructive and successful leader, schedule an exploratory consultation with me today.
About AmyD
Amy D is the President of AmyD.Me, CEO of Choose Evolution Coaching Solutions, INC, and Founder of Follow the Leader Movement. As a master of many modalities, she’s combined IPEC Coaching and Energy Leadership with practices in meditation and spirituality for a unique approach to obtaining results. Am is also a Bio-Energetic Practitioner with 20 years in energy medicine. She holds a Masters Degree in Education and Bachelors in Psychology, Behavioral Modification and is an Ordained Minister of Kingdom Communications. Amy with Professional Athletes, CEOs, High Achievers to remove all limitations that get in their way to ultimate success.
*Information about the Cubs, Coach Maddon and Josh Liftrak comes from http://www.cindrakamphoff.com/joshlifrak/.