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I came to the conclusion that leadership is subjective in the way it is perceived and applied and objective in the goals it seeks to achieve.
Approaches may differ, personalities may differ and environments definitely differ. But if the goals are ultimately the same—people development, skill improvement, success—then it made me wonder: What is the most important trait a leader should have?
I posed that question to current and former professional athletes from various sports. Here are my 11 favorite answers:
Work ethic
Washington Commanders guard Jayden Daniels: As a leader, you can’t have guys follow you if you don’t go out there and put the work in.
I feel like I can’t ask anyone personally to do things that I don’t do myself. I can’t expect people to come here and go through 6 in the morning if I don’t do it myself.
Adaptability
Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces guard: Adapting to circumstances. Injuries happen. How can you adapt and make others better?
Adapting in the game when our energy, our beliefs are reduced, how do we change people’s perspective and adapt that way?
(Aces coach) Becky (Hammon) was great in that regard. I’m just adapting to the situation. Whether he knows how to shout, whether he knows how to give us love, to hug us, to rest and not see each other, or to change the circumstances at certain moments.
Positive character
Charlie Davies, former MLS and USMNT player: Coaches who can stay positive and find the positives even when things are going bad are the coaches that everyone wants to fight and play for.
He plays to his strengths
Jack Drury, Nashville Predators center: A good leader bases the way they lead on their personality and who they are and what the team needs.
The good leaders I was with were unique. I would say that the two captains that I played under in the NHL, Jordan Staal and Gabriel Landeskog, were both incredible captains and I think – around the league – they looked like two of the best.
There are certainly some similarities in that they lead by example, they practice what they preach, things of that nature, but I also think they’re two very different people. And that was evident in the way each of them led.
Landy is a very outgoing guy, very friendly, very positive, and could be a more vocal leader at times when it was necessary for the team.
Staal could be a little more reserved, but when he said something, it carried a lot of weight, because you knew how much he meant it and how much he felt the team needed to hear it.
Three professional athletes share the same favorite mental tip
Elise Devlin
Consistency of who they are
Jeff Francoeur, former MLB player: When I played for Bobby Cox with the Atlanta Braves, you could walk into his office and you couldn’t tell if we won five games in a row or lost five games in a row. He was the same guy every day.
When you have that, man, you have players who want to play for you and want to learn. But when you have a leader who is one day happy and one day sad and who is only based on results, will you want to follow that person? Probably not.
When I played for the Kansas City Royals and Dayton Moore was the general manager, the reason he was my favorite guy was because he would come into the locker room and ask about my family: Hey Jeff, how’s Catie doing? How are the children?
He didn’t ask me about baseball, even when I was good. You wouldn’t get off and go: Man, you’re having a great week. It was always something else.
That consistency is very important.
Lo’eau LaBonta, Kansas City Current midfielders: The leader and captain cannot always just choose the side of the players or staff. There has to be some give and take.
But if you’re honest all the way, when you’re very honest — which sometimes seems like an uncomfortable truth and you don’t always agree with somebody — but if you do that consistently, your voice will carry more weight.
Responsibility
Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Roquan Smith: Taking ownership of anything and never assigning blame, never pointing fingers and always realizing what you can do better.
Even if it was another teammate’s job, I would never throw them under the bus. I would still take responsibility for it, take ownership and say, “Yeah, I am. Put it on my back.”
I’ve had many great coaches like that, as well as my mom. Maybe there was something that me and my brother did in the beginning that wasn’t a great representation of the core and moral beliefs that she taught us. Then I would hear her saying to the neighbors, “Okay, yeah, of course they did it, but they put this on me. I should have taught them better.”
I think it creates a positive environment and allows individuals to think, Hey, we’re all human. We will all make mistakes.
You are not in this together without responsibility.
Jason Kelce’s favorite mental tip
Elise Devlin
Delegation
Mikaela Shiffrin, gold medal skier: Mainly to know when your plate is full and to get to know your team around you, so you can play to their strengths and delegate responsibilities that will be the most efficient use of their time. And then you can optimize the production of the team as a whole.
Authenticity
Zaza Pachulia, former NBA player: Authenticity lays the foundation for any leader or role model because it facilitates the building of trust.
Trust is such an important thing. It moves the train, it moves the team, it moves the business. Without trust, it’s hard to get from point A to point B. And authenticity creates that trust.
Steph Curry, for example. Imagine having a leader like this, where for 16 years in the league he’s going 100 miles an hour, every practice, every pass. It inspires, motivates, pushes you.
He doesn’t let you cut corners, because your leader is going 100 miles an hour, and he’s been doing it for every single practice, every day, every season, all these years.
And nothing, nothing is better than that.
Condemnation
Claire Liu, professional tennis player: It’s really important for me to trust my coach and fully accept what they think.
Sometimes I wouldn’t agree with what my coaches were saying, but because they believed in it so much and were so busy, I was so bought into it. It hardly mattered what they said; I was still fine because I was completely on the train.
There are many different playing styles and techniques. I feel like people think, If I have this perfect technique for this stroke, then everything will be fine. But it’s not even that. It’s so mental that if you just buy in completely, it doesn’t matter if it’s technically right or wrong. It could still totally work for you.
That’s the biggest thing you need as an athlete to do that: that belief. Having someone who redoubles that belief in you really helps.
Be a chameleon
Austin Hedges, catcher for the Cleveland Guardians: I have a bunch of different masks to wear.
Sometimes it can be a little softer in tone. Could be a little more love. Maybe there’s another person where it’s a little more fiery. You talk to people about what their goals are. (There are) people who want to earn a lot of money for their family, or want to have a lot of personal success. I want to talk to them more from their perspective.
I’ve had some conversations with young players in this game and in those conversations I don’t know them very well. Something could happen on the field where they need some leadership. I get into that conversation and what I do is throw out a few ideas.
I’m just reading their body language to see which of these things really register with them. What really motivates them to want to be great? I look for a nod, eyes widen, maybe lean forward. It will tell me, “Oh, that! That version of motivation or inspiration hits this person.”
I’m just going to dive deeper into it to help you understand what I’m trying to say.
— Jayson Jenks contributed reporting