Tuesday, June 17, 2014
"Guys, I recently read a post by Tim Elmore highlighting a new award the NBA just gave out called THE TEAMMATE OF THE YEAR AWARD…I love this idea and would challenge each of you to compete in a healthy and sincere way to outperform each other in this arena next year…we do highlight this with a special award at our banquet each year…choosing to be a great teammate will help our performance on the field and honor Christ’s vision for us as athletes and men…a winning combination! And it exercises the kind of leadership we want to demonstrate to the world watching us. Read this brief post and think about what you are going to choose to daily do starting August 9 to be a great teammate…CHIP
"For years, we have read about national champions, most valuable players and top-level performers in every sport. Two years ago, the NBA chose to honor a different award winner — the best teammate. Shane Battier called it one of the biggest honors of his life.
The Miami Heat forward was announced recently as the winner of the league’s Twyman-Stokes
Teammate of the Year award, which recognized selfless play, leadership, work as a role model to other players, and commitment. The NBA will make a $25,000 donation to the Battier Take Charge
Foundation, which raises money to help provide children with educational and leadership opportunities.You should know that Battier was the runaway winner this year, being elected by votes from players who are not currently on his team. He showed up on over 200 ballots. Evidently, everyone sees these qualities in Shane.
Two Things I Love
I love two realities about this award. First, I love the fact that a professional organization like the NBA actually recognizes these attributes as worthy of affirmation, setting an example for boys who are glued to ESPN and the NBA.
Second, I love the fact that the award connects leadership to something besides being the player who
scores the most points. While I fully recognize we must measure points — it’s how games work — there will only be one player each year who scores the most. In fact, if that’s all that mattered, leadership could be viewed as a purely selfish thing: “Do-whatever-it-takes” to hog the ball and make the basket. Instead, Shane Battier demonstrated he could help his team win a championship this year by playing for something other than the most points, most rebounds, most free throws, etc. No doubt Shane buys into the statement by legendary Coach John Wooden: “The player who puts the ball through the hoop has ten hands.”
Five Truths This Award Teaches Us About Leadership
1. Leadership is about team progress, not personal statistics. The cliché is true: It’s about the name
on the front of the jersey, not the back of it.
2. Leadership is about doing the right thing when no one is watching, not just during a game or
performance. Good leaders have pure motives.
3. Leaders lose the right to be selfish. They see the bigger picture and focus on the whole. Their
measuring gauge: Did I make my teammates better?
4.Leadership begins with an attitude of service, sacrifice and passion. It is more caught than taught
to others.
5. Healthy leadership always adds value and is never toxic. It works like the tide on the ocean: As it
rises, all the boats go up. Leaders improve team culture.
My hat’s off to Shane Battier and the NBA for this award. May this become part of the sports culture as
we impart what it means to lead the next generation."
http://growingleaders.com/
Chip Huber
Dean of Student Engagement
Cornerstone University
chip.huber@cornerstone.edu
616-222-1423
