Are You a Sheepdog?
– Monday Mindset –

Today’s Monday Mindset: Are You a Sheepdog

I was watching the U18 Ontario volleyball championships and saw the most incredible young leader.

Will was the smallest player on the court, yet his value was undeniable.

In fact, they were a totally different team when he wasn’t on the court.

After they won, I introduced myself to Will and let him know what an amazing leader he was. He was humble and appreciative ⁠— two additional traits of a special leader.

If you want to be a sheepdog leader, here are the 5 things I saw Will do that you can put into practice:
• Give reminders before they’re needed
• Celebrate and encourage others continually
• Use physical touch to connect (high-fives, hugs, pats on the back)
• Bring infectious energy to everyone around you with your smile and tone of voice
• Be ‘unrufflable’ when things don’t go your way (don’t give in to worry or disappointment)*

*After winning the first two sets, they lost the next two but when the team walked over to the bench, Will didn’t let them droop. He infused each teammate with confidence as he gave them high-fives and a pep talk. Talk about special…it’s rare to see NBA all-stars that unrufflable.

Then they battled back and won the 5th set to win the championship. I don’t think that happens without Will’s leadership.

Here’s to you being an amazing sheepdog leader this week!

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I’m here watching the Ontario Provincial Volleyball Championships, the U18 men, and it is standing room only here.

It’s an incredible match. This has just gone to five games, not even sure if you’ll be able to hear me because they go crazy in between each play. The reason I’m shooting this video is the KW Fred’s team has one of the best young leaders I’ve ever seen. He’s the smallest guy on the court, but his leadership is absolutely phenomenal.

When I mean leadership is phenomenal, he has amazing energy. One of the things we teach to our players at our PGC camps is leadership is energy.

You’ve got to bring a tremendous amount of energy continually, and we teach a concept called sheepdog leadership, which means like a sheepdog gathering all the sheep, you’ve got to sheepdog your teammates, you’ve got to sheepdog your coworkers and your classmates to help them be their best.

This young guy, Will, has done that through his constant high fives, his constant encouragement, his constant calling players to where they need to be. My challenge to you today is if you want to lead exceptionally well, you have to be a sheepdog leader.

In whatever realm, whether it’s your family, a team, in your work, see if you can be a sheep dog leader today.

That’s your Monday mindset.

READ MORE:
• Special Leadership
• Five Ways to Show Leadership on the Court