5 Leadership Lessons Learned from Kevin Durant

There are some leadership lessons that can be learned from Kevin Durant’s MVP acceptance speech. Kevin Durant was just named the NBA MVP – In a matter of a few minutes he shows all of us how to be a MVP leader in just over 7 minutes he exemplified what being a servant leader means and set an example we could all try to follow.

1. Share the credit and spotlight with others – As a basketball player  he could have made the MVP award all about himself, yet  he gave all credit to God and his teammates and never once made the award about himself.   As part of any team we are only as successful as those that we lead.  In moments of triumph a leader is best to be humble and gracious and acknowledge their teammates.

2.  Publicly Honor and commend the sacrifice of others– He stresses about how his team sacrifices for him and how they would run through walls for him.  He expresses his gratitude for their actions both on and off the court that motivated and inspired him to be his best. Will your team sacrifice for you and you for them?

http://youtu.be/AKk-yJ4cRDM

3. Always thank those that help you succeed (especially your mom) – He gave most of the credit to the real MVP in his life, his mom who had sacrificed for him and his brother to get them where they are. He played the heart-strings a bit when he talked about moving into their first apartment that had nothing in it and they as a family sat there hugging each other thinking that they had made it.  We take life for granted while others struggle to make enough to make ends meet much less become successful.

4. Use your place as a platform – Basketball is just a platform for Kevin Durant to inspire people; we all have our own platforms that we can use to inspire.  His dream was a rec league coach and now he is a NBA MVP.  So many people believed in him, and although he fell so many times and continued to get back up and is still standing. We are where we are for a reason whether we are flipping burgers or owning a boardroom they are all platforms to use to inspire others.

5. Because for the Love of the game – He plays because he loves the game and is in love with the game and because of the guys he plays with that push him to be better. “When you got people behind you, you can do whatever.”  He did not hold back on expressing his gratitude and his love for his teammates. When we lead through love we can achieve immeasurable success.

Kevin Durant talks about how the game of basketball changed his life and gave him and his family a chance. They were able to come from nothing into a place they were not supposed to be.  He singles out players on his team and gives them accolades for their support and respect that they have for the game.

Any leader can learn by the examples of a  selfless leader. Careful you might cry a little too as you learn from Kevin Durant.

Now its your turn: Are there any other role models in the public eye that you think exemplify servant leadership? If so who?

Blessings,

CJ