Top performers take initiative. They take ownership for improving themselves and their teams. Are your athletes seeking ways to give their team an edge? Are they doing the little things to unify the team? Let’s look at three ways athletes can take initiative and gain a competitive advantage. These are the players who become your team leaders.

How to Go the Distance 

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is a model of what it means for a team leader to take initiative. The second oldest NHL player (41 years old) joined the Bruins in 2006, and was named the team’s captain. Since Chara’s arrival the franchise won four Division Championships, two Conference Championships, and the Stanley Cup in 2011.

What makes Chara so great?

He takes full responsibility for getting better. Why? Chara has told the Bruins more than once he wants to play at age 45. He wants to win a second Stanley Cup. He is also driven by an insatiable desire to fulfill his potential.

3 Ways Top Performers Take Initiative

Simply put leaders take responsibility. Across sports, business, or life, organizations are looking for those who take initiative. Those are the folks who demonstrate commitment, taking it upon themselves to get better and make their teams better.

Let’s take a closer look at Chara and other top performers to identify a few areas where athletes can take initiative and make themselves, their teammates, and their teams better.

Their Body:

As an athlete, taking care of your body is essential. Staying healthy, conditioned, strong, and operating at peak level is the goal.

To take care of his body, Zdeno plans his off-season workouts in excruciating detail. He has records of every workout, swim, ache and pain over the course of his whole career. Tom Brady is known for his super-strict diet and sleep habits (i.e., going to bed at 8:30 every night). Steph Curry utilizes all manner of scientific advances to keep his body in top form. The Seahawks offer yoga and meditation classes for players.

How much better could your athletes be if they fueled their bodies with better food and had better sleep habits?

Their Skills:

Some athletes wait for coaches to initiate developmental changes in their mechanics, tactics, or style. Team leaders and top performers don’t wait to be told what to do.

Many great athletes have support teams around them, including specialists outside their organizations to help them get better.

Chara sought advice from other Slovic-born world-class athletes. He got powerlifting advice from an Olympic weightlifter and footwork advice from ice dancers. His skills coach, Adam Nicholas, says of Chara’s drive for excellence, “He won’t stop until he masters everything.”

Tom Brady has “body coach” and TB12 partner Alex Guerrero. Steph Curry trains with Brandon Payne. Russell Wilson has worked with a Mental Conditioning Coach, Trevor Moawad, since 2012.

The Dallas Maverick star Dirk Nowitzki and private coach, Holger Geschwindner, picked an skill Dirk needed to add to his game every off-season. Matt Ryan uses a vision training device called NeuroTracker to help him think faster, see the field better, and make better decisions on the field.

Are your athletes taking the initiative to get the help of a mental coach (like me), skills coach, or other specialist? What edge could your players add to their games?

Their Team:

Who is responsible for building the team? Team leaders take the initiative to foster deeper relationships, build cohesion, and help teammates get better.

Chara has improved his leadership in the locker room over the years. Retired Bruins teammate, Andrew Ference says of Zdeno, the he went from “an Eastern European, pretty hardass approach” to “being more understanding.” He tries to include everyone on the team.

Portland Trailblazer Damian Lillard organized “a weeklong retreat to San Diego with beach barbecues, Padres games and touch football showdowns,” according to SI author Lee Jenkins. Lilliard’s mindset, “I was so hands-on about being the leader.”

Similarly, you’ve heard of QBs and wide outs hitting the turf in the off-season to work on timing. NBA players link up at off-the-beaten-path high school gyms to build chemistry. Shaquille O’Neal, NBA Hall of Famer, mentored rookies about all the off-court decisions, pressures, and challenges they would face in becoming a professional. All Black captains famously “sweep the sheds.”

How could your players take initiative to hold others accountable to the team’s culture, improve their leadership, or mentor their peers in becoming better people and better players?

Empower Initiative

Taking initiative means going above and beyond what is expected. Empower your athletes to take initiative. Encourage them to find ways to make themselves and others better. That’s what team leaders do. And it makes the whole organization better.

Question: What could a little initiative make possible for your team?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.

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