Values-based Leadership Developing Champions of Character
Ralph Pim, Ed.D.
Former Director of Competitive Sports
United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
Coaches are always searching for ways to develop their athletes and teams to their full potential.
It is essential to understand why athletes and teams are successful.
“The single most important characteristic that a
coach must have is to be trustworthy.”
Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Duke University
NCAA Basketball Champions
Trust
Collective Responsibility
Communication
Care
Pride
Ohio State University
NCAA Football Champions
Relentless effort
Mental and physical toughness
Competitive excellence
Commitment to each other
Brotherhood of trust
“The culture of the Ohio State football
team begins with character.”
Coach Urban Meyer
Golden State Warriors
NBA Champions
The right people
True teamwork
Character
Unity of purpose
Team-first attitude
“Coaching is 90% creating the right
culture and 10% strategy.”
Coach Steve Kerr
New Zealand All Blacks
Rugby World Cup Champions
• Better people make better All Blacks
• The jersey is a sacred object
• Leave the jersey in a better place
• Sweep the sheds (humility)
• Aim for the highest cloud
• Sustain and reinvent momentum
• Train under pressure
• Team Ownership / National Pride
The foundation of the All Blacks approach is a values-based,
purpose-driven culture.
• Character triumphs over talent.
– A collection of talented individuals without personal discipline will
ultimately and inevitably fail.
• Attach the players’ personal meaning to a higher purpose.
– It is the identity of the team that matters – who they are, what they stand
for, and why they exist.
• Always look for ways to do things better.
– Have a growth mindset. Seek new approaches by challenging the
current way of doing something.
Kerr, James. Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us about the Business of Life. 2013.
Do the best leaders and teams have common traits?
1. Are trustworthy.
2. Know what they want and pursue it with purpose, passion, and dedication.
3. Believe in themselves and their teammates.
4. Are mentally tough and focused.
5. Make everyone around them better.
The Principles of Greatness
The best of the best…
• Trust is the foundation for teamwork. Trust
• Positive beliefs lead to commitment and powerful actions. Belief
• The inner drive, courage, and discipline to compete and give one’s best at all times.
Mental Toughness
• Greater accountability produces greater results. Accountability
• A spirit of community bonds people together and reinforces core values, vision and purpose.
Community (family)
5 essential behaviors of championship teams
The Point of Difference Championship teams put emphasis on…
Leader
Development
Character Development
Great coaches DEVELOP their players in both of these areas.
My Core Beliefs Leadership Development through Sport
• Sport provides an excellent venue to teach leadership
skills to athletes.
• We define leadership as the ability to make everyone
around you better.
• Leadership is a skill that can be learned.
• Leadership is a role that anyone can play. It is not
dependent upon a title such as team captain.
Every player on our team is a leader and has a leadership role.
How do we develop leaders?
Self Leadership
Self-Awareness
Self-Respect
Self-Responsibility
Self-Discipline
Self-Belief
Self-Confidence
Self-Control
Self-Forgiveness
Relationships 1. Be respectful
2. Be trustworthy
3. Care for others
4. Listen attentively
Communicate:
-Clearly
-Face to face
-With optimism
-Non-verbal communication
Team Contribution 1. Actions
2. Attitude
3. Alignment with our team’s…
-Core values
-Vision
-Purpose
-Standards
-Goals
4. Accountability (self and peer)
My Core Beliefs Character Development through Sport
• Sport, by itself, does not build character.
• Sport reveals character.
• The best coaches intentionally teach character through
sport.
• Developing players who become strong, resilient leaders
of character provides a significant competitive advantage.
Select three words from the list below that best
describes your team.
Hard-working Confident Determined Resilient
Aggressive Responsible Adaptable Focused
Gritty Passionate Disciplined Courageous
Turn and share your words with the person next to you and explain
why you selected these words.
We call these words…Performance Character
It is all the qualities that enable us to
achieve our highest potential in any
performance environment (school,
sport, work).
Performance Character
Effort Perseverance Self-Discipline Hard Work
Optimism Determination Concentration Confidence
Commitment Focus Resilience Courage
Competitiveness Adaptability Responsibility Passion
Decisiveness Punctuality Self-Control Grit
Values-based Leadership Developing Champions of Character
Ralph Pim, Ed.D.
Former Director of Competitive Sports
United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
Coaches are always searching for ways to develop their athletes and teams to their full
potential.
It is essential to understand why athletes and teams are successful.
“The single most important
characteristic that a coach must
have is to be trustworthy.”
Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Duke University
NCAA Basketball Champions
Trust
Collective
Responsibility
Communication
Care
Pride
Ohio State University
NCAA Football
Champions
Relentless effort
Mental and physical
toughness
Competitive excellence
Commitment to each
other
Brotherhood of trust
“The culture of the Ohio
State football team begins
with character.”
Coach Urban Meyer
Golden State
Warriors NBA
Champions
The right people
True teamwork
Character
Unity of purpose
Team-first attitude “Coaching is 90% creating
the right culture and 10%
strategy.”
Coach Steve Kerr
New Zealand All
Blacks
Rugby World Cup
Champions
• Better people make better
All Blacks
• The jersey is a sacred
object
• Leave the jersey in a
better place
• Sweep the sheds
(humility)
• Aim for the highest cloud
• Sustain and reinvent
momentum
• Train under pressure
• Team Ownership /
National Pride
The foundation of the All Blacks approach is a
values-based, purpose-driven culture.
• Character triumphs over talent.
– A collection of talented individuals without personal
discipline will ultimately and inevitably fail.
• Attach the players’ personal meaning to a higher
purpose.
– It is the identity of the team that matters – who they
are, what they stand for, and why they exist.
• Always look for ways to do things better.
– Have a growth mindset. Seek new approaches by
challenging the current way of doing something.
Kerr, James. Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us about the Business of Life. 2013.
Do the best leaders and teams have
common traits?
1. Are trustworthy.
2. Know what they want and pursue it with purpose, passion, and dedication.
3. Believe in themselves and their teammates.
4. Are mentally tough and focused.
5. Make everyone around them better.
The Principles of Greatness
The best of the best…
• Trust is the foundation for teamwork. Trust
• Positive beliefs lead to commitment and powerful actions. Belief
• The inner drive, courage, and discipline to compete and give one’s best at all times.
Mental Toughness
• Greater accountability produces greater results. Accountability
• A spirit of community bonds people together and reinforces core values, vision and purpose.
Community (family)
5 essential behaviors of
championship teams
The Point of Difference Championship teams put emphasis on…
Leader
Development
Character Development
Great coaches DEVELOP their players in both of these areas.
My Core Beliefs Leadership Development through Sport
• Sport provides an excellent venue to teach
leadership skills to athletes.
• We define leadership as the ability to
make everyone around you better.
• Leadership is a skill that can be learned.
• Leadership is a role that anyone can play.
It is not dependent upon a title such as
team captain.
Every player on our team is a leader and has a
leadership role.
How do we develop leaders?
Self Leadership
Self-Awareness
Self-Respect
Self-Responsibility
Self-Discipline
Self-Belief
Self-Confidence
Self-Control
Self-Forgiveness
Relationships 1. Be respectful
2. Be trustworthy
3. Care for others
4. Listen attentively
Communicate:
-Clearly
-Face to face
-With optimism
-Non-verbal communication
Team Contribution 1. Actions
2. Attitude
3. Alignment with our team’s…
-Core values
-Vision
-Purpose
-Standards
-Goals
4. Accountability (self and peer)
My Core Beliefs Character Development through Sport
• Sport, by itself, does not build character.
• Sport reveals character.
• The best coaches intentionally teach
character through sport.
• Developing players who become strong,
resilient leaders of character provides a
significant competitive advantage.
Select three words from the list below
that best describes your team.
Hard-working Confident Determined Resilient
Aggressive Responsible Adaptable Focused
Gritty Passionate Disciplined Courageous
Turn and share your words with the person next to
you and explain why you selected these words.
We call these words…Performance
Character
It is all the qualities that
enable us to achieve our
highest potential in any
performance environment
(school, sport, work).
Performance Character
Effort Perseverance Self-Discipline Hard Work
Optimism Determination Concentration Confidence
Commitment Focus Resilience Courage
Competitiveness Adaptability Responsibility Passion
Decisiveness Punctuality Self-Control Grit