Leadership Thought: A Basketball Player Whom I Saw Play Yesterday Who Warmed My Heart.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday Jean and I took in a high school basketball game. As a former basketball coach, I love watching high school games, and I confess how much I miss the excitement that comes from coaching and influencing young men through coaching. One of our church members was playing on one of the teams. Mac Colantino is small in stature, but a wonderfully gifted performer who I enjoyed watching play.  And the quality that most impressed me about him was not his ability as a point guard to play and control the tempo of the game, but the support and encouragement he showed his teamsters when he was on the sidelines. 

I thought to myself I bet he is the most popular player on his team, for any time he was not on the floor, he was standing up and providing encouragement to his teammates. As a substituted player walked off the court, there was Mac, ready to be the first to give his teammate an encouraging handshake or pat on the back. Every coach loves to have a player like Mac on his team, for players who double as players and cheerleaders are doubly valuable.

I predict that young Mac is not only going to be a success on the basketball court, but off the floor as well, for possessing the heart of an encourager, he will never be without a job for every leader wants to add encouragers to his/her team.

Who are you most attracted to when someone walks into a room? Is it the person who figuratively says, “Here I am," or who says, “There you are?"

Mac will always be the center of attention because he is a “There you are” kind of guy. Everyone loves to be around a person like that. Those kinds of encouragers are like oxygen to the soul, and who doesn’t need that kind of “oxygen?"

As believers we should all be practicing the 101% Principle-finding the 1 percent you can affirm in someone and giving it 100 percent of your effort and attention (From A Leader's Heart, John Maxwell, p. 21).

Proverbs 16:24 reminds us "That pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

Let's be the wind beneath someone's wings today and not the anchor in their boat."

Coaches, teachers, pastors, parents, employees or employers, let's be like young Mac and participate in a spiritual encouragement scavenger hunt. Let's all look for that someone who might need a little added oxygen for their soul. And if you take me up on the challenge, would you do me a favor and let me know how your hunt turned out?

And remember, " A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver,"(Proverbs 25:11) and who doesn't like gold or silver?

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom