Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of all time. The Argentinian is a World Cup Champion and has accomplished just about everything a soccer player can accomplish. Messi has won a record seven player of the year awards and a record six leading goal scorer awards. Oh, and as a 21st century measure of his status, he happens to have 483 million Instagram followers.
It was quite a surprise this summer when Messi decided to move to the United States to join Inter Miami of Major League Soccer (MLS). It was an even bigger surprise that Inter Miami, who had not recorded a winning season in MLS, began winning immediately upon Messi’s arrival. In their first games with Messi, Miami participated in the Leagues Cup and, amazingly, won the championship.
Despite Lionel Messi’s accomplishments and his status as the best player in the world, his humility is what makes him a great leader. Just prior to the Leagues Cup trophy ceremony, following Miami’s victory, Messi gave his captain’s armband to DeAndre Yedlin, the Miami player who had captained the team before Messi’s arrival. Although Yedlin tried to deny the armband, Messi insisted that he take it and Messi put the armband on him. Messi and Yedlin then lifted the trophy together. Messi was making sure Yedlin was recognized and that his leadership of the team prior to Messi joining was valued and appreciated.
As leaders, it is important that we maintain this same type of humility. As we rise up the ranks and take on more significant leadership roles, we will be told by others how special we are and we may begin to think we are better than others. If this happens, it will be more difficult for us to build the relationships with our team members that are so important for our organizations to succeed. So work on maintaining your humility by thinking about Lionel Messi. If the best player in the world can humble himself for the good of the team, so can we!
Thanks for reading,
Jim
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Jim Earle 