🏆 Building Leaders in 2025

💭 ONE THOUGHT
10 Ways to Develop Leaders in 2025 

The challenges of leadership in 2025 are different.

• Players are more connected but feel less connected.

• Trust is harder to earn and quicker to lose.

• Communication is everywhere, yet it’s rarely effective.

As coaches and leaders, we can’t keep doing what worked a decade ago.

Developing leaders in 2025 requires new strategies, a deeper focus on connection, and tools that work in today’s environment.

This is why I created the Team Leader OS.

Here are 10 ways to develop the leaders your team needs to succeed.

1. Teach Real Communication: Social media, texting, and group chats aren’t leadership. Teach players how to communicate face-to-face:

   • Eye contact.

   • Clear, honest feedback.

   • Listening to understand, not to respond.

2. Model Leadership Daily: Leaders are watching you. Every word, action, and decision matters. Show them how to lead:

   • Be accountable.

   • Admit mistakes.

   • Lead with consistency and respect.

3. Assign Leadership Roles: Not everyone leads the same way. Give players specific roles:

   • The energy guy.

   • The encourager.

   • The communicator.

   Leadership is a collective effort - let players step up in their own ways. Collective Leadership is one of the key pillars in the Team Leader OS.

4. Hold Leadership Meetings: Set time aside to meet with your captains and potential leaders. Help them:

   • Work through challenges.

   • Understand their teammates better.

   • Build their confidence as leaders.

5. Focus on Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Leaders need EQ just as much as IQ. Teach players how to:

   • Recognize emotions in themselves and others.

   • Stay composed under pressure.

   • Respond, not react.

6. Let Them Solve Problems: Stop fixing everything. Give your leaders opportunities to figure it out:

   • During practice huddles.

   • In team disagreements.

   • In moments of adversity.

   Ownership builds leadership.

7. Challenge Their Comfort Zones: Growth doesn’t happen in comfort. Push your leaders:

   • Ask them to speak in front of the team.

   • Have them lead drills or warm-ups.

   • Encourage them to mentor younger players.

8. Teach Accountability: Leaders don’t point fingers - they take responsibility.

   • Hold them accountable for their actions.

   • Teach them how to hold teammates accountable without tearing them down.

   Accountability builds trust.

9. Share Leadership Stories Leaders need inspiration. Share stories from great leaders:

   • Tom Brady’s preparation.

   • Sue Bird’s communication.

   • Tim Duncan’s humility.

   Stories make leadership real and relatable.

10. Celebrate Leadership Moments Leadership can feel thankless. Acknowledge the little things:

    • A player who lifts up a teammate.

    • Someone who leads by example in tough moments.

    • Players who step into roles they aren’t comfortable in.

    What gets celebrated gets repeated.

Closing Thought:

Developing leaders in 2025 isn’t just about picking captains.

It’s about creating a culture where leadership is taught, modeled, and celebrated every day.

Ask yourself this week: What am I doing to grow the leaders my team needs? 

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TEAM LEADER OS
Build the Leaders Your Teams Needs to WIN!

What is included?

• 20 Lesson Video-Based Leadership Training Course for Athletes

• 72 Page Leadership Handbook (Traning Manual, Player Workbook, and Growth Plan)

• Coach the Coaches Leadership Course Included (5 Modules, 31 Lessons, and 140+ Minutes of Video)

• 30+ Leadership Resources for Coaches to Use with their Team.

• 20 BONUS Leadership Lessons Based on Videos from College and Professional Athletes and Coaches.

Don’t wait and wish for your team leaders each season → develop them with the Team Leader OS. Save 25% for a Limited Time!

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Bundles:

• The OS Bundle - Save $ when you get the Team Leader OS and Better Coach OS.

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Courses, Curriculum, and More:

• Team Leader OS - Develop your team leaders year after year.

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• Culture Wins Curriculum - Growing curriculum to use with a ‘Captain’s Council’ concept in your school.

• Culture WINS Mini-Course - A 37-minute Culture WINS Course for coaches.

• Pre-Season Playbook - 33 pages to prepare for your season.

• Off-Season Playbook - The season’s done, but the work is not.

Books:

• Culture Wins - 50 ways to build a winning culture.

• Culture Wins 2 - 50 MORE ways to build a winning culture.

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Contact Me: Greg Berge, [email protected]