Ray Lewis Leadership Essay

A attraction is a soul who has the king to elapse or com gentlemand an entire group of population, a attracter is some unmatchable who is followed by separate people. Being a attractor is a wonderful privilege, it is something that is non unavoidably pop removeed to an individual nor is it something that prat be bought, leadership is something that is realize. This entire course we pee been look outing rough and discussing mixed characteristics of hard-hitting leaders. Some of those characteristics included confidence, charisma, cour time, heart and soul, perseverance, and among more others. This writing bequeath commission primarily on peerless individual who exemplifies these traits and m any(prenominal) other characteristics which contributes considerablely to his victor as a leader. The person that has been selected for the basis of this paper is shaft Lewis, a twelve year pro-bowl selection linebacker from the Baltimore Ravens.The ten cogency I invit e chosen Lewis for this paper is because of the qualities he has as a leader non neertheless on the performing field, but send off of it as head. He is what I believe to be the beaver and close motivational and eagernessal shimmerer in the subject footb any back up League to daytime, possibly even all sports. The object of this paper is to elaborate on Lewis characteristics and append an explanation of his leadership name and w here(predicate)fore they ar effective.This paper lead begin by giving an in depth analysis of ray. later the analysis it will and thence go along into discussing atomic offspring 75s styles of leadership. by and by talking ab place Lewis styles it will then begin hand pop out through with(predicate) all his characteristics as a leader and what makes him stand out as a leader, in other voice communication, I will explain why calamus Lewis is such a powerful and effective leader and the source he stands out to people other than his presidency. radio beam Lewis is a overlord football fermenter who is currently in his 17th season p arrangeing for the Baltimore Ravens in the National football game League. Lewis, born(p) on May fifteenth 1975, ranks him amongst whiz of the oldest current players in the league. Even at age xxxvii Lewis manages to motionlessness be iodine of the most dominant forces in the endorse today even while competing with and once mo alight athletes who atomic number 18 nearly half of his age. veteran(a) but experienced, Lewis still has much to offer his aggroup up regardless of his age. statistically Lewis still remains up near the top of the sway. In 17 seasons Lewis has won sevenfold individual awards as healthful as police squad awards during his quantify in the NFL. Lewis has been selected to thirteen pro-bowl appearances in his seventeen year elevator career. fundamentally the pro-bowl is a nation wide vote on what players go to an all-star spunky, the players who a re selected are deemed the trump out at their position during that year. Lewis has also been selected as the outperform(p) antitank player in football in two of those seasons, which earned him the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2000 and 2003. In 2000, the Baltimore Ravens lead by Lewis were underdogs in the biggest game of the year, the Superbowl. The Baltimore Ravens won that game 34-7 over the tender York Giants to clinch the perfect end to their season. Lewis became simply the second linebacker to inveigle the MVP award for his performance in that game.Adding to his collection of individual awards was the last award of National champions after winning the Superbowl. Since 1996 Lewis has started 228 regular season games and 17 playoff games. In those 228 games he has recorded 2,061 tackles, 41 sacks ( cartridge clips tackled the Quarterback), 31 interceptions, and 3 defensive touch exhausts. These numbers are a clear representative of how dominant pecker can be on the field as well as what a long and powerful career he has had thus far. not only do these numbers say that he has had a spacious career, but it shows that Lewis has credibility behind e precisething he says on and off the field. out front incurting into the leadership styles of tool Lewis, I expect to provide a historical background of him in target to give a drawing idea of scapes childhood and where he came from. peter Anthony Lewis was born on May 15th 1975 in Bartow, which is a small urban center in Central Florida. His obtain Sunseria Smith, had prick at a very early age of 15. His vex walked out on both re and his mother while they were in the hospital without his bracing born indulge even having a name. The basic while he ever dictum his suffer face to face was when Ray was save shy of a year old. The abandoning of Ray by his father played a frightful role and had a large impact on his life as the time went by. He believes his fathers absence in his li fe real helped influence him as a man and do him the character that he is today. growing up, Ray witnessed many things in life that effected him individually in a way that would alter the path of his life. As the years went on, Ray still without a father, began to play sports as a kid. He constitute his calling in football when he was told by multiple coaches that he had a natural talent and was extremely gifted. The problem was that Ray had no nonpareil to tell at home.His mother was incessantly operative, she maintained collar jobs to keep the house over their head and food on the table. any time he did something great in life his father was neer in that location. When he graduated from highschool, his father was still not in that location. When he accredited a scholarship to Miami University in the spring of 1993, his father yet again palled to show his son support. The reason this is important and relevant to Rays characteristics of a smashing quality leader is be cause it is the spark behind his motivation.I was pissed off was the answer Lewis gave the interviewer when asked how he felt slightly his speckle with his father (E60. Ray Lewis, 2012). He explained how his fathers absence in his childhood wild him, and confused him. He often wondered how someone could create life and serious lead it behind like zero ever happened. The hurting that Ray was receiving from all the at sea promises, lack of time spent with his father, and universe the only man in the house growing up was all sa fleckine into a domineering cypher for him. The reason that his father is a commonplace topic thus far is because of how he created the man that Ray Lewis is found on the fact he left him alone. I saturnine pain into my friend. The only ever way to defeat pain, is to recognize that pain exists.Thats the only ever way you will beat pain. Because pain come abouts in every second of our lives (A football spiritedness Ray Lewis, 2011). What he mean t by turning pain into his friend was that he would use that pain that his father bestowed upon him to motivate and drive himself every day by working out. sometimes I would do pushups and situps until I cried because I cherished to beat him so bad I wouldnt fit, I promised myself I would neer stop (A Football Life Ray Lewis, 2011).Much of Rays success in training came from the drive he had from the pain he suffered. When he was in highschool one of his coaches handed him a yearbook and told him to turn to the sports page. On that page was a picture of Rays father Ernie. The attached page had a list of records for every sport, in the number one slot for record holders was Rays fathers name. He make a promise to himself that he wouldnt stop training, he would neer give up no matter what, and he would continue to charge up through the pain until his fathers name was gone off of those records. Every time he took over a record, he crossed his fathers name off of the record list.Th e past of Ray Lewis is the reason for why he is the leader that he is today. Growing up with a exclusive mother, Ray witnessed his mother in many broken relationships. As a child, there were multiple occasions where Ray saw his mother with bruised arms, black eyes, cut up faces and other signs of home(prenominal) abuse from failed relationship. Another motivation he had for working so hard was to make original that No man, ever, ever tack to nailher his hands on my mother again or family again (A Football Life Ray Lewis, 2011).This brainiac Ray had would continue on for the rest of his life. He developed the skills necessary for fulfilling the leadership role at a very early age. All of this makes it very easy to go through as to why Ray Lewis has developed the characteristics necessary for being an independent, trustworthy, never going to quit, hard working, and passionate individual. I could go on and on about characteristics, virtue, and other good qualities Ray possesses and we will eventually charm there. The conterminous part of this paper is going to examine Ray in the upstart era, and look at his leadership styles and why they are so effective as well as examine the possibilities as to why he is so well respected as a leader.Im a natural born leader Ray admits, he always re sound judgments people that if they follow him he will use up them to greatness (Americas Game 2000 Baltimore Ravens). This section will focus primarily on leadership, and why Ray is a great example of exemplary leadership and what styles he uses for leading his organization. The first style of Ray that will be mentioned is his mogul to lead by example. This type of leadership according to the EIL module is considered imitate the way which essentially means paving the path for better halfs and/or the organization by leading by example.In the National Football League players are considered the best of the best at what they do, being positive is hardly an issue, but b eing the best does not necessarily mean that they work or play like they are the best. basically what I mean is that it is very easy for people who are good at something to not think that they ask to continue working to get better. Yet it is very hard to not give a degree centigrade percent at something when the entire atmosphere of the organization is doing the same thing.However, when there is that one person who is eer trying to outwork everyone and never settles for anything less than a hundred percent it is very difficult for the entirety of the police squad and/or organization to continue slacking or not giving it their best effort. This type of leader forces to people to want to do well by consistently working to the best of their abilities and never quitting. When talking about Lewis and his ability to lead it is important to look at how he handles situations of ruin. Every person, team, and organization has at one point in their existence faced a matter of adversity o r been in some situation where they had to come up their way out of a struggle.The year 2000, marked a major transition in Ray Lewis life. That year Ray was facing adversity as an individual for he was accused of murder after his employment in a bar fight one Saturday night (Beyond the halo 2004). The charges were dropped and Ray was considered wrongfully accused, however, even though proven innocent this still did not help his image in any way, shape or form. Those who knew Ray closest knew he was not about violence and never believed it was true. That year the Ravens were playing an away game against the Tennessee Titans. Ray Lewis was being introduced and as he was coming through the tunnel the fans were yelling vulgar, offensive, and racist comments towards him.They were cheering You black son of a bitch and other racial slurs towards Lewis. His team mate Trent Dilfer noted that the way Lewis reacted to that was amazing, he did not act out of anger or say anything back. He s imply proved to his team that no matter what someone says to you you always have to move on and never stop fighting. Lewis did estimable that, he used what these fans were yelling at him and turned it into positive energy, leading the Ravens to a victory over the Titans that game (Americas Game 2000 Baltimore Ravens).The team had his back, and once they saw how Lewis was transitioning the negativity into a positive they followed his lead. Lewis was known for making a claim and backing it up. He would constantly repeat himself about how he is going to win this game for his team, as long as they follow his lead and have his back because he will always have theirs. He would never allow himself to fail on the field, he would back up all of his words with actions and that made him an effective individual that people could throw off their trust in. He did just that, in 2000 he led the league with 137 recorded tackles, 3 interceptions, and 3 sacks (LLC 2000).The importance of leading by example goes hand in hand with the individuals ability to be an influential, motivation, and inspirational one as well. This leadership style is also known as encouraging the heart. This style of leadership is actually what Lewis is most known for, the way he can inspire his spouses with words of wisdom and words of truth. Lewis can capture the minds of many of his team by simply talking to them. He enables people to want to do well and gives them a whole new confidence that mentally prepares them for something important. Anytime that Lewis felt his team was becoming shy of hope, and losing faith, he would be the one to get them back up on their feet and make them believe nothing is impossible.Before every game Ray gathers his mates together to provide them with mental energy. Usually he begins by telling them that they should never settle for anything less than their best. He always reminds them why they are where they are today, and how they need to take advantage of every oppor tunity that appears. He constantly reminds them that he will be there for them when they are in a moment of despair. Any time they are feeling like they cannot move on they will be reignited with him giving it his all. I am not telling you something for the benefit of myself, I am telling you something for the benefit of us (Americas Game 2000 Baltimore Ravens).The intriguing thing about Lewis is that he understands when it is time to talk, and when it is time no listen. As credible of a player he is, Lewis still respects every time his coaches or players have something to say. The most surprising things I have discovered about Ray upon first meeting him was how quiet he really is. Lewis rarely point-blanks his mouth and is normally found in the background quietly watching and observing everything that goes on in a meeting. Wisely, Lewis is very selective about when he chooses to make a vocal message. But when he does, everyone listens (Riddle, 2012). Those times that he chooses t o open his mouth he delivers powerful messages that force people to believe in something greater than what they think they see.The chase passage is a speech abandoned by Ray Lewis to his team and coaches in the hotel a night originally their AFC championship game We have been here before, we done been here 3 years in a row N we let this time off the hook. Make sure that you own it tonight and do not let them take you away from this moment man Cuz this is all we got. Thats what yall dont realize most of the time, that we gonna get this again. We gonna get this again, the car runs too fast. Thats why we got to savour these moments cuz of right now. I couldnt understand that when I was 24 and 25. Thats why God had to shut away me so I could see how great my blessing was that he gave me. So I had to come from a jail being in position, to then step onto a Superbowl podium man.I dont do this for me, I just watch enough film so that I can put myself in position to make my defence the b est damn defence in football. Thats why I come back every year. We are not letting this team get out of here this time. Thats what we here for, a W And when we get off the bus tomorrow, we get off it with a blow, a swagger that says.. Done Lewis was known for his we not me mentality that inspired many people to want to play with him, for him, and for the team. A distinct story stood out about this man. It was a the beginning of a new season, Lewis and the Ravens were about to take the field. patiently waiting in their locker room stalls, nervous and anxious, all of these players have one goal in mind, to win the game.All of a sudden, just minutes before it was time. Lewis stands up, and pulls out a bottle of what looks to be muscularity reliever of some sort. He begins to go up to every single person in that locker room. One by one he dabs his finger in this bottle, and briefly touches for each one individual on the head. As he is doing so he is whispering something polar to ea ch of his teammates. What he is doing is essentially blessing all of his teammates. He is praying for their guard duty and courage. It was as if he injected every man in that locker room with synthesized courage (Riddle, 2012). This highly motivated his team, a new found inspiration was giving to his teammates that night.This event touched many of Lewis teammates in many different ways. They all believed that they were one unit, one team, one family, because they had a father and mentor that they knew would always keep them safe. Lewis is well known for encouraging the hearts of other players, making them feel resourceful of succeeding. He is especially effective when the morale of the team is at a low because he feeds off of his players emotions, he understands how to motivate his teammates both mentally and physically.As motivation as Ray Lewis is the list of qualities and styles does not end at motivational. One of the most stand out styles and characteristics of an individual leader is his or her ability to inspire a team based on a vision. This is one style that Lewis takes to heart and is exceptionally great at doing. He has the ability to inspire a team based off a shared vision, which is his vision that inspires the rest of the organization. Ray Lewis is know for his passion for the game, and an even bigger passion for being the best possible person he can be as a man of God. This mentality also influences how he thinks as an athlete. Recently, he was asked to get in in an interview with hall of fame player Deion Sanders during the playoffs. Ray asked them if they could hold off until next week insinuating that his team will win the upcoming game and move on to the next round of the playoffs.Some call it cockiness, I call it confidence the two chuckled over Rays remarks because of how confident he was in his team to be successful. Rays mentality was simple, he claimed that he was never in it to fail. See Im not going to lose, Im not in it to lose. T hats just a fact. I never strap up my helmet to go lose. And honestly, thats a vision. And thats the thing, get everybody seeing that same vision.. and if you do, man thats rough vanquish a man with a vision, beating a man who sees something (Beyond the Glory 2004). This mentality Ray had stated would go on much further than just words that he thought of on the spot.He preaches to his team about being one unit, thinking a like, having the same mind set day in and day out, because if that is the case then they truly will be unstoppable. He preaches about being one heart beat, one mind and that essentially means that they live and die as one, there is no individuals. Essentially, if one person makes a mistake everyone is accountable, and this went for off the field situations as well as on the field decisions as well. Lewis inspired his team to be smart, play with each other, and especially most importantly learn to love each other. Lewis said that if you are not playing for each oth er than you will never amount to anything great.It is more beneficial to play selfless than to play selfishly. Reason being is because his whole vision is that the only path to success, is the one that we take together. There is no other way. If we all believe in the same thing and have the same vision, then we will truly be powerful, and no one can take that away from us. (A Football Life Ray Lewis 2011). In 2011, Ray suffered a broken toe injury that sidelined him for several weeks.Instead of acting to-do like how most athletes act, he instead used the adversity and turned it into a positive for his teammates.Adversity defines true character. If one of us is hurting, the other part gotta pick it up This is the message he told his team the following game while he was talking to them before their game. He emphasizes that having a team believe in the same goal will at last advance a program and organization to new heights, in order to be successful all must be on venire when makin g the right choices for accomplishing a goal.Those types of leadership mentioned earlier in this paper actually compliment the next style which is challenging the process. This style basically means never settling for anything. Always going after target. When one goal is accomplished, another one is added to the board. Lewis is a firm believer that there is only one way, and that is up. And there will continue to only be one up until he stops playing the game when he retires. After Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens won the championship in 2000, Lewis was talking about it is great to celebrate, but other teams are already training to take spile the Baltimore Ravens next year, and their goal is be right there at their very moment again (Americas Game 2000 Baltimore Ravens).Even in his workouts it is unornamented that he continues to push himself passed his limits because settling for mediocre and at a authentic level is not what makes an individual great. Growing up, every accomplishm ent Ray ever had he would always tell himself that it isnt enough. He wanted more, and he would continue to make new goals after every one was accomplished. This mentality would benefit his career as a professional.He continuously emphasizes the importance of hard work, and will. The will to keep going when everything is good can often be more difficult then when everything is bad. When something is going well you tend to think you are doing alright and do not need to keep striving for more, Lewis understands that if this is the case then he will never be truly as great as he could be if he believes that is true.A question that often rises when talking about Ray Lewis is where does all this energy and motivation come from? What is he like after-school(prenominal) the game of football? Well, as was mentioned earlier Lewis has come from a broken home, fatherless, with a mother who was full time working two different jobs. His childhood is what fueled him to be great. Especially with situations such as domestic violence that Ray saw a very young age it is no question where his motivation to be a good person comes from.When his father left him he could not grasp an understanding as to why a father would bail like that on his new born baby. Why cant a daddy be a daddy to a child who had no choice to be here today, why would someone leave that child. (A Football Life Ray Lewis 2011). This was the reason why he not having a dad developed Rays mindset. I didnt know who to call daddy, he worked because of that, he used to cry during workouts because of that mindset that, pain is nothing.Ray Lewis today has cardinal children of his own 4 kings, and two queens, and I have never had a greater push in my life than to see my children grin. ( A Football Life Ray Lewis 2011). This along side many of the people he met later in life would go on to be a reason why he is the man that he is today. Ray got affect with an individual who was suffering from a disease that was life threatening.Bill descant was Lewis biggest fan, an elderly man who promise Ray he would not leave this earth until they won another championship. Ray says that he owes Bill his life. He taught him a valuable lesson on life, which contributed much to his reasoning as a leader and how to act. Bill Warble had taught him what to complain about, what not to complain about, what not to be sad about, what to be glad, sad, mad and happy about. (A Football Life Ray Lewis 2011). This changed his perspective on life for the better as Lewis began to see things in his own life a lot clearer.Ray Lewis will go down in history as one of the sterling(prenominal) linebackers to ever play in the National Football League, along with that claim he will also go down as one of the best leaders on any sports team as well. For all who have played with him, got a fall out to meet him, knew him outside of the game, all of those people knew the real Ray Lewis and what he was capable of doing. He was truly an inspiration and it was a pleasure to play along side Ray (Riddle, 2011). Whether the team wins or loses, Ray is never taking credit or placing the blame on anyone. He will forever live by his one heart beat, one mind mentality and will forever impact the lives of those who got a get to play along side him.After their AFC championship difference in 2011 Ray was getting interviewed by reporters about what had happened. He got flip with the reporters for hinting towards the exit being solely on one player.What you gonna do put that loss on two men? Oh, Evans should have caught the ball, oh Billy should have made the kick. Well, maybe I should have made that tackle in the third quarter. So anything could cost you, so there is no one person that you could ever put blame on. We came here as a team, we locked and loaded as a team, lets make sure we leave as a team. (A Football Life Ray Lewis 2011).He went on after the game to tell his teammates in prayer that they did what they had to do, that next year they had to make sure they finished. He told his team it is no ones shift key but their team combined effort. No one person gets the blame. He kept the morale as high up as he could in order to keep his team motivated for the following season, that this loss should burn into their memories for next year. Use it as fuel, turn that negative energy into something useful. Lets understand ourselves as men, and make somebody smile when we walk out of here (A Football Life Ray Lewis 2011). This is Ray Lewis, his impact and his legacy.We get one opportunity in life, one chance at life to do whatever youre going to do, and lay your foundation and make whatever mark youre going to make. any(prenominal) legacy youre going to leave, leave your legacy Ray LewisSourcesSabol, Ed. 2000. Ravens itinerary to the Superbowl (Documentary). NFL Films. United States. Sabol, Ed. 2011. A Football Life. Ray Lewis (Documentary). NFL Films. United States. Farrey, T. Nichols, R. Schaap, J. Smith, S. 2012. E60 Ray Lewis (Interview). ESPN. United States. N.A. 2004. Beyond the Glory. Ray Lewis Season 4, ep. 9. (Documentary). United States. Riddle, Ryan. prideful 7th 2012. Bleacher Report (Article). Web. December 4th 2012.