3 leadership lessons that NCAA Tournament teaches us

3 leadership lessons that March Madness teaches us

Every year, the March Madness takes the whole country by storm, offering a great variety of exciting games between a lot of teams. Students, teachers, office workers, everyone come under the spell of the March Madness. Even punters regard this as a betting paradise and never miss the great opportunities that this league offers. You can learn more about sportsbooks if you want to add a little spice to your sporting experience. 

1- Underdogs can shine

The NCAA March Madness is full of underdog stories. Perhaps the most remarkable underdog story is of NC State who defeated formidable teams like Virginia and Houston on their way to the 1983 national championship victory. Villanova performed a similar feat by defeating Georgetown in the 1985 national championship final. And most recently, Loyola Chicago and Florida Gulf Coast greatly exceeded their tournament expectations. During this tournament, an underdog often emerges and amazes everyone with their remarkable performances.

Similar to the NCAA March Madness, successful leaders were also labeled as underdogs at one point in their life. However, they didn't remain in that role for long and worked hard to become the most successful people in the world.

Steven Spielberg, one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era, applied to film school thrice but was rejected each time. Likewise, a newspaper fired Walt Disney because they thought he wasn't creative enough. Life is full of such great examples who started as an underdog but quickly became the top dog.

2- Be prepared for the unexpected

You will find the early picks easy when filling out the brackets for the March Madness tournament. You can almost be sure that a number one seed will prevail against a number sixteen. However, you will almost always be greeted with one or two unexpected results. How would that affect your bracket?

There is a key leadership lesson here. Unexpected things can happen in life and you have to be prepared for it. All the good teams prepare very hard for their big matches, therefore you should prepare as well. However, things will not always go your own way even if you have prepared a great deal. So keep yourself always mentally prepared for the unexpected and shocking things in life. Learn the virtues of flexibility and adaptability.

3- Master the fundamentals

Not any team can make it to the March Madness based on luck or chance alone. All these teams show strong commitment and dedication and work for years to make it this far. But most importantly, they master the fundamentals of the game through consistent practice and effort. Their rigorous preparation is the reason that they can produce those moves in a moment of need on some of the biggest occasions.

Leaders in any field of life work just as hard on the fundamentals as these athletes do. They always live by the tenets of honesty, hard work, and dedication. They muster all their energies to master the fundamentals of their field, and that's why they become so successful.