John O'Sullivan | Author, Coach, & Speaker | "Stop treating leadership as a character trait and start treating it as a skill."

John O’Sullivan is a former collegiate and professional soccer player, longtime coach, author, speaker, and the founder of the Changing the Game Project—an organization dedicated to creating better experiences for athletes by transforming the way we coach, lead, and develop people through sport.John is also the host of the Way of Champions Podcast, where he and Dr. Jerry Lynch have had nearly 500 conversations with some of the world’s top coaches, leaders, researchers, and performers. He is the author of several books on coaching, culture, and athlete development, including Changing the Game, Every Moment Matters, and The Champion Teammate.His newest book, co-authored with Jerry Lynch, is Captain: The Athlete’s Guide to Being an Exceptional Team Leader.In this conversation, John and I explore why leadership should be treated as a skill that can be taught and developed, what exceptional captains do differently, and how coaches can create more opportunities for athletes to actually practice leadership. We also discuss the difference between being liked and respected, how to prepare athletes for difficult conversations, why great leaders sometimes lead from behind, and the two qualities John has seen consistently show up across hundreds of conversations with elite coaches.Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:[6:00] — Would You Want to Play for You?[8:06] — Leadership Is a Skill, Not a Character Trait[11:45] — Where Have All the Leaders Gone?[15:10] — You Are Always Leading[20:41] — The Qualities of Exceptional Captains[24:17] — Leadership is a Way of Being[29:40] — Great Leaders Are Thermostats[37:30] — Preparing Athletes for the Challenges of Leadership[40:30] — Being Liked Vs. Respected[46:28] — Who Are People Gravitating Toward in Your Culture?[52:36] — You Can't Develop Leaders Without Giving Them The Reps[56:37] — Two Common Traits of Great Coaches[59:27] — Captain + Leadership Development CurriculumLearn More About John O'Sullivan:Purchase John's new book Captain hereExplore The Changing the Game Project hereLearn More About Zach:Zach's Email -- [email protected] a seat at the Game Changer's Advantage Event on Sept. 4th here.Explore 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.