Ubuntu in sports leadership and life

[Music]

let me take you back

to april 2020. we in the uk were in the

midst of our first national lockdown

and like many of i’m sure i resorted a

fair amount of my time

to netflix personally i was really into

watching documentaries

and i happened to be watching one to do

with sports coaches

the episode i was watching one day

highlighted mba and former boston

celtics coach doc rivers

and in 2008 rivers won the celtics their

first nba championship in over 20 years

after the film presents a highlighter of

the feats they achieved in their

transfer year

the interview asks rivers a simple

question

how did you win rivers replies

ubuntu the interview was confused

and asks rivers to repeat and r2 was a

bit perplexed

but rivers only says ubuntu

the film then cut to his former players

being asked the same question

and can you guess what they replied

ubuntu

now sitting there in front of my tv

screen you’re thinking wow i need to get

my hands on this incredible protein

supplement

right away i hopped into the internet

and searched ubuntu food supplement

your search of wound through food

supplements did not come up with any

results

okay fine no problem i searched the

bullet on its own

and to my surprise i discovered there

was a south african philosophy

after doing more research on ubuntu i

stumbled across books

videos and lectures and looking back the

day i found ubuntu

was the day my life changed for the

better

today i want to focus on how we can

apply ubuntu with sports and myself

but ultimately how we can embody the

essence of ubuntu

in life together

first i need to explain what ubuntu is

you’re probably sitting there thinking

it’s still a protein supplement

ubuntu is a zosa word from south africa

that simply means

i am only because you are or i am

because we are

however the concept of ubuntu is found

in almost all africa bounty languages

the philosophy centers itself around the

idea of respect for all human beings

and looking to the person next to you in

their eyes and acknowledging their

humanity

ubuntu is more than a word it’s a way of

life but it can be summarized with some

key concepts

such as unity dignity acknowledging

reality

hope forgiveness celebration of

diversity

and empathy

now i love sports sports and music are

the bedrock of my life

and i’m a fan of almost all sports

except qriket is boring

but the two i engage most in are boxing

and football

to say ubuntu has helped me with sports

would be an understatement

after seeing how united the boston

celtics were in their championship year

how they went through and felt

everything together i knew if ubuntu was

applied to more teams

then more greatness could be achieved

through consistency

i am only because you are these teams

are not built up of groups of

individuals attempting to outshine one

another

but rather a collective unit striving

towards their goals pushing their limits

and seeking success

together it really is amazing what can

be

achieved when teams come together in

unison and i’m sure many of you would be

able to name a number of teams with

great chemistry and drive for success

for instance the arsenal principals who

went the whole season unbeaten

a team we definitely won’t forget

leicester city from just surviving

relegation to english champions

and as average as their season has been

one cannot overlook liverpool

from losing the champions league to

winning in the next year but in that

same year losing the premier league

to winning in the next year everyone on

that team

the players the staff the coaches were

on the collective mission to reclaim

these trophies

even if it did take them 30 years

chelsea found by the way

surprisingly however it was individual

sports where ubuntu guided me the most

now i don’t know if any of you have ever

walked into a boxing gym but walking

into one for the first time second time

even the 50th time

is well no walk in the park as you can

imagine there’s a lot of

anger aggressive aggression attitude

expressed by the people in a boxing gym

the energy is electric but for me at

least can cause some anxiety

for a long time even though i’ll not be

fighting any of those guys in actual

bouts

i’ve used everyone who walked into that

gym as an enemy and there was one guy in

particular

same age as me who took a disliking to

me and in return i did the same

every session we sparred and every

session we left a piece of ourselves in

that ring

you’ve seen the theater in manila but

have you seen the dungeon in south

london

there’s no escape when you get into that

ring

eventually i think we both came to the

realization that this was affecting our

progress

throwing hay makers lack of technique

lack of discipline

but i wasn’t ready to put my practice

pride aside i was ready to go to war

but one session we sparred it was a

little different

this guy came out as a boxer with class

elegance grace

and it forced me to change my usual

punch of style and i’m better off

because of it

don’t get me wrong still into war but

always run a strategy rather than who’s

got the biggest guns

but what i distinctly remember causing

my paradigm shift was what he did

after the session after he sparred i had

a lot of blood gushing from my nose

as i’m walking to the toilet to clean

myself i see him walk out with some

towels

some tissues and some water he offers

them to me

take him to a seat and says that was the

best spot i’ve had in the world

we’re gonna make each other better this

is ubuntu

i am only because you are

after this experience and doing more

reading on ubuntu walking into the

boxing gym became

less daunting and more loving and

walking into your home with your family

your community

i accepted with all on our own

individual missions but through

interdependence

we can reach our goals a lot quicker and

be happier when we

or others reach them there’s an african

proverb that states

if you want to go quickly go alone if

you want to go far

go together

more often than not in sports and life

the captain is not the leader

we tend to associate the captain as the

person who wears the armband

and tend to neglect the rest of the team

as if their voice is less important

but this is so far from the truth

a captain is a person who can

effectively carry out tasks required in

the field of work

a leader is someone who influences

people in all aspects of life

sometimes the captain is also the leader

but ubuntu teaches us we can all be

leaders

not me but we

first and foremost this means being the

leader of your own life not on a selfish

way that many self-help philosophies may

preach

but in a way that demonstrates you have

respect for others thus you have respect

for yourself

because the better you are the better i

will be

born to is not a matter of respecting

yourself first and other second

instead looking within to show others

and ourselves respect at the same time

ultimately it’s about being proactive

and responding to any given situation

with dignity

in return this stimulates

interdependence because being the leader

of your own life

encourages others to be the leader of

theirs

we are all leaders acknowledging all of

our humanities

brings us one step closer to realizing

it

ubuntu is so much more than sports

though while ubuntu can bring about

great leads in addressing them

it’s in personal life and collective

struggle while i feel its spirit is most

needed

and valued

ubuntu teaches us it’s not good to sit

with resentment

and that forgiveness is key because not

only does it bring

a clarity of mind to the person who’s

angered it brings clarity of mind

to all of our lives when nelson mandela

was asked

who you wish to invite to his

presidential inauguration dinner

he insisted his former jail on robben

island crystal brown was invited

by then mandela and bran’s friendship

became public knowledge

and allowed other people in south africa

to reconsider

whether they were able to forgive

perpetrators of harm in their own lives

one man’s journey to one man’s

forgiveness made the rest of the

nation’s journey to unity

a lot easier maya angelou once described

bitterness it’s like a cancer that eats

upon the host

and while our emotions towards someone

may be justified ubuntu asks us

what happens to our soul if we choose

not to forgive

the reasons the reason why leaders like

mandela martin luther king jr

mahatma gandhi archbishop desmond tutu

were so effective in their rebellions

and spreading their message across the

world was that they preached forgiveness

however not because their persecutors

were worthy of it

but rather so they can put their

self-righteousness and pride aside

and lead collective movements to help

with the betterment of society

their messages transcended their times

and to this day give us hope on looking

towards the future

who forgives wins a simple african

proverb

the one that only the strong can follow

to say ubuntu has helped me with life

would be a huge understatement

the philosophy has humbled me healed me

and made me realize i don’t need a

protein supplement to excel at sports

every day i wake up i want to embody

ubuntu feel what i

am because we are means and attempt to

help my fellow human beings

ubuntu is not an exclusive philosophy is

something i passionately believe

we can all strive towards even i a

flawed individual

sometimes arrogant sometimes resentful

sometimes scared

had my soul touched by this beautiful

philosophy

and here i am talking to you about my

journey to becoming both a better

listener

and a leader a better learner and a

teacher

as i said we can all be leaders and if

you ever doubt yourself

let me leave you with one last african

proverb

whenever you think you are too small to

make a difference

try to fall asleep with a mosquito in

the room

thank you

[Music]

you