Sidney Crosby enters his 22nd season in the NHL as arguably the best hockey player of his generation. He has won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two Conn Smythe Trophies, and multiple Hart and Art Ross trophies.
With a resume as accomplished as Crosby’s, you might be surprised to learn that one of the things that has made him such a popular leader with his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates is the banana bread that he regularly bakes for them.
So, what does his mom’s awesome banana bread recipe have to do with making Crosby such a great leader?
Before we get into that, let’s start with a clarification. Winning more games is most likely not the reason that Crosby loves gifting banana bread to his teammates. He seems to be just a genuinely nice guy who is known by all of his teammates for being great at giving thoughtful gifts.
Crosby’s propensity for giving gifts is so well known that NHL.com dedicated an entire story to it. In that story, Crosby’s hometown friend and fellow NHL player Nathan MacKinnon said, “It’s just in him to give. He’ll spend money on his friends, and I’m sure his family, but never really on himself. He’s not a flashy guy, obviously. But he’s very thoughtful.”
The article recounted several stories about gifts that Crosby has given, with the common denominator in all of them being how much they meant to the people receiving them. Crosby’s kindness has created connections with teammates that go far beyond slapping a puck around the rink together.
So, back to the question. How does baking banana bread for your teammates make you a great leader? Simple answer: It shows you care.
A leader who cares about building relationships with the members of their team will get much better results over the long run than one who only cares about wins and losses. Here are four reasons why:
Loyalty: Team members will stick around a lot longer if they feel you care about them. Corporate surveys have repeatedly shown that employees say that being valued ranks higher than salary on their list of priorities when making the decision to stay or leave a company.
Effort: Team members go the extra mile when being led by someone who cares about them. You’ve heard the saying, “I’d run through a brick wall for that guy!”
Safety: Being on a team that cares about each other allows members to not fear making mistakes. This allows them to play with greater freedom, leading to better play.
Correction: If a team member knows that you care about them, they are far more likely to accept constructive criticism when they do fall short. They trust you are correcting them so that they can get better.
One last thing about the truly great leaders: they are the ones who are willing to serve others, even if there is nothing in it for them. This brings us to one more Crosby story, told in The Athletic.
The Penguins were in their last season in the old Mellon Arena, where they would practice before their new state-of-the-art training facility was built. On one dismal November day, a group of high school students stood outside the arena, in the pouring rain, waiting to get autographs.
The Athletic writer, Josh Yohe, recalled, “I saw Crosby — without an umbrella — get out of the car and pose for a group picture. He stood and talked with them for a few minutes while the rain poured down.” When Yohe asked Crosby about this the next day, he replied, “I mean, they seemed like nice kids. They were out there dealing with the rain. Was the least I could do.”
Who wouldn’t want to follow a guy like that?
