Essay Example on Leadership of Serena Williams

Serena Williams remains one of the most celeb tennis athletes across the world. However, apart from the field professionalism, Serena Williams is a leader and has proved to the world that some key traits and behaviors are central to effective leadership (Melissa n.p). Serena became successful because she was able to identify and build her inner resilience to become a tennis icon and a public figure studied and evaluated by corporate professionals.

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Serena is disciplined and committed to a course she is undertaking. For example, when being interviewed she confessed her dislike for a workout but still, she had to endure and adhere to the set schedules because she knew how important and necessary to was to her course. She constantly undertook self-analysis to improve her abilities (Agarwal n.p). Other essential leadership characteristics depicted in Serena include confidence, patience, and competitiveness. She is self-motivated and one time pointed she pointed out how she even becomes more committed when she loses a match. She has the ability to influence others because she is always concerned about goals.

Serena Williams started professional tennis in 1995 and has currently won over 23 Grand Slam singles in the United States and beyond. At one point she suffered a critical injury but came back to the tennis limelight in 2007 (Encyclopedia Britannica n.p). While battling health complications, Serena kept her self-built tenacity and positivity regardless of her fan backlash and criticism. Away from the field, she has inspired thousands of young girls and women to rise up and go beyond their limits to attain their desired goals in life. Through community programs, Serena has managed to challenge young women to overcome criticism and strove for excellence. She remains one of the most inspiring athletes in Tennis as well as in other facets.

While the nature of tennis does not necessarily involve teams, there are some instances that Serena Williams failed to depict the desired leadership. When she lost to Angelique Kerber, she argued with the Chair regarding code violations (Encyclopedia Britannica n.p). She was later penalized over the incident. However, analysts have ascertained that although she lost in the field, she won at motherhood (Robert n.p). The incident proved how she stood against gender inequality, body negativity, and sexual harassment, which are some of the common issues that women across the globe face.

Although Serena is considered as a successful athlete who has inspired leaders in the corporate sector and in sports, she has faced significant leadership challenges. Apart from health complications that denied her the chance of being consistent in her tennis career, Serena was unable at some point to strike a balance between her career and family (Encyclopedia Britannica n.p; Robert n.p). This is one of the most critical areas that affect several leaders. Being able to remain committed to a vigorous professional course and have time to raise a family effectively has been the challenge that most female leaders face.

Nevertheless, Serena has managed to command respect from other people apart from her fans because of her attitude towards negativity (Agarwal n.p). She has been scolded on social platforms for her lack of fashion taste; however, she has never been distracted by such a statement. Other issues that Serena did not allow to interfere with her course is the increased level of racial discrimination, which has been the reason for the respect she commands among her fans.

Works Cited

Agarwal, Bhavna. Ten leadership skills we can learn from Serena Williams. She The People. 2016. Web. [https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/ten-leadership-skills-we-can-learn-from-serena-williams]

Encyclopedia Britannica. Serena Williams: American Tennis player. 2019. Web. [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Serena-Williams]

Melissa, dos Santos. Why is Serena Williams a leader? Prezi. 2015. Web. [https://prezi.com/rb82yd2ho9xa/why-is-serena-williams-a-leader/]

Robert, Yola. What we can all learn from Serena Williams' loss at Wimbledon. Forbes. 2018. Web. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/yolarobert1/2018/07/20/what-we-can-all-learn-from-serena-williams-loss-at-wimbledon/#5f2c60916b36]