Abstract

We live in a crucial period of time where a rampant lack of ethics, integrity and uplifting values seems to be commonplace. Never is it more apparent than in today's arena of sport. A new paradigm of thinking needs to be developed where sport can help to ignite a fundamental shift towards the best available wisdom and knowledge of our time. The Servant Leadership Model developed in this dissertation can help to define and promote this shift toward quality and team oriented philosophies. ;The Servant Leadership Model is entitled Success Oriented Spirituality . When applied to sport, the Model shows a unique and remarkable ability to institute win-win philosophies. The model does this by advocating and implementing principles and philosophies based on scientific and spiritual "truths". The SOS Model helps to illustrate the old parable: The whole can become greater than the sum of its parts. ;Although Servant Leadership incorporates a predominantly Christian philosophy, the spirituality advocated in the Model does not have to be defined in terms of religious content. Spirituality can also be referred to as the interconnecting principles of energy as taught in quantum mechanics. ;Literature and preliminary research suggest the implementation of the SOS Model could be a valuable tool to individuals and teams wishing to achieve peak performance. Feedback, from two earlier pilot studies, shows that college and high school level players perceived the Servant Leadership Model to be effective when applied to a sports program. Players also stated that the application of the Model significantly improved their ability to win . ;The SOS Model may be a significant improvement over current systems and thought paradigms. This Model, with its universal truths of success orientation, could apply to any team or system. By using the Model, individuals and teams can increase productivity and raise the quality of their experience in sport. The application of the SOS Model can help teach us how we can all go higher together, be it a team, institution, community, business, state, nation or even our world