Sporting heroes like Harry Kane remind us of who we can be at our best - Daxa Patel

Sport has the power to unite in a way few things can, which makes this a moment the nation can genuinely celebrate.

Congratulations to the England captain for becoming the first Englishman in a quarter of a century to win this prestigious individual award.

I had to do my own research on the Ballon d'Or, which is regarded as the highest individual honour in football. Recent questions by so-called experts about Kane's form now seem rather misplaced.

In his acceptance speech, Kane said, "anything is possible", words we need to take in and embody in our own lives as well as in our national psyche. For far too long, we seem to have apologised for our very existence and for the qualities that make this country, and its people, so remarkable. Relentless negativity, particularly online, often drowns out the good things happening in our midst.

I can almost see a smile on Gareth Southgate's face because he was the one who reminded us, through his Dear England letter, what it means to be proud of who we are. He was also the one to connect the dots between a great England football team and national pride.

What interests me most about Kane, however, is not the trophy, it is the behaviour behind it. The captains who build lasting greatness are rarely the loudest people in the room. They are the ones who turn up the same way every day: steady under pressure, generous with credit, relentless in the unglamorous work and loyal to the team rather than their own personal acclaim.

Kane has stood up against racism directed at his team-mates and has spoken out when it mattered, even when it would have been easier to stay silent. That takes courage and conviction, qualities that seem increasingly rare in modern leadership.

Kane has captained England through tournaments that ended in heartbreak, absorbed criticism that would have broken a lesser character, and simply kept going. That is not luck, that is character repeated over time with persistence and tenacity.

There is a lesson in that for all of us because leadership is not a speech. It is a set of behaviours practised consistently, especially when nobody is watching.

It is the business owner who pays suppliers on time in a difficult month, the nurse who stays kind in the 12th hour of a shift, the teacher who believes in the child everyone else has written off, and the neighbour who checks on the elderly couple down the road, all just because they care and not for personal glory.

None of these people will ever lift a trophy, yet they are doing precisely what Kane has done throughout his career: holding the team together when times are tough.

Ours is an increasingly polarised society that often spends more energy looking for what divides us than what unites us.

Division is easy but unity requires effort. It requires the discipline to disagree without contempt, the courage to say something positive about our country out loud, and the humility to serve something larger than ourselves.

From time to time, sporting heroes remind us of who we can be at our best and this feels like one of those moments. Anything is possible if we believe in ourselves and, perhaps more importantly, in one another.

There is also a timely reminder for our political leaders who could learn something from Kane. A little less point-scoring and a little more team building would not go amiss, together with the understanding that a captain's real job is to make the people around them better not to make them feel small.

So here is my invitation, to myself as much as to anyone else. This week, let us do one thing that adds value to the country rather than complaining about it, whether that means encouraging someone who is struggling, celebrating someone else's success without envy, or supporting a local business, a local team or a local cause.

Pride in a nation is not declared from a podium but it is accumulated, act by act, through the behaviour of its people with one voice and one heart.

Kane's words, "anything is possible", are not a slogan, they are a standard. Thank you, Harry Kane, not only for the trophy, but for reminding us that quiet belief, resilience, and perseverance still matter. They always did but we forgot.

Daxa Manhar Patel is a leadership coach, author and solicitor.