Leadership
Food for Thought As You Read This Module
Are you a leader?
What type of leader are you?
What's the difference between a person in charge and a person who is a leader?
Can you be a leader if you aren't appointed Captain?
What are the different varieties of leaders?
Are leaders the most important people on the team?
Are leaders the best players on the team?
Leadership Defined
In sports, leadership includes the ability to be decisive, motivate your teammates, provide feedback, directing your teammates, and having strong interpersonal relationships with both your teammates and the coaching staff. These skills are also useful beyond sports. There are generally considered to be two types of leadership. Can you think of instances of both on your team? In school? Anywhere else? Transactional Leadership. Transactional leaders receive their authority more formally (such as being appointed Captain) and are expected to make decisions based on the formal authority given to them. Transformative Leadership. Transformative leaders usually derive their authority from informal means—such as being able to influence others and having a vision for their leadership. They usually take the initiative to lead. Both types of leadership are common. In some cases, leaders will demonstrate both styles of leadership.
Do You Have Leadership Inside of You?
Yes. Everyone does if they choose to exercise this ability. Sports is a great environment for you to learn how to be a leader. Leadership can be displayed by sticking up for a teammate who is being unfairly criticized. It is displayed by rallying your team even if you’re down by a huge score. It can be found in players who help their teammates learn new skills during practice. You probably already demonstrate some of these traits.
Below, think about who you know—including yourself—who demonstrates the following type of leadership style. You and your teammates can fall into more than just one category.
The Quiet Leader
Leads the team by example in both practices and in competitions
The Supportive Leader
Validates and supports teammates behind the scenes in achieving goals
The Vocal Leader
Is vocal in his/her demand for excellence, commitment, and team unity from team
But Really, What is “Leadership”?
Dwight D. Eisenhower, former U.S. president and 5-star general, once commented about leadership: “I’m not sure how to define it, but I know it when I see it.” Is leadership really that difficult to put your finger on? Yes and no. On this page we’ll highlight what some important character traits are of leaders, and you’ll self-reflect on which of these attributes you show, and which of these attributes you can work on showing over the rest of your life.
Innovate |
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Know Your Faults |
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Develop Yourself |
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Inspire Trust |
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Think About the Long-Term |
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Do the right thing! |
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“Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you’re ready to play as tough as you’re able to, you’d better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you’re not giving it all you’ve got. Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.”
–Larry Bird, former NBA player and Hall of Famer
"You don't want to have that deer in the headlights look. You want to have a look of confidence, like ‘Hey guys, it's okay, calm down, we can do this.' And so I think I bring a certain level of calmness, a certain level of confidence. That's needed. And I think that's a quality of a leader." -Lisa Leslie, All-Star WNBA Player
Be Cautious.
Leadership is also not what you think it is. Leadership has many myths and many misconceptions attached to it. You’ve probably heard many of these already. Don’t believe them.
Four common misconceptions or myths about leadership...
The leader is the boss of the team. Wrong! The leader of the team is not the boss. Often, players who are appointed Captain, or take on a leadership role, think they are also the boss. That is not correct. The coach is the boss. Bossing your teammates will lead to them resenting you.
There is a magic formula for becoming a leader. Wrong! There is no recipe for being a leader. There is no magic formula. People often think there is just one way to become a leader. But people become leaders using their own unique inter-personal style and learning from experience. Self-reflection is very important. Understanding your own strengths and weaknesses is a big asset of a leader.
Leaders are born that way. Wrong! It is commonly believed that leaders are born with natural gifts. They are “great people”. This is not true. It was a commonly held belief a long time ago, but it is very wrong. Leaders are normal people. What makes people leaders is that they worked hard to develop the skills and intuition that makes them good motivators of others.
Teammates who rally the team are its leaders. Not necessarily! People believe that a teammate who also acts as cheerleader—the “rah-rah” person on the bench or the locker room—is the leader. While encouraging players to perform better is one part of leadership, it is not the only part... and is in fact, just one small part. Being the team’s cheerleader is not enough to be a leader! There is more to being a leader than encouraging the team to win.
The Tools to Improve
Proven methods to improve your leadership skills. Trust us. They work.
One of the most important keys to becoming a leader is self-awareness. That means you have a realistic self-assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. You aren’t intimidated by your weaknesses. You are highly motivated to always improve. The following tear-away guide relies on your ability to self-reflect and improve as a leader. Take this sheet, tear it off, and put it somewhere you see it every day. Over the next 6 months your goal is to do every single thing on the checklist. Each time you do something on the checklist, check a box next to it. Each of these activities are activities associated with leaders. After the 6 months is up, keep displaying these behaviors. They will soon become so familiar to you that you won’t even realize you’re doing them. And that’s when you’ve become a leader!
1. Help a struggling teammate learn a new skill.
2. Play your hardest during a game even when everyone else thinks your team will lose.
3. Openly admit fault to your teammates when you make a mistake.
4. Ask the coach for criticism and then show the coach that you are going to improve.
5. Learn a new skill.
6. Stop yourself from losing your temper even when you wanted to.
7. Compliment a teammate on a job well done.
8. Make a decision based on your principles, even if it is an unpopular decision.
9. Show up early to practice and stay late, giving 110% the whole time.
10. Be willing to listen to a teammate who wants to talk about a problem.
11. Openly express a positive vision for your team to the team, such as accomplishing a goal together.
12. Show your teammates you are confident in them by giving them the opportunity to make great plays.
13. Reconcile with a teammate who you do not get along with.
14. Openly set high goals for yourself and then achieve them.
15.If you fail at something in front of teammates, try again. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.