![]() ![]() Coaches select the team leaders: There are times when a coach simply needs to make this decision, particularly for a team in transition.If your culture is stable their input will be valuable, but if the culture is in transition this method will be a recipe for failure. She always brings cupcakes too.” When your players don’t know how you define leadership it is difficult for them to help identify the team leaders. They all offered a variation of, “she is the best at decorating our lockers on our birthdays. I asked our student-athletes to stop by the office and explain why they selected her. She just wasn’t a college level player and it showed in her work ethic and attitude. They unanimously selected a student-athlete who I knew would quit the team at some point. In one of my first college jobs, I asked the team to mark on a roster who they thought our best team leaders were. Student-athletes select the team leaders: This works if your team culture is very strong but it will not work if your team is in transition.Ways to Select Team Leaders: Not only do we need to think about an appropriate leadership model, we also need to think about how we are going to select our team leaders. I would not advise this model for a team in transition. Secondly, the expectation needs to be that everyone will lead and everyone will be held accountable. This works well in a program where the coaching staff has been intact for many years with a large number of returning players who have bought into the team culture. If your team culture is strong then this can work, but a team in transition will fail with this approach. First, your culture needs to be well established. No Designated Team Leaders: I know of teams who have used this model successfully but there are some clear guidelines in order for this to work.Without clear expectations, you may find that no one is taking action because they expected someone else in the group to do it. With a Team Leadership Council, I have found you need clear expectations for the members. This model may also allow you to designate specific areas of leadership for each student-athlete to focus on and it allows you to be more intentional about developing your younger or future leaders. A Team Leadership Council: With this model, you can select a larger number of players to develop. ![]() In-season you can meet as needed but I wouldn’t go more than 7-10 days without meeting. I would suggest meeting weekly in the off-season to do leadership development and to develop a deeper level of trust. With this model, I suggest selecting 2-3 student-athletes and intentionally developing them as leaders. Designated Team Captains: For most of my career this was my preferred model, but your own leadership style as a coach and your current team culture will dictate the best option for your team.As coaches, we have a moral responsibility to develop future leaders.ĭifferent Leadership Models: Most teams I work with use one of the following models: Team leadership will make or break a season. I am grateful that coaches are asking these questions. Specifically, what leadership model should they use, how they should select their team leaders, when they should select their team leaders, and what skills should they look for in their team leaders. In the last few weeks, I have had a significant number of coaches reach out to talk about team leadership. I also know, that when we intentionally develop team leaders, those words can become a declaration of pure pride. I believe there are coaches who reflect on their former team Captains with the same sentiment – the mourning of poor leadership and a failed season. The Walt Whitman poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” is classified as a mourning poem. ![]()
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