Coach K Leadership Style

All situations are different and a leadership style applied in one situation will not always work in another. A leader must use judgement to decide the most appropriate style needed for each situation. The ‘Situational Approach’ to leadership identifies four leadership styles which are;

Situational leadership theory is when a leader adapt’s to the situation and the management styles to the behavioral needs of the individual or group. Trait approach leadership gives more credence to the qualities and traits that people are born with that make them natural born leaders.

Based on our learning from week one of our class, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the leadership perspectives manifested in both Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski, coaches who have made significant marks in their field in college basketball. I hope to be able to identify the power bases both coaches rely upon, as well as whether their actions are more aligned with either a managerial role or leadership role. In addition, I hope to identify how significant the leadership traits have influenced their leadership, based on the five-factor

Situational leadership focuses on adapting your leadership style or approach based on the situation and the amount of direction and support that is needed by followers. As Jesus trained and equipped his disciples from simple fishermen to fishers of men, who carried on his ministry after he ascended to heaven, he integrated different styles and theories of leadership that best served and supported his followers (Blanchard & Hodges, 2003). Depending on the level of competency and commitment of their people, leaders will adjust their style to provide the necessary support and direction. The core competencies of situational leaders are the ability to identify the performance, competence and commitment of others, and to be flexible (Paterson, 2013). From being highly directive, telling their people exactly what to do and how, to delegating, clearly stating the objective and allowing them to complete the task with little direction and support, situational leaders adapt their approach to the needs of their people and the particular situation.

Belongingness is one of those needs. People have a desire to be accepted by their peers, have friendships, be a part of a group, and be loved (Daft, pg. 230). Coach K has the ability to recognize those needs especially when he acknowledges players and recognizes them when the execution of a game plan leads to a game win. This is done in the locker room in front of their peers and on national television after a victory. As long as he continues to meet this basic need of the players he will continue to bring victories to the Duke Basketball program. For the team, this intrinsic reward was immediate when Duke achieved the victory over UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium that night.

I chose to review “Leading with the Heart Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business and Life” Mike Krzyzewski, Donald T. Phillips, and Grant Hill (Forward), 2001. The book is written by Duke Basketball coach Krzyzewski, in it he recalls some of his most significant games and events in his career. He also offers advice to anyone who is trying to do better in life. Coach K, "There are five fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride." The book has four sections; Preseason, Regular Season, Postseason, and All-Season. Each section four chapters. In each chapter he provides readers with an understanding into how he selects, learns about, and builds his team.

Coach K has been a leader stemming from his days at West Point where his was the basketball coach, he instills his values into each one of his players, values such as commitment, toughness, pride, love, honesty, integrity, friendship and collective responsibility, all values that make up an effect leader. Coach Krzyzewski has been coaching for nearly three decades, he has high expectations for himself and for his player, and he states to all recruits “I’m going to give you my best. I’m going to give you 100 percent. In return, I expect you to graduate. You’ll be coming to Duke for more than basketball. If you don’t understand that, then don’t come to Duke. I want you to be passionate about basketball, but I also want you to obtain a great education” (Krzyzewski, 2000). An effective leader does not simply lead their colleagues, they inspire them to go forth and do great things. Those leaders also enquire a great sense of preparation and that could be the difference between thriving and dying, “we knew without preparation, we had a good chance of losing that game” (Krzyzewski, 2008). In a leadership position the relationship between everyone involved is detrimental to how the overall moral is. The ways that leaders handle those relationships greatly effect the path of success. Coach Krzyzewski instills a lot of trust in his players, treating them with a great respect and infuses a family like atmosphere in his locker-room, “family makes individuals part of

Pat Summitt and Mike Krzyzewski are legendary coaches icons that will always be remembered for their lifetime achievements and winning the championships in a unique style. It’s tranquil to say that they are great coaches but what enhanced their ability to be even better was their capability to showcase transformational leadership and emotional intelligence. These two individuals have set a new standard for what the coaches should instill in their personal values to allow them to be consistent in the efforts to inspire a vison, challenge the process, encourage the heart, enable others to act, and model the way.

Coach Dean Smith was head coach of the University of North Carolina (UNC) men’s basketball team for 36 years, from 1961 to 1997. He tallied 879 wins during his tenure at UNC, with his teams appearing in 11 Final Fours and winning two National Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships. He also coached the 1976 United States men’s basketball team to an Olympic gold medal. Coach Smith led and mentored many future National Basketball Association (NBA) legends such as James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse and Michael Jordan, to name a few. His successful basketball strategies and game innovations no doubt contributed to his wins on the court, but as important to his sustained team success was his methodical approach to team building and genuine care for his players as individuals. Dean Smith was both a visionary and ethical leader. This essay will detail how Coach Smith was a visionary leader that fostered an inclusive environment and used transformational leadership, with a focus on individual consideration, to methodically mold his teams. Additionally, the essay will show how Coach Smith was an ethical leader as he avoided falling into the ethical trap of worry over image and used the essential intellectual trait of intellectual perseverance in confronting the ethical

Coach Mike Krzyzewski was a phenomenal coach and leader. He had the most career wins in NCAA Division I history. His is a prime example of exceptional leadership. Throughout the book Leading with the Heart I have seen prime examples of the following leadership theories: transformational leadership, trait theory, behavioral theory, and power and influence theory.

Situational leadership has very little in common with the other models mentioned herein. This model revolves around the leader changing leadership behaviors to meet the needs in relationship to the follower (Kouzes, 2003, p. 111). The difference between situational leadership and charismatic, servant, and transformational leadership is the lack of an organizational vision and the empowerment of the followers. Situational leadership uses followers based on their readiness level that relate to their ability and willingness to complete the task (Wren, 1995, p. 208). This aspect coupled with the leader’s task and relationship behavior is used in relation to the

Situational leadership requires a leader to be mature enough to properly assess and execute the best leadership style based on the current situation that faces the organization. In many situations, if the leader can satisfy the

Situational Leadership is also called as Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory. Paul Hersey the author of "Situational Leader" and Ken Blanchard the author of " The One Minute Manager" are the one who introduced this theory (Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory, 2010-2015). The principle behind this theory is that every theory is not perfect in itself and the effectiveness of the theory is determined by the situation (Kreitner, 2013, p. 472). One of the important lesson that I have learned till this day is no one can be prepared for the upcoming problems. Problems may have same nature but may be different in the way it has to be solved. For instance: A Leader may motivate an employee by increasing salary but the same tactics may not work for another employee. Another employee may be seeking challenging job which may influence him/her to

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).

In viewing the skill approach path, I found that Coach Krzyzewski displayed problem solving techniques with his players, social judgment and knowledge of the work process. Coach Krzyzewski, developed a relationship behavior with his players in which they felt comfortable with him Mr. Krzyzewski worked as a team with his players, he did not treat them as if they were put under him. He stayed focus on his role, which was to lead him players to victory. He did not want to be a manger; he wanted to be a leader. Krzyzweski also displayed task behaviors, he encouraged his team and to accomplish every goal they set out to do (Northouse, 2004). Mr. Krzyzewski also displayed the Consideration and Initiating Structure because he was considerate of other’s feelings. In viewing Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid, Krzyzewski is a Team Manager because he focuses on building participation and support for a shared purpose.