Leadership Development Of Team Captains

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

This study focused on the importance of leadership among the athletes themselves, their peer leaders. “The results showed that the majority of team task (65%), social (57%), and external (79%) leaders occupied a formal position on their team.” (Loughead, Hardy, & Eys, 2006, p. 142). These leadership functions have different behavioral characteristics provided to the team members. The task leader helps to focus the team on the goal at hand and helps with decision making within the team. This may be the player on the team who calls the plays, the team captain. The research indicated that it was important for team members to elect their captains and other leaders. The social leader brings cohesiveness and harmony to the team. He encourages and rallies the players to get together and get involved. The final leadership function, external leaders help promote the team in the community and help organize fund raising. In addition, leadership within the team, through peers and other group members was a factor in the overall success of the team. They help foster communication between the coaching staff and the athletes. In addition, “it was hypothesized the longer athletes were members of a team, the more likely they would be identified as a

Examining how students can greater develop their leadership potential has come to the forefront of education, education based athletics, and intercollegiate athletics in recent years. Recent research by (Grandzol, Perlis, Draina, 2010; Forrester & Borsz, 2008) has shown that those who are put into a role as a peer leader tend to develop leadership skills. Those individuals in peer leader roles have benefited from the opportunities they have been exposed to in those roles. In the summer of 2011 Dr. Christina J. Grandzol published a study entitled “An Exploratory Study of the Role of Task Dependence on Team Captains’ Leadership Development.” This study focused on 31 NCAA Division III team captains. While being a peer leader has been shown

There are numerous theories about leadership. Some of the theories suggest that leaders are born while others suggest that leaders are made through training.

Throughout the years, leadership has played a significant role in the world of athletics. Whether it is coming from a coach or a player, leadership is no doubt the most important role one can hold; leadership can make or break a team. John C. Maxwell put it clearly when he stated that “everything rises and falls on leadership”. When looking at leadership as it relates to sports one must first define leadership. Barrow (1977) defined leadership as “the behavioral process of influencing individuals and groups towards set goals” (p.232). This definition puts an emphasis on vision of a leader while it also highlights the importance of the interaction between the leader and the group members. Leaders play an important role in the success of the

Captains of sports teams are given the stereotype that they are the most athletic player on the team, scoring the most goals and handling the ball best. In truth, captains have a lot of work they have to do that doesn't even involve playing the sport. Captains are the most looked at player of the game; other players, younger kids and coaches look to them to set examples. They have to set examples in every aspect of the game; athleticism might be part of their job but it is not limited to it. The captain of any sports team must set the leadership standard for commitment, confidence, intelligence, and attitude.

In the book, “Mastering Leadership,” leadership promises four universal elements, which include setting the right direction to create meaningful work, “engaging all followers and holding them accountable for performance,” ensuring that “processes and systems facilitate focus and execution,” and “maintaining relationships of trust to achieve and sustain desired results.” Within the scope of leadership are three developmental areas: leadership process, leadership competencies, and leadership consciousness (Anderson 2015 p.4). John Wooden, one of the most successful men’s basketball D-1 coaches of all time states, “A leader’s most powerful ally is his or her own example” (Haefner). The most powerful leader concentrates on being the best role model for his or her audience. Characteristics of an effective leader include, good communicator, passionate, creative, confidence, and driven by a goal. Leaders must convince groups of individual minded people to all believe in his/her method to complete a common goal (McNamara). In a study done by Chen, athletes who were lead with an autocratic or democratic leadership style and higher frequency of instruction, positive feedback, or social support behavior, produced higher overall cohesiveness. Chen’s team also found coaching leaders that demonstrated these characteristics, made athletes more motivated (Chen 2008). Anderson proposes there are six leadership practices that help a leader become effective in a team

Although many will say that leaders are born, it is my opinion an experience that leaders are cultivated into great leader. I have observed that many people were only leaders in the title. In my experience many lacked the leadership skills to unify and development departments. This made it impossible for the teams to truly be successful. I have found that successful departments were lead by exceptional Individuals that not only look at the weakness and the strength of their team but also look at their own weakness and strengths. This was made clear when management would share the tools they used to re-develop themselves to become better leaders. By being transparent, seeking out feedback and becoming an active listener this information, allowed some staff members to change their weaknesses into strength.

Peer-reviewed research is readily available with respect to leadership styles, but the resources available significantly diminish once personality traits and learning styles are introduced, and they become scant once the concept of athletics is further introduced. Therein lies the knowledge gap that this research project will begin to fill. In order to build the academic basis for this research, the literature has been presented in sections, beginning with learning styles and personality traits, continuing with testing and survey administration, and ending with athletic coaching.

The phrase “great leaders born not made” has been popularized by many psychologists and sociologists. The Great Man Theory of leadership associated with the nineteenth century historian Thomas Carlyle argued that “heroes shape history through the vision of their intellect, the beauty of their art, the prowess of their leadership, and, most important, their divine inspiration”. (Hirsch, Kett and Trefil 2002). This thinking that great leaders are born, not made has evolved over time as leadership becomes more widely researched and understood.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other” President John F Kennedy. President Kennedy always understood the value of continuing to educate him-self to be a well-rounded leader; this is why he was well known as such a successful one. By now it is evident that effective leadership is a culmination of nature and nurture because “effective leaders are not born or made” (Lussier, 8). Researchers even estimate that “30 percent of leadership is heritable, whereas 70 percent is developed”(Lussier,8). While it is hard to define a leader because, “there is no universal definition of leadership because it is complex” and it is “studied in different ways that require different definitions” there are still a few characteristics most

LEADERS ARE BORN NOT MADE There have been an age long debate, and humans since beginning of time, have tried to come up with an answer to this question – Are Leaders born or are they made?. This question has generated an age long debate, which in turn has resulted in various school of thoughts, some believe that leaders are born, while others think otherwise. My contribution to this lifelong debate will serve as a pointer to my position on this issue. I strongly believe that leaders are born and not made. Who is a Leader? - “A leader is a person who guides others toward a common goal, showing the way by example, and creating an environment in which other team members feel actively involved in the entire process. A leader is not the boss of

The question of whether exceptional leaders are born with their strong leadership skills or if they develop them over their (sometimes quite short) lives has been a point of controversy for a long time, making many scientists scratch their heads.

Whether leaders are born and not made is a discussion that has been debated for centuries and yet it still divides opinion today. Like many, on receiving this assignment my instinctive gut response was that they are! However, over the course of my exploration into the subject matter and in greater reflection of my own personal experiences, my contention is now similar to that of the famous and successful American football coach Vince Lombardi who said “Leaders are not born, they’re made. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile”

To begin this essay I would prefer to give a little scenario by asking ourselves, can all managers go on to be a leader? For several years, the concern whether leaders are born or made is an issue of great controversy. From different opinions however, it could be a little bit of both hence proving that any manager can go on to be a great leader as well. Among other definitions, Maxwell (1993, p.11) has defined leadership as an ability to influence others. He also defined a leader as a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal or goals.