Written by I’ll return to my roots as a librarian for this entry. A book came to my notice the other day; “Coaching Wisdom: Champion Coaches and Their Players Share Successful Leadership Principles: How Tony Dungy, Lou Holtz, Andrea Hudy, Don Shula, John Wooden, and Other Top Coaches Inspired Their Teams to Greatness” By Mike Harrity.
We’ve all had that coach, teacher, or supervisor that has caused so much damage with their lack of communication skills and their inappropriate advice or lack thereof. So, what makes a good coach so wise, or any leader for that matter? Do they have all the answers? I suspect that these people that have positively impacted the lives of athletes are not inherently wise, but rather have learned the important skills needed to assess each situation and act in the most appropriate way.
But this leads to the question, are leaders born or made? If leadership is trait-based then these greats are endowed with particular personalities that enable them to easily and naturally assume the mantle of ‘leader’, ‘counsellor’ or ‘mentor’. There is that school of thought however that insists that at the heart of every great leader is someone that has learned the valuable skill of active listening and the appropriate communication techniques to answer when needed (and when to judiciously not say anything at all).
Returning to that oft-asked question that psychologists have heavily researched, the findings seem to point to a ‘leaders are mostly made’ conclusion. In fact, it has been deduced that two-thirds of all effective leaders are actually made.
The ability to successfully motivate and guide an individual or a group in any sphere, business, sport, or politics – necessitates training and a very complex set of acquired skills. The research ventures further to suggest that the necessary influence of group dynamics means that it’s impossible to be born a fully rounded leader that would have had to essentially been developed in a vacuum.
It is evident then that investment in educational programs is imperative to ensure that these potential leaders are equipped and ready to assume a position of such influence, particularly if they are to oversee younger athletes. If they are innately wise as well, so much the better for the sake of our burgeoning sports stars.