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‘Leadership’ is likely one of the broadest words in the English language. What the word means to each individual may differ. Most will focus on elements of support like building positive cultures, motivating and inspiring others, and guiding others to reach their potential. But to some, leadership is all about authority and control. In a leadership course I ran for a non-profit here in Cambridge, one of the prospective leaders even proclaimed ‘Never follow anyone.’
RELATED: ‘Why fun is an underrated aspect of leadership’.
This is the wrong way to think about (life) leadership. You can always learn from others. In doing so, you will learn more about yourself.
I see leadership as a process that not only involves you having influence over groups or individuals, but as those same individuals or groups having influence over you. You cannot thrive as a leader without your followers also inspiring you to reach your true potential.
The number one way to do that?
EMPHASIZE FUN. Emphasize fun in everything that you do. Build a positive, supportive atmosphere where those around you can feel comfortable and safe to fully express themselves.
UNDERSTANDING THE INDIVIDUAL
It’s unquestionable that leaders can’t exist without followers. When we think of effective leaders or coaches, we typically think of people who can inspire groups of people.
But what I think often gets lost is the notion that in order to inspire groups, you need to inspire individuals.
You cannot excel as a coach or leader if you cannot inspire the individuals within your group. That needs to start from emphasizing fun, and emphasizing individual connection.
Embed from Getty ImagesYou need to understand each individual on a holistic level, taking into account their vast array of traits, characteristics and previous experiences that make them who they are as an athlete. You need to recognize that performance and ability is compromised by five unique “corners”.
Once you have that recognition and the right coaching philosophies in place, you will begin to realize that athletes are all different in their own way, and that your coaching and communication needs to be tailored to match each individual.
Embed from Getty ImagesEven despite those differences, all athletes share one striking thing in common. To put it simply – They are humans.
They are not video game characters that you are tasked with controlling through a remote.
They are real people, and need to be treated as such. That goes for any level of sport, from U3 all the way to the top-end of professional athleticism.
CREATING PLAYER-CENTERED APPROACHES
In treating athletes as humans first, we must consider and prioritize their individual needs. Creating a player-centered approach to coaching often means the following:
- Recognizing that each of our athletes are humans first, and have a variety of traits and characteristics that make them unique.
- Putting the needs of your athletes/participants above your own (servant leadership).
- Creating environments where athletes can adopt the same mindsets, helping you to build a positive culture on the peer-peer level.
- Fostering a lifelong love for sports, where athletes want to return year after year.
As coaches, this should be your priority. You want your athletes to enjoy their experiences to the extent that they return with each year that goes by.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn doing so, all the other things that you might care about like winning, performances, and mastery will come along the way! In fact, they will come faster than if you adopt a negative, old-school methodology to coaching where the coach is at the centre of everything.
Sports are not for us as the adults or coaches. They are for our players to find themselves, reap all the positive benefits, and return next year. Focus on building a player-centered approach to coaching, and everything else you want to achieve will fall into place. Guaranteed.
This article is part of a brand new course coming out in June 2023, based on 10+ years of my experiences coaching players and coaches! Stay tuned!
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