Jeff Janssen is one of the nation’s premiere peak performance coaches. He has had a tremendous influence on programs around the nation on all levels in all sports — including our program. I have about every book authored by Jeff. One of his best is The Team Captain’s Leadership Manual. It is a great book for coaches but an even better one for players — especially those you are trusting to lead your team. I’m going to give you just a small sample of a section in the book but this is a book a highly recommend any coach or player purchasing. It has great insight along with exercises to help develop players in the understanding of what it takes to be a great leader. The section is called 20 Tips for Developing Responsible and Respected Team Leaders.1. Look for leaders when selection your team.
Of course you will look for talent when you are recruiting and selecting athletes for your team — but also be on the lookout for leadership.
2. Acknowledge the importance of your leaders.
Let your leaders know how important they are to you and your program’s success.
3. Explore you leaders’ definition of leadership.
Ask you leaders to describe their philosophy of leadership and what it means to be an effective leader.
4. Discuss what you expect of your leaders.
Sit down with your leaders to discuss exactly what you expect from them.
5. Discuss the risks and hazards of being a leader.
Talk frankly about the inherent challenges and problems your leaders are likely to face.
6. Provide captains with opportunities to lead.
Look to provide your captain with various opportunities to lead the team.
7. Give captains input on decisions.
Solicit your captains input on decisions that affect the team.
8. Encourage your leaders to build a relationship with each teammate.
Encourage your leaders to invest the time to build a working relationship with each of their teammates.
9. Confidently discuss the psyches of each team member.
Once you have built a sufficient level of trust with your captains, confidentially discuss the mindsets of each of their teammates.
10. Discuss various approaches to conflict.
Talk with your leaders about potential conflict situations which might arise as well as some potential ways to handle them.
11. Have frequent discussions, chats, check-ins.
You and your leaders should communicate frequently.
12. Encourage your captains to share their insights with the team.
Your captains will often share their insights and opinions with you individual meetings.
13. Support your captains — be there for them.
Since being a captain is an extremely challenging job, especially for teenagers and young adults, you need to be there for them.
14. Give your captains leadership roles in school and in the community.
Nominate your captains for positions where they will be seen as leaders by others.
15. Start early grooming future leaders.
Start early to identify athletes who have the potential to develop into future leaders for your team.
16. Look to develop leaders in key positions.
Certain positions in specific sports virtually demand effective leadership: point guard in basketball, setter in volleyball, quarterback in football, etc.
17. Look to give non-starting seniors a leadership role when possible.
Almost every time has at least a couple of seniors/veterans who don’t get much player time.
18. Appreciate your leaders often.
Because being a team leader can be such a demanding and difficult job, invest the time to let your leaders know how much you appreciate their help.
19. Be careful how you treat your captains in front of the team.
Most of the time you will be more demanding of your captains. However, be careful when you praise them in front of the team. Be careful not to over do it.
20. Model effective leadership as a coach.
Last but certainly not least, the best way to develop team leaders is to model effective leadership principles yourself.
