Leadership In The Trenches

It is not easy being a leader. I tell this to my team leaders every year when they think they want to the the ones to lead. They think being the team captain is important; it gives them status or a critical role on the team. They are right. What they fail to understand is how difficult it really is.

When you are a leader, you cannot take criticism personally. If a teammate criticizes you, you have to take what is important and let the rest go. You cannot be afraid to speak your mind-- afraid of what your teammates might think of you. You have to be able to say the tough things, to get on teammates when they are not performing, to encourage them to play harder, and to think of their needs first.

It is a lonely position. It is not one where you are hoping to be liked; it is one where your primary goal is to be respected. When you are the leader, you are isolated from your needs. Teammates don't think you need to be encouraged or pumped up. They don't look to support you; they want you to support them.

When you are having a bad game failing to play to your potential and you are a leader, you still have to be a leader. You can't allow your performance to affect your leadership responsibilities. When you are sick or sad or feeling a bit out of sorts, it doesn't matter. You still have to be the one to get the team going, to fill the emotional hole and to encourage them to do their best.

A leader doesn't get a day off. Nope. She always has to be on the court emotionally for her teammates. She has to be willing to do the extra things--dive for loose balls, take a charge, yell from the bench or get in a teammate's face who needs it. She has to call team meetings, communicate with her teammates about practice times and hold the team together when they seem fragile.

It is not a role for the faint of heart. It is not a role for those who are self-centered. It is not a role to be abused nor to make those below you work for you. No, it is a job only for those who are mentally tested, who have endured the challenges of life and who desire something so much they are willing to get outside of who they are to make dreams happen.

I've never glorified the position of team leaders. I know it is a tough one. Heck, I have to live it every day except I have a bit of an advantage; I'm not leading my peers. I'm older. I've got more power. I hold the edge of the disciplinarian, and I've been working at being a leader for 21 years . . . and yet still I fail at it. The team leaders have to do what I do without my advantages. Their jobs are tough. No doubt about it.

I almost feel bad for the leaders when I get on them. ALMOST. The thing I know is I cannot feel sorry for them or take pity on them, because they are the keys to our success. When they fail in their jobs, the team fails.

We lost our last game due to poor leadership. I hate to say it but it is true. We lost because we went into panic mode, and there was no leader there with composure, with the emotional strength to get the team back on track. We went downhill quickly, pointing fingers, whining and blaming teammates. Our leaders felt bad for themselves--their performances. They wanted somebody else to step up, to take up the slack. They wanted somebody else to pick them up, to bring them composure and encouragement.

I know the feeling. There are days I want that. I want another person to take over, to have the responsibility for our successes and failures, to call the right plays, to make the correct substitutions, to adjust defenses when the opponents are running a play. Ultimately I take responsibility even when I don't want to take it. Like now. If our leaders failed, then who was leading the leaders? That would be me.

I know our seniors can do better. They know they can. They get sidetracked sometimes and forget how capable they are. They forget they are strong enough and they have the inner strength necessary to do what is asked even in the most challenging of situations. When they remember, we will win and win and win.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM!