Are Leaders Born or Made?

Listen to any coach, any sport, at any age level, and whether things are going really well or the team is struggling, they almost always talk about the leadership that they have or do not have among their players. Teams that are very successful seem to have those leaders on the team that can deliver a message long before the coaching staff needs to. Teams that struggle to meet expectations often have their coach or manager standing at a press conference telling the media how they need a leader to emerge to change the culture of the team. If that doesn't happen quickly enough, coaches and managers usually are looking for a new job and player turnover is likely to happen if results still don't change.

At the youth level, coaches don't get fired and kids don't get traded. Yet, that doesn't stop parents from getting frustrated when a team consistently looks flat or doesn't have that competitive fire. As a coach there is nothing more frustrating when you have a team that quickly gets quiet and hangs their heads when times get tough. A coach's job is to lead their players in the good times and bad, but it's even more frustrating when you feel like your job description should read motivator, psychologist, cheerleader, and counselor. At the very young ages, that is perfectly fine, but when kids start carrying around cell phones and worrying about their hair then they should be old enough to start leading themselves out of the tough spots before their coach has to give the "dig down", "let's go right now", or "this game is not over" speech.

There are hundreds of different coaching styles or tactics, and who knows which is the best or the right one at the right time. If I knew the best way to get kids to step up and lead I'd write a book instead of this stupid blog. I just know that from my years playing and watching sports, that the best teams are the ones where there is strong leadership among the players. That leadership isn't just limited to the field or court either. The question I have wondered is how to get those leadership qualities out of some individuals or teams.

I've often believed that leaders are born, not made. Good coaches and teachers can develop and get those leadership qualities to come out of kids, but it has to be in an environment in which they are comfortable. I have seen some kids that are great leaders in the classroom, but then when it comes to practices and games they like to blend in. Others go the opposite direction, they are indifferent in the classroom but command a practice and locker room. Some kids are great leaders in one sport, but take more of a reserved role in another. I've often wondered what causes this. Is it their comfort level with the subject matter or the sport, or is their comfort level with the group of kids they are around? Even more, is it the leadership and style of the teacher or coach that empowers them to step up and be a leader?

In my experiences, I've always felt that if you are constantly asking your own kid to step up and be a leader then they are probably not a leader. You can't will that into somebody. Leadership is something that just comes naturally to the great ones. Leadership is something that also comes at different times for different kids. Some kids that don't say much growing up blossom into great leaders later on in life. However, this doesn't solve the problem of how to get those leadership qualities out of your players. Leadership can also look very different. Some kids lead by being vocal in tough times or when someone is hanging their head, others lead by example, while others lead by performance, and still others lead by compassion for their teammates. The best leaders are the ones that have all of those qualities.

Leadership is also received differently by kids at various ages. At the really young levels, leadership is expected to come from coaches and adults. Anything else and it can be perceived that some kids are just being mean to others. As kids reach middle school some kids are willing and able to lead their peers by being vocal. However, some kids are still trained to only respond to the leadership of adults. If a kid tries to lead his peers or teammates and is rejected, how will they respond? A good coach or teacher will nurture those leadership qualities and try to teach the others that what that kid was doing was meant to be helpful, supportive, and corrective. Yet, if that coach or teacher doesn't say that then the emerging leader might now feel compelled to step up again. More importantly, some kids will try to lead by only pointing out the negative behaviors of their teammates or classmates. These are the times when a teacher or coach really needs to step in. Kids like that are displaying leadership qualities, but if not corrected and mentored they could quickly turn into bullish and demeaning qualities.

This year I am really wanting my baseball team to have some leaders develop and emerge. Too many times in the past we have become silent and act defeated in tough times. Baseball is a game where individual performance can linger, but it cannot dominate your thoughts. Mom and dad will be happy to break down your performance with you after the game, but during the game we all want our kids to be great teammates that play with passion. As the kids get older, that can't come from mom and dad coming to the the dugout or talking from the stands about getting your head up or stepping up and leading. It has to come from the kids themselves. As a coach I've struggled trying to figure out how to work on this aspect of our team. So we are going to have team captains this year.

I know some high school teams and programs that elect team captains while others do not. Coaches views on having team captains vary greatly. If captains become part of a negative culture then a coach can quickly lose a team. Not every team has kids worthy of being captains, so by automatically having these positions in place every year a coach can set themselves up for disaster if they do not have strong leadership among their players.

I'm not sure how many youth teams elect captains, but I'd guess there are very few. This may be an idea that could completely backfire on us and divide our team, but I think that our group has some leaders that are ready to emerge. This year our kids will elect three captains that will be given very specific roles. The hope is that this will transition them away from looking just at the coaches for leadership, and it will also allow our leaders to have more of a voice. I believe that leaders are born, but good teachers and coaches help cultivate those leadership qualities.

If you're constantly telling your own kids to step up and be a leader, then they probably either aren't a leader or won't be one. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Leadership is not for everyone. However, there have been very few successful sports teams without good leadership among their players. If I can play a small role in developing that among my own players then not only will my job become a little easier, but it should make us a better team in the long run. While I believe that leaders are born, I hope I can help develop leadership skills with our captains and the rest of our kids. Only time will tell, but I hope our team captains will utilize this role on our team to make our group better and to feel more comfortable being a leader in other areas of their life down the road. While I believe that leaders are born, I hope I can help develop leadership skills with our captains and the rest of our kids.