Follow the leader....

Keith has asked us to blog about leaders and teamwork this week...thanks Keith! :)

Last year, I took on the role of assistant coach of my son's school water polo team. I'm surprised I still have any hair left!!!

We had a terrible team. We were outclassed during every game. The boys were disappointed with the results each week, and couldn't understand what they were doing wrong.

There were many factors, other than their inexperienced assistant coach. The main issue was their greed for goals. So focussed on goal scoring, these boys failed to play like a 'team' and did all they could to get goals for their own glory. They lost sight of other players around them that they could utilise to score for the team.

Possession continued to change hands, balls missed the nets, the goalies had to do little to stop our boys from scoring. Their mindset was, "The boy who scores the most goals is the hero".

One day I pulled them aside. I asked them the question, "Who is one of the best players in the AFL?" Most of them agreed it was Carlton midfielder, Chris Judd. I then went on to discuss with them what Judd was famous for. I explained it wasn't for the number of goals he had achieved for his team, but his passion and ability to read the game, get the hard ball and to distribute it to his team mates.

This analogy can be used in most aspects of life where you have leaders and team players.

Judd is a natural leader. He doesn't do this by being the loudest or showiest. He does this by setting an example, having the respect of others, showing how things should be done by his actions, being positive and trusting others around him to be included in the task at hand. There is no way he can win a game on his own, despite his amazing ability.

A team player respects their leader, but doesn't expect the leader or his other team players to take on all the work. He works together with his/her leader and other members to best achieve the desired outcome. This might mean stepping back so others may have a voice, or seeing a situation where they need to put in a little bit extra themselves. The idea is to 'share the ball around' or to 'share the workload around'.

The water polo team continued to struggle, but actually began to win a game or two, once they realised they all had the same objective. There were some awesome passages of play where the ball was shared, and over time these boys will get the hang of it.

picture from http://www.ntnews.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2009/06/03/Chris-Judd.jpg