Coaches wear many hats and can’t be everywhere at the same time. Successful coaches must create a culture of trust. A huge component of creating a winning culture is the challenge of developing servant leaders within the team. Skills and talent are crucial in a winning culture, but so are attitude and work ethic. Look for them. Encourage them. And most importantly, model them.
Self-serving leaders usually do more harm to players than good. They see discipline as punishment. Servant leaders see discipline as re-directing from negative to positive. In the words of Ken Blanchard, “Self-serving leaders always feel they are in a rat race. The problem with being in a rat race is—even if you win—you are still a rat.”
There are many coaches, managers, statesmen and military leaders to learn from when it comes to leadership styles. Not many totally model servant leadership. Those who do, stand out.
Of course, it’s hard to be a servant-leader unless you are willing to serve both on and off the field. There are so many ways to serve in your community; take the team to a children’s hospital (in uniform) and watch the children’s eyes shine with excitement. Take your team to a nursing home and ask each player to pick a senior citizen to start a conversation by asking questions to the patients and generally showing interest in them.
A few years ago, I took a Division I college team on a mission trip/baseball experience to the Dominican Republic. The team was ranked #2 in several pre-season polls. One day, we took them to a nursing home which housed 30-40 men in the same, large room. The room had no air conditioning or television. Most of the men were blind because they had no access to cataract surgery. The room was very warm and it smelled. These very talented players were awesome in the way they treated these bed-ridden men. They ask them questions, some even held their hands, others prayed for the elderly men. Some of these senior citizens smiled and laughed; a few of them wept as did a few of the baseball players. These players served better than I did and left with gratitude and a warmer heart for the elderly. They grew as men and honored their program and God as they served.
Servant leadership, from a coaching perspective, is simply coming to the realization that our job as a coach is to teach, encourage, direct and serve players. The better we serve, the more rewarding the success. Serving players doesn’t mean that you give them the reins or minimize your position as the coach. It means that you model what it means to enjoy the success of others as much as your own success. It also means adding value to others. It’s like giving someone a gift and being more excited about it than the recipient.
Servant leadership enhances teamwork and promotes success. Legendary speaker and thought leader, Zig Zigler once said, “You can have anything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want.”
Servant leaders are far more likely to have loyal players. Players who play for servant leaders have the unique opportunity to see the coach’s heart. Players who play for servant leaders will do anything for the coach, because they know the coach will do anything for them.
You can still be yourself and be a servant leader. Some coaches have a negative view of servant leadership. They see it as soft or non-competitive. Nothing is further from the truth. A coach who buys in to servant leadership must still provide direction and share a compelling vision. They must have high standards for themselves and the team. They must also be organized, knowledgeable and decisive. The coach sets the tone for excellence.
Through servant leadership you are living out the concept of “we are building something together.” Instead of lording over players, you are leading them. You are helping players to do what they do well even better. If you only love baseball, this is a tough concept. If you love the players who play baseball, it’s an easy concept.
When your desire is to see your players succeed and the team succeed even more than your own success, you have become a servant leader. Author and speaker Simon Sinek has often said, “Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.”
We won’t likely change the world as a baseball coach, but impacting one player, one team at a time does have a ripple effect. We can choose to use our passion, our skills, and our gifts to help others grow.
Success is wonderful, of course, but success isn’t just about winning. It’s also about learning how to build positive memories for your players. It’s about developing a winning, competitive mindset in each individual…showing players how to be great teammates. And it’s about teaching players how to put team success ahead of individual accomplishments—a skill that will help them build a better world wherever life takes them. Along the way, you can take a baseball team from good to great.
The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. — Luke 22:26
Content in this article taken from the book, Coaching with Purpose. To order a copy of the book, go to CoachKeithMadison.com.