It is certainly the only way a captain whose preferred method is to dish out roasting’s on the pitch on a regular basis can retain his authority. Footballers are quick to see the chink in any team-mate’s game or any dip in his standard and a captain’s words would bounce back at double speed if he let his own game drop in quality.
It is a delicate, often psychologically fraught, balance. It’s good for a captain to be a hard man, to retain high standards and to possess an iron will - but he must not rule by fear, a commodity which can ruin a player’s form and confidence with frightening speed.
However, most athletes respond much better to an arm around the shoulder than to a unnecessary hurl of criticism. Young athletes and players especially look to the captain to sort out the problems on the pitch, to iron out the numerous spats and guide them through a match or game which might not be going quite to the plan envisaged in the changing room.
In football, for example, it is much easier to do both these from midfield than any other position on the pitch, which is why so many top skippers seem to occupy that controlling position. This is much like tennis in the Davis Cup in tennis where the coaches are sat right next to the players at the changes of ends. You often see Andrew Lloyd giving a word of advice and encouragement to Tim Henman when playing.
In athletics, however, the coach can only act as a leader for so long and when it comes to the crunch and pressure of the race its self its all down to the athlete, unlike in football and tennis where help and encouragement is given throughout by the prescribed leaders.
A prescribed leader is “somebody who has been put in position by an outside body.” (Edexcel) For example a new manager could instate or bring in a new player to be his/her captain. Prescribed leaders aren’t always the best choice as “resentment often occurs if the team already have good cohesion (before a captain is chosen) or if there is an individual within the group or team structure who the members feel should be their leader” (Edexcel). These are called Emergent leaders and they appear “naturally from within the group” (Edexcel) and the reason they tend to be more successful is because they have the support and respect of the team.
Task orientated or person orientated leaders are also different and gain respect in different ways. Fielder (1967) said task orientated leaders are those who have good activity related skills/knowledge. They are those can lead the team due to “ their understanding of the task and who lead because of this knowledge or experience.” (Edexcel) Most coaches are task orientated and so this style of leadership will go very well with an individual sport such as athletics and a racket game like tennis. They can use their knowledge and experience to tell the athletes what they should be doing and this could inspire them to run quicker or play better.
Person orientated leaders, however, are those with good inter- personal skills and know how to get the best out of each player and are good motivators, rather than just on completing the task, this is much like the style adopted by England captain David Beckham as he will guide the young with an arm around the shoulder approach.
There are also three subsections of leader these are autocratic, democratic and laissez faire.
Roy Keane (football) or Martin Johnson (rugby) are examples of autocratic leaders. They lead from the front and encourage and inspire the team through such factors as their own performance, especially if the rest are playing badly or they are losing. This style of leadership requires good decision making skills as the captains are responsible for deciding what to do in crucial situations when the game can often be on the line. This can make or break a leader. England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was criticised for failing to show these guidance skills and passion in the recent World Cup due to an un-inspired second half performance in the defeat to 10 man Brazil.
“Democratic leaders are person orientated, thy listen to and act on the opinions of the group. They may go as far as taking a vote and this type of leader will always listen to other people” (Edexcel) A long jumper in athletics could have a democratic coach, if it is debateable whether he learns the correct technique or keeps his natural, more comfortable one then the coach may bring in experts in the event to give them advice.
“It could be argued that this style doesn’t evolve into leadership. Anything goes - the group is encouraged to do what it wants to” (Edexcel), this could give players extra confidence as they believe they are trusted in making their own decisions, however it could mean a drop in morale due to the team lacking guidance and being poorly run and motivated.
To my mind the art of leadership is a God-given talent. In terms of man-management, parts of it can be taught to an extent but its most important essence comes from within.
It derives from the individual’s own personality which, after all, has been formed by a combination of genes and all manner of experiences.
Emergent, person orientated, autocratic leaders are seen as the most suited to team games whereas a tactical task orientated leader is suited to individual and racket sports like golf (Ryder Cup)
All leadership styles have positive effects and all have some negative, but it just down to the leader himself to deliver and inspire in the most crucial of circumstances regardless or style of leadership.
