When people talk about leadership, they typically tend to emphasize on the leader. Normally even the study of leadership is focused on leaders (Hamel, 2021). What most people do not consider when speaking about leadership is the followers. The followers are a big part of leadership even though it is in most cases forgotten about. The leadership process is affected by the followers’ expectations, personality traits, ability levels, and motivation (Hamel, 2021). The last part of leadership that is also forgotten about in most cases is the so called “situation”. The situation is “how leaders and followers interact in certain situations” (Hamel, 2021). The situation is hard to pinpoint since it can be a large variety of things. However, the situation is in many cases a good indicator of how strong leadership is.
I have played team sports since I was little and have always been surrounded by a lot of different people with different values. Playing sports usually brings out different traits in people. Teams have different dynamics and people have different roles on the team. It was quite early on that I started to realize the importance of leadership in sports. Leadership is a concept that is talked about a lot in sports. Even though leadership has been a big part of my athletic life, it took me many years to realize that leadership is something that one or a few people alone cannot create. I have had great coaches and amazing individual leaders that I have had the privilege to play with. However, what I have learned throughout the years is that a great leader alone cannot create great leadership without great followers.
Followers who share similar goals and values as a leader and who feel rewarded for performing well are more likely to put in more work than someone who is only monetary motivated (Hamel, 2021). In sports, leaders can be coaches or individual players. Regardless of who you consider to be the leaders of the team, the followers are just as important. When a team has followers that can buy in to the values of the leaders, they will most likely be more motivated to put in the extra work that the team needs. Personally, as an athlete, I know that when you have leaders that you believe in and respect, you are much happier and more motivated to go to practice and work for the team. I have first-hand seen teams where everyone plays for each other because the team has leaders that everyone wants to follow. Leadership is like a two-way street; it needs both good leaders, and good followers to be successful.
When talking about the “situation” in a sports scene I think about the ups and downs throughout a season. Regardless of how good of a team is, it will always have ups and downs. A big indicator of how strong leadership is, is when things are not going well for a team. Seeing how the team reacts and deals with a hard situation is a good way to determine how good leadership is. Like mentioned before, this is an interaction between the leaders and the followers. How are the leaders behaving when challenged? How are the followers receiving potential negative feedback? I have seen many interactions between leaders and followers throughout my career. Some interactions have been bad and have had a negative effect, even making the situation worse. However, some interactions have been great where a leader has been able to get the followers on the same page, ultimately resulting in an upward trend on the team. The leadership process is complex in sports. I have added a figure from (Northouse, 2013), as framework about how leaders and followers together create leadership which eventually leads to outcomes.
Figure 3.2. A mutually constructed process (Northouse, 2018, p. 305).
Leadership is everywhere, whether it is in school, at a workplace, or in sports. What we cannot forget about is the importance of followership. I have been exposed to leadership throughout my athletic career and have learned how important it is. I have also learned have extremely complex leadership is and how it is impossible to have good leadership without good followers. Followers contribute to the leadership process just as much as leaders do. I inspire everyone who has been felt like they have had good leaders in the past to go back and think about the followership in that scenario. I believe that most of us will notice how big of a role it plays. Whether in sports or in other areas of life, followers should not be forgotten about.
References:
Hamel, R. (2021). Lesson 1: Introduction to Leadership
Hamel, R. (2021). Lesson 3: Followership
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications