Over the course of the last two decades, major events like 9/11, corporate scandals at WorldCom and Enron, and failures in the banking industry, have all caused fear and uncertainty amongst people in society (Northouse, 2016). Most of these events were caused by highly unethical behavior by human beings. Today, fear, uncertainty and devastation have spread across the entire globe, due to Covid-19. As a result, people more than ever demand trustworthy leadership. Specifically, people need and want authentic leadership in a variety of situations. Authentic leadership is an interpersonal process. This type of leadership is relational, created by leaders and followers together. It results not from the leader’s efforts alone, but also from the response of followers (Northouse, 2016). During the last three weeks, I’ve had the privilege of working as an assistant youth soccer coach, with my friend Rory, who is the head coach. We coach indoor youth soccer, ages four to twelve. During the first day of the winter session, we could tell how nervous some of the parents and players were. More than ever, the parents and players needed authentic leadership from Rory and I during this winter session. This post will address how Coach Rory and I have displayed authentic leadership characteristics, discussed in Bill George’s Authentic Leadership Approach. Characteristics including connectedness, compassion, and passion (Northouse, 2016). These authentic leadership characteristics have led to amazing outcomes, which will be discussed in detail.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the arrival of the cold winter season, there have been very strict rules put in place for indoor sports facilities in Rhode Island. One of the rules states that parents can not enter the facility at any time. Another rule states that the players and coaches must wear a mask at all times while in the facility. As stated above, Rory and I knew right away that many of the parents were nervous and apprehensive, when dropping their children off the first day. Therefore, the two of us intuitively began to establish a positive connection with the parents. Before checking the players in, we introduced ourselves to all of the parents and communicated our game plan to them. We reassured them that we would keep it as safe and as fun as possible for their kids. After communicating with the parents, we could tell many of them felt more comfortable and they were thankful that we took the time to talk to them. In the text, Bill George argues that followers are looking for leaders to soften the boundary around their leadership role and become more transparent (Northhouse, 2016). We wanted to make it clear that we were there for the parents. We showed what the text refers to as connectedness, by creating stronger relationships with the parents (Northouse, 2016). As a result, a sense of trust and closeness was established between ourselves and the parents. As for the players, Coach Rory and myself talked to the them about being safe and wearing their masks. We also talked about how wearing the mask could make it more tiring and difficult at times. Therefor, we told them we would take more water breaks. We could tell some of the players were timid and nervous. Therefore, we cracked some jokes to make them laugh. Most of the players knew us from the outdoor session but regardless, we did our best early on to establish trust between ourselves and the players. In addition to developing strong connections and relationships with the parents and players, we also have shown an abundance of compassion while coaching the players and communicating with the parents.
The text identified compassion and having a heart as important aspects of authentic leadership. Compassion refers to being sensitive to the plight of others, opening oneself to others and being willing to help them (Northouse, 2016). During last night’s session, we showed a lot of compassion to both parents and players on a few different occasions. The first instance occurred early on in the practice. About ten minutes in, a father was waiting at the door to let his son into the facility. Coach Rory ran over to the door to retrieve the player. In that moment, the father apologized for being late and said he was having a really tough day. Rory told him not to worry at all. Rory told him we were just happy his son Jaxton was there to play soccer. I waved to the father from a distance because I was watching the other players on the field. I could see in his eyes that he really appreciated how we interacted with him. During these tough times with the pandemic, Rory and myself have noticed how stressed and anxious the parents look nowadays. We do our best to show compassion on a consistent basis with all of the parents. We also showed compassion with a player in last night’s session. He started to cry during one of the games and I asked him what was wrong. He claimed he was really tired and wanted to see his dad. While Coach Rory watched the other players, I took the player outside to his father’s car and explained how his son was feeling very tired. He was a young boy, four years old to be exact, so the father really appreciated how I took the time to walk him out to the car. Again, during these tough times, we know the importance of being compassionate and sensitive to others’ needs. As stated above, the text describes compassion as the willingness to help others (Northouse, 2016). We are soccer coaches but especially during the pandemic, we often have to focus less on soccer and more on the emotions and feelings of the players and parents. In addition to showing compassion, we have shown a high level of passion while teaching the game of soccer.
In the text, Bill George explains authentic leaders have a real sense of purpose. They are passionate individuals who have a deep seated interest in what they’re doing (Northouse, 2016). Depending on which age group we are coaching, Coach Rory and I have different ways of showing our level of passion for coaching soccer. For example, when we coach the four year olds, we often try to act silly to make them laugh. For example, sometimes we play a game called “hit the coach,” where the players have to dribble the ball and quickly kick the ball into Rory or myself. Often times, when the players kick the ball at our feet or legs, we hop on one leg or fall over to create a dramatic and funny effect. The players love this and practically fall over laughing. The parents who watch from outside the facility really enjoy seeing their children laugh and have a good time, especially during this pandemic. With the ten to twelve year olds, Rory and I set up drills and games that are both fun and challenging. We do our best to give each player individual attention every time they touch the soccer ball. We pay close attention to how they pass, dribble, shoot and play defense. Basically, we help them work on their skills and empower them to keep working hard to improve every practice. A few nights ago, we coached a group of seven and eight year olds. During the scrimmage at the end, we kept communicating the importance of passing the ball to their teammates. Sure enough, during the last five minutes, one of the teams connected three passes before one of the players scored a goal. Coach Rory and I were so happy and super impressed that seven year olds were already passing the ball that effectively. As coaches, we take pride in helping players both mentally and physically. We are passionate about empowering players to be the best soccer players they can be. We do this while showing them the importance of treating their teammates with respect and kindness. This level of passion has really paid off, as we have received very positive feedback from many of the parents and players in such a short amount of time.
One of the strengths of authentic leadership is that it fulfills the need for trustworthy leadership in society (Northouse, 2016). Coach Rory and I have developed positive relationships with parents, creating a strong sense of connectedness. We also consistently lead with compassion and a high level of passion. Connectedness, compassion and passion are characteristics of authentic leadership (Northouse, 2016). These characteristics have helped us empower our players and create trust between ourselves and the parents. The text also explains how similar to servant and transformational leadership, authentic leadership has an explicit moral dimension. Authenticity requires leaders to do what is “right” and “good” for their followers and society (Northouse, 2016). Rory and I realize that even though we are focused on teaching the game of soccer, it is also our responsibility to be good role models for the children. We also try our best to provide emotional support to our players, which has given them more confidence and composure when playing, even during the pandemic. Authentic leadership is the reason why so many parents continue to send their children to sports during the pandemic. Parents need coaches they can trust and players need coaches who can teach them the game of soccer, while making it fun, engaging, safe and challenging at the same time. Rory and I are both grateful for the opportunity to provide these children with a positive and fun environment during these tough times. We will continue using authentic leadership and who knows, maybe we can use our experience and leadership skills we’ve learned to create our own youth soccer organization some day…
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.