In week 2 of “The Warrior Voice” I took the time to sit down with Marc Rodriguez and Marissa Govan on the topic of “Impacts of Team Leadership”. I personally look at leadership as being a key factor in successful teams. When the standard is set, leaders are ones who make sure the limits are pushed to help elevate the team’s performance. With being a leader within our student-athlete advisory committee, I find it interesting to know the different styles of leadership that flow throughout our athletic teams. Both Marc and Marissa are called on as captains but as we know, titles don’t make a person, and that's just how Marissa started off her interview when asked the first question….
I believe there is no one definition of leadership, so when asked both athletes for their definition, I was able to sync in the leadership personalities that both may obtain. “I think leadership doesn’t necessarily have to be defined as a role, but is displayed by positive actions to help bring the team together to achieve its goal.”, Marissa stated. I was able to note how Marissa talked about some may look at leadership as just a title, but without actions the title/role isn’t effective for the team. This may be common in some teams where ones who are elected as captains or leaders but aren’t effective in the role. Marc went on to say “I think a true leader is someone who has a relationship with the team and can pull out the best in everyone.” I followed up with asking about the importance of leadership in team success, and both strongly agreed to the importance it plays in a team being successful! [Marissa]“I think leadership is a crucial part of success in teams. I found that if a team doesn't have solid leadership, things can start to get a little crazy and the vision may begin to get blurry.” I noted how Marissa spoke on the vision getting blurry. Being on the same page as a team will play a huge part in the long run, because as we’ll speak on later in the post, every team gets hit with a stomp in the road! Mark added that “It's important because a team needs someone to be that backbone to assist everyone on being on the same page. If everyone is not on the same page, there's a lack of leadership which can affect a team's overall success.” I liked where Marc was stressing the point of being on the same page! As we mature as athletes, we come to realize that we trust the teammate next to you to fulfill their job or role in the competition. As you might know, positivity is stressed a lot with leadership. But I wanted to get an idea of what Marissa and Marc would say are negative traits that a leader should not possess or act as. Marissa began with “I would think demanding instead of participating within your team would be negative. It’s easy to point fingers, but it takes a leader to show you the way!” Yes! She’s right. Anyone can indeed point the finger, but being a leader means that you guide and instruct the mistakes! Leading by example at its best! Marc spoke on a great point of leaders remaining open minded and not thinking that they should have to stop learning. “Just because you are called to be a caption doesn’t mean you stop learning. Having the open mindedness of wanting to learn every day is everything.” Both athletes do have leadership roles on their respective teams, and as I began to discuss the common styles of leadership (Democratic, Autocratic, Laissez-Faire), both athletes quickly identified their style. [Marc] “I like to focus on building my team up through optimism. I might be laid back at times to give my teammates that slight freedom; also big on encouraging my teammates to call me out if I'm not bringing enough energy”. Sometimes leaders do need to be called out, and it's not always a bad thing. Having multiple leadership roles myself, I find it beneficial when coaches or faculty tell me what I could be better at. Marissa went on to add “I feel like in certain situations my leadership style might change, and I can adapt to my teammates and the situation. I noted Marissa mentioning adaptability, which in my opinion is a huge key in leadership. Knowing your teammates and how to help them grow in certain situations is big. Like mentioned earlier, every team will eventually meet a stomp in the road. When adversity hits, a team can kind of freeze up and this is where a leader is most important to step up! So I asked, how important do you think leadership is in that moment of adversity and what are ways you try to lead in that situation? [Marissa] “A lot of times in the situation of adversity, teammates are going to look for someone to lead the way. When something happens, it's very important to have that leader that the team can learn from and help guide the right direction. Some ways I try to get my team to respond to adversity is bringing them up with positivity!” Marc added “It is important to have someone who is calm through the rough stretches of a game because energy can be contagious, and if someone who is considered a leader begins to act out on the team the wrong way, then the whole team can then fall apart. There is a way to call someone out or correct them, but if you are bringing negative energy into it, you aren't really leading in the best way possible”. Both Marissa and Marc expressed positivity as a huge role in leadership which is something I express as well! Trying to stay positive will take you a long way in sports and can have an immediate impact on the people around you. Towards the end of interviewing both athletes, I pondered on the possibility of their being some negatives that come with being a good leader. [Marc] “I feel like decision making or having to be real with everyone can sometimes go the wrong way for some. “Sometimes teammates may not agree with you, but respectfully they must know a good leader/captain only wants what's better for them and the team.” I noted how he addressed decision making as a way some may disagree, but good leaders do indeed know what's best, and strive to bring growth on its teammates! Marissa stated “I find that it's sometimes hard to navigate that line of “am I pushing it too much?, or not doing enough? as a leader.” We as leaders have a way of feeling things out too, so I felt where Marissa was coming from with this point. In the end, I asked if they could both describe a time when their team faced adversity and leadership played an important role to overcome the bump. [ Marissa] “There was this one time we were losing badly…and one of our teammates started reciting all the ways we worked hard to be here with the early morning workouts and things. This got us all hyped up to turn things around.” Me personally I believe you shouldn’t have to flip a switch to play well or motivation to play well; But in certain moments, there might come a time where you have to revert back to your training when things get tough! Marc described a game earlier this year when they were kind of in a drought and hungry for a win. “Earlier this year, I think we were 8-6 at the time, and we were at a tough point in the schedule. I just kept telling the guys to stay positive! And keep striving! We’ve been on an 8-game win streak since that game, and I know spreading that positivity in the moment of difficulty helped guide us on the road we’re on.” These were both powerful, yet real life experiences where leadership had a tremendous effect on a team's success. I think we sometimes overlook leadership as just a title but like Marissa stated earlier “leadership is displayed by one's actions!”. I had a great time catching up with Marissa and Marc about this extraordinary topic. Marc Rodriguez is a RS-Sophomore guard from Philadelphia, Pa majoring in Exercise Science, currently leading the Warriors in the playoffs to make a strong push for a PSAC title! Marc looks up to Coach Wilson, Coach Kaba and Tim Tebow as influential leaders. Marissa Govan is a RS- Sophomore Center Fielder from Bucks County, Pa majoring in nursing, who also is leading the Warriors at the start of their season. Marissa looks up to Dr. Munford who has been an influential figure at ESU with academics and athletics! It was interesting hearing the different influential leaders that both athletes look up to! And I think we all can point out valuable points of leadership from the discussions I had with both athletes! This was another successful week of “The Warrior Voice”, and as always, stay tuned next week for Week 3!
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AuthorJamal Cooley Archives
April 2020
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