Entry #1 Management vs. Leadership

The past two weeks of class have really intrigued me to gain a better understanding of the differences and commonalities between managers and leaders. The experiences I have had as a college athlete transitioning into a graduate assistant coaching position have introduced me to the behind the scenes “Coaching techniques” necessary to run a successful program. I first would like to discuss the role of a manager in sport and how important it is to a coaching staff. The manager is more so the authoritative figure that is responsible for making sure the planning, organizing, and busy work get done taking place off the field typically. In my case as a graduate assistant, I take on a lot of responsibility in this role. This is again why I’m also considered the graduate student manager. The daily tasks I’m in charge of are setting up equipment for practices, organizing/inventory of equipment, planning travel arrangements, arranging meals while on the road, monitoring team study sessions, and other various office tasks assigned. During the games I manage the bullpen by making sure pitchers are ready to enter the game at any given time and remain in constant communication with the pitching coach as well. Along with the management role, I also play a leadership role. As a leader I have to help motivate players on a daily basis in practices and in games. Pushing them to reach their full potential and keeping a positive atmosphere can be tough. The difficult part about it is when to turn that switch from a management role to a leadership role and when it’s appropriate to do so.  

Within our coaching staff the head coach is more so the leader and the assistants serve more as managers. Based on the qualities of the two roles in the reading from class by Kotterman, I thought the descriptions tied in perfectly to our staff. The manager plans and budgets, sets timelines, organizes staffs, maintains structure, implements the vision, monitors results, etc. The leader sets the direction and develops the vision, motivates, inspires, influences creation of teams/partnerships, displays passion etc.  

I really liked the idea that “leadership is not about personality, it’s about behavior” and “modeling the way.” These quotations came from the Kouzes and Posner reading. They also stated that “credibility is the foundation of leadership.” I believe in this 100 percent because as an athlete and as a coach, if a leader is not doing what he/she says, then others will not follow because of the lack of credibility, trustworthiness, and behavior they possess. I think the top for characteristics discussed in the reading hit it right on the head as to what qualities a leader should possess : Honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent.  When I think about my experiences as being in a leadership role as a team captain when playing, I believe my teammate made the effort to evaluate me in these categories before accepting me as a leader. Likewise, in coaching; the players are not going to respect you or practice what you preach unless you are modeling the way with these types of characteristics.

In combination of the two positions (leadership and management), I think it is difficult to be one or the other. The continuum and Miracle movie clips we discussed in class painted a perfect picture of this scenario. In the locker room before the hockey game the coach served as a leader motivating and inspiring his team to prepare for the game. In the office the coach served as both the manager and the leader by taking care of the small tasks like building a stronger schedule, recruiting top players, and implementing the vision of being the best team in the world. On the ice at practice the coach served as more of a manager than a leader in my opinion because he was conditioning his team, diagraming plays, and making sure his team was ready for competition comes game time. He had to be the authoritative figure, but find a way to motivate his team to push themselves to that next level.