By Sarah Schreiter
As a new assistant coach for a local volleyball club, I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership. I believe that coaching sports is one of the most challenging yet rewarding leadership experiences one can have. Despite past leadership experience, I’ve never coached before and I can’t help but feel a little anxious. I want to be the best and most effective leader possible – but how?
In reflecting, I found an intriguing quote from John C. Maxwell that reads “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” While this makes sense, I also find it a little startling – and here’s why. I have been inspired and led by teachers, coaches, peers and mentors throughout my entire life. I’ve also been successful in leadership positions. And in thinking about these leaders and what I felt made them successful, I’ve come to challenge Maxwell’s definition of leadership.
The leaders who inspired me didn’t always “know the way.” They didn’t always know exactly what they were doing. They didn’t inspire me because they had step-by-step instructions on a task and were then able to lead people through those steps. Rather they were able to face the unknown, make mistakes, learn and grow. I am most inspired by people who realize that they don’t yet know the way, but will do everything in their power to figure it out.
Maxwell also defines a leader as being able to “go the way” and “show the way.” I think this should mean leading by example, but based on Maxwell’s definition I picture an individualistic leader who takes sole control of a group. I don’t believe that this is a true leader. Leadership involves teamwork and collaboration. A genuinely effective leader listens, adapts and reflects – even if that means changing their path or their outcome. The saying goes “it takes a village,” right? So while a leader should be able to “go the way” and “show the way,” they should also understand that going the way may require some off-roading, and that they might need some help along the way.
Ultimately, I’m glad I came across Maxwell’s definition of leadership because it brought me to reflect, challenge and question. It also allowed me to begin defining what exactly my leadership style is. I don’t have a “blueprint” for my volleyball coaching experience – and I probably won’t have one for every leadership opportunity I take on. But that won’t make me a bad leader. It won’t make me incapable or incompetent – it will just make me human. What will define my leadership style will not be whether or not I know exactly what I’m doing, rather it will be how I handle what I don’t know – and I think I’m okay with that. Cheers to new and exciting leadership opportunities!
Interested in student leadership opportunities at the University of Portland in 2015-2016? Position descriptions and application information are available at http://up.edu/leadership/. The first round of applications is due Friday, February 6.