Great Coaches are not only masters of their game, they are also master team builders, and you cannot build a great team without building great Chemistry. There is a certain recipe for building Chemistry on your team which means specific ingredients are required. The first ingredient we discussed is Selflessness.
The second ingredient continues the concept of Selflessness and combines it with Leadership to create a Servant Leader mentality. SERVANT LEADERSHIP is crucial to a Team's Chemistry..
Too often (especially in the sports world) we mistake overbearing intensity and control with Leadership. If others are following you because they are intimidated or they have no other choice, you are not leading, you are bullying. No one likes or wants to give their all for a bully. Eventually, when adversity strikes, a team will fall apart if they have been controlled by a bully who thinks he or she is leading. They fall apart because they never had any Chemistry.
The team that is led through Servant Leadership though, grows closer in adversity. They play for each other and they do their job not for selfish gain but because they know the rest of the team is depending on them.
So what does Servant Leadership look like? It is the upperclassman who takes the underclassman under his wing and shows him how to do things. He is not there to haze. He is there to help. He does this so that those who come after him carry on the traditions of the school. Servant Leadership is the older coach who invests time into the younger coach to show them what it takes to be successful in the profession. Servant Leadership is finding others doing something good and pointing it out. Servant Leadership is letting your actions speak louder than your words....
