Team Leader Commandments

Two years ago, I was asked to address a group of team leaders within college athletics. The group was diverse and spread evenly across multiple sports. I decided to organize my thoughts around a list of Team Leader Commandments, a technique I learned from a former leader and mentor, Doug Gabram.

While compiled to target team captains and leaders of sports teams, many of the lessons were learned in other fields or taught by leaders in different contexts. But no matter a commandment’s origin, I find applicability across multiple disciplines. Here is what I shared.

1. Lead by example in all situations. Your actions define you. Teammates learn by watching, not by hearing.

2. Know your players…their strengths, their struggles, their needs.

3. Share the pain and agony. When failure comes, the night is long, and the work is tough…BE THERE!

4. No one can take away your integrity — but you can give it away. DON’T!

5. Be demanding, not demeaning.

6. Don’t be afraid to admit when you’re wrong… because you will be wrong.

7. Leadership doesn’t have privileges — it has responsibilities.

8. Stay calm. They’re watching and will do what you do.

9. Facing defeat requires more courage than celebrating victory.

10. Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I will understand.

11. Never argue or demean a coach in public, but always stand up for your positions in private. Don’t be a “yes man” or “yes woman.”

12. When something goes bad, it’s your fault. When something goes well, the credit goes to your teammates.

13. Watch for cancer…it spreads.

14. Teach, coach, and mentor. We are measured as leaders by what we leave behind in our teammates.

15. Live so that when your teammates think of caring, fairness, and integrity, they think of you.

16. Leadership isn’t “likership,”

17. Clowns can’t lead a huddle.

18. You don’t get the team you want. You get the team you allow.

19. Be the same person everyday…always be prepared, always be consistent, always lead.

20. Mission first — People always!

To be clear, these commandments aren’t always easy to follow, and for me some of them have certainly proven easier than others. But in the end, they serve as signposts that point me in the right direction as I seek to navigate my own leadership journey. I hope they do the same for you.