What could leaders learn from Rugby League?
I’d imagine a few things would come to mind if I asked this question to a room of teachers. Some of the answers, I’m sure would be pretty funny – if a little inappropriate.
However, yesterday I was reading this article by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter FitzSimons, discussing the merits of Des Hasler’s coaching techniques over those of his counterparts in the NRL. Towards the end of his piece, FitzSimons makes this point:
There are two ways of coaching football. One is to regard yourself as the puppet master endlessly sending runners out on to the field, ensuring that each cog in the machine is conforming to your precise instructions. And the other is to empower the players to make the decisions themselves, trust them to get it right, give them the tools to win, and then let them get on with building it. In my experience, it is not only the second model which is the most invigorating for the players, but also the most successful in the long-term.
Is there anything we can take from this, not only in terms of leadership in school or the corporate world, but for teachers working with students on a day-to-day basis?
As a teacher I could not agree more with Peter FitzSimon’s support of a coaching method that empowers ‘players’ by giving them the tools and opportunity to succeed (and fail) based on their own choices.
Thanks for sharing this quote, I would have missed it otherwise – I usually skip the sports section (perhaps I shouldn’t). 🙂