THERE’S no greater way to learn about leadership than leadership itself.
Sure you can prepare for it, understand the responsibilities that go along with it, and even have a few leadership experiences, but being ‘THE MAN’, day-in and day-out is something that you cannot replicate.
Every day you need to be able to answer the question of the team - ‘How is the skipper handling the current situation and what cues does that give to me as a player in his team?’
I remember Garry Lyon’s answer to this question when we sat down to talk about leadership in the early days of my captaincy.
He said simply, “as captain, you need to be ‘beyond reproach’ in setting the standards for the team”.
I knew that those words were true, but I also knew that I had some doubts about my ability as the perfect prototype.
Regardless, I now had full confirmation of my new reality - that everything I did mattered on a scale that I had not known before!
And that is why leadership is hard to replicate.
It forces you to evaluate yourself, then re-evaluate and grow as a person.
This is the same question that James McDonald has just been asked, and one that he answered with dignity, style, and determination.
But now the baton has been handed over to Brad Green, and knowing the type of person that Brad is, it is a responsibility that he will revel in.
For me, one of my key learning’s was to remember that you always take your strengths into the battle.
While it’s essential to be ‘beyond reproach’ in your desire and diligence to improve in every area, in the end, you don’t win the battle with your weaknesses, you win them with your strengths!
I have no doubt that Brad will take his strengths into his reign as captain:
Sure you can prepare for it, understand the responsibilities that go along with it, and even have a few leadership experiences, but being ‘THE MAN’, day-in and day-out is something that you cannot replicate.
Every day you need to be able to answer the question of the team - ‘How is the skipper handling the current situation and what cues does that give to me as a player in his team?’
I remember Garry Lyon’s answer to this question when we sat down to talk about leadership in the early days of my captaincy.
He said simply, “as captain, you need to be ‘beyond reproach’ in setting the standards for the team”.
I knew that those words were true, but I also knew that I had some doubts about my ability as the perfect prototype.
Regardless, I now had full confirmation of my new reality - that everything I did mattered on a scale that I had not known before!
And that is why leadership is hard to replicate.
It forces you to evaluate yourself, then re-evaluate and grow as a person.
This is the same question that James McDonald has just been asked, and one that he answered with dignity, style, and determination.
But now the baton has been handed over to Brad Green, and knowing the type of person that Brad is, it is a responsibility that he will revel in.
For me, one of my key learning’s was to remember that you always take your strengths into the battle.
While it’s essential to be ‘beyond reproach’ in your desire and diligence to improve in every area, in the end, you don’t win the battle with your weaknesses, you win them with your strengths!
I have no doubt that Brad will take his strengths into his reign as captain:
- A FIERCE DETERMINATION FOR TEAM SUCCESS
- UNCOMPROMISED PREPARATION TO BE THE BEST HE CAN BE
- COURAGE UNDER FIRE
- KNOWLEDGE OF THE GAME
- HUMILITY
Not a bad start for the 41st captain of this great Club.
Not a bad start for the 41st captain of this great Club.
