The coaching of team sports is a tradition-bound culture that often has viewed the expression of individual difference as incompatible with optimum team performance or organizational efficiency. This is particularly true in team sports that resonate with military metaphor and unquestioned authority.

However, a team or organizational culture that suppresses individual expression runs contrary to the concepts put forth in the leadership behavioral dimension of individual consideration, as outlined in the transformational leadership model, or TLM (Bass and Avolio, 1994). The TLM integrates many of the fundamental concepts of its historical predecessors in the field of organizational development and leadership theory (Senge, 1990; Covey, 1989; Walton, 1986; Argyris and Schon, 1978).

Additionally, the TLM compensates for a strategic flaw in the outcome-based approach of leading athletic teams and organizations by integrating individual consideration into the model. Individual consideration, along with inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and idealized influence, make up the four behavioral dimensions that comprise the TLM.

At the heart of effective leadership is individual consideration, which communicates the unconditional message of the value of each individual. Acknowledging, understanding and celebrating the reality of individual differences, then strategizing to utilize these differences is an empowering leadership strategy to increase individual coaching influence, player satisfaction and, ultimately, team performance.

The aim of individual consideration is to identify ways each team member can best contribute to the larger interest of the team while satisfying personal goals and developing successively higher levels of individual potential. Individual consideration is practiced by transformational leaders through:

• The creation of new opportunities for personal growth in a supportive environment
  
• Recognition and acceptance of individual differences in terms of needs and preferences
  
• Delegation of responsibility as a means of developing followers, and
  
• Two-way communication that personalizes interaction with followers.

Each team member has his or her own will, mind and way of thinking that reveal what they value most. Tapping the potential of people requires knowing what each individual considers most valuable, then providing a supportive environment that leads to achieving of the results they seek.

A transformational leader practices individual consideration for others by making an effort to accurately identify the preferences, values and competencies of each team member. First, however, the leader must be willing to accept that individual differences do exist and those differences may be used to benefit the larger group.

The traditional expectation in the coach-player/leader-follower relationship is for the player/follower to meet the coach/leader on his or her terms. The transformational leader takes the opposite approach in establishing a relationship with individual team members. The transformational leader conforms to team members’ needs by accepting individual differences as a reality, then capitalizing on those differences to enhance individual satisfaction and team performance.

The Meyers-Briggs Type Inventory (MTBI) assessment instrument is used to identify individual preferences and is an excellent tool to develop a fundamental set of expectations of leadership behaviors.

The set of leadership behaviors is based on the knowledge of preferences and how to effectively accommodate differences that exist between individuals to promote maximum individual and organizational performance. The awareness that individual differences and preferences exist is the first step in understanding how to best accommodate and integrate them to empower and inspire team members.

Delegating responsibility is a high leverage technique that the transformational leader practices to promote individual growth and organizational development. Shared vision and stewardship are the primary components of effective delegation. Shared vision originates from the personal visions of team leaders and team members. It is the vision and values of the team members that inspire individual performance excellence, not an externally-imposed vision. Consideration is personal and rooted in an individual’s own set of values. Most often the personal visions of the team members will include consideration for others or causes beyond those driven by self-interest.

Developing a shared vision will result in energized individual commitment rather than simple conformity. Stewardship delegation is a transformational leadership strategy that offers team members the ability to exercise personal preferences in accomplishing a task. Stewardship delegation requires a shared understanding of a mutually desired outcome, but allows individuals the flexibility to use whatever methods they prefer to fulfill their responsibilities. The purpose of delegation of responsibility is to foster a cooperative and supportive culture, grounded in shared vision and mutual respect that promotes individual self-actualization and team achievement.

In authentic two-way communication, a coach/leader will discover that there are tremendous differences in perception and the impact those perceptions have on people who are mutually interdependent. The transformational leader becomes aware of background experiences and individual preferences by listening empathetically and observing team members while performing. The meaning of any communication is largely determined by the two-dimensional context of the speaker and the listener. Failure to appreciate the differences in perception based on the other person’s experiences and preferences prohibits successful communication, as does the inability of the listener to enter genuinely into the emotional life of the speaker.

Good listening requires discipline, concentration, active participation and comprehension. Successful two-way communication is a function not only of agreement about what is said, but also consideration of the patterns of thought that are a function of individual experience and preference. The objective of good two-way communication is to achieve shared patterns of thought and meanings to influence commitment to the team vision while also supporting individual growth.

Creating, modifying or managing the team culture ultimately is what defines leadership success. Blending the skills and talents of all team members into a complementary, efficient unit is a coach’s primary objective. Intuitively, is it not reasonable then to consider individual needs critical to optimizing team performance? Imagine creating a team culture where every individual is in tune with every other team member’s needs. Is this not the highest form of team play or team chemistry that every coach and player strives to experience?

Knowing and understanding the talents, needs and abilities of teammates then mobilizing diverse team members to share and achieve a common purpose is consummate team play. Seeking to understand team member needs before trying to blend individuals into a cohesive team is a logical place to begin to develop a team culture that reflects an exceptional form of coaching innovation and adaptability.

A valuable outcome of applying the TLM, and particularly individual consideration, is the formation of a mutually supportive relationship between leader and follower. A mutually supportive relationship may be established when a follower recognizes the leader’s commitment to understanding individual team member preferences, values and needs. Follower recognition of this commitment facilitates the creation of a complementary team environment grounded in mutual trust and understanding.

Trust and understanding between leader and follower are essential to create a mutually supportive and cooperative environment. Such an environment, one that effectively blends individual talent, is the essence of a championship team. The advantage of practicing individual consideration in a team sport is that it supports the overarching purpose of the coach/leader, to strategically blend the natural unique giftedness of each team member in a way that promotes group achievement and individual self-actualization. The transformational leader maximizes individual contribution by facilitating the development of natural individual preferences to higher performance levels rather than restricting or imposing demands that are not natural. The transformational leader recognizes the power in the unity of diverse human resources.

Editor’s note: Michael C. Hollway, Ph.D., is the football coach at Ohio Wesleyan University. Taking charge of the team after an 0-10 season, he has built the best winning percentage in the program’s 113-year history. He was named the 2003 Ohio Wesleyan University Exemplary Teacher of the Year and won the Bishop Francis Emmer Kearns Award, which recognizes the faculty member that best exemplifies OWU’s ethical, moral and mission values.

References
Argyris, C., and Schon, D. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of acctive. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Avolio, B., and Bass, B. (2002). Developing potential across a full range of leadership: Cases on transactional and transformational leadership. Mahwah. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Covey, S. (1990). Seven habits of highIv effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. New York: Simon Schuster.
Walton, M. (1986). The Deming management method. New York: Perigee Books.