All the time you hear the player and parent blame the coach or the GM in hockey for their misfortune. Many time it is simply bitching to cover up their own shortcoming. But sometime it is actually true.
There are good team and bad team in every league, and in every instance good or bad it start with the leadership at the top. If you do not have it together at the top, you can never lead young men forward.
To be sure there are the good coach and the bad coach, the good GM and the bad GM. It is a lot easier to find out who is good and who is bad than you may think. They expose their true self in many simple and specific way.
Some thing to look for to identify a poor leader in the organization;
Do they call out the player in public? Meaning do they speak to the press negatively about the player that may have long term effect on player performance. It is different to name a player and say he have a bad game but he will get back to work and improve next outing then it is to blame the loss on one or another player. Critical comment must always be follow up with positive motivation publicly, or you have lost the player and risk damaging his confidence.
Do they act rudely or conceited when dealing with people in social setting? The most successful people in the game are humble, and will always act so when meeting or socializing in public. The people who think they are special because of their position are usually people who have inferiority complex buried within. That same complex can transfer to player and become cancerous to the team.
Do they refuse to change? Coach and GM who think there is only one way to have success are coach or GM who will likely not be around long. The game changes and you must change with it. What worked in a system or a communication style 30 year ago do not work today because people and the game have evolved.
Do they deflect blame or responsibility? The best coach and GM accept blame or responsibility for the team even when they do not have to. It is a sign of a leader who will protect his player no matter what. That is a person people will follow. People who deflect blame or responsibility are the excuse maker and are afraid to look in the mirror.
Do they communicate or talk? Communication require listening and speaking. Talk is only talk. The successful coach or GM will communicate and not simply talk.
Do they inspire? If the coach or GM can not inspire the player to want to be better, to work harder, to give more, or to become more than he think he can be, they are not who you want to play for. Inspiration come in many forms. You know an inspiration leader within 10 minute of being around him.
No you know what to look for and what to avoid. Now you also know what to see you have in your coach or GM this year.
Coach
