A Tale of Two Coaches Part 1

Running Head: A Tale of Two Coaches Part 1

Monica J. Price

Grand Canyon University

LDR 600

Professor: Randall Conley

March 2, 2011

Abstract
When it comes to leadership and management, Coach K and Coach Knight are undeniably the two most respected and committed college basketball coaches in the United States. But the one thing that sets the two apart is their leadership styles. Coach Knight chooses to lead by intimidation and Coach K choice is to use positive reinforcement. Both leadership styles have produced great results with a win-win record at both colleges. Leadership is a process in which the leader has to influence their follower’s in order to achieve a set of common goals, and in these two cases it’s to win basketball games.

      To become a great leader one must possess the traits needed to create the desire for the followers to take directions from the leader to meet the ultimate goal. Both coaches displayed a high level of drive, motivation, integrity, confidence, and task knowledge to which in return produced a high level of achievement.
      When correlating the power bases to each coach, Coach K would have to be classified as having referent power in which he was a coach that was admired by his students, expert power whereas the students perceived their coach as competent and knowledgeable and reward power. With Coach K using reward power he simply used love, kindness and positive reinforcement saying things such as, “job well done”, or you can do this. Reward power is having the capacity to provide a reward to the students and for them encouraging words were their reward. Coach Knight tends to use legitimate and coercive power using intimidation to get his students to provide results of winning. He demands discipline on his court and if and when it’s not present the coach chooses to use punishment such as benching the student. Coach Knight was also known for dismissing the students from practice or threatening to revoke... [continues]

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