Herb Brooks - Good leadership can create a miracle
Good leadership can create a miracle
Leadership can be so transformational that creates miracles. Herb Brooks was the perfect example of a ‘game changer’ in the hockey field. His leadership features were: vision, motivation, innovation, strategic thinking, confidence, perseverance and strong sense of purpose. He worked relentlessly towards his vision “to win a gold medal in the winter Olympics”. He defeated all odds by analyzing his biggest competitor (Russia), defining a winning strategy (combination of two hockey styles), choosing the right talent and by pushing them hard enough to become the best hockey team in the world. He accomplished his vision and gave the American people something to believe during difficult economical and political times.
There is no doubt that Herb Brooks was a great leader and coach. However, his autocratic style caused conflict with his superiors, peers, players and his own family. He was so blind sided by his vision that he did not care about what anyone had to say. He did not consult his superiors or his wife about many important decisions. He was very confident in his plan and he chose not to align anyone; I am not sure if he did this to avoid conflict, but he hurt relationships along the way. Also, his strong focus on results caused a lack of empathy with his team. He was not empathetic toward some of his player’s emotional states; he was more focused on pushing them out of their comfort zone: physically and mentally. He had a great opportunity to be empathetic to his team during the Holiday party, when he could have put himself in his players’ shoes for a moment and realized they needed more emotional recognition at such an important time of the year (away from their families).
I would recommend Herb Brooks to have more transparent communication, to be more empathetic and to lead more from the heart. First, he should play less mind games with his players and have more transparent communication. His coaching
Leadership can be so transformational that creates miracles. Herb Brooks was the perfect example of a ‘game changer’ in the hockey field. His leadership features were: vision, motivation, innovation, strategic thinking, confidence, perseverance and strong sense of purpose. He worked relentlessly towards his vision “to win a gold medal in the winter Olympics”. He defeated all odds by analyzing his biggest competitor (Russia), defining a winning strategy (combination of two hockey styles), choosing the right talent and by pushing them hard enough to become the best hockey team in the world. He accomplished his vision and gave the American people something to believe during difficult economical and political times.
There is no doubt that Herb Brooks was a great leader and coach. However, his autocratic style caused conflict with his superiors, peers, players and his own family. He was so blind sided by his vision that he did not care about what anyone had to say. He did not consult his superiors or his wife about many important decisions. He was very confident in his plan and he chose not to align anyone; I am not sure if he did this to avoid conflict, but he hurt relationships along the way. Also, his strong focus on results caused a lack of empathy with his team. He was not empathetic toward some of his player’s emotional states; he was more focused on pushing them out of their comfort zone: physically and mentally. He had a great opportunity to be empathetic to his team during the Holiday party, when he could have put himself in his players’ shoes for a moment and realized they needed more emotional recognition at such an important time of the year (away from their families).
I would recommend Herb Brooks to have more transparent communication, to be more empathetic and to lead more from the heart. First, he should play less mind games with his players and have more transparent communication. His coaching