Leadership

Article What's the best way to select team captains? There's no single best way to pick captains — the rule is don't leave leadership to chance. Define the job first, then choose a method that fits your roster. Read now Article How do I get my seniors to lead instead of coast? Give every senior a defined leadership job: assign a role, teach it, and review it. Seniors coast when leadership is left to chance — build it by design. Read now Article How do I keep bench players engaged when they're not in the game? Give every bench player a named role, clarify it with each player, and honor it publicly — Bruce Brown's approach to keeping reserves engaged all season. Read now Article How do I motivate players who don't seem to care? Treat apathy as a symptom: fix the five motivation killers, make what matters to you matter to players, and reward small successes — Bruce Brown's approach. Read now Article How do I get players to hold each other accountable? Players hold each other accountable when they help build team covenants, trust their teammates, and have a clear method for respectful, direct confrontation. Read now Article How do I spot the athletes who could become leaders? Character first, then behavior under pressure: the traits Bruce Brown says reveal natural leaders — teachable spirit, emotional control, truth over popularity. Read now Article How do I develop team leaders instead of just naming them? Develop team leaders by giving them a real job description — the seven ways to lead — then teaching and mentoring it daily. A title alone develops no one. Read now Article What do I do when my captains aren't stepping up? Captains who don't step up usually lack a real job description. Select leaders by team values, define the role, give visible authority, and mentor them weekly. Read now Video Intentional Coaching 2 - Building Leaders From Rob Miller in the intentional coaching series (the four avenues: athletes making great choices, building leaders, creating support through parents… Watch now Podcast The First Female Commissioner in NAIA History Lori Thomas, who hosts this series, on 30 years in sports administration — ten of them leading the Heart of America Athletic Conference, and building a pro volleyball club from the ground up. Listen now Podcast Twenty Years, Four Sports, Three States Scott Rosberg, athletic director at Park High School in Livingston, Montana, on two decades coaching basketball, football and soccer across Illinois, Montana and Washington. Listen now Video Methods for Selecting Team Leaders Surveying the different methods of choosing team leaders — all drawn from his book Proactive Leadership (page 50), written as a semester's worth of lesson… Watch now Video Leadership - Leaders Must Be Developed Leadership - Leaders Must Be Developed (Short Promotional Message) Watch now Video First Rate People Hire First Rate People Recorded in his favorite reading spot in the guest house — drawn from the Impact of Trust presentation and booklet. Topics covered: the three things that… Watch now Video 7 Ways to Develop Role Players On building teams where every role is understood, embraced, and celebrated. Topics covered: why every great team has multiple roles that must all be… Watch now Podcast Two Rival Schools, One Conversation Tom Bendt, longtime Oregon athletic director, on the ambassador program he built with a rival school’s AD, the summits that followed, and why everybody — including the AD — needs to be coached. Listen now Podcast We Practiced at 9 P.M. in a Warehouse Scott Dulin, who built Fisher College’s entire athletic department in two months with no uniforms, equipment or field, on dodging pillars at night and the airport conversation that found him a ballpark. Listen now Podcast Accountability Is a Form of Love Scott Centala, former pro player and consultant to Olympic, MLB, NFL and special operations teams, on psychological safety, permission to fail, and “I got your back” versus “I gotcha.” Listen now Podcast We Never Fired a Coach for Losing Mick Hoffman, executive director of the WIAA, on changing the culture of four high schools and eight middle schools at once — covenants with action statements, and hiring aligned to them. Listen now Podcast Permission to Speak Freely Matt Kincaid, Gonzaga walk-on turned professor and leadership consultant, on why leaders stop hearing the truth, what candor does for a team, and the ninth-grade coach who believed in him. Listen now Podcast Firm Hands and Open Hugs Jody Sears, head football coach at Sacramento State, on inheriting a talented but rudderless team, building identity through core covenants, and being demanding without coaching through fear. Listen now Podcast I Thought Winning Would Be the Easy Part Jenny Eustice, head dance team coach at Iowa and a three-time national champion dancer, on learning to coach the person, senior leadership, and the two quiet seniors who became phenomenal leaders. Listen now Podcast The Front Porch of the Community Darin Boysen, executive director of the Nebraska Coaches Association, on the leadership summits reaching 1,500 athletes a year, and why relationships never meant coddling. Listen now Podcast Put On Your Humility Hat Corinne Immel, Hall of Fame dance coach who took over her own former team at 21, on the workshop that changed everything, surviving a nine-month season, and why she stopped fighting the January slump. Listen now Booklet Equipping and Empowering Team Leaders Designed to support people who are intentionally teaching leadership (a companion to the Captains booklet and the Captains & Coaches Workshop DVD). It is… Read now Article Vision This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Life Lessons #1 collection, presents the championship principle of vision under the title… Read now Article Work With The Living This article by Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller, from the Proactive Coaching Leadership collection, explains how leaders trying to change or improve a team… Read now Article Welcoming New Team Members This article by Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching builds on the five predictable stages teams go through and focuses on a key leadership… Read now Article The Difference A Team Leader Can Make This article by Bruce E. Brown, from the Proactive Coaching Leadership collection, shares a letter from Josie Price, a senior soccer captain at… Read now Article Team Stages Captains And Coaches Workshop This article by Bruce E. Brown presents the "Team Stages" section of Proactive Coaching's four-hour Captains and Coaches Workshop. It describes the five… Read now Article Team Stages Team Stages (Captains and Coaches Workshop) Read now Article Servant Leadership This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, excerpted from his books "Teaching Character Through Sport" and "The Seven Essentials of Great… Read now Article Missing Dad This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, written shortly after the death of his 96-year-old father, reflects on the blessing of a lifelong… Read now Article Followers Creed This article from Proactive Coaching, part of its Coaching for Significance materials, shares The Followers Creed, a piece of unknown authorship. It lists… Read now Article Field Marshall This article from Proactive Coaching, from the Leadership collection, was written by Tim Driver, a former student of Bruce E. Brown who became a coaching… Read now Article Captains And Coaches Workshops Turning Point Of Our Season This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching shares feedback from the Captains and Coaches Workshop, a half day workshop designed to get coaches… Read now Article Avoiding Leadership Voids This article from Proactive Coaching by Rob Miller, from the Leadership collection, addresses what coaches can do when team leaders get little or no… Read now Article AIM When Looking for Leaders When Looking for Leaders: What You See in Natural Leaders Read now Article 15 Traits Of Natural Leaders This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, subtitled "Find Them – Hire Them – Train Them – Empower Them," argues that the best team cultures do… Read now Article 10 Things To Improve Your Team This article by Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching, from their booklet Turning Around Athletic Programs, gives leaders ten actions to… Read now Article Service This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching LLC presents the championship principle of service. It shares Swen Nater's story about 92-year-old… Read now Article Scenarios For Captains This article by Bruce E. Brown, from the Proactive Coaching Leadership collection, presents a set of common scenarios that team captains should be… Read now Article Captains Loyalty This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, adapted from the booklet Captains – 7 Ways to Lead Your Team, covers leadership concept #5 for team… Read now Article Captains ABCA - Seven Ways to Lead Your Team Captains: Seven Ways to Lead Your Team Read now Booklet Captains - Seven Ways to Lead Your Team Congratulations on being a leader on your team. Don’t leave this season, or this experience to chance. You only have a few opportunities like the one you… Read now Article Sharing Leadership This article from Proactive Coaching, written by guest contributor Nancy O'Neil, Director of Athletics/Wellness/Activities at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional… Read now Article Selecting Captains This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Leadership collection, answers one of the most frequent questions from Captains and Coaches… Read now