Sport

Life is a battlefield, as the saying goes, and we highly recognize individuals who have proven their skill and leadership in the face of great adversity. These people paced the war rooms of the world to strategize a means of attack to attain their goals. They raised their hands to call on their men and women, inspiring them through words of poetry or of ferocity, to come with them and fight, whether in the frontline, in the boardrooms, or in the sports arenas. This paper is an assessment of two famous leaders capacities, and how they rallied their people towards success, in the hopes that in the process we can further our understanding of what truly makes a leader.

One great leader, who has been the subject of many treatises on leadership and military strategies and whose name has been immortalized in history books, is General George S. Patton, Jr., arguably the most famous World War II American general of all time. Few could compare to his military genius and to his equally infamous, larger-than-life personality. Also known under the moniker Blood and Guts, Patton was a decorated Olympian and an exemplary swordsman, who in his earlier years became the youngest Master of Arms and led the development of improved military sword techniques. During World War II, he commanded troops to triumph in North Africa and Sicily, but his most glorious victories were in Germany where his army of 540,000, known for their skill and ferociousness, sliced through anxious German military defences and captured critical areas for the Allied Forces. Now, Pattons decisive strategies and military achievements are being taught and analyzed, not just in military academies, but also in business schools where it has become the foundation of modern leadership principles.

Another remarkable leader who has fought in the different battleground of sports is University of Tennessee womens basketball team coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in all of basketball history. Struggling at first with the small resources given to the womens team compared to the mens, Summitt pushed her team to 1000 victories, 8 national championships, and a 100 percent graduation rate of student athletes. In a sport dominated by men, she rose as one of the greatest coaches in the history of American basketball. Shes also come to write books about her achievements to teach people values she has gained during the length of her career.

It has been said that these two great leaders share similar traits. Patton was an in your face kind of leader, someone who doesnt tolerate incompetence. He led with an iron fist and expected his men to follow his orders no matter what the cost. This might seem difficult in the context of war, but Patton managed to instil in his men a sense of loyalty ingrained in their conditioned fear of him, a fear that was stronger than that of death. In the same vein, Donald Zauderer sees Summitt as a tough disciplinarian, to which players are challenged to endure her demanding protocol (2006, p. 21). In her self-help autobiography Raise the Roof, she mentions that she has always portrayed a take-charge attitude and views the issue of control seriously.
She says, Ive always seen the movements of players on a basketball court as an extension of myself, like puppets on a string. Their failures were my fault, their successes my responsibility. (Summitt 1998, p. 3). But despite this strict method, Patton and Summitts people know that such rigorous training and harsh procedures are vital keys to their immediate success. The two leaders made it known that these processes could make each individual a fundamental element for the success of their plans. Patton was known to make masterful speeches that would ignite the passions of his soldiers. He was quoted saying that, The soldier is the army. No army is better than its soldiers (Axelrod, 1999). Like Patton, Summitt deems to understand her players individually and make them understand that the whole will not be able to function without their complete commitment to the team. She hopes to instil the idea that the team is one big family, and that every persons effort is geared towards the success of the whole.

Though they might share the same principles, like tough leadership, the difference between these two leaders with seemingly similar styles lie ultimately in the way by which they conduct the management of their groups. Patton is what one would call an autocrat, a leader who makes the decisions alone and without any reference to anyone. He might at times seek the advice of his lieutenants, but the definitive decision rests solely on his shoulders. He was at times bordering on dictatorial and brutal, as publicized by one incident wherein he slapped a bedridden soldier for crying, calling him a coward and chiding him to return to the battlefield so he can show his worth. This incident almost ended Pattons career after Eisenhower discharged him from his infantry. Pioneering psychologist Kurt Lewin, who categorized the different leadership styles, said that this approach actually works better for situations wherein time prohibits the need for a group decision-making. As a field general, Patton sees war time action that requires quick decision making lest the army suffer a major military blow.

Summitt on the other hand sees action in the basketball court, wherein teams can have month-long preparations for big games. We can view her approach as more participative or democratic, seeking to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of her players and learning how each can deliver in their games. In this sense, she asks the opinions of each of her players on how they can individually contribute to the play as a whole. Though she at times gets off on her players, she always jots down notes that all basically say, Dont let me break your spirit. Im only trying to help you. I care about you. I want your best. Please, dont take it personally. (Zauderer 2006, p. 24) These notes show the sincere human connection that Summitt wishes to have with her team and, at the same time, put her criticisms into perspective. She also mentions these methods in Raise the Roof, stating that writing down notes is an effective way to communicate our the thoughts that we wish to share, whether they thoughts of concern or encouragement (1998).

If one would look at their styles according to the much-acclaimed self-help bible The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, one would see that both employ a lot of the tenets found in the book. One that is common to both is their belief in being proactive. Patton believed in facing any problem head-on. He usually said, When in doubt, attack (Pryor 2005, p. 5). He understood that it is better to go forward than retreat because in this process your enemies wont find you stuck in a foxhole. Summitt, too, is no stranger to adversity. As previously mentioned, when she started as coach for the Lady Vols, the team had such few resources and were considered a second-class sports team. She pushed on, facing this problem head-on, and now, finds herself with an award-winning team and all the funds that she can have to give her team the best. They also saw the importance of the whole in order to attain success and that to get there the machine should be well-oiled. Summitt trains her team rigorously because she wants every player to be as competent as the next so that as a whole they will be unstoppable. In a different perspective, Patton created an image of his infantry that evoked fear from his enemies and, at the same time, trained them to be the fighting machine that they were. Patton also saw the importance of communication in being an effective leader. He valued the ability to communicate and explain orders. In his arena this is crucial because time is always a big enemy in the battle field. Putting priorities in order was also a big factor in Summitts leadership style. She always told her players that they should always put their education first because the basketball aspect of their life will not always be permanent. By pushing her players to study besides just train, she managed to have all her players, since the beginning of her career as coach, graduate from college.

Weve read about the exploits of these two great examples of leaders, and knowing of their triumphs we cannot help but try to adapt it into our own lives. In essence, their qualities do not just make of us better leaders, but also more effective people. Applying these into our own lives, we can triumph in our own battlefields.