Elise Devlin, The Athletic; Why a simple act from a team captain embodied what it means to be a leader
"I came across Hischier’s interview by accident while checking Instagram but stuck around to watch the full clip. I was curious how an expert might diagnose the situation and Hischier’s reaction, so I reached out to Dr. Brad Kirkman, a professor at North Carolina State, the next day. Most sports fans would probably recognize Hischier’s moment after Sunday’s game as an example of leadership — for Kirkman, it was textbook.
Kirkman has spent decades studying what leaders should do when things go wrong. He boils it down to four components every strong leader should embody when navigating unexpected adversity:
• Team confidence: Does your team collectively believe it can overcome obstacles that get in the way? Does it have confidence in itself, but also in every member of the team?
• Teamwork roadmap: If adversity strikes, does everybody know what they’re supposed to do, and do they know what their other team members are supposed to do in the situation?
Capacity to improvise: When things go wrong, is the team creative enough, and flexible enough, to improvise and find a solution with what’s in front of it?
• Psychological safety: How safe do members of the team feel to talk openly and honestly about their mistakes, their failures and constructive criticism of other team members?
Kirkman said Hischier’s leadership in that moment was effective for three reasons: He addressed the situation quickly, vocalized his confidence in Hughes to bounce back and balanced his support with a call for Hughes’ improvement. (Hughes also took accountability for his play with reporters after the game: “I made a couple of mistakes tonight and I got to be better.”)
To Kirkman, timing matters most after failure. Waiting a day or two to publicly support Hughes could have left him stuck in the moment, especially as younger, less experienced players can sometimes feel overwhelmed, Kirkman said.
Care and concern from a leader — an idea Kirkman notes was rarely discussed years ago — has become central to building strong teams."
