Auston Matthews For Leafs Captain?

We have heard plenty of speculation that Auston Matthews, at age 20, will soon be named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He just needs a little time to establish himself before he ascends to the captaincy. After all, he is a generational player, a certain Hall of Famer. It follows the trend of making your best player captain – as Edmonton did with Connor McDavid and Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby when both were just 19. But is making your superstar the captain the best idea?

In The Captain Class,  Sam Walker set out to determine what factor made teams dynastic  like the 1960s Boston Celtics that won titles year after year. Researching teams in all sports, he used a rigorous set of parameters to select the 16 most dominant teams in sports history.

He then sought to determine the common factor that made these teams so dominant. He wove behaviour psychology studies with extensive interviews with coaches, players, general managers and owners to find what made these teams so great – was it the general manager? The coach? The team executive? The ownership?
It was none of those. It was the team captain that drove these teams to success year after year. These captains were not the best player on the team and where not particularly fond of publicity – but they had superior leadership qualities.
Walker listed 7 qualities that were common to these captains. Not every captain of these 16 teams displayed all 7 characteristics – but he shows how they utilized some of these to drive their teams.

Three examples that resonated with me:

• Philipp Lahm’s courage to tell the management of Bayern Munich that they needed to change their strategy to be successful. He wasn’t a superstar with a guaranteed roster spot. He took some risk to confront management. He demonstrated that task oriented conflict (rather than personal conflict) can be productive in a team environment. Walker cites the research of Karen Jenn to support this conclusion.  Lahm avoided an emotional attack on team executives. His approach was fact based, not personal. He believed the executive was competent and only needed to change their strategy.

• The captains showed unflagging doggedness, to the point of insisting on playing when seriously injured. An extreme example is New Zealand All Blacks’s Buck Shelford, who suffered broken teeth, a knockout blow to the head and a torn scrotum in the famous Battle of Nantes and continued to play. Such displays overcome ‘social loafing’  – the concept that individuals have a tendency to put in less effort when part of a team. Every team, whether sports or business, needs a leader that can push a team through sheer determination and example. Unflagging persistence in pursuit of goals can drive a team to success and avoid the pitfalls of complacency.

• Tim Duncan is a great example of a captain that communicated consistently with all his teammates, coaches and referees, relying on not only verbal, but facial expressions and touching to deliver messages. He and other captains vary their communications to suit the person. MIT research showed that a key factor in how any team in the business world performed was the energy and engagement team members displayed outside of formal meetings. Natural leaders move freely among team members and were ‘democratic with their time’, giving all members a chance to contribute. And while not necessarily extroverts, they were comfortable approaching people and listened as much (if not more) as they talked .

My kids are just starting out in their careers and I try to give them advice (some of which they actually listen to). I would recommend they read this book because it is about more than just sports. CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel), strategy+business, Forbes and SI.com all chose it as one of the best business books of the year. There are a few points from the book I definitely will pass on to them:

• The superstar is not always the best leader. Neither is the loudest person in the room. In fact, usually they are the worst leaders

• Communication is important to get the most out of everyone. If you are an introvert you must overcome reluctance to approach people to ensure constant communication among team members

• Take the emotion out of any conflict or disagreement. Don’t make it personal. You don’t have to like everybody you work with, but you need to respect their views and experience. Dissent can be valuable if channelled constructively.

• Leaders must adapt to the team and circumstances. They need empathy and self awareness to communicate effectively with all members of a team. They must accommodate all personality types and give all equal opportunity to express ideas. If working for a leader that doesn’t display these characteristics – find another team.

• Leaders must show ‘doggedness’ – that they care about achieving results and will push to get them. They will not tolerate a ‘loafer’ mentality.

As for Auston Matthews becoming captain? Only his teammates and those close to the team would really know if he has the characteristics of the best captains. But he shouldn’t be chosen just because he is the superstar.