Coxswain Leadership Essay

According to Dictionary Reference, the definition of a leader is "a person or thing that leads." To me, a leader goes above and beyond that definition. A leader is put in a position of leadership because they are respected and trusted to do the right thing for their community, or in our case, team. As a coxswain for the rowing team, I understand the pressure that a leader has to deal with. A coxswain is a leader for their boat and they are trusted to make the right decision for that boat. It is very important that coxswains weigh their options and decide which is best in a short amount of time. This allows me to think on my feet, which is a quality that is helpful to a leader. Being able to think of the pros and cons and see their consequences quickly is a big part of leadership, which coxing prepares for me. Being a coxswain has also taught me that sometimes the right decision is not always the easiest one to make. It was hard for me to learn to leave my friendships on the dock when we launched, but I realized that I was only hurting my friends by going easy on them because they were in fact my friends and I didn't want to offend them. By pushing them …show more content…
I want them to know that they can trust me. I know that giving me the title of leader does not instantly instill these qualities, rather I want to instill these qualities to the word leader. I want to make it my job to be a trustworthy leader. To be their friend when they need it. I also want to be a resource. When they need help with a technique, I want them to know that they can come to me for help. I will stay after practice, or get there early to help them with whatever they need, crew related or not. I don't want my leadership to be limited to my team. I want to be a leader outside of the boat, away from the boathouse. Leadership never stops and I want to emulate