Candice Wiggins was the starting shooting guard for Stanford University women's basketball team. Wiggins is the all-time leading scorer in Stanford women's basketball history and in the Pac-10 Conference women's basketball history. She was selected 3rd overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
In this interview, Candice shares her insights on what it takes to be a successful leader for a team.
Q: As you think about a leader for a team, what do you think are some of the most important skills or qualities that that leader has to have?
CW: I think that a leader on the team needs to have passion, first of all, for what they're doing. And it has to be a genuine passion. They have to be interested in it and I think that that's probably the first step to really becoming a leader. Whatever you're doing you have to love to do it every single day and you're committed. I think that obviously a leader works hard and things like that, but it really just makes the experience fun and special for everyone.
Q: How would you differentiate a leader by example versus a vocal leader and which one of those would you say you are?
CW: Well, I think a leader by example is somebody who just does it. They can talk or not, but they're just someone who comes in every day and just does it and sets a standard for how things should be done. I think a vocal leader is different. A vocal leader is always talking, always encouraging. In terms of myself, I try to do both. You know, obviously it's really hard to lead by example and to be the one talking. It's a lot of energy, but I still try to do that as much as I can. I think that there needs to be a balance though between how much you talk and what you actually do.
CW: Talk a little bit about when you came to Stanford as a freshman, and obviously you were a highly regarded player... How did you feel out what your leadership role was? And did you feel like you could say things even though were juniors and seniors ahead of you?
CW: Well, that was a very interesting experience coming into my freshman year. It was probably the first time where... Well, we had 16 people on the roster and it was a senior driven team - players I had seen since I was really young playing. And I think it was really overwhelming for me to come in and just sort of feel like I could just say just anything I wanted to when I didn't even know what I was doing. But I just think that that year, there were so many great leaders on the team that I didn't really have to step in and become this leader by example or vocal leader because we had so many on the team. I think that I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader. Even like little things in the weight room. I still remember the seniors and they would come in and I looked up to them so much and everything they did and how much they worked. I think that from my experience I didn't really feel like I was necessarily a leader but again, like I said, I just learned so much about how to be a good leader that year.
Q: Good. When did start finding your voice then as a leader, and feel more comfortable to step into that role?
CW: Well, I think that towards the end of the season my freshman year, I had a lot of the seniors that I was playing with at the time telling me that this is how we feel about you. We think that we're going to go as far as you lead and take us. And I think that's when I started to realize that "Hey, I'm the youngest player here, but these people, they actually look up to me," and I really learned that. And then after they all graduated, all the seniors, and there were only a few people with game experience and just had the same experience I did, I knew that right away that my sophomore year was going to be one of those years where I had to be a leader.
Q: Okay, let's talk then about some of the toughest challenges you've faced as a leader and how did you try to overcome them?
CW: I think a big challenge in being a leader is definitely a lot of pressure. And I think that dealing with pressure in terms of, every day coming out and making sure that you're the best that you can be. And also, just having that responsibility that wherever the team goes, it's your responsibility. I think in terms of me dealing with that. It hasn't been very hard because I've had such great teammates that are willing to take some of that pressure away and take leadership roles from time to time. I don't have to score all the points, or even be the scoring leader every game, someone's going to step up and take the role. We had vocal leaders in the past. I just think that it is very challenging. Another thing is that if you make a mistake, you're looked at. It is just really important that day in and day out that you're setting a good example and that you try your best to just be as good of a leader as you can.
Q: How does a leader need to work between teammates and the coaching staff and to kind of bridge the gap between those two groups?
CW: Well, I think it's very important for the leader to be the one who takes the initiative to show how the player-coach relationship should be. How their actions are with the coaches is how everyone is going to sort of follow. So, I think it was really important for me how I responded to criticism, how I responded to things not going my way is the most important. It's something that nobody who's in that position wants to have to deal with often, but it's really important. It sets the tone for how others perceive the team relationship. I think it's also important for the players to make sure that the coaches and players are all sort of on the same page. I think it gets hard when one doesn't understand the other's situation. So I work hard to try to vocalize that.
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