Building a 'Leaderful' Team

Dr. Richard Ian "Ric" Charlesworth, M.D., was on the Australian hockey team for five Olympic Games, two of them as captain. He was also part of the team that won the World Cup in 1986. For more than a decade, many considered him the world's best hockey player. After his playing career ended, he went on to be head coach of the Australian women's hockey team, which under him won almost every top hockey contest in the world, including the Champion's Trophy, the World Cup, the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.

As a coach he has been a revolutionary in his way of building winning organisations, by developing what he calls the "leaderful team," in which every player is prepared, technically and psychologically, to step up to lead--or to step back to support, as needed. The idea is to maximise the potential contribution of every team member in a way never before attempted in sport.

Forbes magazine recently interviewed Ric Charlesworth in two sessions: "How Hierarchies Do Harm" and "How You Can Develop A Leaderful Team" :

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/16/charlesworth-hierarchy-hockey-leadership-ceonetwork-managing.html?partner=leadership_newsletter

and

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/23/charlesworth-hierarchy-leaderful-leadership-ceonetwork-managing.html?partner=leadership_newsletter

The articles are well worth reading.

Building a 'Leaderful' Team