Undefeated is an inspiring movie about the football team of Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tennessee and how a special coach was able to turn their poor performance around through his transformational leadership. As a volunteer coach, Bill Courtney gave so much of himself to the team because he believed they could do much better. Not only did he build up their skills and changed their attitude for the better, but more importantly, he built their self-esteem, discipline, commitment, and character. The film takes the viewers to a journey of change in the characters from nonchalant boys who did not take their responsibilities seriously to mature men who learned how to sacrifice for the team and appreciate each other for who they are.
Coach Bill is a well-loved and well-respected mentor who never gave up on the seemingly hopeless team. The boys lived in a poor neighborhood, most of them coming from dysfunctional families. The team was predominantly Black but the movie never showed any hint of prejudice nor racism. The story followed the lives of some of the members, especially O.J., Money and Chavis and their struggles to maintain their roles as both students and athletes. O.J. was a huge and skilled player who made waves with football fans and was flooded with college football scholarships. However, his cognitive functions are not as good as his motor skills so unless he raises his grades and passes his college eligibility test, the offers will be useless. Money suffered an injury that constrained him from playing football. Chavis suffered from anger management issues and had to be suspended from the team due to his obnoxious behavior. Coach Bill was personally involved in the lives of his members and took an active role in helping them in their formation. His wise words during his pep talks with them reflect deep and valuable life lessons that the boys, and the audience as well, can take with them in their life journey: “Young men of character and discipline and commitment end up winning in life and end up winning in football. “; “Football reveals character.”; and the one that echoed throughout the film, “The character of a man is not measured by how he handles his wins but what he does with his failures.” Hence, when the team lost a very important game they prepared for, this last quote lifted the boys’ spirits up. Transformational leadership is intrinsically based on the process of motivation. This kind of leadership lies on the ability of the leader to inspire the members to put effort into a task (Kouzes & Posner, 2007).
This film was successful in portraying what ‘transformational leadership’ is. From a poor performing “loser” team, the Manassas High School Football team was transformed into a strong and powerful team to beat and their improvement was widely chronicled in the news. Transformational leaders like Coach Bill emphasize the empowerment of their members and how they should prioritize the welfare of the team over their own personal agendas (Bass, 1985). His leadership motivated them to push beyond their own limits and expectations and strive for the achievement of collective goals rather than just focusing on individual goals. For example, before and after each game, he would assemble the whole team for a meeting to thresh out their issues and concerns and remind them to set aside any personal grudges and play for the team. He also initiates prayer for each member and encourages all players to look out for each other.
Transformational leaders are knowledgeable about conflict management (Goetsch and Davis, 2006). Dealing with the issues of teenage boys and their petty fights is something Coach Bill has to do. During one meeting, Chavis and Money had a fight and Money walked out. Coach Bill had to reprimand both boys and asked them to settle their differences for the sake of the team. Although both boys were stubborn, they accorded him with the respect he deserves and allowed him to discipline them. In him they found the father figure they lacked in their lives. Coach Bill realized they needed someone to look up to who understands and supports them the way a father should. When he received the great news of a benefactor willing to sponsor Money’s college education, he was genuinely happy for him. He was also in tears as he shared the news to the boy and expressed how proud he was of him and how deserving he was of this blessing. He did the same for all the boys, showed them affection in success and failure. His unconditional love and commitment to them was unquestionable.
The leadership of Coach Bill is ideal for a sports coach. He embodies the “Team Leader” in Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Model (Blake & Mouton, 1985). . This kind of leader is high on both his concern for his members as well as concern for their productivity. While sustaining positive relationships with them, he also motivates them to perform their tasks in high quality. He can be strict with them, even curse them and punish them, when needed so that they learn their lesson and perform better. This was evident when he suspended Chavis for repeatedly getting into trouble with other players and even the coaches. Chavis regretted his bad behavior and resolved to change and even humbly asking his team mates to accept him back to the team after his suspension. At the same time, Coach Bill also pushes his boys to work hard and trains them intensely until they become skilled enough to win games.
Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee (2000) identified emotional leadership styles that have been effective in teams and Coach Bill displays some of them in the film. The Visionary leadership style uses inspiration, self-confidence, self-awareness and empathy. This kind of leader embodies a purpose they live for and attunes it to values shared by the people they lead. Having empathy as a strong competency, this leader has the ability to sense how others feel and understand their perspectives, so he can articulate a truly inspirational vision to them. The visionary mode comes naturally to “transformational” leaders or those who seek positive changes. Coach Bill is aware of the difficulties in the lives of his boys. Having been in the same predicament of missing a father figure growing up, he can relate to how the boys were behaving. He understands where they are coming from, why they are acting out and expressing their hurts in unproductive ways because he has been in their shoes.
Another emotional leadership style is the coaching style characterized by deep conversations with a member of a team that goes beyond short-term concerns, but more of an exploration of the person’s dreams, life goals and career hopes. Although such coaching focuses on personal development rather than on accomplishing tasks, this leadership style generally predicts and outstanding positive emotional response and better results because the leaders invest on establishing rapport and trust with the members of the team. It follows that members are more open to listening to performance feedback, with the view that it serves their own aspirations and not just their coach’s interests. The effective coach possesses the sensitivity and expertise needed to prop members towards their goals and communicates a belief in people’s potentials and an expectation that they can do their best (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2002). This was evident when Coach Bill fully supported O.J.’s need to be qualified for the college football scholarships. He set him up in an environment conducive to improving his academic skills and enabling him to pass the qualifying test. After that, he gave him wise advise and motivation for his future in college. In return, O.J. was inspired enough to take up Education to also be a coach like Coach Bill. Presumably, it was his way to give back to others what Coach Bill has generously given to him.
All the efforts and sacrifices of Coach Bill to turn around the team’s attitude and performance were all worth it in the end even if they did not achieve the much-awaited win in the playoffs. For him, the change in the boys and the redemption of the school’s reputation as a ‘loser’ school were enough rewards to compensate him for all the hard work, the time away from his own family, and the patience he had to maintain in trying to patch up differences within the team. For him, it was no use blaming them for losing the playoffs because he knew how hard they tried and what they also sacrificed in order to reach the milestone they did. The team he coached will actually go down the history of the school as the first ever team to play in the playoffs and to win several games for the school. Hence, he boosted their bruised egos and hurt feelings of loss with his praises for their efforts, his admiration for their much improved skill and formidable spirit. He was not remiss in assuring them of his faith in them and expressed to them how much he loved and cared for them. This was very effective in the boys’ picking up the pieces and moving on with greater resolve to prove to him that he was right in investing in them. As a result, all the boys went on to live more productive lives and making a name for themselves. O.J. and Money went on to university with O.J. as a member of the football team and Money as the team manager, since he was unable to play anymore due to his permanent knee injury. Chavis went on to his senior year in high school as the Team Captain of the football team. As for Coach Bill, after six years as a coach to Manassas, he quit to become the coach in his children’s school. He did not want them to experience what he did growing up so he ensured that he was always available for them and will always be there for them no matter what.
The documentary film is proof that anything is possible if one is committed and persistent enough to do what is right. Coach Bill did not just want his team to be better and win games but he also envisioned them to be men of character. He never forgot to impart good values to them and emphasize the importance of determination, discipline, faith and the power of prayer. He indeed made a huge difference in the lives of his boys and he is worthy of emulation. He did not dwell on his negative experiences as a child abandoned by his father, but instead, he used this to help others in the same predicament and helped them avoid negative outcomes.
Coach Bill is truly an inspiration and at least in Manassas, the world is much better because of him. May his tribe increase!
References
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press.
Blake, R. R. & Mouton, J. S. (1985). The managerial grid III: The key to leadership
excellence. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co.
Goetsch, D.L., & Davis, S.B. (2006). Leadership and Change. Quality Management:
Introduction to Total Quality Management for Production, Processing, and Services, 5th
Ed. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. & McKee, A. (2002) Primal Leadership. Harvard Business School
Press, Boston, MA
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2007). The leadership challenge, 4th edition. San Francisco, Ca:
Jossey- Bass
