“We took this and helped break up the cliques and also tried to get kids motivated in positive ways.”
The Fortis Leadership Training Method
Leadership is a skill that cannot be acquired during an hour seminar or quick pep talk. It requires consistent attention and focus over time. The Fortis leadership training program puts persistent training at the foundation of our program. We meet with the captains of the sports currently playing every 2-3 weeks. The bulk of our classroom sessions consist of reviewing challenges and issues leaders are facing and discussing how to respond. Participants are also given assignments to complete on their own time.
Tangible, Executable, and Actionable
Our training program is actionable and tangible. We spend very little time discussing leadership theory and frameworks. Everything is related to the problems and issues leaders face on a daily basis. Our homework assignments also require leaders to detail their actions and plans for leading their team in a tangible manner.
“I used the idea of appointing younger kids on the team as leaders”
“I used the skills [we learned in class] to become more vocal with my team.”
A Collaborative Partnership
Too often leadership training is a separate add-on that occurs away from the coaches. They aren’t really involved. The captains attend a seminar and that’s it. We believe leadership training works best when the coaching staffs are an integral part of the program. That’s why our assignments are handed to the coaches and the coaches given the material as a result for meaningful conversations with their captains.
“We developed good plans and ideas of what we wanted to do and then implemented it well on the team.”
Improving School Culture
We believe that sports leaders are often influential among the student-body writ large. While our focus is on leadership training, our goal is to also positively impact those we teach, and in return, these athletes will help steer the overall culture in a positive direction – whether that be in regard to bullying, cheating, drugs and alcohol, or any other major issue our schools face.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]