Essay Sample on Leadership in the Coach Carter Movie

Ken Carter is offered a job as a basketball coach at Richmond school that is his former high school. He accepted the offer so that he can boost the underprivileged area of Richmond. He was also motivated to lead the student-athletes during the coaching. However, he was discouraged by the unwelcoming attitudes of the team members and their academic performance. Coach Ken is determined to bring change in the life of the players. He established a contract that stipulated strict laws that were going to check the discipline, dress code and the academic progress of the team players. The written contract required the players to attend all classes to be allowed to participate in basketball playing. The players were supposed to put on suits and ties when they come to the pitch and show good behaviors to each other, ('Coach Carter', 2).

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Coach Carter discovered that the majority of the players had breached the contract by achieving poorly in academics. He decided to act quickly by canceling the teams activities and urged the boys to embark on academics. He locked the gym and the basketball and told the school, the local community and parents that the sporting activities would resume when the players show an active progress in academics. His efforts were met by objections from all corners including from the Principal of the school; nevertheless he was not limited to fight for the future of the players. His efforts to educate the players on the importance of education were successful.

Effective leadership involves creating a vision that describes the desired goals to be achieved in the future. It is considerable to articulate and share the compelling reasons for establishing a vision for the company or the people he or she is leading. The leader should enhance should promote the vision by convincing the members to pull together and try to achieve the intended goals of the organizations. A good vision should have the characteristics of inspiring other people to follow and promote its values. Leaders should have a firm belief that they can make a change in the capacity they head regardless of the limited resources and challenges. Leaders envision the future to create a unique and ideal picture of what they tend the organization they are heading can become in the future. (Kouzes, & Posner, chapter 4)

Ken Carter, the leader of Richmond basketball team, had a vision for the players when he assumed the role of being a coach. He accepted the offer so that he could promote the skills of the basketball players and as well as improve the academic performance. As the leaders he had three bigger visions, he wanted to solve the under prioritized problems of the Richmond community and its neighborhood. The second vision is that he was looking forward to making the team undefeated in the future that he possibly managed to achieve. However, academic excellence was his primary vision he opted to produce as long as he was the team, coach. He realized that the community supported the sports so much and ignored the fundamental role of making in education. His aim was to see that the basketball players make improvements in the classroom, (Ethridge, 2).

Envisioning the future involves the leaders ability to enlist and persuade members into their dreams and encourage them to work towards them. The role of a good leader is to generate visions and make people realize the possibilities of succeeding in the future. The coach introduced a written contract that he believed would be helpful to the team players. He assumed that the contract was going to help him achieve the visions he had set for the team. The restriction appeared harsh to the players, but they contributed heavily towards being the best basketball team in the region. The team became disciplined, and everyone observed the rules they signed the contract. Envisioning the future helped the coach improve various statuses of the players.

Inspiring the shared vision encompasses the ability of the leader to imagine the possibilities that result from the vision. It is effectual for the manager to draw the possibilities of success from the present challenges that are facing the organization. Imagining the possibilities propels the leader to work hard with his or her team and achieve the desired targets. Coach Carter is a transformation leader, who believed in the good possibilities that would result from his efforts. The players had ignored education and dwelt on winning basketball games. The coach realized the fault and imagined the possibility of motivating the players towards good performance in school. He imagined that by restricting the players from basketball activities would improve their grades in the classroom.

A vision enables the leader to find a common purpose for the organization or the company he or she leads. The common goal propels all people in the organization to work as a team and achieve the intended goals. The typical use for Coach Ken for his team was to change the grades of his players and educate the community on the value of education in the society. Appealing to the common ideas is also vital for leadership because it brings all members to a common understanding and work as a team. The coach was a visionary leader that focused on the needs of the schools, the players, and the community. He established long term measures to improve the lives of the actors. He recognized the value of balancing basketball and education; therefore he insisted that every player must show progress in the classroom, (Kouzes, & Posner, chapter 5).

The visions of Kim Carter inspire many people because he managed to overcome the obstacles that came his way. He lived with the slogan that all things are possible regardless of the persistent challenges. Coach Kim faced a lot of rejection when he interacted with the team at the beginning. Nevertheless, he was never teased by the resistance as he continued pushing for the goals he had planned to achieve. The coach kept motivating the players that were not performing well in the classroom by telling them not to give up and work hard. He opted to solve issues with immediate actions to avoid worsening the situation. His efforts to overcome challenges are inspiring because people are encouraged to keep on working towards realizing their dreams.

The coach animated the visions to help change the life of the basketball players. The impact of his efforts is evident when the players accept to have a break in playing basketball and embark on studying hard in the classroom. The players became successful and joined colleges while other win scholarships. The coach won the heart of the Richmond people who started encouraging their sons and daughters to invest more efforts in education, (Ethridge, 3).

His compelling reasons to change things at Richmond high school were valid. He accomplished extraordinary things that the school principal could not believe. He kept hope and determination alive that contributed to changing the attitudes of both the athletes and the community as a whole. A visionary leader should be celebrated just like coach Kim Carter was celebrated at the end after accomplishing the hard tasks. Coach Kim Carter is an inspirational and transformational leader whose visions inspire many in the society today.

Work Cited

'Coach Carter.' N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

Ethridge, Traci. 'Leading On And Off The Court.' N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

Jones, Jasmine, Mark Schwann, and John Gatins. Coach Carter. New York:HarperEntertainment, 2004. Print.

Kouzes, James M, and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge: How to Make ExtraordinaryThings Happen in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Internetresource.