There is a shift happening in the way we lead people--can you feel it?

Forward-thinking thought leaders have been talking about it for years. Many non-profit organizations and conscious corporations have put it to good use.

However, the sports world is still, for the most part, rooted in the dark ages, where leadership is more transactional than transformational.

SEE ALSO: The USA Football Coach Performance Center

Transactional leaders create a traditional top-down leadership hierarchy and work from the assumption that rewards and punishment will motivate people. This “Do as I say, not as I do”-style of leadership can produce short term results without a lot of effort. However, it can have a negative affect in the long term.

As a football coach, you have a short window of time to get an entire team on the same page and it can be easy to dangle the carrot or the stick in order to get quick results. Do well, get the carrot; make mistakes, get the stick. Both of these can be damaging in the long run of an athlete's life.

On the other hand, transformational leaders seek collaboration with a bottom up approach. They listen to others, seek to help others reach their highest potential and place the value of people and their development over points on the scoreboard.

This style can be hard as it requires more investment of time and energy. However, the results can positively impact an individual for a lifetime.

This modern form of leadership takes into account the athlete as a human being, not just a means to a successful season. By focusing on the overall development of an athlete, it not only helps them reach their highest potential on the field, it also sets them up for even greater success in their future relationships, business or career, and their health. 

Being in position to coach young athletes, you get to make a choice.

Do you want to coach for the wins and losses at the sacrifice of the people who help you get there? Or would you rather be in the position to benefit the long term success of your people (athletes), and at the same time, improve your chances for success on the field?

Here is an example. We live in a society where two-thirds of the people are overweight or obese, and yet I still attend practices to find coaches using running and fitness as a “disciplinary” tool. If an athlete makes a mistake, they do push ups. Or if a team is unfocused, I see coaches have them get on the line and run.

What are the athletes learning?

They learn running is a punishment rather than a tool for getting in shape to play. In the short term, they learn their mistakes are not acceptable. In the long term, they learn to dislike exercise and running because they associate it with punishment.

Thus their future health is affected, and our society falls deeper into a health crisis.

As a coach in today’s modern world, you must look at the big picture of the impact you are making on your athletes' lives. Here are a few simple steps to building up your athletes for life:

1. Train. Give them the skills they need to make a difference on and off the field.
2. Analyze. Athletes are always being tested. Take time to analyze their performance.
3. Transform. Help them make necessary adjustments for improvement.
4. Teach. You need to lead by example. Walk the walk.

The success is in the details. Take time to analyze your leadership approach from your philosophy, language, communication and even your approach success in your own life. Your athletes are watching, listening and modeling you.

As founder of The Recovering Athlete™, Cletus Coffey teaches and trains coaches, teams, athletes and professionals how to take skills and success learned on the field and apply it to life off the field. As a former defensive back/receiver in the CFL and Arena Football League, and as a first team all- conference football player and a college decathlete at Lewis & Clark College, he faced even bigger challenges once his athletic career was over. By combining his success as a professional athlete and a business/industry expert, he now helps others win at the game of life, not just sports. To connect with Cletus Coffey, email him  info@cletuscoffey.com, follow him @cletuscoffey, or go to https://www.facebook.com/cletuscoffey/ to learn more.