The document discusses leadership and the film Coach Carter. It defines leadership as establishing direction for a group to achieve common goals. Leadership traits include decision making, mentoring, problem solving and inspiring a shared vision. The film Coach Carter is summarized, about a basketball coach who implements strict academic policies for his team to follow, causing resistance but ultimately improving the players. Key lessons from the film are that people resist change, leaders must think long term beyond just results, and make unpopular decisions.

1. Coach Carter
An Exceptional Leader

2. Who are Leaders?
“Leaders are individuals who establish direction for a
working group of individuals, who gain commitment
from these group members to this direction, and
then motivate the members to achieve the
directions’ outcomes. This activity is something
individual members could not do on their own.”
J.A. Conger,
Learning to Lead

3. What is leadership?
“Leadership is mobilizing the actions and
efforts of others to achieve common
goals.”

4. Why do we need to
develop new leaders?
 Fresh ideas
 Enthusiasm

5. Leadership traits
 Decision Making
 Mentoring
 Planning
 Role Model
 Communicate
 Motivate
 Build Teams

6. Leadership traits
 Solve Problems
 Resolve Conflicts
 Manage Change
 Promote Creativity
 Inspire a shared vision
 Enable others to act

7. Coach Carter
 Coach Carter based on the true story
of Coach Ken Carter, a top basketball
player who returned to his local high
school to coach this dysfunctional
team.
 An excellent movie to illustrate the
challenges of mentorship, coaching
and leadership not just in sports, but
in every organization.

8. Coach Carter
 In 1999, Ken Carter accepts the job of
basketball coach for his old high
school in Richmond.
 Carter learns the team members are
rude and disrespectful.

9. Coach Carter
 Carter sets out to change both the
poor attitudes of his players as well as
their dismal play performance.
 He gives the team individual contracts,
instructing them to attend all of their
classes and maintain a minimum grade
average.

10. Coach Carter
 He also imposes a strict policy in
written contracts that include
stipulations for respectful behavior, a
dress code with good grades in order
to participate in practice and games.
 Three players including Timo Cruz
refuse to follow the contract and quit
the team.

11. Coach Carter
 Nonetheless, Carter coaches the team
well and allow them to win their first
victory whilst playing properly.
 The initial resistance from the boys is
soon dispelled.
 The team, under Carter's watch,
becomes an undefeated competitor in
the games.

12. Coach Carter
 However, the overconfident team's
behavior begins to stray.
 Carter learns that too many players
are doing poorly in class.
 He takes immediate action which
outrages the team, the school and the
community.

13. Coach Carter
 Carter initiates a lockdown on the
gym, forbidding the team from playing
until they improve their grades,
angering the locals and is verbally and
physically abused by numerous
people.

14. Coach Carter
 Carter cancels all team activities and
locks the court until the team shows
acceptable academic improvement.
 Carter fights to keep his methods,
determined to show the boys they
need to rely on more than sports for
their futures.

15. Coach Carter
 Following a confrontation with school
(which lift the lock out from gym)
Carter quits his job, but finds the team
studying in the gym, unwilling to play
basketball.
 Cruz reveals to Carter his deepest
fear, which Carter asked for repeatedly
in the film, is being unable to fulfill his
true potential.

16. Coach Carter
 Eventually, the team improves their
grade but lost their last game of the
season.
 Six of the players went to college and
played basket ball thereafter as well.
 Coach has affected them more
profoundly than he himself had ever
expected.

17. Leadership Takeaways
 People are naturally resistant to
change. When Mr. Carter first steps in as the
new basketball coach and implements changes in
the training style, he is met with a lot of resistance
by the players. The film depicts the emotions of
these players very well. As a leader, when you
make changes to the status quo, expect the same
kind of emotions and resistance by those with you.

18. Leadership Takeaways
 Think long term. Mr Carter knew that for
basketball to continue to be a part of the players’
life, they had to get their other part of their lives
together too: their academic results. Although he
was a basketball coach, he saw the need for
balance in his players’ life so that they could
progress on to their next stage in life. Despite
stating clearly what he saw, Carter still faced a lot
of opposition from the community.

19. Leadership Takeaways
 Leaders have to make unpopular
decisions. Carter faced a lot of opposition in
his shutting down of the gym from the community.
He became a public enemy because no one really
understood the purpose of his actions. Nonetheless,
he stood by his decision, and won his players over
to himself. As a leader, you will face situations like
this where everyone else is pitting themselves
against you and the only thing you can stand on is
your values.

20. THANK YOU
“True leadership must be for the
benefit of the followers not the
enrichment of the leaders.”
Robert Townsend