Coach Knight: A Will to Win and Coach K: A Matter of the Heart Case Study

Coach Knight: A Will to Win and Coach K: A Matter of the Heart case study

1. Compare and contrast coach K and coach Knight, how are they different? how are they similar?

Similarities: Both coaches use their different leadership styles effectively to help the team to get the success and winning. They both shared the same rule for their teams, don’t do anything detrimental to the team, the school, or yourself. They are competent, discipline, and passionate and that is the reason why they succeed.

Differences: Coach K uses a soft leadership style to lead his team. He is able to make similar successful records through the use of supportive encouragement, warm and sincere communication, and positive reinforcement. His leadership philosophy is about a sense of family, trust, and more about caring.

On the other hand, coach Knight has a tough leadership style. He assumes that people are fundamentally inferior meaning that his team would not achieve set goals unless they are forced and watched to do what it entails to proper success. It is clear that coach K is motivated in a personable way while coach knight took a hard motivational track.

2. Describe coach K's communication and leadership styles. What are his basic assumption about motivation, leading and human nature?

Coach K uses a soft leadership. He executed a positive leadership style by relying on reinforcement, supportive encouragement, and most importantly, sincere and motivate people from their heart. He thought too many rules may keep people from making decisions. His basic assumptions about motivation, leading, and human nature is to be determined and motivated, resulting in players that are self-motivated and are willing to perform the best, guided by self-discipline. He requires players to love and understand each other. Coach K also has a principle of having his players as well as himself communicate with one another eye-to-eye because a leader has to show his face his team needs to see.

3. Describe coach Knight's communication and leadership styles. What are his basic assumption about motivation, leading and human nature?

Coach Knight’s leadership style is tough. He paid more attention on the task than player. He use disciplines and intimidation to make sure his player’s absolute best all the time. For Coach Knight’s style, he probably assumed that people are fundamentally inferior, which meant he believed his players would not fulfill every effort to compete for the best unless they were watched and forced to do. This assumption may come from his human nature over the years of learning from his father about being disciplined that the whole principle is doing what you have to do, doing it as well as you possibly can, and doing it that way all the time.

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