Management lessons from volleyball

Volleyball is a big thing here in the summer. I somehow got roped in as team captain my first year in lab, and I stayed on for 2 years as captain. Handing over the team to a new captain, I suddenly had a list of things I thought he should do (also known as what I would do). This is my first shot at a team sport, much less being captain, and I have developed a few ideas that I hope to carry with me into my work.

1. Understand the players, and use them.
We were a rag-tag lab team of whoever is willing to play. Of course, the ideal team would be tall and athletic, but not everyone is born that way. I am the very opposite of tall and athletic myself. B is tall, but not athletic, but with simple instructions (angle arms downwards) he was able to block well. W's accuracy improved greatly after we pointed out that playing with both hands results in better control of the ball. And of course, planning the rotation required knowledge of who can work well together, and who needs an extra hand.

2. Play positions
I realize in a real league that people have preferred positions that they stick to. But in a summer league, no one really cares. In fact, insisting on sticking to your usual role confuses everyone.

More importantly, taking over someone's role once would result in that person less likely to try the next time. Before you know it, everyone is waiting for you to do something. Even if they don't always reach perfection, trust that they will do their best, and point out where and how they can do better if they miss.

3. Have fun
There will be the ones who want to win, and the ones who want to win but also want to have fun. Putting down your teammate for missing will dampen team morale. My personal style is to talk during the game when possible. Crack a joke, make everyone laugh and relax. After all, the point of the summer league is really to have fun and to bond.

These probably sound like rules for playing Little League, but it will probably be a good reflection of your team in real life. There will always be someone lacking experience and skills, and we just have to do our best as a team.