Good article from last month’s Wall Street Jounral embedded below on consistent character traits of great team captains. The author studied 16 of the greatest sports dynasties in history (from the New York Yankees in the early 50’s to the Cuba women’s volleyball teams of the 90’s to the San Antonio Spurs of this generation) and examined the captains that led them. He found that seven traits were consistent with the 16 leaders. This is a great article to pass along to your team captains. Due to Wall Street Journal’s subscription policy, I’m unable to link to the article but have embedded the PDF below.

7 Common Traits:

-They took care of tough, unglamorous tasks
-They broke the rules — for a purpose
-They communicated practically, not in grand speeches
-They knew how to use deeds to motivate
-They were independent thinkers, unafraid to dissent
-They were relentless
-They possessed remarkable emotional self-control

For more on team captains:
-Urban Meyer clinic notes on Ohio State’s Leadership Development program (LINK)
-4 things your captains must do to create a championship culture (LINK)
-Bill Belichick depends on Patriots’ captains (LINK)
-Bob Walsh | Captains (LINK)
-Why Chip Kelly will always have 16 team captains (LINK)