Running a team as a democracy or dictatorship?

[zagreus]

This kind of goes along with the last post about Team Rules, but in the end...it's really about the captains/leaders of the team, or how team members want their captain to run the team.

I'm looking at different ideas on how to run a team, because as captain, I want to ensure the team tries to achieve its goals, and have fun at it.

I personally believe democracy doesn't work. It slows down the process, and impedes general progress. But at the same time, a dictatorship doesn't work. I figure a quasi-democracy would work best. Democratic on smaller situations (team logos, fundraisers, trips, dinners) while the more important things (choreography, song choice, organization). When it comes to choreo and song choice, that's somewhat democratic because anyone can get involved, but the captain i figure should make the final decision.

I seem to be the guy asking questions about these things...but really, I'm curious to know what others do.

 

[imakhilyou37]

Yeah should be a mix of both. More than anything i think a "dictatorship" works if you have a nice enough dictator haha. As long as the dictator listens and gets people opinions before makin most of the decisions its all good.

 

[Arjun Barua]

Yeah, you don't have to do a democracy or dictatorship. Here's a couple of proactive things I thought of that every leader/captain ought to do:

• It's fine if you have the final say on decisions, but make sure you're approachable. Consider differing opinions, and encourage people to speak up if they have any input on team-related matters.
  
• Lead by example. You can't expect your teammates to work hard and respect you if you show up late to practices and half-ass run-thrus. Give 100% at every practice, and your teammates, not wanting to seem lazy, will follow your lead.
  
• For every time you criticize or correct someone, try to tell them something positive about what they're doing well.

Speaking on leadership, the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said:

The leader is best,
When people are hardly aware of his existence,
Not so good when people praise his government,
Less good when people stand in fear,
Worst, when people are contemptuous.
Fail to honor people, and they will fail to honor you.
But of a good leader, who speaks little
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
The people say, 'We did it ourselves.'

 

[Mukandpuria]

depends how the team is formed...if its a bunch of friends who got together and created the team(Sher/LBC) then you need to be careful with the dictatorship.

but if its like one person creates a team and has people trying out then yea lean a little more towards dictator

 

[yraparla]

1 part Constitutional Monarchy, 1 part email system

Part 1
Set aside the things that will be done democratically and make it clear that they will be voted on by the team. Everything else I would suggest being a firm dictator on. Doesn't mean you can't take votes to help decide and influence you...you don't have to be a hardass, but be just as clear that you have final say and remain firm with your decisions.

Part 2
Also, encourage input to come at you like email. It's much easier if everyone gives you a quick comment/point and you decide whether to actually hear them out fully or not. Think e-mail headers...you know what's up, and from whom, but you dont' bog down in details till you need to). If you've gotten a hundred little things on a certain step or immediately negative pointers on a formation, then you can make the decision to review it and throw it open during practice. Learn about the issues immediately, but focus on them at the right time so you stay efficient.

Just remember, if you're team hates you you're gonna blow, so make sure to actually read those headers and reply back.

 

[Manjot]

Yeah, you don't have to do a democracy or dictatorship. Here's a couple of proactive things I thought of that every leader/captain ought to do:

• It's fine if you have the final say on decisions, but make sure you're approachable. Consider differing opinions, and encourage people to speak up if they have any input on team-related matters.
  
• Lead by example. You can't expect your teammates to work hard and respect you if you show up late to practices and half-ass run-thrus. Give 100% at every practice, and your teammates, not wanting to seem lazy, will follow your lead.

Speaking on leadership, the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said:

The leader is best,
When people are hardly aware of his existence,
Not so good when people praise his government,
Less good when people stand in fear,
Worst, when people are contemptuous.
Fail to honor people, and they will fail to honor you.
But of a good leader, who speaks little
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
The people say, 'We did it ourselves.'

you said it the best Arjun
and that quote is sickk

 

[HarmanSingh]

Yeah, for an independent team like that is made up by a bunch of friends who have known each other for a long time, people know their role on the team and respect one another enough to the point where their isn't a need for a dictator. Different people are good at different things (choreo, formations, creative ideas, finances, practice scheduling, etc), and when you know each other long enough everyone knows what they should be doing at practice.

But I am guessing for a collegiate team, where members are constantly changing/inexperienced dancers often come on the team, there is more of a need for a dictator.

 

[Gugu]

Like someone just said it depends on the type of team it is, i.e. friendly or a "tryout" setting. Regardless you have to be firm and dictatorlike at practice when its game time. In order to not be a complete asshole, I usually just chill with the guys after practice and just be one of them, but I can't say the same for practice.

And Arjun, that is a sick quote.

 

[kinnell]

But I am guessing for a collegiate team, where members are constantly changing/inexperienced dancers often come on the team, there is more of a need for a dictator.

This is applicable in my case where a few on my teams didn't want to perform with turbans because they didn't look "cool". Since I started my team, I heard a lot of people on my team's opinion on matters "bhangra should be... " or "use only these types of songs" and came to the realization that a "nice" dictatorship is in the best interest of the team. I heard the most ridiculous shit this year coming from people who thought they knew bhangra.

 

[AmitB]

If you have a team that doesnt know a lot about bhangra coming in, youre going to have to lean more toward dictator. the one piece of advice i can offer though, is that make sure when you inevitably have to reject things that wouldnt fit in a bhangra routine, do it nicely, and explain your reasoning or people tend to take it very personal that you dont accept thier ideas. I have learned this from bad experience so good luck with that.

 

[mafzal]

Everyone's already pretty much given out the best advice. Though I gotta add - make sure it's clear to everyone what kind of system you will have. [Mainly for college teams] Make it clear what you will do for the team as leader and what you expect from them. Assert your authority when necessary, or else you will waste time and potentially cause misunderstandings. I think you will be successful as a strong captain who is very nice and approachable.

Also, I think it is useful to have a Captain and Choreographer, as two different people. The choreo can focus on the dance - while captain handles things like enter comps, get gigs, order apparel, schedule pracs, etc. [Both should know what's going on in everything i.e. the choreo can show the captain the new song ahead of time, get input, then both can teach it, or the captain can suggest songs and the choreo can help plan a fundraiser] It's a nice separation of responsibilities plus added bonus of separates power, too. Of course this only works if you have enough talent - because both the captain and choreo need to be experienced in bhangra and on top of their game. Does anyone else have this sort of system?

 

[Kaur]

I agree with Arjuns post, said it the best. About having a different captain and a different choreographer, its easy to call someone a captain but hard to classify 1 personal as a choreographer. I think its all about whoever has the creativity to go for it. When PANJ first started we had just one person doing the moves and it looked a bit repetitive. BUt now we have 3-4 ppl come up with different suggestions, and work on the routine together, sothei really isnt a choreographer. But everyteam is different, and run different ways. I view 'captain' jsut as a title, someone who runs practise, organizes events, does paprwork, etc etc.If you're captain you dont have to be the best dancer on the team nor do u have to make all chreography or mixes, its ll about honestly working together and seeing what others ont he team are good at.

 

[Govind]

But I am guessing for a collegiate team, where members are constantly changing/inexperienced dancers often come on the team, there is more of a need for a dictator.

This is applicable in my case where a few on my teams didn't want to perform with turbans because they didn't look "cool". Since I started my team, I heard a lot of people on my team's opinion on matters "bhangra should be... " or "use only these types of songs" and came to the realization that a "nice" dictatorship is in the best interest of the team. I heard the most ridiculous shit this year coming from people who thought they knew bhangra.

for sure...haha dictatorship for college teams all the way, especially when it comes to people's opinions on bhangra-related things when they don't know what they're talking about. some team members just don't appreciate the traditional style and sometimes you can't do anything about it...every few weeks, have a 'team meeting' at the end of practice while you're stretching and take 10-15 minutes for everyone to pitch in and say what they'd like to see change and what they think is working for them.
this gives you more legitimacy as a dictator b/c it makes it appear that you took people's opinions into account.
on a college team, where the captain and maybe 1 or 2 other people know anything about bhangra, democracy should be limited when it comes to choreography related issues. pick a few of your promising kids and bring them along when you're choreoing your set to drill it into them. the new kids often have some original formation ideas since they haven't watched all the videos...

does anyone ever feel being captain is sometimes an underappreciated (although often highly rewarding...) job? (the question is mostly posed to college teams)

 

[Waleed]

Elected dictatorship (oxymoron, I know)

Once you have elected a leader, trust the decisions they make and let them run things they want to. The vision for the team should be coming from 1-2 people. With 'too many cooks in the kitchen' the end result can be disappointing.

Once every 2 weeks, the team should meet outside of practice (for 15 mins) and ensure everyone is on the same page. If there are any concerns, raise them with the captains, resolve them quickly and move on.

 

[kinnell]

does anyone ever feel being captain is sometimes an underappreciated (although often highly rewarding...) job? (the question is mostly posed to college teams)

Absolutely 100%. People do not realize the time, dedication AND talent that goes into choreography, mixing music, running practices, dealing with problems, applying to competitions, being the contact person for performances on campus events, getting people to show for practice and everything else.

You become your team. If your team has a bad performance, it's only your fault. If your team does well, it's because everyone on the team did it. Wow. What a rant. But I'm glad I'm not alone. ;D

 

[KushK]

50% Democracy - 50% Dictatorship

 

[Aditya]

25% Democracy - 75% Dictatorship

 

[nkrishnan]

28.3% democracy, 71.7% dictatorship

Also ankush why did you reply to this 5 years later lol

 

[faizan]

25% democracy, 75% dictatorship

 

[KushK]

Also ankush why did you reply to this 5 years later lol

I got a little bored of the same old threads on BTF, so I decided to go back in time for the interesting stuff haha