Our team is having some big political problems. We had a vote for co-captain last night, and the person that was most responsible got voted out. She was bawling, and we don’t know if she is about to come back. Then, the person that was voted in isn’t really a leadership type, and he won’t step down, even though the former co-captain was told by one of the parents that she is co-captain still, the vote didn’t count… :ahh:
I don’t even care about the politics, but former co-captain does. I think these problems are going to kill the team! Please give me any suggestions of a way to get out of this mess! The former co-captain’s life is shattered, and now there’s false hope, and…HELP!!!
Easy, executive decision, oust the current guy, place the old lady in, then say this was done simply because of a lack of experience and the fact that this is for the benifit of the team.
This is where you need some steady leadership on your team. Seek advice from your mentors and teachers. Discuss this issue within your team, but I suggest that you don’t discuss these sensitive issues about your team on this public forum.
Well, you say that some parent told the girl who was qualified she is the co-captain. I’m not sure how that works, given you guys elected a co-captain other than her, so you might want to resolve that.
And if the group voted, there’s nothing you can do. Obviously your team either thought the person who won was more qualified, or they voted for him because they liked him more.
There’s really not much you can do except move on. In all likelihood, the current guy is going to figure out what he got himself into and she’ll end up taking the role, without the title, anyways.
This happened because it was a corrupt vote, and everyone on the team knows it. I know where you are coming from, but how do we get around the corruptness?
And you also said that the new guy would step down, I know him, and he is very persistent.
The former co- is our rules manager. We don’t know if she is even going to show at future meets. Her job is about the most important on the team. She has poured her heart and soul into the team, and she was stabbed in the back by mentors biasing the team. I don’t know why it happened, but it’s dang frustrating.
In the future do something like the presidential eletion, have the students elect three possible leaders, then have the mentors/teachers elect the team head.
Thats one reason our team does not have “voting” for “leaders”. Sometimes the guys who put in a lot of effort are not widely known/liked on the team. That’s why Mr. Cokeley(Our head coach) knows the kids who are ready to put in efforts to keep the team going and assigns jobs to them as committee leaders. The leadership has always lied on our head coach and never on an individual student. Our team has a few leaders who are equal rather than one head captain. This way there is no abuse of power and it reduces problems on the team to a certain extent. Sometimes voting is just a popularity contest. I just wanted to offer an insight of how our team works. Hope it helps.
-Bharat
J Bot Alan,
I don’t know what you expect from this thread, but I can tell you that no matter what anyone suggests it won’t fix your problem.
As Andy has already commented, it would probably be better NOT to discuss sensitive team issues here.
Views regarding “Political trouble” have a nasty way of being “in the eye of the beholder”.
There is no amount of advice that can be given here that is going to change the situation on your team.
Keep in mind that no one other than your team knows the people or specifics of the situation well enough to comment.
You team coach needs to take charge of the situation. Voting for leadership roles often leads to popularity contests. The coach of your team should know who can lead and should appoint these positions and then stand by her/his appointees.
I too agree with Andy in saying you might not want to discuss this on such an open, and public forum. This an issue that you see in your group, and I agree with JosephM in the way you might consider future appointments. You have limited time left in the build season, one of my questions is why would anyone have the nerve to step out of line and cause such a rift, it is not healthy for one person in a team or a small group, mentors or students to try and have their personal agenda for the team ahead of an agenda that is good for the team. I will say 9 times out of 10 the mentors know what they are doing. But if for some reason they are really at fault, and mentors are not perfect, just like students, then you should address them, in a group, with others that feel the way you do. But right now my best sugestion is that you have little time left in the build, DO NOT, under any circumstances be the cause of a divide in your team, causing something that can not be fixed. Do not let your personal opinion effect the good of the team. A team is not to the benifit of one person, but a whole, so why should your feelings, that are different from the majority cause the group to stumble. I would ride out until the end of the build, and then do something, no one has any right to cause a catostrophic event in a team that causes them to “quit”. Try to resolve this once some tension is realived and the stress of build is over.
ivey