Captains And Student Leaders
Overview
Captains and Student Leaders for KnightKrawler are selected through a process that is consistent, strives for improvement, and adapts to the needs of the team and skills of our students.
Always Act Like A Leader
You may hear the expression “Captain Interviews Started Last Week”. This is a reminder that your behavior and attitudes throughout the whole season are taken into consideration when captain selection happens in the Spring. It is important to understand that acting like a leader does not mean taking charge. These are just some of the actions and traits KnightKrawer expects to see from all student captains and leaders.
- Be Kind
- Be Patient
- Work Hard
- Listen to other students, leaders, and mentors
- Contribute in a meaningful way
- Be Respectful
- Be Open to the opinions and ideas of others
- Don’t just be busy, be productive. Complete your tasks.
- Show extra effort
- Become an expert in something helpful to the team
- Help others learn
Captain Shadowing
All captain and leadership candidates will have the opportunity to shadow a captain during competition season. This is an opportunity to see what it is like to be a captain or student leader. However, students interested in a leadership position should feel free to learn more about these positions throughout the year by asking mentors and current captains questions.
Leadership Interest Confirmation
All students interested in a leadership role will complete a survey approximately a month before the end of the season to indicate which leadership role(s) they are interested in pursuing.
Core Values Student Evaluation
All candidates will be evaluated for their desired leadership role by all other students on the team. In the weeks leading up to captains interviews, a survey will be sent to all students asking them to evaluate all candidates for their leadership positions. Students are asked to rate each candidate on a scale of 1 to 4, sharing their perspective of how well the student exemplifies the team’s core values
- Gracious Professionalism
- Dedication
- Structure
- Growth
- Unflappable
In addition to the rating, students are able to give feedback on their answers. Every student has the opportunity to share why they believe the student would make a good captain/leader, or share reasons why they don’t support this candidate.
Interviews
All students will receive an individual interview with Mentors. Not all mentors can attend every interview, but candidates will usually meet with at least half the mentors as a group. Students are given a list of questions that may be asked during the interview. Typically, half the questions on the list are asked during an interview. Some new questions may come up during the course of the interview, based on a student’s response to a previous question, or specific to that student’s experience during their time on the team. Students who may be interested in a future leadership role, but feel they are unlikely to get the role because there may be an upperclassmen who is more qualified, are still encouraged to apply. The interview process is very similar to what students may experience when applying for a job and the experience can help prepare students for similar situations in the future.
Deliberation
Mentors meet as a group to discuss all candidates. Consideration for captains will include
- Student behavior and contributions throughout their time on the team
- Student responses on the Core Values Survey
- Interview
- Team needs and opportunities
KnightKrawler’s leadership structure is constantly evolving. Part of the core values for Structure and Growth is to always strive for ways to improve the team and leverage the talent of our students to their greatest potential. Some years we may have co-captains sharing a role, in some years we may eliminate a captain or leadership role that existed in the prior year. Some years we may create a new leadership role as an experiment if a need and a candidate seem to be a good fit to try something new. This is another reason students should apply for a leadership role, even if they believe another candidate is better fit for the defined roles. The mentors may identify someone they and their fellow students feel is a great leadership candidate and may ask them to fill a new role that may help the team. In rare circumstances, some candidates may be asked to consider a different role than the one they have applied for. In the past, students who applied for a subteam captain have been asked to move up to the role as the full team captain. Of course, the student may decline an offered role. The mentors will always consider what is best for the team when selecting captains. Co-captains may be selected for a role. While the team has had some very successful co-captains in the past, we have had more that didn’t go as well as hoped. Historically, the team operates better when a strong solo candidate can be identified to fill a captain role. In situations where a co-captain role may be the best option, it is best to clearly divide the role into separate areas of responsibility, effectively creating two captain roles where there was previously only one.
Leadership Announcements
Captains and student leaders for the next year are announced at the end of season banquet. The banquet is typically held the week after the team’s final competition.
Transition into Captain Roles
Captains and student leaders for the next year are announced at the end of season banquet in the spring. Our new captains and leaders use the optional summer meetings to adjust to their new leadership roles. Summer activities often involve significant planning for fall training or defining changes to how the program will operate in the coming year. A transitional leadership meeting is typically held within a month of the end of the season so new leadership can discuss goals and outgoing (graduating) captains can share any advice that is applicable.