Mental Skills for Team Captains

Michael Koenig of Sudbury, Massachusetts, served as a regional vice president with Gartner for more than 20 years. Before coming to Gartner, Sudbury resident Michael Koenig attended Hobart College, where he played on the school's rugby and football teams, and served as the captain of the latter.

Team captains can come from any position in most sports, though positions like quarterback, which require similar skill sets to the ones team captains need, often tend to correlate with captain positions. Teams choose captains as much for their off-the-field talent as on-field talent, however.

Team captains must encourage their fellow players to think positively, under all circumstances. If players seem pessimistic, team captains should intervene with a message of hope. They should also give recognition to teammates who perform well, and be willing to help coach those who are struggling.

Team captains should also do their best to utilize teammates effectively. They should have a sense of which teammates perform well in which situations, and work to see that that each team member's unique skills are used as advantageously as possible.