Case Study – King of the Hill 1

Case Study – King of the Hill

Ivan Correa

Master of Arts in Ministry, Lancaster Bible College

LSP 501 – Leadership Theory & Practice

Dr. Stephen Grusendorf

August 31st, 2020

Case Study – King of the Hill 2

After reading the story of Denny Hill and reflecting a little on his leadership style I was

able to identify that he has many different important traits that a leader should have and

potentially obtaining success. A few really important traits that got my attention was his

self-motivation and thinking long-term. When he first started as a head coach, most of

the seniors of that year, which are technically considered the leaders, quit swimming

due to Denny requiring them to work out. If he wasn’t self-motivated and not thinking

long-term, he would probably not have succeeded the same way he did. Denny Hill was

definitely confident that what he believed was the right thing to have a successful

swimming program. But not only that, he made sure that his ideals where being done

and met by making the students being accountable and responsible for each other and

him as well.

As a leader, Denny Hill also had great abilities. Making sure that all of his students were

bonding along well was personally the main one I was able to identify and relate with.

Having a team sleepover and passing along responsibilities to the students is a great way

to build relationships but also to help the students to develop their leadership skills and

grow together. Communication was also a key ability that Hill had while coaching.

Being able to have team meetings every Monday gives the students not only a chance to

say positive and negative things but also to connect more with their coaches and leaders

and learn/grow from it. These meetings are able to confirm that the coaches’ ideas are

aligned with what the students are thinking.

Denny Hill was able to “wear different hats” depending on which situation he was in

and that was what made him be successful as he was. When he needed to be harsh, he

was. When he needed to put his arms around the students and encourage them, he did.

When needed a joke to make the environment a little nicer and not too tense, he would
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do it. Understanding each situation and knowing how to deal with them is key when

trying to be a good leader and Denny Hill knew that. Hill also knew that there was a

time for everything. There was a time to be rough and time to encourage, a time to focus

and time to support, time to be serious and time to joke.

Based on the text it is easy and clear to see that Denny was someone that the students

could always count on, not only with sports but with anything in their lives. Denny

wanted to make sure that yes, he was their coach, but he was also a friend that was

always there when needed. By doing that, Denny was able to get the best results from

the students, because the students did not only see him as a coach, but a friend that they

were fighting for whenever they would compete.

Hill was a great example of what a leader should be with his different traits and abilities

and especially the way that he would influence the students. He as a coach exemplifies

leadership through many different ways, for me personally a few would be: setting up a

standard your team has to achieve but help them achieve those goals; share the

responsibilities and the leadership with others so they can also develop their leadership

skills; know the different situations you will deal with and how you react to them; have

great communication with your team and all is understood; make sure the whole team

have the same goal and is in the same “boat” together.