Better Schools Magazine Summer 2024

A review of The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics READ TO LEAD

Recently, OASA Executive Committee members attended their annual leadership summit meeting. The sports theme, “Team OASA,” focused on teamwork as an association and in our schools. The book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics had the right tone for emphasizing the value of teamwork (everyone rowing in the same direction), the spirit of teamwork as we all watched the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the feel of patriotism as we saw the U.S. flag prominently raised when our athletes won gold. While this was not a book study, we thought it might be a great read for the summer. You might want to see the movie too, which is fantastic. Enjoy the messages in the book and the value of teamwork that led to success for the Boys in the Boat at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Background

Lessons in leadership were strongly portrayed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a group of resilient young men faced dual challenges of rowing and carving out their futures amid the adversities of the Great Depression and the world stage of Berlin, Germany, in 1936. What was the difference-maker for the USA rowing team – their recipe for the gold?

One team: Unity in trust and accountability

“Every man in the boat had absolute confidence in every one of his mates.... Why they won cannot be attributed to individuals.”

James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat

Teams that foster trust, reliability, and accountability are far more efficient and likely to win than those that don’t.

Alignment: Synchronized goals and strategies

“When all eight are rowing in such perfect unison that no single action is out of sync with the rest of the boat, then you aren’t fighting each other. You’re moving with less effort. Most crews never find it. But when they do, rowing is more poetry than sport.”

—Coach Al Ulbrickson in the film The Boys in the Boat

Leaders have the opportunity to ensure teams are perfectly aligned and rowing in the same direction through synchronized goals, strategies, and implementation. The result is a healthy organization in

which people feel confident taking calculated risks and execute with a commitment to excellence.

The deep, inner desire to win

“Rowing is perhaps the toughest of sports. Once the race starts, there are no time-outs, no substitutions. It calls upon the limits of human endurance. The coach must therefore impart the secrets of the special kind of endurance that comes from mind, heart, and body.”

—Boat-builder George Yeoman Pocock in the book The Boys in the Boat

Difference makers are individuals who take real risks to advocate for necessary changes. They embody grit, tenacity, and a high work ethic and challenge the status quo with courage and conviction. Difference makers are not comfortable with being conventional. They don’t clock-punch, but measure their contributions based on outcomes.

As leaders, we must cultivate an environment in which difference makers can thrive. These are the individuals who, regardless of their role, can lead us to breakthroughs and shape our future.

The Boys in the Boat provides practical lessons in team unity, perseverance, and strategic alignment that are directly applicable to our roles in education. We have the potential to revolutionize our schools, just as a determined group of rowers reshaped the face of their sport and sparked a patriotism that carries the USA to this day. USA! USA!

OASA! OASA! ■