As Robert Frost once said, “Two Roads Diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Similar to Frost, the men’s basketball coach at St. Anthony’s High School, Robert Hurley, has taken the road less traveled by declining many professional coaching opportunities in order to remain a leader in his Jersey City Community. Hurley’s love for basketball and coaching began at the age thirteen years old when he was recruited to join a youth basketball league in his hometown, Jersey City. Despite his young age, Hurley learned how to lead by the example of this youth coach, Charlie Shaughnessy, who taught Hurley how to care for his protégés.
Although Hurley’s basketball career did progress to St. Peter’s
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Anthony’s head basketball coach in 1973, Hurley proved his abilities as an authentic leader by meeting the four components of authentic leadership. One component of authentic leadership revolves around Self-Awareness, which Hurley illustrates by discussing his career options. For instance, when Hurley was in college he thought that he should pursue a career in teaching to complement his passion for coaching, but he soon found out that the bureaucracy of teaching would not bode well with his values. As a result, he pursued a career as a probation officer, which helped Hurley to make a code of conduct to ensure that members of his team(s) would not turn to crime. Further, Hurley admits that living in Jersey City his whole entire life was part of his reasoning for not pursuing college-coaching opportunities, which reveals his vulnerability. The second component of authentic leadership is internalized moral perspective, which is highlighted by Hurley’s unique decision not to cut anyone who tries out for a position on his team. Others may regard such rejection to be a normal part of life, but the competitive view of society does not sway Hurley from wanting to connect those students who have a passion for basketball. Balanced Processing, the third component of authentic leadership, prevents Hurley from showing favoritism towards his players. Anyone who does not follow Hurley’s contract will be punished for insubordination, and it does not matter what the status