Bleacher Report and the Art of Community Leading

Leadership has been described as the "Process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task."

Think about it. Talking to a team face-to-face and accomplishing goals: easier said than done. The leader has to take in every opinion from every member and select the best without attempting to hurt the sentiments of the rejected.

Tough, aint't it?? Now consider this. Talk and deal with people most of whom who have never been introduced anywhere else except in a sports site and as a leader for a particular sport community you have to read articles from people who try to give in their best and then post your thoughts without being highly opinionated.

And that's what the Community Leaders at B/R do and do it fantastically at that. I am not saying so because I myself am one, I am saying so because the responsibility, the commitment and the deliverance is outstanding.

As a management aspirant, I frankly say that B/R has given me a lot of tips on how to hone on my managerial skills and at this junction, awaiting my results, I can confidently admit that any firm that hires me won't make a mistake.

Although again, I will be outspoken to accept that as a Community Leader I am far from perfect; I have my debilitating factors but with each passing day with the guidance and by observing some of my co- community leaders, I am learning to be better at the job.

One major thing that I have learnt as a leader here is to enjoy the responsibility as we all love our sports and not look on it as a job. This coupled with an open outlook towards what each writer has to say has done the trick for me.

Though always it is not necessary to agree, disagreeing in a manner which makes it apparent that it is the notion being dissimilar and not the writer who wrote it is also equally important.

Making every new member of the domain feel at home, taking a personal interest in the writers' work and giving credit to good content are some qualities worth admiring in a community leader. It's a huge evidence of the term "Leading from the front" and justifies the definition of a "Leader."

Almost every CL here at B/R does that while those who don't do it are probably learning how to. This article is dedicated to each and every CL here who has taken the mantle of leading a bunch of ardent sports fans whose number is ever increasing.

I also wish to add my heartfelt gratitude to the site founders for giving us all an opportunity to express our passions and to help others do the same. In a way, they are leaders too for if not for their initiative, we wouldn't be having a "Bleacher Report."

Not just starting, but also consistently updating the site making sure that we never get tired of checking in here; so much so that sometimes even 24 hours is insufficient.

PS: Special Thanks to Tennis CL Long John Silver for enabling writing in the domain an enjoyable affair and to both Long as well as Saraswathi Sirigina for being the inspiration behind this one.