Leadership is often one of the easiest aspects to see within an organization, but one of the hardest to define.

Vocal leaders, like last year’s Michigan men’s basketball team captains C.J. Lee and David Merritt, are very noticeable. You constantly heard them chattering on the court, and you saw the way they interacted with younger teammates on the bench.

Even though they led the team, Lee and Merritt, both of whom were former walk-ons and split time with one another, didn’t exactly dominate games.

The year before, in coach John Beilein’s first season, senior captain Ron Coleman led the team — but not on the scoresheet. He averaged 22.7 minutes a game and just 4.8 points. Again, less than spectacular numbers from a team leader.

This season, that vocal leadership isn’t as apparent as in years past. But make no mistake — there are leaders. Junior Manny Harris and senior DeShawn Sims are the backbones of the squad.

Thanks to Lee’s and Merritt’s departures and sky-high expectations for the team, Harris and Sims have been thrust into leadership roles this season.

And that’s exactly where the Wolverines need them.

For the first time in the Beilein era at Michigan, the best players are expected to be the team’s leaders. And even though Harris and Sims aren’t the loudest guys in the locker room, their ascension is what’s going to keep the Wolverines focused on and off the court this season.

“It’s one thing when you have leaders kind of emerge, kind of step up — like what we did last year, myself, Dave and Jevohn (Shepherd),” Lee said. “It’s another thing when you have your best players who are getting a majority of the minutes, who are producing a lot of points, just really key players, doing that.

“When your best players can do that and be the leaders, that does wonders for the team.”

It’s not the production — like Harris’ triple-double and Sims’ double-double in the season-opener — that shows leadership ability. It’s the little things, like Harris’ behavior during the exhibition game two weeks ago. He was giving high-fives and talking strategy with a handful of teammates. He was being, well, more vocal than anyone had expected.

Last month, Harris explained that he has been a leader on every one of his teams, but a good leader doesn't always have to be a big talker. If the team needs someone to speak up like Lee used to, Harris said he won’t hesitate to step into that role. As evidenced by his demeanor in the season’s first few weeks, it looks like he’ll be comfortable there. Sims was flexible, too, saying, “Whatever the team needs, that’s the type of leader I’ll be.”

The thing is, these two players already embody the type of leadership the Wolverines need. They don’t need to be yapping all game, but their growing vocal presence does help. Michigan needs their points, their poise and their hunger.

“They were here when it was really, really rough, and they were here when it got better,” Lee said. “I think what they have to deal with right now is they have expectations, and we didn’t have as many expectations last year.”

But of all people, Harris and Sims should thrive in this situation.

They’ve handled being hyped recruits and targeted players. And better yet, the two appear undaunted by the media attention surrounding this season.

“The biggest thing is being able to see outside yourself, being able to see the big picture,” Lee said. “That’s what our seniors did last year. … These players have the same ability, because they saw what it took to get us to the tournament and win a game there. They know what it’s going to take to get them back there and hopefully go further.”

All the ingredients for strong leadership are here, and Harris and Sims are finally putting them together. Teammates and coaches trust them. They know how to motivate themselves and others to achieve a common goal. And most of all, they translate their talent to other areas of the game, not just what shows up on the stat sheet.

For the first time in recent years, Beilein has turned his stars into leaders.

“What’s unique about those guys is they weren’t brought here to be average players — they were brought here to be great,” Lee said.

They weren’t necessarily brought here to be leaders, either. But that’s where they’re going to shine.

— Auerbach can be reached at naauer@umich.edu