On May 10, 14 Muhlenberg athletes and five coaches attended the Chick-fil-A Leadercast, an annual leadership conference broadcast to hundreds of locations around the world. Rising senior Gabriela Contino of the women’s tennis team filed this report:
“Don’t focus on winning: focus on a culture of success.”
Mike Krzyzewski, coach of the Duke men’s basketball team and former coach of the United States national basketball team, shared this wisdom with more than 200,000 people at Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2013. Coach K was among nine speakers who spoke to us about being an effective leader. These speakers ranged from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, to Sanya Richards-Ross, an Olympic gold medalist. The theme of the day was “Simply Lead.” Every speaker’s lecture focused on the concept of leading simply, whether it was in the boardroom or on the field.
Leiutenant Commander Rorke Denver, a Navy SEAL, was one of my favorite speakers of the day. He taught us that as leaders, people at a minimum are going to imitate you, if not amplify it. Therefore, he reasoned that enthusiasm is contagious. He showed us that every person has a little reserve and can give just a little bit more – it’s just up to leaders to motivate others to tap this reserve.
My other favorite speaker of the day was Coach K, because what he talked about applied most directly to my role as a team captain. When Coach K meets with his team for the first time, he has all the players set standards for that season. Two of the most important standards they set are good communication and trust: make eye contact when speaking and take headphones out when speaking,and never lie to eliminate hidden agendas. A team should always have each other’s backs and respect each other. Coach K taught us that these standards are important, but the most important aspect of creating a successful team and being an effective leader is facilitating this conversation to set team standards.
The other representatives from Muhlenberg athletic teams as well as myself had a very positive experience at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2013 and gathered many tools to be better captains on our respective teams. We look forward to returning to our teams next semester to implement our newly acquired leadership skills.