SPECIAL GUEST POST FROM DAN CHRISTENSEN
Some coaching candidates are excellent talkers.
They know how to describe culture. They have polished answers about leadership, accountability, recruiting, and player development. They understand the language athletic directors want to hear.
That is not automatically a bad thing. Communication matters. A head coach needs to cast vision, recruit families, represent the institution, and speak clearly in hard moments.
But there is a difference between a coach who can talk about leadership and a coach who actually leads.
That difference is not always easy to see in an interview.
In coaching searches we have been part of at Bechler Leadership, one of the most important tasks is helping athletic directors look past the quality of the presentation and listen for evidence of real leadership. Because the best talker in the room is not always the best builder of people.
A real leader does more than impress a committee.
A real leader elevates the people around them.
Real Leaders Develop Others
One of the clearest signs of coaching leadership is whether people grow under that coach’s influence.
That includes student-athletes, assistant coaches, captains, managers, and sometimes colleagues across the department. Strong leaders do not simply use people to accomplish their own goals. They invest in people so those people become better, stronger, wiser, and more capable.
That is very different from a coach who is merely demanding.
Demanding can be good. Standards matter. Discipline matters. Competitive expectations matter. But if a coach’s leadership is only about demanding more, pushing harder, and correcting mistakes, something is missing.
A helpful interview question is:
“Tell me about a player or assistant coach who improved significantly under your leadership. What did you see in them, what did you do, and how did they grow?”
Listen closely to the answer.
A real leader can explain the development process. They can tell you where the person started, what they needed, how the coach adjusted, what conversations mattered, and what changed over time.
A good talker may stay general. They may say, “I hold people accountable,” or “I push them to be their best.” Those phrases may be sincere, but they are incomplete.
Real leadership leaves a trail of developed people.
Real Leaders Create More Leaders
A coach who is a real leader does not need to be the only voice in the room.
One of the strongest signs of leadership maturity is the ability to build leadership in others. The best coaches develop captains, empower assistant coaches, identify informal team leaders, and create structures where student-athletes learn to take ownership of the program.
That does not mean the coach gives away authority. It means the coach understands that a healthy team cannot depend entirely on one personality.
If every standard, correction, encouragement, and decision has to flow through the head coach, the culture is fragile. It may look organized, but it is often overly dependent on control.
Ask:
“How have you intentionally developed captains, a leadership council, or informal leaders on your team? Tell me about a specific structure or practice you used.”
A strong candidate should be able to describe more than naming captains at the beginning of the year. They may talk about leadership meetings, peer accountability, mentoring younger players, shared ownership of standards, or teaching athletes how to communicate through conflict.
What you are listening for is intentionality.
Did leadership development happen by accident, or did the coach build it into the program?
A real leader does not just lead followers. A real leader forms other leaders.
Real Leaders Handle Pressure Without Losing Themselves
Every coach can sound steady in a calm interview.
The real test is pressure.
What happens when the team loses games it should win? What happens when a talented player becomes a culture problem? What happens when parents complain, the roster is short, admissions is difficult, the budget is tight, or a supervisor gives hard feedback?
Pressure reveals leadership.
A good talker may have strong language about toughness and accountability. A real leader can describe how they stay clear, consistent, and composed when circumstances become difficult.
Ask:
“Tell me about a season or situation where things were not going the way you expected. How did you lead yourself, your staff, and your team through it?”
Strong answers usually include ownership, communication, emotional steadiness, and learning. The coach may describe mistakes they made. They may explain how they adjusted practice, messaging, staff roles, or team expectations. They will talk about people, not just results.
Be cautious if the answer turns into a long explanation of who failed the coach.
Coaches sometimes inherit difficult situations. They may deal with real obstacles. But if every hard season is explained by athletes who were not committed, administrators who did not understand, assistants who were not loyal, or a generation that is too soft, that is worth noting.
A real leader does not blame their way through pressure.
Real Leaders Elevate More Than They Control
There is a major difference between leadership and control.
Control says, “Do what I say because I am in charge.”
Leadership says, “Here is where we are going, here is what it requires, and I am going to help you become the kind of person who can get there.”
Control can create compliance. Leadership creates ownership.
Control may produce short-term order. Leadership produces long-term growth.
This distinction matters in coaching hires because some candidates describe culture almost entirely through rules, consequences, discipline, and authority. Those things have their place, but they are not the whole picture.
Athletic directors should listen for whether the candidate knows how to teach, inspire, challenge, support, correct, and develop. The best coaches set high standards while also helping people understand and own those standards.
Ask:
“How do your athletes experience your standards?”
Then follow up:
“Give me an example of a time you had to hold a talented athlete accountable. What did you do, and what happened afterward?”
You are listening for more than whether the coach was firm. You are listening for whether the coach was wise.
Did they address the issue directly? Did they communicate clearly? Did they protect the dignity of the athlete? Did they consider the impact on the team? Did they follow through? Did the athlete have a path to grow?
Real leadership does not avoid hard conversations. But it does not use hard conversations as an excuse to demean people.
Real Leaders Are Coachable
One of the most overlooked signs of leadership is coachability.
A coach who cannot receive correction will eventually struggle to give correction well. A coach who cannot acknowledge growth areas will often create a culture where others hide theirs.
That is why I like asking candidates:
“What feedback have you received in the last few years that was difficult to hear, and what have you changed because of it?”
This question often separates real leaders from polished talkers.
A mature leader can answer it. They may pause. They may think carefully. But they can name something real. They can explain what they learned. They can show evidence that the feedback changed how they communicate, delegate, organize, recruit, listen, or lead.
A weaker candidate may dodge the question. They may turn a strength into a weakness. They may say they are too competitive, too passionate, or care too much. That kind of answer does not tell you much.
The strongest leaders are still learning.
Look for Patterns, Not Performances
The goal of an interview is not to catch a candidate in a bad answer. It is to identify patterns.
Does the candidate consistently talk about developing others?
Do they share credit?
Can they name people who grew under their leadership?
Do they describe conflict with maturity?
Do they build leadership beyond themselves?
Do they take responsibility under pressure?
Do they show humility?
Or do they consistently return to control, blame, charisma, and personal achievement?
Those patterns matter.
A good talker may win the interview.
A real leader will give you evidence that people, teams, and programs become healthier and stronger under their care.
For athletic directors, that is the leadership worth hiring.
Dan Christensen is the Director of Collegiate Consulting for Bechler Leadership. Founded by Jamy Bechler in 2018, Bechler Leadership helps schools, athletic departments, and organizations build stronger cultures and maximize their potential. In the last two years, they’ve worked on 40+ searches, specializing in meeting the needs of “smaller” colleges. Dan can be reached at dan@bechlerleadership.com.