Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
The Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Izzo likes to say, “A player-led team is always better than a coach-led team.” The best teams have athletes that step up and take a leadership role. The best teams have athletes that take ownership in the culture and are invested in the process.
This doesn’t happen if the coach is a control freak, micro-manager, or the only voice in a program. The best teams have athletes who are leaders. The best teams have strong leadership.
During the summer of my first year as an AD, we hired a brand new secretary. On her first day, she put all the mail that had been piling up for the last month into a big black trash bag and threw it in the dumpster.
In all fairness, it looked like a big pile of trash with all of the catalogs from equipment, award, and apparel businesses. But there were a few letters and other important stuff mixed in.
Obviously, I was not happy. However, she was just trying to help out and we were in the midst of redecoration and redesign of the athletic department so she thought this was right in line with what we were trying to do.
Regardless, I went dumpster diving and also learned a great lesson.