Follow the Leader
What does it mean to follow the leader? What does it take to be a leader? Who is it that we look up to and why? What qualities do leaders have that inspire us to listen, learn and take action?
I can’t help but highlight the four leaders we’ve all seen featured on our televisions and social media feeds this week. I’m talking about Adia Barnes, Tara VanDerveer, Scott Drew, and Mark Few—the coaches of the women’s and men’s NCAA basketball teams.
Adia Barnes is the 44-year old coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats women’s team. She not only brought her team through a winning season, but did so while dealing with the challenges and setbacks of a pandemic, gave birth to a baby girl in September, and returned to work within a week of delivering her daughter Capri. Barnes’ husband Salvo is her assistant coach, and they have an older child too. To say that “it takes a village” is an understatement. Until this year, Barnes had never led a program to the NCAA tournament. She coached, she led, she cheered, and she breastfed during half-time (and took a lot of criticism). Her team played one heck of a final game against Stanford. In the end, the Wildcats lost by only one point. Barnes said that throughout the tournament, she felt responsible to not only represent her school and her players, but also realized that she was coming to the tournament wearing many hats: as a coach, a former WNBA player, a black woman, and a mom. In her post-game interview, she didn’t talk about losing. Instead she talked about how proud she was to come within one point of winning. Her passion for her work, her dedication to her family, and her respect for her players—despite losing the championship game—demonstrated true leadership.
Tara VanDerveer is the 67-year old coach of the Stanford Cardinal’s women’s team. She and Coach Barnes went head-to head on Sunday to fight for the championship. This was VanDerveer’s 35th season of coaching and her team’s 14th Women's Final Four. When she was interviewed about their nail-biter win, Coach VanDerveer talked about how proud she was of her team, “Life has thrown us curveballs. Being out of our city, our gym, our locker room, not having fans. I'm their biggest fan." Because of COVID-19 regulations prohibiting indoor sports, her team had to leave campus and live on the road for nine weeks. Coach VanDerveer is an incredible leader and no stranger to winning (in December, she surpassed Tennessee coach Pat Summitt for most wins in Division I women's history.) But she was clear in her post-game interview when she stated that she doesn’t coach to win. VanDerveer shared emphatically that she coaches to teach.
Mark Few has been the Gonzaga men’s basketball coach since 1999. Until Monday, his team had not lost a game since Feb. 22, 2020. During the shortened pandemic season, Coach Few led Gonzaga to a 26-0 finish. He’s also credited for the longest home win streak at 51 games. Since taking over the Bulldogs in 1999 his team has won 83% of their games (630-125!) Despite all their victories, Gonzaga had never won a national championship. This is what they set out to achieve on Monday night under Coach Few’s leadership. But they lost to Baylor. It was a big disappointment for Gonzaga, losing 86-70. In his post-game interview, Coach Few was asked what he learned about himself and his team, and he had this to say: “What I learned was that my guys are of the highest character, and they just love this game and they love each other and love this team… their resiliency and their drive and their positive attitude and enthusiasm was something that I'll take with me the rest of my life.” This gratitude was from the coach that didn't win.
And last but not least is Scott Drew, head coach of Baylor men’s basketball and the NCAA National Champions. Drew has been their coach for 18 years, and this year his team was ranked #2 nationally for the majority of the year—mostly behind Gonzaga. The coolest part of the story is that he and Coach Few are good friends, pickleball partners, and they pray for each other’s teams before games. That is, until Monday night when they faced each other in the final.
When Baylor surprised everyone by winning the championship, you’d think Coach Drew would have plenty to brag about. He didn’t. As a true leader, he stated in his post-game interview: “I want to thank God for blessing us with this opportunity tonight. I know the guys have worked really hard. And I'm so happy they get a chance to celebrate now. At the same time I feel for Coach Few and his team because they're such class acts. You hate when friends aren't feeling good. I’m just thankful that the NCAA gave us an opportunity to have an NCAA Tournament. And thankful that we were able to spend this time and develop deeper relationships with unbelievable guys.” The winning coach—with plenty to gloat about—instead expressed his empathy for the losing coach and team, and his appreciation for the NCAA.
We all have opportunities to lead.
Maybe you are coaching your kid’s sports team this season. Will you complain out loud about the ref’s calls? Tell the kids they suck? Or will you use every opportunity as a teaching moment for your players?
Maybe you’re the head of a company and it’s your job to lead your employees through their back-to-work transitions. Hopefully you will lead with empathy and appreciation for what your employees have endured this past year.
Maybe you’re a teacher or school leader welcoming students back despite their (and your) anxieties and worries. Are you already burned out and exhausted, and will that show up in your approach to your work? Or will you do your best to lead with patience and grace?
And as parents, are you being supportive of your child’s teachers, being patient during this time of great change, and trusting that they are doing their best for your kids? Did you put a little love note in your child’s lunch box this week? Consider putting one in there for your child’s teacher as well.
We all have opportunities to lead. What if you operate under the assumption that people are always watching the example you are setting, good or bad. Others are constantly learning from you. What’s your leadership going to look like this season?
This Week’s Resources
Love Chip & Jo? Don’t Miss the Sale!
Are you a fan of Chip and Joanna Gains and their Magnolia enterprise? Lucky for you, Chip is a gigantic fan of Baylor basketball! And with Baylor’s 16 point win over Gonzaga, you can get 16% off merchandise at their stores until midnight tonight! Check them out here: https://magnolia.com/
Mark Few: Behind the Scenes
Mark Few is the winningest active men’s basketball coach in the NCAA. But what many people don’t know about him is his dedication to his community and volunteerism. Listen to this podcast to learn more: https://www.gregbellspeaks.com/blog/mark-few
Dick’s Sporting Goods Does Good
In the middle of a pandemic, with sports clothing and merchandise sales through the roof, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced on February 1st that their new CEO is Lauren Hobart. You’ve probably seen her in their awesome commercials. Not only will she lead the company’s improved omni-channel experience, but she is also championing its groundbreaking Sports Matter initiative. DICK'S Foundation has provided more than $100 million in grants and sponsorships to enable more than one million kids the opportunity to play youth sports programs nationwide. Read more about this effort here: https://www.sportsmatter.org/
