Lessons on Leadership 101: Thank you, Riley Leonard

Is there a topic that characterized your summer reading? It doesn't make for a typical beach read or pool side topic, but a visit from former Notre Dame President, Father Edward "Monk" Malloy, C.S.C. inspired me to read quite a bit about leadership. In town for the Universal Notre Dame Night Celebration, Father Malloy promoted his new book People First: Reflections on Leadership. His example, his stories and his lessons piqued my interest and invited me to read more about this subject.

We are all familiar with leadership. Why? Every one of us is affected by it. Many of us are leaders. Some are good ones. I like to consider What makes a person a strong leader? What qualities are non-negotiable if one is to lead effectively? I found an important answer in a likely person in a likely place through a likely tactic. I just needed the example; I'm grateful for the reminder. Thank you Riley Leonard. Though Monk did not share this story, he could have and maybe his will in the future. Let the game—or in this case, the social experiment begin.

Vis a vi the transfer portal, Fightin' Irish football welcomed former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard to the squad. Though the 2024 season officially starts in August, Leonard came to Notre Dame earlier in the year. His move from Raleigh-Durham to South Bend was among the first and biggest transfers of the offseason.

It nearly goes without saying, that quarterbacks are leaders and loners—They carry the weight of their team's hopes on their shoulders. All offensive action comes through the QB. Indeed, they are the focal point. Moreover, Leonard's transfer to Notre Dame follows in the foot steps Sam Hartman, a of a high profile transfer from one year prior. Leonard decided to make his mark as a leader with some preparation that has little to do with X's and O's and everything to do with how those will succeed. 

Pete Thamel tells the story of how he used Quizlet, the website and app used primarily as a study tool for students, to  learn the names and faces of his teammates ahead of his arrival at Notre Dame.

“So Quizlet, you and I call them flashcards, but we didn’t have iPhones,” Thamel explained. “And he put all, let’s just say, 100 of his teammates, walk-ons, everybody. He put all of their pictures and their names in Quizlet and he memorized everyone’s name and face.”

The former Duke student-athlete showed off his academic side and passed his self-made assignment with flying colors according to Thamel. Likely more familiar with his teammates that some of the Fighting Irish’s returning players following his study sessions.

“So the first day he walked in if Rece Davis was the backup long snapper from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, he would walk in and be like, ‘What’s up Rece? How was your break and Muscle Shoals?’ The back of long snapper is like how does he know who I am? He said that he went like 100 for 100, he said he didn’t get one guy’s name wrong,” Thamel said.

The effort put forth by Leonard is a tedious and small gesture that could potentially go a long way for Notre Dame. Showing great initiative as he looks to lead the program this upcoming season despite it representing his only year with the team.

“So anyway, but I thought that was instructive,” Thamel said. “People are like oh yeah, he’ll just go in and start. It’s like well it’s kind of hard, like these guys have to be rallied around you. They have to like you, have to be connected to them, you have to be you have to build, you have to build through adversity sometimes. But that was one of my favorite stories of the offseason.”

It was one of my favorite stories, too. Learning someone's name and calling him or her by it is Leadership 101. I know people who resent given leaders because they have never gotten to know who they are, and in particular—their name.

I will concede that for some people like me, learning names doesn't come easily. I have a tendency to remember where someone is from before I remember their name. However, in Leonard, we are given a tool...a practice...a method for learning and remembering names.

I decided that I would enter into the 2024 school year doing what Leonard did. I committed to creating my own flashcards (sorry Quizlet) as a sort of social experiment. I wanted to know: Could I do it? Would I enjoy the first day more? How might my students feel when they hear their names? Furthermore, I love a good social experiment, an opportunity to see how my students will respond to particular situations or scenarios. I learn a lot about them, but also about myself. I enjoy talking to my colleague who teaches psychology for social experiments he asks of his students. I am on the search for my own. Though he did not intend for this practice to be one, Leonard created one that all teachers and coaches might consider for themselves.

The result? First, I have mad respect for Leonard. 100 names is A LOT. I had to learn but 60 and it wasn't easy. Second, it was a little more challenging than I thought. I started my own flashcards about five days before school started. I needed at least a week or two. I should have employed those study skills I had when I was in high school when I used flashcards regularly. They work!...if you use them/make a game of it. Most importantly, I DID learn my students names and many of them were surprised—even delighted. One student said "How did you know my name?!" I asked another student to give me the first letter of his name. He told me and I got it right. His response was "I want you know I am going to be your favorite student." I said, "I hope so."

Malloy is right. Good leadership starts with "People First." All of us have a name and it deserves to be known and used. Find a way—a tactic or a procedure to learn them. That's also being a good student. Here's to a great school year and football season!

Photo Credits
Riley Leonard
Quizlet
Teammates
Coach and Leonard

Thoughts on a Coach for President of the United States

For much of the past two years when the question about voting for President of the United States came into the conversation, I found myself redirecting the topic toward sports. I would tell folks that I was considering writing in the name of Steve Kerr as my candidate of choice. Though largely joking about believing an NBA coach ought to serve as our commander in chief, the more I thought about the qualities that make Kerr an excellent leader, the more I almost started to believe...well, maybe I was on to something. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle "Warriors' Steve Kerr is Presidential Material," confirmed my suspicion and yet it helped me realize something more....that you need not be female to understand. Before you continue reading, I recommend reading this piece linked above.

Kerr is extremely likable. And if there's one thing I know about Americans, it's that they want, and almost need to like their President. No wonder this year has been such a challenge. Kerr has an incredibly personal story—from his family background to his self-made career that began at Arizona, continued with the historic Chicago Bulls, extended beyond the broadcast booth onto the hardwood at Oracle Arena, where he now leads the Golden State Warriors. Moreover, it's no secret that Coach Kerr surrounds himself with good people. He is an excellent communicator, known to go the distance (literally, not just metaphorically) to help those in his care understand how important they are. I love his four tenants of coaching and that square jawline— does that account for much?

So, it should be no surprise that when one of my favorite sports writers, Scott Ostler mused about Kerr in the same way I have, I took notice. Ostler got all of San Francisco to start thinking in a fun and playful way about some of our favorite leaders. These men are on the front lines night after night, so naturally, we evaluate their skill set....the way they inspire...we praise them for the great decisions they make and ridicule them for those they don't. Coaches invite us to consider different styles of leadership, they prove that preparation is paramount and we have to come to grips with the fact that some want it more...while others have the ability to transform a group to something much greater than the sum of its parts. Many invite magnanimity and encourage us to do the same.  

I excitedly shared his words in my Sports and Spirituality class with my seniors, half of whom are able to vote. I asked them to respond and react, hoping they might enjoy his insights, "get" his humor and yet catch a glaring oversight. With their silence, I realized that another teachable moment came to be. 

Ostler knows his sports, sports personalities and he writes well, but I find it unfortunate (if not unforgivable) that he failed to name a single female coach—or with a nod to Stephen A. Smith—reference a female announcer. One student shrewdly replied that the now deceased Pat Summit would have been a logical choice. I concur. And though it may be difficult to rally around a stoic personality like Stanford women's basketball coach, Tara VanDerveer, it's not a stretch to cite a woman like Muffet McGraw. 

Yes, I have an equally unforgivable Notre Dame bias, but she is also the winningest coach in all of ND sports. Considering that football, built, sustained and the school and that women have comprised the student body for just a little over 40 years, that is quite an accomplishment. Did I mention she has over 700 wins?  Or, if college women's basketball is a stretch, the long-standing and highly respected Hannah Storm is a worthy nominee. In reality, I don't need Hannah for President...I love having her on SportsCenter where she is a great stateswoman and orator for athletics. Regardless, history was made when the Democratic nominee for President was for the first time in the history of this country, a woman—a mother, a grandmother, a wife and a bit of an athlete herself (Hillary played baseball and was a swimmer). It's time that we have more female leaders and that's not just in politics...but in coaching as well.

I know at the school where I teach, all but three of our girls' varsity sports have a male head coach. As the salaries for women's coaching positions at the collegiate level increased, so did the number of male applicants for those positions. One of the winningest coaches in female athletics, Geno Auriemma also served as the head coach of the USA women's basketball team for the Rio Games. He had one male assistant and two female assistant coaches. No woman, however, served on the men's basketball Olympic team staff.

The way I see things, we need to continue to encourage girls to not only play sports but seek leadership positions in sports and beyond sports.

The Case of Athletes in Office states that "women make up more than 50% of the population but only 19% of Congress, and according to a number of studies cited in a recent story in The New York Times, a large part of that disparity occurs because women are far less likely to run. An exception is emerging however: athletics. A 2013 study from the Women & Politics Institute found that women who played sports were 25% more likely to express political aspirations than those who did not. 

I'm sure Scott Ostler he was just having fun with a timely topic. After all, we love our coaches and we should. I credit that future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy as a key reason—if not THE reason—that there are three World Series trophies in San Francisco. His leadership forever changed the narrative of Giants baseball and colored some of my most cherished of memories with family, friends and my students. I hope he never pays for a drink or a meal as long as he lives in the Bay Area....and I'll throw Steve Kerr in that mix too. I just wonder if there could ever be a time that I could rally around a female leader with that same enthusiasm and gratitude. For many Americans, tomorrow may be the day....

Thank you Lord, for the ability to use our voice and exercise a great freedom: the right to vote. We pray for a safe and peaceful transition of power. Bless our leaders—those who serve and feel called to do so on the local, state and national level. In our schools—with students and athletes too.

Photo Credits
with 44
Trophy
McGraw

I voted