The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

Todays episode is On Leadership and I am joined for the discussion by 2 great coaches. The first is Mike Dunlap. Mike is a basketball coach who has led teams in US Colleges, the NBA and in Australia. He was also an assistant with the  Milwaukee Bucks when then they defeated the Phoenix Suns to win their first NBA Championship in 2021.The second is Rugby Union coach Franco Smith. As a player Franco represented South Africa as well as playing for clubs in South Africa, Italy, France and Wales. As a coach he has led teams to National Championships in Italy and South Africa and is presently the head coach of the Glasgow Warriors.Q: How do you mitigate the loneliness you might feel as a leader?Q: What philosophy guides you as a leaderQ: What did you do today to lead by example? If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Our great coach on this episode is John Connolly.John is a rugby union coach who started coaching in the 1980’s. He rose through the ranks and eventually led the Queensland Reds to the Super 6 title in 1992, and then back-to-back Super 10 titles in 1994-94. He then went on to coach in in Ireland, France, Wales and England, before returning to coach the Australian National team, the Wallabies for 2 years.In 2021 John became a quadriplegic. However, he did not let this define him or slow him down and he now uses his energy to raise money for others with spinal injuries.His adventures are captured in his book Bare Knuckles it’s a terrific read and all the money raised from it go to the Perry Cross FoundationQ: What role does pride play in your teams identity?Q: How do you find the balance between single mindedness and being open to new ideas?If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Our great coach on this episode is Dell McGee.Dell is an American Football Coach.He played for the college powerhouse Auburn before a professional career that included stints with the Arizona Cardinals, and the Detroit Lions.The year after retiring he started coaching as an Assistant at High School level. He eventually became a Hih School head coach and won the 2007 state championship.He eventually went on to join the Georgia Bulldogs as the run game coordinator and running backs coach under Kirby Smart, helping them national championships in 2021 and 2022.After 8 years with the Bulldogs he was announced as the Georgia State Head Coach in 2024. Q: What are the pillars that define your teams’ culture?Q: What are some of the purpose’s that drive the people in your team?Q: How well are you able to regulate emotional ups and downs during tough times?If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Todays episode is on Great Team Work, and I am joined for the discussion by 2 great coaches. The first is Lisa Alexander.Lisa was the coach of the Australian Netball team, known as the Diamonds, from 2011 to 2020. During that time She oversaw gold medal successes at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 Netball World Cup, as well as silver medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 Netball World Cup. And the second is John Kessel John was the Team Leader for the 2000 USA Olympic Beach Volleyball Teams in Sydney, which brought home one gold medal, and for the 2004 USA Paralympic Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team in Athens, which came home with the bronze medal.He is the author of over 12 books, including the IMPACT coaching manual, which is now in its 33rd edition. in 2024, he was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame and today travels around the world talking about coaching, particularly in the youth space.Q: how do you describe great team work?Q: How often do you catch people doing good; versus calling out areas for improvement? If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com  

Jamilon Mulders is a German Field Hockey coach and former player for the National Team. As a player, he was part of the team that won the World Cup in 2002. He then retired and transitioned into coaching. He progressed through youth teams, eventually leading national youth teams. He was then an assistant for Markus Weise when the German women won the Gold medal at the Champions trophy. He then started to cosch the German women, with whom he won bronze at the Rio Olympics 2016, before after five years, he went on to coach the Chinese women’s national team. After a break from coaching, he returned as interim Headcoach to the Dutch women's national team, with whom he won the World Cup in 2022, and became 2023 again a world champion as an assistant to the German men's team. A silver medal at the Paris Olympia with the German men was the last medal before transition to become a youth performance manager. He is presently the youth performance manager Dutch federation. Q: What routines do you have in place to deliver tough messages?Q: To what extent do you agree with the idea of being a servant to the group as the leader?Q: Has there been times when you have been ‘blind-spotted’ by a goal?If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Today’s episode is on the topic of Thriving. To help me I have invited 2 special guests. The first is Dr. Gavin. Gavin is a Doctor of Psychology and Associate Fellow at Oxford Sayyid Business School. We have had Gavin on previously to discuss Energy and Purpose. The second is Valorie Kondos Field. Valorie, or Miss Val as she is known, was the head of coach of the UCLA gymnastics team from 1991 to 2019, leading the team to seven national and 18 Pac 12 Championships. She was voted NCAA Coach of the Year four times by her peers and in 2016 was voted the Coach of the Century by the PAC12 Conference. Her Ted Talk, titled Why winning doesn’t always equal success, has been viewed over 4 million times, and she recently released a best selling book called Life is Short, Don't Wait to DanceQ: How does your organization experience thriving? What can you do to facilitate this? If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com  

Our Great Coach on this episode is Ron Adams.Ron is a basketball coach who started his career as an Assistant with Fresno Pacific College back in 1969. He then honed his craft across multiple Universities and in Belgium before moving in to the NBA in 1992. In the 32 years since then he has worked at San Antonio, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Boston and now Golden State. His teams have reached the the postseason 17 times, including four Finals and three championships in his time with Golden State. Q: What role does Joy play in your organisation?Q: What support do you have to help you discern well?Q: To what extent does fealty exist in your team?If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Our great coach on this episode is Shane Jurgensen.Shane is a former cricketer who played for Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Horsham, Sussex in the UK. He started coaching while still an athlete in his early 20s, eventually becoming the bowling coach for New Zealand in 2008. From there, he had successful roles in high-performance coaching with New Zealand cricket and led the national teams of Bangladesh, Scotland, and Fiji. He then had a second stint with New Zealand as the Bowling coach and Head Coach and was part of the team that won the inaugural World Test Championship in 2019. Then in 2023, he led the Wellington Firebirds to the Plunket shield in New Zealand.Key Questions:·     What routines do you use to open team meetings? How they can be used to deepen seflessness within the group?·     What is the level of dispersed leadership across your team?·     How are your development plans spread across improving base capabilities versus growing new ones? If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Our great coach on this episode is Scott Roth.Scott is a former basketball player who played 160 NBA games with the Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves. His playing career also took him to Spain, Turkey and Greece. As a coach, he has led teams in Spain, the he Dominican Republic and the the NBA G-League as well as being an assistant coach of the Chinese and Turkish national teams. He was also an Assistant with the the Mavericks, Golden State, Piustons and Raptors, and with the Perth Wildcats in Australia.In 2021, he was appointed Head Coach of the NBA’s expansion Team, the Tasmanian Jack Jumpers. He led them to a Grand Final in his first year and the Championship in his third.Some of the ther highlights for me included: Scott’s view that allowing the outside influence of social media into your mind can stop you from being vulnerable enough to dare greatly.Question: How do you manage the outside influences that can, in Scotts words “drag dirty feet through your mind?” How he uses vulnerability to illustrate the role that care plays in his leadership style, and how he uses this to coach hard and challenge people.Question: How do you find the balance between telling people the truth, but also exhibiting care?The fascinating story of how he taught his new players and club what it meant to be Tasmanian by sending them to work on an Apple Orchard. And the bloodlines group he set up of people that have shaped Tasmanian Basketball, to help the team stay connected to its heritage.Question: What routines do you use to connect your team to the identity that shaped it?If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com   The way Scott talks about his evolution as a leder, from