Coach Krzyzewski's Winning Philosophy

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There are two shades of blue that rule the basketball courts in and around Durham, North Carolina. Both are perennially the best in the ACC and are fierce rivals. The head coaches of both teams are great leaders on the basketball court and in the game of life. In addition, they are able to manage multimillion dollar budgets and maintain the ultra positive image of their players and their respective school.

People like winners. Many have the philosophy that the underdog should win occasionally. In game of basketball, everyone loves a Cinderella story. Coach Mike Krzyzewski affectionately known as Coach K usually beats all who come in his path on the basketball court. Coach K teaches about life and leadership; his motto is commitment, discipline, honesty, integrity, collective response, pride, love, and friendship.

Recently, I watched my husband, who is neither a fan of UNC or Duke, become anxious over a major upset between UNC and Duke. UNC was leading at half-time; with a 16 point lead and it had been several minutes since Duke scored a basket. However, something that Coach K said to his team in the locker room during half time changed the dynamic of the game. Finally the game ended with Duke beating UNC by a 6 point lead.

I would describe Coach K as a great motivator. According to Daft in The Leadership Experience, motivation is defined as the forces either internal or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. One would note Coach K’s ability to lead others to function at a high performance level and accomplish the goal. Moreover, you will find that Coach K’s goal is to meet the needs of his players first by treating them as a family member and encouraging his ...

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...to encourage his key player and to talk about his loss. He asked questions, and he was able to discern what topics needed to be broached, regarding his loss. Coach K said that Bobby Knight told him to take as much time as he needed. As an effective leader, he communicated his vision for the future because he showed he was more concern about his emotional needs. If he were concerned he would have never talked about the two remaining games that could have given West Point a win (Daft, 2011).

Finally, Coach K will continue to teach about life and leadership. He believes that your personal signature should be on everything you do; that you should be proud of your performance. People love winners and they love a good Cinderella story. Like Cinderella the results came from being committed, discipline, honest, and respectful. This is Coach K’s winning philosophy.

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