Coach K: The Definition of Excellence

Regardless of who you cheer for in the Final Four, I think we all can agree that there are innumerable lessons to be learned from Coach K… about leadership, excellence, and life!

The recent article about Coach K, by Michael Kruse in the Duke alumni Magazine, is worth a read: The Next Play

Here are a few lessons that have always stood out for me about Coach K, among many:

Family Matters

First, Mike Krzyzewski keeps his family at the center of his world. His wife and daughters have stood by his side in the lows and the highs. I recall one of the players at Duke (where I went to undergrad) telling me about how Coach K created a family environment for them – some of whom had not a family experience growing up. They learned from Coach K what it meant to put family at the center.

As leaders, our work can be all-consuming sometimes. And so it is for Coach K as well! And yet, his family remains at the center.

Teams Work

Coach K’s incredible record speaks for itself. He built a program of excellence! Decades of success. He coached the best of the best from Duke basketball players to Olympians. And in each case, he coached these individual stars to play as a team.

He brought out the best in each person, but most importantly he brought out the best in the unit. The recent article in Duke Magazine (winter 2021) highlights his great visual about the power of team: “He used over and over the image of a fist. ‘Five guys playing as one, like a fist instead of five outstretched fingers,’ he often explained, ‘are stronger than any of us could ever be individually.’ ”

Standards Count

In the article, many of his players, and daughter, reflected on the importance of his standards:

“His signature isn’t, like, a big M and then a line with a dot over it, or something like that,”… “You can see every single letter. And it’s the same… it does not ever look any different … the z and the y and the z …”

“His signature…is almost a metaphor for everything that he is involved with and his belief in standards.”

Coach K defined his expectations of his players in clear terms, he reinforced those standards with his actions, and he held his players (and himself) to those highest standards of excellence. His consistent standards contributed to decades of excellence.

See Possibilities

Over four decades, Coach K instilled remarkable lessons that profoundly impacted the lives of his players and had a ripple effect well beyond, in their families, work, and communities.

“The greatest gift a coach can give a player, a teacher can give a student, and a parent can give to their child is the opportunity to imagine great things,” Krzyzewski once wrote.

~ ~ ~

Thank you, Coach K, for showing us through example what it looks like to be a leader, a teacher, and a great human being.

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Kathy Letendre, President and Founder of Letendre & Associates, advises organizations and leaders to create their excellence advantage.
Contact Kathy by phone or text at 802-779-4315 or via email.