Coach K Accomplishments

Krzyzewski. It’s a name so famous and distinct, that anyone tuned into the world of leadership and sports will have likely heard of it at some point, if not a lot. It’s a name the holds great honor and success. Mike Krzyzewski has been Duke Universities basketball coach for the past 36 seasons, a feat that, in and of itself, has not been accomplished by many if any. Dubbed Coach K by sport fans everywhere, his accomplishments do not stop there. Evident by his numerous accomplishments and awards, Coach K is a master of his craft. He boasts 5 National Championship rings, 1043 career wins as a coach (the most in NCAA history) and 12 National Coach of the Year awards. That is only the tip of the iceberg for Krzyzewski’s accomplishments, but it’s

enough to understand the colossal impact the man has had in the world of sports, without knowing much else. His footprint even extends on an international level, for he has been the head coach US men’s national basketball team since 2006. Since then, he has coached the team to three consecutive Olympic gold metals, including numerous other metals in smaller international stages. One could go on about this man’s incredible and illustrious career, but one thing is for certain, Coach K is one of college basketball’s greatest coach’s. While he is what he is because of what is seen on paper, it’s also his personal traits that further set him apart from his other coaching colleagues. Krzyzewski is well versed in the world leadership, writing multiple books on the topic. He has a great reputation for his ability to lead, and it is responsible for the golden career of Coach K.
Through the years, as touched on earlier, Coach K, aside from his career as a basketball coach, came to be known as a leadership guru. He has practically mastered the way of leadership. One aspect of leadership that he often preaches on is trust. Trust is extremely important in leadership because without it, one’s followers lose faith and stop dong what the leader says or recommends. Krzyzewski understands that fully. In an article written by Randy Conley on Leadingwithtrust.com, he quotes Krzyzewski’s answer to the question, “What’s the single most important characteristic for a coach to have to achieve the things you’ve achieved?” Coach K answered, “I think you have to be trustworthy. You have to take the time to develop a relationship that’s so strong with each individual player, and hopefully with the team, that they will trust you. They let you in, and if they let you in, you can teach. If they don’t let you in, you’re never going to get there” (1). Coach K understands fully that building trust with a player begins developing a personal and real relationship, aiming for the player to open himself up. When that happens Krzyzewski is then able to teach them how to be the best they can be.
When coaching a basketball team, and that team is going to be successful, every member of that team, player and coaches, need to be on the same page.

Another way of looking is if you think of the team as a moving train, moving towards a common goal. Thus you will need something to be the tracks for the train to move on. This is where one of Coach K’s traditions comes in. While playing at West Point, the team he played on had rules that all of the players needed to follow, but Krzyzewski did not agree with any of them. In an interview conducted by Sim Sitkin, a professor of management at Duke University, Coach K explained, “Usually when you’re ruled, you never agree with all the rules, you just abide by them. But if you have standards and if everyone contributes to the way you’re going to do things, you end up owning how you do things. In my experience, the best teams have standards everyone owns” (6). As seen with many Krzyzewski observations, he understands things. He took an aspect he noticed in his own college experience, an aspect of his team that he did not like, and chose to incorporate a more productive version for his Duke teams. This s another part of his way of leadership that allows players to buy into his philosophy. By establishing standards, players are able to take pride in living up to those standards instead of just following rules because their in place and have to be followed. Living up to team standards gives players a sense of pride and self-confidence

that only deepens their commitment to the team.
Coach K instills trust in his players and gives his players standards to live up to while on the team. Furthermore, he keeps a tight watch on team chemistry and looks closely for any sense of distraction or irritation that may be looming in the shadows the team. In the same interview, Coach K states, “Asking people how they feel or if there is something that is bothering them demonstrates your concern. It affirms that they are an important part of the team. And it also recognizes that they have eyes, that they can see things that you, the leader, may have missed or be blind to” (6). He likes to often hold meetings only for this purpose, where players can express their feelings to one another, getting everything out on the table. When this happens, problems can then be addressed and handled, allowing the train to resume on its journey to a common goal.
Another aspect found in Coach K’s leadership philosophy, empowered leadership is implemented for both his coaches and players.

He empowers his assistant coaches to design their own personal coaching plan with out him micromanaging. In another interview conducted by Sanyin Siang, Coach K touches on his concept of empowered leadership, stating, “what happens when you empower is you create ownership and that is critical in the development of a total team” (5). When that sense of ownership is created teams will have a much greater sense of succeeding because they will be playing for the team instead of for themselves. Coach K goes on to explain the outcome of incorporating this concept. When that leader who was empowered to lead leaves the team, the team will have a good chance of being able to continue to function at that level. This is so because the value instilled in those affected will

remain.
As said before, Coach Krzyzewski is a master at what he does and is a leadership guru. His leadership philosophies and concepts have propelled him into coaching excellence and have helped him achieve the feats and accomplishments associated with him. In conclusion, trust, removal of distractions, and empowered leadership, just to name a few, has been extremely effective in the development of everyone he comes in contact with. There is no doubt that Coach K will never falter in his leadership ability, and will therefore continue his masterful coaching and counseling style for the rest of his career and life.