

393: Chris Holtmann - How To Lead With Conviction (Don't Be Afraid To Pursue Growth)
Nov 23, 2020
Chris Holtmann, the head basketball coach at Ohio State University, discusses his journey from a small college to leading a top program. He emphasizes the importance of pursuing growth over the comfort of stability, drawing from the insights of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Holtmann shares personal anecdotes about building a strong team, the emotional challenges of coaching transitions, and essential leadership qualities like consistency and accountability. His emphasis on mentorship and character development serves as a valuable guide for aspiring leaders.
01:04:29
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Building a Strong Team: Insights and Growth
02:10 • 15min
Navigating the Coach's Journey
16:47 • 27min
Navigating Perspectives and Career Change
44:01 • 6min
Essential Qualities of Successful Leaders in Athletics
49:39 • 4min
The Impact of Mentorship in Athletic Development
53:25 • 2min
The Essence of Leadership in Sports
55:34 • 9min

Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
Carol S. Dweck
In this book, Carol S. Dweck introduces the concept of two mindsets: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe their abilities are static, while those with a growth mindset believe their abilities can be developed through effort and learning. Dweck shows how these mindsets influence success in school, work, sports, and personal relationships. She also discusses how to adopt a deeper, truer growth mindset, and how this can transform individual and organizational cultures. The book emphasizes the importance of perseverance, learning from failures, and embracing challenges as key components of the growth mindset[1][2][5].

Welcome to Management
Stanley McChrystal
Ryan Hawk
In 'Welcome to Management', Ryan Hawk offers practical, actionable advice and tools designed to help new managers transition successfully. The book is based on a three-part framework: 'Lead Yourself', 'Build Your Team', and 'Lead Your Team'. Hawk draws from his own experience and over 300 interviews with forward-thinking leaders to provide insights on building skills, developing team culture, and setting clear strategies. The book includes case studies, personal stories, and data-backed advice to help high performers make the leap to management with greater ease and effectiveness.

Atomic Habits
James Clear
Atomic Habits by James Clear provides a practical and scientifically-backed guide to forming good habits and breaking bad ones. The book introduces the Four Laws of Behavior Change: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. It also emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes (atomic habits) that compound over time to produce significant results. Clear discusses techniques such as habit stacking, optimizing the environment to support desired habits, and focusing on continuous improvement rather than goal fixation. The book is filled with actionable strategies, real-life examples, and stories from various fields, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their habits and achieve personal growth[2][4][5].

Grit
The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Angela Duckworth
In this book, Angela Duckworth presents a compelling argument that success is driven more by grit, a fusion of relentless passion and perseverance, than by talent. She explains what grit is, how to identify and develop it, and how it can be grown through stages such as developing interests, consistent practice, finding a pro-social purpose, and cultivating optimism. The book is structured in three parts: explaining what grit is and why it matters, how to grow grit from the inside out, and how to grow grit from the outside in, targeting parents, coaches, teachers, and organizational leaders. Duckworth supports her arguments with personal stories, historical insights, and interviews with high achievers from various fields.
Text LEARNERS to 44222 for leadership development resources
Full show-notes at www.LearningLeader.com
Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12
393: Chris Holtmann - Head Basketball Coach of Ohio State University Buckeyes
Notes:
- Chris played his college basketball at a small Christian school called Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. For a coach named Paul Patterson. Chris said, “I think the core of who I am as a coach comes from him.”
- Don’t Be Afraid To Pursue Growth - "As I debated, I realized that I couldn’t blame myself for craving stability – it was only human nature after all. We are drawn by the soft voice of consistency, the allure of a warm blanket of security in our jobs and lives. And while many of us willingly happily give in to living within the status quo, the reality is that the world around us rarely remains motionless. The sun rises and sets, the seasons pass and the world keeps moving and changing. It is only as we grow older and look back at life that we realize all that we have missed, all that we could have accomplished, had we simply pushed ourselves to break free of our fears."
- "As I found myself deliberating once again, I began to think back to the work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck on motivation and failure. Dweck drew a distinction between performance orientation and learning orientation. Children that believe that their intelligence is fixed almost always give up on problems quickly, whereas those that believe their intelligence is malleable, conversely, stick with problems longer. Adults are no different. Those who are performance oriented are dissuaded by failure - they favor stability. Whereas those of who are learning oriented embrace opportunity and eschew the status quo."
- Head Coaches To Lead Their Teams To 5 Straight 1st Round Tourney Wins: Chris Holtmann, Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Wright, Mark Few, Bill Self, Roy Williams, John Calipari
- Article: David Brooks - Thick versus Think organizations -- "How To Leave A Mark On People"
- Focus on the process... "Do today well."
- "Don't compare yourself to others."
- Why is Brad Stevens one of the most effective coaches in the world?
- "He's an extremely curious learner. He has tremendous EQ and understands how to connect with people."
- Chris got promoted to be the interim head coach at Butler shortly after accepting the job to be an assistant...
- His boss (athletic director) told him, "You'll be evaluated daily." He came to every practice to watch Chris coach.
- "It was hard to hear, but it was the reality. I couldn't listen to critiques. I had to coach to my convictions."
- His boss (athletic director) told him, "You'll be evaluated daily." He came to every practice to watch Chris coach.
- Living your values: You must make a commitment to your values and live them daily.
- The values of the Ohio State basketball team:
- Truth
- Humility
- Respect
- Toughness - "Grit is imperative in successful people. Your response to challenging moments says everything to success." Coach Tony Bennett is tremendously tough. "Calm is contagious."
- Your response to difficult circumstances is what toughness is all about.
- Accountability
- Thankful
- The values of the Ohio State basketball team:
- "He who would be calm must first put on the appearance of being calm."
- How does one develop composure?
- "You need people around you to give you honest feedback. We don't realize how reactionary we can be."
- "Any time you feel upset with a player, wait to talk about it until you can process it. Think it through..."
- Excellence =
- Consistency
- Discipline
- "Your habits need to match your dreams."
- Be convicted in what you believe
- What Chris looks for in a player:
- Toughness -- "What's the most challenging thing you've been through? How did you respond?"
- Selfless
- "What's your body language on the bench when you aren't playing?"
- "What's your response to a teammates success?"
- Honesty
- Advice to leaders:
- You can't skip steps in the process of being a leader
- Value the beginning stages
- Eliminate comparison to others as much as possible
- Be committed to growing professionally and personally. It's about your daily habits. Your character is put on display.
- "We write our stories one decision at a time."
- You can't skip steps in the process of being a leader