Author Archives: Matt Doherty

Accountability is defined as the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility. (The following is an excerpt from Rebound: From Pain to Passion. To be released in March, 2021)Don’t be afraid to hold your staff accountable for their performance. They need this to grow. The top performers want to be held accountable. They are competitive peopleContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Accountability”

Surround yourself with smart people that are loyal to you and your vision. Then give them their roles and let them go to work! You can’t do it all. You must attract talented people to join your team. Why did I use the word “attract” instead of “hire”? Because you hire someone for a job. You attractContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Good Senior Staff”

Communication is a two way street. Most people think of how we communicate – deliver a presentation, talk to person, send an email or text – and not how we receive information. How we receive information may be more important than how we deliver information because it will help us understand our audience better. AsContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Communication”

“A disciplined person is truly a free person.” – Dean Smith When Coach Smith said this to our team years ago it was confusing to me at first. Discipline seems restrictive, not freeing. Coach then explained that a truly disciplined person makes good decisions that lead to freedom. For example, someone that runs up theirContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Discipline”

“A dream without a plan is just a wish.” – Katherine Paterson A leader can have competence, emotional intelligence and a great vision, but if they don’t have a strategic plan they will greatly limit their chances for success. Where do you begin? You begin with the end in mind. In basketball we planned toContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Strategic”

Vision for a leader is critical because if you don’t know where you are going how do you expect people to follow you? To create a proper vision you need five things: Inclusion – Involve your senior staff in developing your vision. Having input leads to buy-in. Buy-in leads to commitment. Commitment leads to momentum.Continue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Vision”

I lost my job as the head coach at North Carolina in 2003. It was an awful time in my life, but like any athlete or coach I wanted to learn from defeat and get better. I decided to go on a leadership journey. I took an executive class at The Wharton School in Philadelphia.Continue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Emotional Intelligence”

Competence may be the most important ingredient of a leader. A leader may communicate well, may have good emotional intelligence and all the other key ingredients I noted in my previous blog, but if they are not competent nothing else matters. When I refer to competence I am referring to a leader’s knowledge of theContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader: Competence”

When I think of the best leader I have been around I think of Dean Smith. He was my basketball coach at the University of North Carolina. I strived to be like him when I coached and often fell short. Nevertheless, I continue to try to lead like he led our teams in the earlyContinue reading “Ingredients of a Good Leader”

With LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship I wanted to share with you what I believe is the “Mindset of a Champion”. One of my favorite leadership books is Jack: Straight from the Gut, by Jack Welch. He was the CEO of General Electric. He shared “The Four E’s” listed below.Continue reading “Mindset of a Champion – The Four E’s”