National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - News and FeaturesThe NCAA News -- June 21, 1999 Chant of change rings from NCAA Leadership Conference
BY KAY HAWES The third NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference was conducted May 31-June 4 at the Coronado Springs Resort at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The purpose of the Leadership Conference is to provide student-athletes with the opportunity to discuss and explore critical issues facing their peers; to enhance leadership skills; and to promote better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities. The focus of this year's conference was the development of the student-athletes' personal leadership skills. Because it is impossible to closely follow and chronicle the growth of 280 individuals at once, The NCAA News picked one of the 10 student-athlete teams to accompany throughout the entire conference. The following is an account of the team's daily functions and learning -- and how team members plan to use that learning to foster positive change on their campuses and in their communities.
Together, they sat in a circle with the other 24 student-athletes in their group -- their new "color team," Brown -- in the huge conference room at Disney World's Coronado Springs Resort, waiting for the 1999 NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference to begin. They knew nothing about each other, and perhaps they even thought they had little in common except their leadership potential, which in some cases had not yet been tested. Then, together -- with the basketball player from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, the runner from Mount Holyoke College, the dual-sport student-athlete from Alcorn State University and all the rest -- they became Brown. And by the end of the week, with the common language of an academic leadership model and the confidence it took to emphasize their strengths and work on their weaknesses, they knew they could tackle any task and solve any problem -- together. They also realized that they personally had the tools to realize their own potential and make a difference -- on their campus, in the community and even in the world at large. It was a week unlike any they had experienced before. Day One The conference began with a number of speakers designed to set expectations for the entire group -- expectations the conference organizers and member institutions had for the student-athletes, expectations the student-athletes should have of themselves and expectations they should have of each other. If the student-athletes in attendance did not already know they were special because they were chosen to attend the conference, that was the first thing they learned. "What we'd like you to think about in the next few days is what you represent and what this conference represents in terms of the possibilities of student-athletes across this country," said Daniel Boggan Jr., NCAA senior vice-president. "You represent nearly 331,000 student-athletes who compete under the auspices of the NCAA." Boggan then reminded the student-athletes that they were the 280 chosen from more than 850 student-athletes nominated from NCAA member institutions. He also encouraged them to take leadership seriously. "As you look around this room, see yourselves as those people who will be responsible for answering questions and finding solutions to problems that my generation and others have not been successful at solving," Boggan said. "See yourselves as those individuals who will be able to do as Nelson Mandela and others have, finding ways to bring peace to parts of our neighborhoods and our cities that have not had peace before." Lynn Kaplan, an organizational development consultant, spoke to the student-athletes about their conference objectives. "The first objective is to have you understand and apply a leadership model," she said. "We know that leaders are not born, they're made. One of the objectives of this conference is to make you a confident agent of change." What constitutes a leader? After a motivational speech by the Rev. Jesse Jackson (see pages 18 and 21), the student-athletes went into breakout rooms with their color teams. Before launching into a look at the academics of leadership, the Brown group paused to digest some of Jackson's most pertinent remarks about leadership and academics. The Brown team's facilitators, Rebecca Gigli, assistant athletics director for academic services at Drexel University, and Bob Bradley, associate athletics director at the University of Kentucky, pointed out that Jackson's comments about sports and leadership were particularly relevant. "The things you are learning here transcend sports and are applicable to all of life," Bradley said. "Athletics provides you with a platform. It guarantees you nothing and many athletes never use it, but it provides you with a platform to make a difference." Several of the student-athletes were struck by Jackson's example of devoting the same kind of quality time to study as to practicing their sport.
Getting down to business, the group first developed ground rules that would govern its activities as the Brown team. Then the team heard an overview of the concepts of leadership and management through history. Then the team reviewed the day's objective, which was exploring the idea of leadership and thinking about how those ideas apply to student-athlete leaders. They broke into small groups and brainstormed lists of qualities found in a leader. Later, when the team compared lists, it discovered that each group had come up with similar traits. Then the time came to learn the formal language of leadership that would be the academic model they would discuss all week -- even in their spare time. All the conference participants learned the five fundamental practices of exceptional leaders as defined by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, authors of the book, "The Leadership Challenge." Kouzes and Posner found that all truly exceptional leaders were skilled at five practices that made up leadership. They are:
The student-athletes reviewed a self-assessment test that determined their strengths and weaknesses in the five practices, and they discussed the qualities of each one. They quickly learned that those who scored very high in "Modeling the way," for example, preferred to lead by example and get things done themselves rather than trusting others to do it. They also learned that scoring low in a category meant that that element of your leadership skills was undeveloped. For example, someone who scored low in "Encouraging the Heart," might not be appreciative enough of other's efforts and, because of that, lack followers. The group then brainstormed ways that it could concentrate on improving on weaknesses by changing their behaviors toward others. Then the group concluded its formal session with journaling time to process the information it had learned that day. Having put in a busy day, the group thought the learning was over until Day Two. In reality, it had just begun. Appetites for learning The student-athletes had a chance to test their new leadership skills during an exercise that evening at Disney's Fort Wilderness. As usual, the Brown team arrived starving and ready to eat. From the slimmest sprinter to the beefiest football player, this was one hungry group. When the Brown team arrived at the outdoor pavilion at Fort Wilderness, the members sat down as a team, taking a place next to Orange. Just as their stomachs began to growl, Kaplan took the stage again. Everyone hoped her comments would be brief. It was already 6:45 and their stomachs were protesting almost as loudly as they were. Suddenly she said, "And you all will join with another team to prepare your own dinners. We'd like to eat in an hour or so." The collective groan was audible but brief. Before she could utter another word, Browns were running toward tables set up on the sides of the pavilion where an interesting assortment of raw meats, raw vegetables, raw pasta and other cooking materials awaited them. No one stood up and said, "I'm in charge. You do this. You do that." Instead, student-athletes gravitated toward their strengths and went straight to work. "I think that's characteristic of leaders, that they don't sit around and wait for somebody to tell them what to do," Megan Canaday, a soccer player at the University of Arizona, said later. "And we really used all five (Kouzes and Posner) practices to get the job done." At first they didn't realize that they were supposed to be cooperating with Orange, but that hurdle was crossed quickly when the student-athletes figured out there was only one (pre-baked) cake between the two groups. The raw materials weren't raw for long. One woman appointed herself as the grill chef, and she directed the marinating of the raw chicken breasts. Two men appointed themselves as the dessert chefs, and they became the supervisors of strawberry preparation. Still others simply grabbed a vegetable and started peeling, while those who doubted their cooking skills grabbed tablecloths, set the table, poured drinks and sliced bread. A few funny moments occurred as the student-athlete leaders sorted out who among them would lead and who would follow. Several people had their negotiation skills tested as they tried to persuade cooks of lesser skill to refrain from adding some exotic ingredient. Compromises were struck all across the pavilion. As tasks became completed and the hands were clearly more than were needed, some employed creative ways to get involved again. One student-athlete fashioned a Parmesan cheese scoop out of plastic from a milk carton. Still another led the table setters in a rousing line dance. Virtually everyone participated. A sweep of the entire pavilion revealed only one student-athlete who didn't participate at all. That student-athlete was successful in avoiding the task at hand only because the others didn't notice. While those in charge of the conference may have thought the meal would be a bit iffy, it was instead delicious. The Brown and Orange buffet featured grilled and marinated chicken, stir-fry chicken and vegetables, penne pasta with alfredo sauce and marinara sauce, salad, sautéed vegetables, vinaigrette salad dressing, scrambled eggs with vegetables, and three-layer strawberry shortcake. Other groups also had vegetable k-bobs and fried chicken. Their leadership learning really completed for the day, the student-athletes enjoyed a band and some dancing that made it clear that they hadn't starved to death after all. The only leading they did for the rest of the evening was deciding who should be on what teams for sand volleyball and who should be first down the waterslide. Day Two Now that they had learned a common language of leadership and identified their strong and weak points, it was time to identify an issue where they could each make a difference. "It's one thing to talk about leadership in Orlando," said Marion B. Peavey, executive director of the NCAA Foundation, in his address to the student-athletes. "It's another thing to talk about it at kickoff time, when you get back home to your team, your university, your neighborhood. And that's what we're going to be talking about today." The student-athletes again broke into color teams to work on identifying their own issue of passion. As part of the application process for the Leadership Conference, all of them had identified the three most critical issues facing their campus and/or their peers. Conference organizers compiled a complete list from all the participants and distributed that list to student-athletes so they could see the issues of others as they chose their own. The facilitators asked the student-athletes to select an issue to begin working on in the fall and to consider how their leadership could impact this issue. By far the most compelling issue in Brown was lack of enthusiasm for intercollegiate athletics at their institution. Nine in the group reported that their campuses were indifferent to their athletics teams and that even student-athletes of other sports didn't attend contests. Other issues Browns chose to tackle were: racial diversity and diversity education, development of CHAMPS/Life Skills programs, gender equity, sexual responsibility, community support, body image, the challenge of graduating in four years, student/student-athlete relations, intersport student-athlete relations and the public perception of student-athletes. Then the student-athletes chose from a variety of workshops offered by the conference facilitators on one of the five leadership practices. Student-athletes were encouraged to attend one session that focused on the practice that had been their strength and one that had been their weakness. After another chance to meet in color teams and discuss what they had learned, the student-athletes were off to spend the afternoon at Disney World. Many of them actually discussed their campus situations, the challenges faced by their campus student-athlete advisory committees, and shared ideas for solutions as they waited in line for rides, walked through the parks or rode the buses from park to park. Day Three Initiative games the next day at Disney's Wide World of Sports gave the student-athletes another chance to practice their leadership skills within their color teams. In one game, five leaders had to bring the entire team across the Magic Marsh with a limited number of trips. The student-athletes had to plan, incorporate others' ideas and think in creative ways. One advantage the Brown team soon discovered was Brian Broussard's unusual strength. A football player at Southern Illinois, Broussard simplified the game when his team members discovered he could carry up to four people at once.
The rest of the group was blindfolded. Then the mute group had to get the entire group -- including themselves -- to line up in birthdate order, without ever speaking. As if it wasn't difficult enough, one student-athlete misunderstood and thought the mute folks were deaf. Still, the student-athletes worked together and ultimately accomplished the task. Later that same day, the student-athletes left their color groups and attended division panels to hear about developing relationships with people of influence on campus. The Brown team was composed mostly of Division I student-athletes (only institutions with CHAMPS/Life Skills programs were eligible to nominate student-athletes for attendance, which affected the breakdown). Most of the Brown team heard the remarks of John Hitt, president of the University of Central Florida. "If you have taken time to get to know people in advance of a problem or a concern, it always works to your advantage," he said. "I think you are going to find people on campus in these positions who are happy to get to know you." Angie Taylor, senior woman administrator at the University of Nevada, gave the student-athletes several suggestions to improve their relationships with people of influence. "In building relationships, you want to start with your coach because that's the adult you spend the most time with," she said. "Your relationship with your coach can validate your credibility or assassinate your character. And there's no change you can effect within your athletics department without the help of the athletics administration. "Also, whenever you go forward with a problem, always propose a well-thought-out solution. It shows that you've given some thought to it and you're not just whining." Later that afternoon the student-athletes attended division panels made up of the national NCAA student-athlete advisory committees (SAACs). At this point, it was clear that the student-athletes' focus had shifted from developing their leadership skills to implementing those skills on a particular issue on their campuses. "The two most important things that should come out of this conference are how can I get involved and how can I make a difference," said Nigel Burton, Division I SAAC chair-elect and recently graduated football player from the University of Washington. "The easiest way to get involved is to get involved on your campus." The student-athletes concluded the day with a Disney banquet extravaganza where they heard from yet another influential person, Diana Nyad, now senior correspondent for Fox Sports News and one of the greatest distance swimmers in the world during the 1970s. "I spent all day watching you from the backs of rooms," she told the student-athletes. "You people have taken charge of your future. I was so heartened today. A couple of times I wanted to go up and hug you, and a couple of times I wanted to cry. You have already accomplished so much -- you are going to change the world." Day Four On the last day, it was time to take all that motivation, all those newly developed skills and all that enthusiasm back home. Ronald J. Stratten, NCAA vice-president for education services, told the student-athletes that the week had been all about "practicing" leadership. "What we tried to do was give you 'reps,' opportunities to practice your leadership. As Jesse (Jackson) said, if you're going to get better at it, you've got to practice it," Stratten said. "Now you are going to have to use yourself as an instrument of change, but you're going to have to be patient. Few things change overnight." The student-athletes spent the morning working on their individual action plans, and departure was scheduled for that afternoon after a brief address by ESPN commentator Robin Roberts. But first, the Brown team had to do its cheer. Team cheers, which were really much more than just cheers, were another chance for the student-athletes to try out their leadership skills. Other teams had been doing their cheers all week -- right after breakfast, first thing in the afternoon -- but the Brown team had drawn the final spot. Brown would go last, with a cheer that had to introduce Robin Roberts. To even call these 10-to-15-minute presentations cheers is misleading. The other color teams did rap songs, three-act skits, dances and impersonations of Jesse Jackson and Forrest Gump. The only understood requirement was that the cheer had to be uniquely yours. This cheer had to be Brown. While there might have been a temptation to look at what the other teams did and become nervous or add parts to their cheer, the Brown team's vision for its presentation was always elaborate. The team set aside free time to practice and practice and practice. The early practices were a bit chaotic at first, but ultimately the group divided into the actors and the dancers. Then subgroups formed, then formed again until practically every member of the team was in charge of some part of the presentation. One unusual characteristic emerged at the end: Every individual's idea was incorporated. Some ideas were eventually withdrawn, but everyone was accommodated.
The Browns even threw in impersonations of their facilitators. When Roberts finally got the stage from the Browns, she told the student-athletes not to underestimate their influence. "You have the power to create positive change. You can have an impact almost anywhere you want to," she said. "Now take what you've learned here this week and take it back to your campuses. Don't let it end here." When it was all over, the Browns found that they had bonded with each other much more than they thought they would. They also learned more -- about leadership and about themselves. "I didn't expect to learn so much from the group," said Kimberly Kutska, a cross country and track runner from Butler. "I expected the facilitators to teach us; I didn't expect we would teach each other." Kutska hopes to make a difference in the attitude at Butler. "I'm going to go to our SAAC and really use them to get others involved. I will probably start small, but here I learned a lot about what other schools are doing," she said. "Now it's important that we follow through," said Mirna Hernandez, a track student-athlete from San Diego State University. "We've met so many people now who can help us and who we can network with. We have to keep it going." |
ORLANDO, Florida -- He is a defensive lineman at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She runs cross country and track for Butler University. He swims for Brigham Young University. She plays field hockey and lacrosse at Rowan University.
Still others focused on Jackson's comments that superior efforts transcended inferior opportunities. Almost every student-athlete in the group took copious notes during Jackson's speech.
In another memorable game, the facilitators took all the talkative people and placed them on the "mute" team.
The eventual cheer included a chant of "Brown team comin'," a dance ("Do the Brown!") and a skit with Nyanne "Nicki" Castle, a basketball player from Washington State University, portraying Robin Roberts and much of the rest of the team acting out ESPN footage of a "Week in the Life of the Brown Team."