Billy Donovan doesn’t know me from anybody.
The Chicago Bulls coach, who won two national championships with Florida, was once a sharp-shooting guard for Providence. A couple years ago, I reached out to see if he had a few minutes to talk about what life was like there during a time in which the Providence athletic department was run by someone (Lou Lamoriello) who would go on to win three Stanley Cups and was stacked with future coaching talent like Rick Pitino, Jeff Van Gundy and Stu Jackson.
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Mostly, though, I wanted to talk about leadership. About team building. About what it takes to succeed. And one thing I’ve found in covering athletes, coaches and executives is this: If you’re genuinely curious and want to learn, they’re usually generous with their time.
I cold-texted Donovan at 5:07 p.m.. Less than 45 minutes later, he responded:
“Would be happy to connect!”
Donovan shared his thoughts on the work that goes into success. The planning. The details. And sometimes, as was the case at Providence in the 1980s, the hours of pure grinding.
“It all started from a premise of work,” he explained. “What wins in hockey, wins in basketball. It’s the same that it was 60 years ago. The things that go into winning just don’t change.”
Then he added my favorite part.
“People want to think there’s this illusion of choice. ‘I want to be successful, but I don’t want to put the work into what it takes.’ Winning is not a buffet line.”
I loved that. Winning is not a buffet line.
Since the launch of The Athletic, we’ve tried to cover sports in a unique way. Often that meant going a little deeper or behind-the-scenes to connect the people we cover with the subscribers who read our work. The stories I always gravitated towards were the ones where I could apply some of the wisdom that access provided to my own life. The kind of wisdom Donovan shared.
The world of sports is perfect for that. It’s a place where some of the most relatable issues in life are played out in real time, at the highest stakes. Themes like career changes, culture building, organizational leadership, personal growth, success under pressure, health and wellness — pursuits we’re all chasing — are observed, debated and revealed on a public stage.
On Sunday, we saw it with Rory McIlroy at the Masters. He fought through massive expectations, a missed putt on the final hole and the pressure that comes with the world deciding it’s your time to succeed. Who better than him to share insight on how the best handle stress?
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“It’s such a battle in your head of trying to stay in the present moment and hit this next shot good,” McIlroy told the media afterwards. “My battle today was with myself. It wasn’t with anyone else. You know, at the end there, it was with Justin, but my battle today was with my mind and staying in the present.”
Every big sports moment comes with its own examples.
For the last several months, a team led by Jayson Jenks, Elise Devlin and Rustin Dodd, has been producing stories that touch on those themes. These were a few of my favorites:
Now, we’re doing it for real.
Today, we’re excited to share the launch of Peak, The Athletic’s home for coverage that examines the leadership, ideas and personal growth strategies from the most successful people in sports. Yes, we believe these stories are interesting, entertaining and engaging but the real power comes when they connect with you personally, when they impact your life. Maybe it’s a new way to think about an old problem. Maybe it’s the inspiration you needed to start a new project. Maybe it’s giving you the confidence to keep doing what you’re doing.
To kick the launch off, Rustin dove deep into what makes Lions coach Dan Campbell such a motivating speaker. Later this week, we will share leadership stories from the people who know Sidney Crosby best. There will also be a must-read conversation with basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, the first in a weekly interview series with some of the top leaders in sports.
Follow along here so you don’t miss any of it.
Soon, Elise will start writing a newsletter on LinkedIn that will distill all these stories down into actionable next steps. In a few months, we’ll launch a digital series led by a former NFL player who has impressed us with his insatiable curiosity and desire to share what he’s learned. After that, a video series. The goal is to connect a community of people passionate about leadership and development large enough to put on an annual event.
If we pull it off, maybe we can convince Billy Donovan to speak at it. I bet he would.
(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic)
This news was originally published on this post .
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