Coach to Leader series: People Development

Chris De Piero

Chris has spent the past 30+ years in the game of hockey as a player, Head Coach, General Manager, scout, mentor, consultant and most importantly as a parent. He has done so in the NHL, with Hockey Canada, in the OHL and the OHA, as well as European pro hockey. In addition, he has spent 15+ years as a classroom teacher as well as being in leadership positions as an administrator with a private high school in Toronto. All these experiences have allowed Chris to be able to work with, lead, coach, mentor, advise, and consult with various personalities, ultimately gleaning some championship habits along the way. Chris has also co-authored a personal development book titled, THE POWER OF TEAMMATES. Follow @TeammatesTrio on Twitter for more information.

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“A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on x’s and o’s, as compared to time spent learning about people.” – Mike Krzyzewski 

Coach K is stepping down as leader and head Basketball Coach at Duke University, after 42 years at the helm, once this season is over for his team.

In a previous post, I mentioned that it was his assertion that he is not a basketball coach, but a leader who coaches basketball, which has always struck me and is the reason for this series that I am writing and you’re reading.

His wisdom now tells us that our responsibility, as coaches, and as leaders, is to the PEOPLE we are in charge of. To fully understand them, and work with them, to develop them not only as players, but as people. 

The timing of his retirement falls in line with this month as we are delving into the people portion of leadership/coaching.

As a recap, here are the 5 LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP we’ve introduced:

• Coach to Leader Series: An Introduction
• Level 1 – Position (Rights) – people follow because they have to
•  Level 2 – Permission – (Relationships) – people follow because they want to
•  Level 3 – Production – (Results) – people follow because of what you have done for the organization/club
•  Level 4 – People Development – (Reproduction) – people follow because of what you have done for them
•  Level 5 – Pinnacle – (Respect) – people follow because of who you are and what you represent

LEVEL 4 – PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT – “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”