"Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out." - Stephen Covey On February 24, 2010, the McConnell Scholars had the opportunity to talk with Coach Charlie Strong, the head football coach at the University of Louisville. If Covey's above quote can be accepted as a fair definition of effective leadership (and I think it can), then Coach Strong has surely become one of the most effective leaders at the University of Louisville. He inherited a team that had been beaten and demoralized, and he turned it around through hard work and discipline. Any one who aspires to or feels called to lead, especially to lead a large group of individuals, would benefit from Coach Strong's insight and lessons. One thing Coach Strong emphasized was the need for discipline. When he came to UofL, he wrote his four core values on the wall (he later added the fifth), with the stipulation that any player who violated one would be dis...
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