First Annual Doc's Leadership Award For Achievement

This is time of year when everyone starts to give out awards.  So I thought I would create my own award for the coach who over the years has demonstrated not only significant leadership traits but also achieved the three results that are most critical in evaluating the quality of leadership.  Over the years and there are many of those years (today is my 66^th birthday), I have witnessed hundreds maybe thousands of coaches as a player, coach, administrator and have realized that about 99% of those coaches do a tremendous amount of good (unfortunately the media focuses on the tiny group who abuse the coach-athlete relationship).  This award is not one that is given indiscriminately or without a great deal of thought.  Personally, I have been amazingly fortunate to have worked with great, dedicated and successful coaches.  However one stands out from all the rest when looking through a leadership filter.  The first recipient of DOC'S LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT goes to  VCU'S tennis coach Paul Kostin.

The three criteria for my leadership award and hopefully the result that every leader tries to achieve are:

1.     Great results----being a great leader means getting a bottom line that meets and surpasses expectations for the group.

2.     Followers success---followers are positively impacted and have their lives positively affected by the influence of the leader.

3.     Organization prospers---great leaders not only succeed in their area but also become crucial contributors to other efforts and the larger mission of the bigger organization.

When I evaluated all the coaches I have had contact with, while there were many great ones, Coach Kostin’s name always came to the top of the list.  Looking at the criteria:

1.     Results---Kostin took over a VCU tennis program with a 3-18 record the previous year and no women’s program and built a program that has a record of 646 wins and 188 losses playing the best teams in the country.  Wins against North Carolina, Duke, SMU, Ohio State, Michigan, UVA became the norm.   He has amassed 18 conference championships and 27 postseason appearances while mentoring numerous All-Americans and 3 individual National Champions.  Highlighted by his national runner-up finish in 2000, Kostin’s players and teams have had unbelievable runs in the NCAA tournament.

2.     Followers---Kostin’s players have had amazing successes after their tennis careers.  Everything from mentoring the number 1 male model in world and television and movie star (Boris Kodjoe) to corporate executives to successful coaches, Kostin’s former players demonstrate that the lessons learned from Coach K translate well into their post-tennis lives.

3.     Organization---Kostin has become the old wise sage of VCU Athletics and has become a mentor for many of the young staff.  Clearly Kostin has become an important figure and a key contributor to many of the Universities’ major efforts while keeping a solid perspective on his own program and maintaining a unique humility.

Many great leadership lessons can be learned by studying the recipient of the first annual Doc’s Leadership Award for Achievement, just ask his current and former players.