In 1990 trying to build a women’s basketball with limited resources, poor facilities and no tradition, I hired a 25 year old with only 3 years assistant coaching experience to tackle the daunting task of building a foundation for VCU Women’s Basketball. That hire turned out to be very significant and five years later VCU was playing in their first post-season tournament and had notched over 20 wins while competing in the very tough Metro Conference. Why did I entrust that challenge to someone so young and inexperienced? I saw all the elements of a great leader and problem solver in Susan Walvius. Others noticed quickly also and after resurrecting VCU women’s basketball, Coach Walvius moved on to West Virginia and South Carolina where she re-energized both programs and positioned them to become significant programs on the national level. To highlight her coaching acumen, in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, Walvius was recognized as a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year.
In analyzing the elements of Coach Walvius’ leadership style that were key to the success of her teams, three important characteristics were very evident.:
1. A true problem solver---Susan always was focused on how to deal with the challenges that were readily apparent and never let the things that she could not control interfere with the task at hand. In recruiting rather than settle for less talented players than the traditional winners could recruit, she found new pools of talent. Susan recruited very talented players from the then Soviet Union and worked through all the operational issues of visas, government (Soviet control) and language. Susan recruited the first Soviet (Russian) player to play at a NCAA program and Anna Pavlikhina opened the VCU recruiting to other Russian, Swedish and Irish players who Coach Walvius blended in beautifully with American athletes. Great leaders do things, they do not just talk about doing things.
2. Always focused on the bottom line result---Coach Walvius was amazing in her ability to adjust and understand that the end result was the critical outcome. She would continually evaluate and put individuals in positions to be successful which led to major wins both on and off the court. Unlike some leaders, she never worried about her own ego but concentrated on her team’s performance and how to improve both the individual and team.
3. She was a great learner----Susan was always looking for better and more productive ways to do things. She never had the attitude that she had all the answers. That characteristic allowed her to grow and become better everyday as a leader and coach. Some leaders think they have it all figured out and therefore create an atmosphere of “status quo”.
Using her leadership and coaching skills, Susan has taken on an exciting new challenge as co-founder and CEO of an exciting new company named Sheex. With co-founder former UT Vol superstar Michelle Marciniak, the two have launched this new endeavor that uses materials similar to those in athletic wear to manufacture sheets and bedding that provide all the same benefits of the new high tech athletic gear. Coach (CEO) Walvius understands how to lead and how to win. This is a great example of a leader actually implementing an idea and concept rather just talking about it. GREAT LEADERS DO, BAD LEADERS TALK ABOUT DOING. I will bet that everyone will be familiar with Sheex in five years. Check out sheex.com, you will be impressed.
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