This spring I'm releasing bonus episodes of The Take Home. No new lectures on leadership, instead I'm sharing the amazing podcasts created by the students in my Leadership for Sport Professionals class.

In this bonus episode of Season 5, I'm sharing "Shaping Champions" which was created and produced by Seth Jacobs and Joe Mehary. Here are their liner notes:

Shaping Champions is a podcast formed by Seth Jacobs and Joe Mehary; the objective of the podcast is to interview sport industry leaders seeking insight about their perspectives on developing leadership skills. In Season 1 Episode 1, Seth and Joe look at the textbook "Leadership: Theory and Practice," to draw inspiration from the Leader Membership Exchange (LMX) and chapter 16, team leadership. More specifically, Seth and Joe, talk about the dyadic relationships and building trust between players and coaches, and how heterarchical (lateral) oriented teams can have advantages compared to hierarchical teams.

In this episode, Seth and Joe are joined by Todd Wildman. Todd is a Trinity University alumni who is a multiple time national champion, competing numerous events, including multis. Todd graduated from Trinity with a double major in finance and accounting, receiving a masters degree in accounting from Trinity as well. Todd now owns a real estate company along with his wife, a fellow Trinity alumni. In his spare time, Todd raises his two boys, and coaches for the Trinity track and field team. Specifically coaching hurdlers and supplementing in other areas when needed.

In the episode Todd discusses his time at Trinity, being a leader on the Track team, a student, a professional, and lastly, a coach. Todd puts an emphasis on the discipline that being a high performing athlete taught him, as well as, the organizational skills that being a student at a rigorous university taught him, and how these skills were a catalyst for a successful professional career. Being a coach, Todd tries to build relationships with his athletes to the point where it feels like a mutual respect between both parties. He also believes effective team leaders are those who are committed to the team and approach each day with a purpose, it is not about vocalness or popularity, it is simply about one's will to success for themselves and their teammates.

We hope that our conversation with Todd will give you some useful insight on leadership within sports and the application of those same skills in the professional and academic environments. We really enjoyed our conversation and hope that you will as well.

Music Credits: Getting Wild Instrumental by jonworthymusic