Ep 2051 How Do You Know What Kind of Leader You Really Are? Dr. Matthew Raidbard, Part 1

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From a 24 hour drive for a Division II job to Dartmouth, Chicago State, and a study of 200 college coaches who did not know their own leadership style.

Dr. Matthew Raidbard did not have a relative in the business, a friend in the business, or a practical degree. He had a history major, a resume full of travel team experience, and a habit of following up one more time than anyone asked him to. That relentlessness got him a Division II assistant job in Silver City, New Mexico, and started a college coaching career that ran through Dartmouth, Florida Gulf Coast, and eight seasons at Chicago State before he moved into athletic administration.

In Part 1, Coach Steve Collins and Dr. Raidbard walk through that journey, what changes from Division II to the Ivy League to a traditional Division I program, and why he calls Chicago State the toughest job in the country. Then they get to the research behind his book, Lead Like a Pro: a study of more than 200 college basketball coaches, and the surprising gap between the leadership style coaches think they practice and the one they actually do.

In this episode

The games that hooked them both on basketball, from conference championship week to the old Wisconsin Field House

How coaching his younger brother's travel team turned into a career

Relentlessness as a separator: you only need one yes

Learning to do everything at a small Division II school, from game operations to driving the softball team

Dartmouth, the Ivy League experience, and going toe to toe with Jeremy Lin and Harvard

Florida Gulf Coast and the difference between Ivy recruiting and traditional Division I recruiting

Eight seasons building Chicago State, and why it may be the toughest job in college basketball