Business, Sports & Gaming
Recruit & Retain All-Star Talent
Lesson time 15:22 min
Coach K shares his approach to recruitment and retention for the Duke basketball organization. Learn how to appeal to candidates by considering their priorities as whole people.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Know Your Priorities: Coach’s Three Must-Haves • Build Relationships in Recruiting • Anticipate the Competition • Retaining Talent
Preview
[MUSIC PLAYING] - I love talent. Talent is needed to achieve at the highest level. And I've had the unique opportunity of coaching some of the best talent on the college level and the best talent in the world on a professional level. Getting the most out of your talent is huge. And coordinating those talents is incredibly interesting. But how do you get the opportunity to coach talent? For me, when I got to Duke, the level of talent that I would need, the ACC, our conference, had guys like Michael Jordan, James Worthy. These are two of the greatest players. Ralph Sampson. The daily competitive level that I had to be at was much higher. And my first year, full year, I recruited too many people. And we didn't get the top eight guys that we wanted. We got good players but not who we wanted so we changed our approach. And we developed an approach that I've used ever since. I looked for three things. I looked for talent. They had to be really good. They had to be good enough to beat those teams that had really good talent and it had to be a variety of talent, big guys, middle guys, small guys, shooters, rebounders. So I'm looking at their talents and not saying they can only be a shooting guard. This is what this kid can do. The excitement is to put a class together where there are different talents in each class, the blend of those talents. A diverse team is a strong team. When recruiting, think about the needs of your team and what skill sets, attitudes, and experiences complement your team as a whole. The second thing, I was at a school that was one of the best universities and still is in the world, Duke. And they had to have an appreciation for academics but not just because of passing. I wanted guys who were interested in more than just basketball so they would have balance. Part of getting the most out of somebody is not just doing one thing but having balance. Great employees can bring talent and experience from a variety of sources, such as work history, volunteering, or personal interests. To find if your candidate has balance, look beyond titles and positions held. Do they have the skills your team needs? Do they have a natural curiosity and a passion for learning? These qualities will boost your return on the time and resources spent in the hiring process. The third thing is character. Who are you? And it ended up really being the most important thing we looked at. And how do you find out about character? Well, one is watching the young man play. He's always the best player on his team by far, the best player in the state probably. And so how does he interact with this coach? When there's a timeout, does he show good body language? Is he good with the coach? Obviously, he's going to do a lot during the game-- score, rebound, and be the focal point. When a teammate does something good, how does he react to it? When a teammate is down, does he show empathy? We get teacher evaluations. We have home v...
About the Instructor
Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski is the winningest coach in men’s college basketball history. For the first time, he’s sharing the secrets to building an environment conducive to success. Learn how to read body language, deliver difficult feedback, and identify talent. Whether on the court or in the office, you’ll be confident exercising leadership strategies that influenced players like Kobe Bryant and Shane Battier.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Coach K
12x “Coach of the Year” Mike Krzyzewski teaches how to motivate a team. Discover your innate leadership skills with drills to prepare for success.
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