How Do We Get to the "Summitt?"

The Pinnacle

The summit. The very top of the mountain. The highest point. The end of the climb. The pinnacle. How do you get to the top of the mountain? Many people would say you have to put one foot in front of the other. And, of course, that’s true. I mean, it’s certainly not wrong. But, I feel like there’s got to be more to the journey. As deliberately as your feet can take you to the top, they can quickly take you right back down to the bottom. So, what keeps you moving in the forward direction toward the pinnacle? What keeps you going upward instead of retreating?

Your mind.

Your mind is a powerful tool. I’m fascinated by the functions of the mind. I have been taught many inspirational life lessons by various leaders throughout my athletic career. But one of the most instrumental pieces of advice came from my high school water polo coach. The life lesson he taught me was the following:

I can push past any preconceived barriers I set for myself, as long as I am able to separate my mind from my body.

This life lesson is truly just that…A Life. Lesson. This nugget of inspiration has guided me in all aspects of my life. I’ve even tweaked it a bit to be a little more specific. If I can train my mind to push past my preconceived barriers, I am confident that my body will follow. If you think of the brain as a muscle that can be developed and strengthened, then resiliency, passion and commitment is your equipment. And I make an effort to pick up this equipment every day. Especially when I don’t feel like it.

After years of playing water polo, I have learned a lot of life lessons from my coaches. Some good, some bad, some resonated with me and some…well, I guess I’ve forgotten. But the lessons don’t have to come from actual interactions. They can come from studying leaders or coaches. One of the many people I studied was Coach Pat Summitt. Coach Pat Summitt is unique to me for one quite obvious reason: she was a female leader whose revolutionary and transformational principles are still applicable today.

Pat Summitt was a legendary and dominant female figure that taught life-changing principles centering around work ethic and self-evaluation. In Pat Summitt’s book, Reach for the Summit: The Definite Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do, she discusses her coaching philosophy through the construction of the Definite Dozen; a series of transformational principles. Let’s take a look at how Pat Summitt intentionally implements life lessons into her coaching philosophy so that her athletes are able to translate her coaching principles into all aspects of their lives…

The Precise Principles

Coach Pat Summitt emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes, self reflection and consistently setting new goals through the Definite Dozen. Summitt presents 12 principles to guide athletes and individuals to become better as a team. Coach Summitt’s principles can be applied to both athletic and non-athletic teams. I have chosen to expand on five of her twelve valuable principles, which include #1: Respect Yourself and Others, #6: Make Hard Work Your Passion, #9: Make Winning an Attitude, #10: Be a Competitor, and #11: Change is a Must. The Definite Dozen was not only created for athletes, but it was developed for use as life skills, which ultimately displays how Pat Summitt was truly a transformational leader. 

Pat Summitt’s first principle, Respect Yourself and Others, revolves around the idea that by respecting others, people are also developing respect for themselves. A person who fails to respect others also fails to respect their own self. Summitt continues her discussion on respect when demonstrating the importance of respect in regard to a team dynamic. People who lack respect for themselves and their teammates will not be good team players. Individuals must treat themselves as they treat the people that surround them. Respect can come in many different forms but one of the purest forms of respect is through equal opportunity. Summitt discusses her personal relationship with respect in regard to equality by stating “The best, most valuable thing my father gave me was an equal opportunity. Nobody in the family seemed to regard me as a girl when it came to work or playing basketball” (Summitt, 21). Having respect for people as human beings creates a culture of personal and professional respect for all people in a given environment. Summitt concludes her opinions on respect by stating “But once you attain it, it will bear you up through almost anything, whether you’re dealing with a difficult parent, teasing from others, self-doubt, or ordinary work tensions” (Summitt, 27). Respect is the foundation that withstands the challenging winds and obstacles that people encounter. It provides the basis to persevere in the face of adversity.  

In Coach Summitt’s sixth principle, Make Hard Work Your Passion, she highlights the impact that passion has on an individual’s performance while also stressing the importance of transforming hard work into passion. Summitt expresses the difficulty of truly putting in full effort into a given activity. In fact, Summitt even states “I know this about work, too: People always have a little bit more of it in them than they think they do” (Summitt, 132). There are thousands of choices that people make each day and choosing to put in the work is one of those many choices. Hard work done by force is very different from hard work performed out of passion. Summitt discusses how there is clear intent that is easily distinguishable between those who work hard because they feel they have to versus those who work hard because they are passionate about putting in the effort. She summarizes her thoughts by saying “Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you” (Summitt, 117). Each individual is in complete control of their work ethic. Having the passion to work hard will always prevail over simply putting in effort without the drive.  

In Coach Summitt’s ninth principle, Make Winning an Attitude, she discusses the combination of preparation and belief. Summit explains how “Attitude lies somewhere between emotion and logic” (Summitt, 180). Attitude is a choice. Every day, a person can choose their outlook on life. A positive attitude will help guide people along their journey to achieve success. Additionally, preparation instills belief in individuals, which can be used to spark a positive attitude. As explained by Summitt, “Belief in yourself is what happens when you know you’ve done the things that entitled you to success. Real confidence is not groundless. It is based on everything you’ve practiced all year long” (Summitt, 195). Through focused preparation and belief, confidence will be obtained. This confidence will guide individuals in having a winning attitude based upon the work that was put in behind the scenes. 

In Pat Summitt’s tenth principle, Be a Competitor, she stresses the importance of valuing competitors and using competition to distinguish achievers from average people. People who fail to compete are also failing to reach their peak potential. Summitt states “Your competitors make you better. Having worthy adversaries stimulates your work ethic, and brings out qualities you may not have known you had. So don’t resent them. You should love your competitors. And you should thank them” (Summitt, 214). Competition is great! It is the driver of improvement. Without competition, people will not reach their peak potential. Without competition, people will not grow. Without competition, people will become stagnant. So, Summitt stresses the importance of embracing competition and using it as fuel to become an achiever that can reach full potential as a human being. 

Lastly, Pat Summitt analyzes the impact and necessity of change in her eleventh principle, Change Is a Must. Change is about self-improvement and encouraging oneself to become the best version of themselves. Summitt discusses how many people view change as a vulnerability or a weakness. Summitt quickly debunks this belief when saying “The willingness to change allows you to turn a weakness into a strength” (Summitt, 233). Life is about change. It can be very uncomfortable and full of emotion. But when it is viewed as an opportunity to grow, it can strengthen us. This is similar to the change that Summitt promotes through her coaching strategies that help her athletes undergo internal improvement in order to have success on the court.

Wooden Vs. Summitt

The coaching and leadership style of Pat Summitt has a few similarities to John Wooden. In particular, Summitt’s sixth principle, Make Hard Work Your Passion, is very comparable to Wooden’s second cornerstone in his Pyramid of Success known as Enthusiasm. Both of these principles embrace the idea of having pure enjoyment and love for their work. Summitt and Wooden discuss how passion and enthusiasm can be expressed in different ways. Some individuals may demonstrate their passion and enthusiasm through cheering, being loud or obnoxious, while others may show it through their intensity. However, both coaches conclude that in order to display passion and enthusiasm an individual must allow their heart to guide their actions. Summitt and Wooden both agree that without the component of passion or enthusiasm, then an individual will fail to maximize their potential in their work. Conversely, Pat Summitt was very loud and demanding of her athletes. John Wooden demonstrated a very resilient and succinct approach with his athletes. Both coaches were able to achieve great success on the scoreboard while communicating with their players in very different ways. Though Summitt and Wooden had similarities in their principles, their approach to communicating and enacting their standards, principles, expectations, and accountability methods were extremely different.  

My Spin

Pat Summitt created an environment where excellence was not only accepted, but it was expected. She did this by following the principles she included in the Definite Dozen. And, at the core, she valued work ethic and self evaluation. By having these two core values guide her decision making process, it allowed her to be extremely intentional with her words and actions.

In order to keep myself levelheaded, I lead with three principles at the forefront of my mind. These three guiding principles are most valuable when implemented in sequential order:

• Self Reflection

• Controlling the Controllables

• Empowerment

Self reflection is a critical component to leadership. After every interaction, practice or workshop, it is important that leaders immediately reflect on that moment. What went well? Where can I improve? By reflecting on my interactions, I can continue to grow and improve. But most importantly, I can bring my best self to the next interaction that I have. If I am unable to bring my best self when leading, then how can I expect my students, players or employees to bring their best self?

Controlling the controllables might be the hardest of the three principles to master. In my previous Substack, I was able to provide comprehensive details around the concept of controlling the controllables. There are a variety of external factors in daily life that beg for your attention. However, there is a limited set of factors that are actually in your control. It is our duty, as leaders, to help our mentees distinguish between the uncontrollable factors and the controllable factors. Controlling what is in your control is ultimately how individuals set the foundation for earning peace of mind.

Lastly, empowerment. I define empowerment as:

Allowing individuals the platform to showcase their knowledge without fear of failure, and respectfully spark positive change in their communities.

I set the foundation for empowerment in my daily interactions through active listening and vulnerability. By creating this safe space, it invites individuals to express their true authentic self, which is exactly what I try to model. This psychologically safe environment promotes individuality and human development. It allows for my mentees to uncover their true, genuine self. It is through discovering and accepting your authentic self that people feel confident in their own skin. And, ultimately, feel empowered to follow their dreams, pursue opportunities and spark change.

Words have power. Actions have even more power. As leaders, let’s work to be very intentional with each of our interactions. With each interaction, we send a message both verbally and nonverbally. It is in our control to decide what message we want to deliver to the people we are leading.

I encourage all readers to dig deep when discovering their own personal values, coaching philosophies and/or guiding principles. And, don’t be afraid to change or adjust your principles as you develop. We are ALL leaders - whether we want to be or not! From parenting to teaching to supervising to coaching, all individuals play a role in developing the people they interact with on a daily basis.

We are all in this together.

What are your guiding leadership principles? How do you remain influential in your interpersonal interactions? How can you become a better leader? Let me know! You can email me here: Bella@bellabaia.co

Thanks for reading! :)

Citation: Summitt, Pat, and Sally Jenkins. Reach for the Summit: The Definite Dozen System for   Succeeding at Whatever You Do. Broadway Books, 1999.