Dan Hawkins, the head football coach at the University of Colorado, says success on the field – and in business – is fairly simple.
Every team needs experience, talent and depth.
But leaders should also seek to promote three feelings in their workers: a sense of power, a sense of being needed and a sense of competence.
“Great leaders are there to facilitate and let other people have power,” said Hawkins, whose overall record of 92-23-1 in 10 seasons as a collegiate head coach ranks sixth best among all active Division I-A coaches.
Hawkins gave the keynote address Friday to 350 business people at the Rocky Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council’s 32nd annual Business Opportunity Fair, held at the Colorado Convention Center.
A crucial element that many business people overlook, he said, can be found in nearly any college psychology textbook.
“Study Maslow,” advised Hawkins, 45, a reference to Abraham Maslow, the New York-born phycologist who described a hierarchy of needs to help explain human behavior.
Hawkins, dressed in black slacks and a white golf-shirt with a CU logo, paced the stage like a motivational speaker. He explained to the audience how he incorporates Maslow’s theory into coaching.
The first level is the basic needs of survival. The second level is safety and security. It’s at the third level, a sense of belonging to a group, that business leaders should focus their attention when managing.
That requires empowering team members and reminding them of their accomplishments.
Hawkins recalled an instance at Boise State, where he coached before CU hired him in December, when a player requested that the team switch to black shoes from its customary white.
Hawkins polled the rest of the team and they agreed to switch. That concession instilled a sense of power in the players, he said.
The audience at Friday’s event, comprised mostly of minority business owners and corporate executives, appeared impressed.
“He could have a second career as a motivational speaker,” said Charlotte Steele, 52, who works at Goodwill Industries of Denver. “I don’t follow football, but I was really impressed.”
Hawkins, who signed a five-year contract, will earn $4.25 million plus incentives for academic progress by players and success on the field.
“We are trying to win the national championship this year,” Hawkins told the audience.
