Hokie Club
"If we win today, and we win the next day, and the day after that; we will win the future." – Jon Gordon
On Monday, March 29th, the Virginia Tech Athletics Leadership Institute hosted Jon Gordon as the keynote speaker at Leadership Culture, a speaker series designed to expose student-athletes to important concepts on leadership in order to positively impact their team culture.
The virtual event had over 350 Virginia Tech student-athletes, coaches, and staff members in attendance to hear Gordon's message of the power of positive leadership.
Jon Gordon is the author of 23 books, including 10 best sellers and five children's books, and a successful keynote speaker on the topics of leadership, culture, sales and teamwork. Gordon is a former student-athlete, playing lacrosse at Cornell University and subsequently obtained a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He is extremely passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams.
A theme of Gordon's talk centered on a familiar word in Virginia Tech Athletics – 'GRIT.' "Grit is the key to get through a very challenging time. For me, winning every day meant staying positive and not allowing any negativity to let me down, while also encouraging people."
Gordon also talked about the importance of maintaining a microscope kind of focus to be successful. "You need to make sure you focus on what matters most every day."
"Commitments are greater than goals." Further, he explained how it is your commitment to your goals, rather than the goals themselves, that will dictate what you will achieve.
Gordon's advice has been a source of motivation for many student-athletes as they look to finish the 2020-2021 academic year, including senior swimmer Molly Sheffield, "Having the opportunity to learn from someone like Jon Gordon is an opportunity that will help me grow as a leader way beyond athletics." […] "Positive leadership is a concept that I now plan to implement into my leadership philosophy. Learning to use your natural drive and passions to encourage those around you is empowering. Implementing the approaches that Gordon talks about will inspire other people to use this positive leadership approach as well."
The Leadership Institute, as part of the Office of Student-Athlete Development, is focused on helping student-athletes identify ways they can thrive as students, leaders and competitors. The Institute hosts keynote speakers at Leadership Culture regularly, as well as other leadership programs throughout the year for student-athletes. Ultimately, upon graduation, student-athletes will leave Virginia Tech prepared to effectively lead others and to serve society.
"The opportunities and experiences that I have gotten from Student-Athlete Development and the Leadership Institute throughout my four years as a Virginia Tech student-athlete have impacted me in ways that I will forever be grateful for. These skills and experiences I have learned through their programs have helped me through my transition as a retired college athlete, and will continue to help me as I enter the workforce." – Molly Sheffield, senior, women's swimming