Lily Rodriguez returned more than a month ago from her first Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute event in Dallas, and she said she "still can't stop bragging about it."
"It's still really hard to put into words how powerful of an experience it was," said Rodriguez, director of enrichment services at Columbia.
It's been seven years since Randale Richmond finished the prestigious two-year program, which is held by the NCAA leadership development staff and is aimed at helping ethnic minorities navigate careers in college athletics. Its influence, however, was just as fresh on his mind, especially after attending a Leadership Institute alumni event held in July in conjunction with the full program in Dallas.
He cited his original experience with the program as the reason he's now the director of athletics at Kent State. He said it set the foundation to how he leads.
"When we talk about transformational leadership, I became transformed throughout the program," Richmond said. "It's all because of that bedrock that I received at the Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute."
Rodriguez and Richmond, guests of a recent Social Series episode highlighting the Leadership Institute, said the program's impact goes well beyond the professional development and programming it includes. And there's plenty of that practical education, from exploring the internal workings of an athletics department to gaining knowledge in a variety of topic areas such as student-athlete welfare issues, diversity and inclusion issues at all levels of college athletics, strategic planning, budget management, fundraising, compliance, human resources and performance management within the organization.
Equally significant, Rodriguez and Richmond said of their Leadership Institute experiences, were the personal reflections and connections they made within their cohort.
"It's obviously a professional development program, but I just learned so much about myself on a personal level," said Rodriguez, a former volleyball player at St. Francis Brooklyn.
Part of the introspective experience includes taking a DiSC behavioral assessment, which helps participants understand their strengths and weaknesses in the realm of leadership effectiveness, as well as how to work with those with different strengths and weaknesses.
For a long time, Richmond carried his DiSC assessment on planes, so he could review it when he traveled. The 20-plus-page report served as a reminder of his natural leadership tendencies and "how I needed to show up for others."
"I've never peered that intentionally into exactly who I am as a human being," Richmond said. "That's what the program did the most for me."
Randale Richmond takes notes in July at a Leadership Institute alumni event in Dallas. Richmond, director of athletics at Kent State, graduated from the Leadership Institute in 2015.
For Rodriguez, the DiSC exercise was eye-opening. She tested as a "D" personality, which she described as someone who is typically "very direct, intense, results-driven." As a former student-athlete, she assumed this would be a popular personality group in her cohort, where she was far from the only former athlete and among a group filled with ambitious administrators.
"The reality is there were only two of us sitting at that (D personality) table," she said. "I had to have a really hard reckoning with myself that not everyone responds to winning or being results-driven."
As Rodriguez reckoned with this self-realization, her cohort members boosted her morale and reminded her of how valuable her leadership traits are to any group she's part of. It's one example of how quickly participants create close connections, which Rodriguez and Richmond said stem in part from their shared experiences as minorities.
"That's why I think we were able to connect so quickly and immediately with other people because they've shared the same experience being the only minority or person of color in the places and spaces they've been," Richmond said. "And these are highly successful people. There's a rigorous evaluation process and application process that you go through (to get into the Leadership Institute). So now you're seeing eye-to-eye with other people who've gone through some of the same experiences of rising this ladder and trying to reach a goal."
More than 400 administrators have graduated from the program since it started in 2002, and more than 60% of those have gone on to hold senior leadership positions in college athletics. Since their engagement in the 2021 Leadership Institute, 50% of administrators participating in the second year of the program have received promotions.
Visit the Leadership Institute's webpage to learn more about the program, including who is eligible to apply, how and when to apply, and specific information on the programming.
