May 9, 2018
Joe Amplo, head coach of Marquette University’s Men’s
Lacrosse, is a
leader who believes in embracing vulnerability, inclusiveness and
challenges. He shares with Jim and Jan how he made the leap from
assistant coach to first head men’s lacrosse coach at Marquette,
and overcame the fears of not knowing how his own personal
leadership would be received. He talks about the importance of
culture, empowerment, setting a standard and what he personally
looks for in the athletes he coaches.
Key Takeaways
[1:02] Jim played club lacrosse
as a grad student in the early 90’s, so he has a passionate tie
with both lacrosse and Marquette.
[3:56] Joe had worked as an
assistant coach at Hofstra and University of Pennsylvania before he
was chosen as the first head men’s lacrosse coach at Marquette. He
combined what he had learned from previous mentors and mixed it
with his own personal philosophy. One of the fears Joe overcame in
becoming a head coach was stepping up from the assistant role he
had previously, with the unknown of how his personal method of
leadership would be responded to. Second, he was not familiar with
the area, and the area was not familiar with lacrosse.
[8:10] In going “coach fed to
player led”, everyone no matter what their role or status is held
accountable to live up to the set standard. This empowers the
people in the organization, and really builds a team identity.
[13:22] Culture has to drive
behavior to get the results from the strategy and standards you and
your team set forth. For Joe, he learned that the way he wants to
lead and create an environment of empowerment, the creation of
standards needs to be all inclusive in the organization.
[24:18] The two factors Joe and
his team look for in their potential athletes: desire to prove
themselves, and a willingness to face and accept
challenge.
[31:54] Joe believes that great
teams are formed and sustained by developing deep interpersonal
relationships, and knowing they have each given their best and
overachieved.
[34:46] Joe feels as though
happier people are more successful, and success lies on the side of
being happy first, without having happiness rely on getting or
achieving something.
[36:50] Joe is a lifelong
learner, and finds that Marquette holds him accountable to live and
work in high standards.
[40:14] Learning from a failure
is a key tenant to what Joe finds in a successful leader, and team
member.
Website
gomarquette.com
Facebook @MarquetteMLax
Instagram @marquettemlax
Twitter:
@MarquetteMLAX
Quotable Quotes
- I
became confident not in my abilities, but in the people that
brought out the best in me.
- I
believe in standards - not rules.
- For
the way I want to lead, I would want people to live up to the
standard. I want someone making a decision on the right thing to
do.
- I
have to be vulnerable as a leader.
Bio
Seventh-year Marquette
University head coach Joe Amplo is an NCAA D-I Men's
Lacrosse Committee member and a Team USA assistant.
He's led MU to consecutive BIG EAST titles and NCAA
Championship berths.
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