674: PJ Fleck - Building Elite Culture, Nekton Mindset, Selecting >Recruiting, Intrinsic Motivation, Row The Boat, and Transformational Coaching

Ryan Hawk· Host0:00

[upbeat music] Welcome to the Learning Leader Show. I am your host, Ryan Hawk. Thank you so much for being here. Go to learningleader.com for show notes of this and all podcast episodes. Go to learningleader.com. Now, onto tonight's featured leader. PJ Fleck is the head football coach at the University of Minnesota. Before that, he transformed Western Michigan from a one-win team to 13 wins and a Cotton Bowl appearance. Before his coaching days, PJ was a stud receiver at Northern Illinois, and was a guy that I personally played against in college. Coach Fleck has built one of college football's most distinctive culture-driven programs, and I think so much of what he does can be done also in the business world. I think you'll agree. During our conversation, PJ shares the personal tragedy behind his row the boat philosophy. You'll also hear why he maintains an 80/20 split, favoring high school recruiting over the transfer portal, how he runs practice with a 32-second clock to make it harder than the games, and why he sees himself as a culture driver rather than a motivational coach. This is a conversation that was recorded with all of our coaches inside the arena. That is our mastermind group of coaches from all sports. It did not disappoint. And I wanna give a huge thank you to the GOAT, the Hall of Famer, Sherry Cole, for making all