Episode 1: Murray State men's basketball coach Matt McMahon

The Lens of Leadership Podcast with Jeff Bidwell

In today's episode, we talk with Murray State men's basketball coach Matt McMahon. Topics we discussed include:

(3:16) When he first realized he was being led

(5:45) Why learning about leadership was important in his career

(6:25) What book on leadership would he recommend

(7:50) How much he uses his marketing degree in coaching

(9:14) When coaching became the love of his life

(11:05) How he balances winning and trying to help develop young men

(13:15) What he learned from Steve Prohm about leadership

(15:00) How much trust it takes as a coach to allow players freedom in games

(16:15) What kind of leadership he expects from other staff members

(18:30) How he manages accountability

(20:30) How he has created a leadership program for his players

(22:20) How players react to his reading assignments

(23:32) How he needs to improve his leadership skills

(25:00) The impact of pregame speeches

(26:20) The importance of joy

(33:50) What he learned from a losing season and applied to the future

(34:50) How he decides between correcting behavior and dismissing a player

(36:30) How he manages trying to top historic seasons without settling

(41:15) On if it's easier to lead after failure or success

(43:00) How he knows a day was a success

(44:20) Would last season have been a success without a trip to the NCAA Tournament

(46:00) Why impacting people through coaching is so important

(47:30) When his career is over, how he'll know it was a success

Follow Matt McMahon on Twitter: @CoachMcMahon