BLOG: Life lessons learned from ‘Coach’ Moglia
Our orthopedic department has instituted a leadership curriculum for our residents including coaching from the Wharton School of Business, retreats, a leadership reading list and lecture series.
We were honored to have renowned leader Joe Moglia serve as our Inaugural Leadership Lecture Series speaker. Moglia captivated the hearts of our young men and women with his time-tested and hard-earned wisdom on leadership.
Moglia was raised in the Bronx and endured abject poverty and onerous living conditions throughout childhood. He earned a scholarship to prestigious Fordham Preparatory School where he excelled in both the classroom and the gridiron. He worked his way through college to support a young family and soon awoke to a vocation in football coaching.
He quickly ascended the coaching ranks and soon became defensive coordinator at Dartmouth College. In 1983, Moglia felt another calling – to Wall Street. He enrolled in an MBA training program at Merrill Lynch and launched a meteoric rise in the financial domain. He became CEO of TD Ameritrade in 2001 and led the company to extraordinary success. In 2008 he returned to coaching and, after stints in Nebraska and the United Football League, he was appointed head coach of Coastal Carolina in 2011 where he led the team to conference championships and record-breaking wins.
Coach Moglia’s story illustrates an important leadership principle: Leadership matters in all realms of life – in football as well as business. We can apply his wisdom and leadership principles to our orthopedic vocation.
Stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for your actions
The good coach recognized the power of proactivity, and we are the masters of our destiny. His humble beginnings undoubtedly taught him that success was not something that would come easily. True victories in life are earned. Moglia understood that if our life has not unfolded to our satisfaction, we need only look in the mirror. Indeed, to paraphrase author Stephen R. Covey, our life is a product of our decisions, not conditions. In the Moglia football coaching scheme, there is no allowance for blaming referees or the weather for a bad outcome. Just control what you can and keep doing your best.
In summary, own your life. Application: If the case doesn’t go well, own it and grow.
Treat others with dignity and respect
Moglia deeply understood that everyone has intrinsic value and that real leaders lift up those around them. He undoubtedly earned the favor of players and employees when he would treat the janitor in the same courteous fashion as the chief financial officer. This is integrity at its highest level. When disagreements ensue, one must always uphold the dignity of another. Then, creative solutions, not egoic battles, will follow. The good coach traveled many miles to deliver a eulogy for one of his deceased high school players – a man he had coached approximately 40 years ago.
Imagine the loyalty that can be evoked by leaders when they treat everyone with kindness. Application: Treat all members of your surgical team with the same measure of respect.
Live the consequences of your decisions
All of our actions have consequences and we must accept them. Moglia recognized each failure held a gift – a pearl of instruction which will serve in the future. In essence, coach knew full well that the universe is always conspiring in our favor, if we are honest and make each mistake an opportunity. In every decision we make, we are crafting our future. When we accept consequences and resist the “blame game,” we affirm that we determine the course of our lives. We resist the temptation to give away our power to others.
In addition, we convey integrity to those around us and assure them they will not be “thrown under the bus.” Moglia appreciated the value of taking risks and moving forward.
With each mistake, we can correct course and inch closer to goals, rather than playing it safe and stultifying growth. Application: Take a look at your practice and recognize it is the result of your actions or inactions.
Know thyself
The good coach recognized spiritual soundness was essential for good decision-making. In other words, when we know ourselves fully, we enhance our awareness of why we may feel compelled to decide in certain fashion. In other words, when we recognize our innate tendencies and how these were formed, we can take a step back and make decisions more freely.
Moglia suggested we write about ourselves in detail – our likes, dislikes, passions, favorite hobbies, etc. Then revisit this list weeks later and make edits. You will be surprised how dynamic composite character is.
Self-knowledge leads to awareness and the ability to make enlightened decisions. Application: Take an inventory of conscience and face head-on areas of your personal constitution that require growth.
Moglia concluded his brilliant lecture by mentioning the virtues of fortitude and love. We must all adopt the courage to do what we believe is right, regardless of others’ opinions of us, and finally, love must be the driving force behind all our actions. A genuine love for others translates to a commitment for the well-being of those we encounter.
The life of Moglia is a moving vignette on the power of perseverance and passion – in other words, grit. The streets of the Bronx and the gridiron undoubtedly forged his exceptional toughness. Clearly, the halls of Fordham, a Jesuit University, nurtured his virtues of integrity and selflessness. Together, a composite of grit and virtue can lead to quantum leadership – as so remarkably demonstrated in this man.
Thanks, coach, for your example and sharing these principles, which are dearly needed today.
References:
Covey SR, et al. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition. Simon & Schuster, 2020.
Duckworth A. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner, 2016.
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Covey SR, et al. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition. Simon & Schuster, 2020.