Last Wednesday Dave Smith, Canisius College Men’s Hockey coach, spoke to Canisius Graduate and Undergraduate Students about his experience with 
Leadership. The event was hosted by the Communication and Leadership program. Dave is in his 12th season with Canisius and has taken his team to the Atlantic Hockey Championship Weekend 3 times in the last 4 years. In 2013 Dave guided his team to victory and brought the school their first hockey championship.
When people evaluate the effectiveness of a leader they usually do so by their successes. This applies whether it is a sports team or an organization. On Wednesday Dave talked to the group about those steps to success.
First and foremost, communication is key because without it you can’t build trust. Without trust you can’t build a solid relationship, you can’t work as a team, and ultimately success is impossible. Once you understand the importance of communication and are actually enacting those skills you will build that trust and those relationships and synergy will occur. It is the perfect storm for success.
The biggest takeaway from Dave’s talk though was simple: leadership is not easy. Being a good leader is not easy. You have to really work at it. Every person you work with will be different and as a leader it is your job to connect with these people, motivate them, and bring them together to accomplish something. When you get it right though, the success is beyond rewarding.
