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Synthesis Essay : Coach Smith

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Synthesis Essay – Dean Smith
SMSgt Michael Denoncour
Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy
February 7, 2015
Instructor: MSgt Konnijo Czerwinski Dean Smith
Coach Dean Smith was head coach of the University of North Carolina (UNC) men’s basketball team for 36 years, from 1961 to 1997. He tallied 879 wins during his tenure at UNC, with his teams appearing in 11 Final Fours and winning two National Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships. He also coached the 1976 United States men’s basketball team to an Olympic gold medal. Coach Smith led and mentored many future National Basketball Association (NBA) legends such as James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse and Michael Jordan, to name a few. His successful basketball strategies and game innovations no doubt contributed to his wins on the court, but as important to his sustained team success was his methodical approach to team building and genuine care for his players as individuals. Dean Smith was both a visionary and ethical leader. This essay will detail how Coach Smith was a visionary leader that fostered an inclusive environment and used transformational leadership, with a focus on individual consideration, to methodically mold his teams. Additionally, the essay will show how Coach Smith was an ethical leader as he avoided falling into the ethical trap of worry over image and used the essential intellectual trait of intellectual perseverance in confronting the ethical

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