By Gillian Vesely
For The Diamondback
To discuss the keys to success in leading a team or business, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and retired Rear Adm. Thomas Lynch visited the University of Maryland on Wednesday.
The panelists discussed the mindset of being a leader and the influence a leader can have in front of a full audience at Ritchie Coliseum. Harbaugh touched on his past experiences and praised the values of intensity and hard work as a team member and a leader.
“Taking care of one another, believing in one another, putting others before yourself,” Harbaugh said. “It all kind of goes together. Intensity starts with the leader. If you want an intense group, you’ve got to be an intense leader.”
Rajshree Agarwal, director of this university’s Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets, moderated the discussion that was hosted in collaboration with NewDay USA, a Maryland-based mortgage lender for veterans and their families.
Agarwal said the event aimed to provide all in attendance with principles applicable to their own lives.
“The reason why Admiral Lynch and coach Harbaugh are so successful is because they embody enterprise,” she said. “People get attracted to that.”
Lynch applied his experiences from the United States Navy in describing how to approach situations as a leader.
“We worked very hard to come up with the philosophy of ‘ship, shipmate, self,'” he said. “You think about the ship, you think about your shipmates, and then you worry about yourself.”
Ellie Glicksman, a sophomore nursing student and member of the university’s Women’s Rugby team, said she came to the event with her team to hear Harbaugh’s thoughts on leadership.
“I liked what he said about ‘opportunities aren’t given, they’re taken,'” she said. “In rugby, you really have to take opportunities.”
Lynch also said a leader’s influence is consistent, no matter the industry.
“Everything starts at the top,” he said. “In the Navy, as the [commanding officer] goes, so goes the ship. In business, as the CEO goes, so goes the business. Everything feeds on itself, and it just keeps growing.”
A leader’s role across different disciplines was one topic that appealed to Zach Plotkin, who attended the event because of his interest in leadership skills. The junior aerospace engineering major said his biggest takeaway from the panel was getting more of an “understanding of the way that leadership is similar between business, the military and sports.”
“The biggest thing is being able to be passionate and work hard at anything you do, and then being able to give back to the community,” he said.
Maryland football head coach DJ Durkin and university President Wallace Loh also both took the stage before the panel to speak briefly on the theme of leadership.
“Leadership is not taking people where they want to go, it’s taking people where they ought to go,” Loh said. “To give back, to serve others, to help improve your community, that is citizenship in action. That is what makes America great.”
