Succeeding a Legend

Duke Associate Head Coach Jon Scheyer is in a unique position this college basketball season.

He will take over for one of the most famous coaches in the history of sports, Mike Krzyzewski, at the end of the year, but is currently serving as his top assistant.

So how does Scheyer handle present obligations to the team while also preparing for the future?

Here are some strategies he, or anyone in a similar position, might want to implement when succeeding a legend:

1. Manage expectations

Scheyer has three groups he must satisfy: administrators, players and himself. Communication and transparency are absolutely paramount when assuming a top position, and Scheyer must be clear about what to expect and when to expect it by. He, like any new leader, needs to be confident, knowledgable and humble from the onset about what the goals are and how he plans to achieve them.

As Coach K once said: “Communication does not always occur naturally, even among a tight-knit group of individuals. Communication must be taught and practiced in order to bring everyone together.”

2. Find relevant advisors

There will be no shortage of voices in Scheyer’s ear in the months ahead. Many people will try to offer advice on what he should do or steps he might want to take. But deciding whom not to listen to is just as important as choosing where to seek advice from. Scheyer might want to keep his advisor list to around three or four key confidants and truth tellers he feels can impart relevant wisdom.

3. Say no a lot

Scheyer has undoubtedly had acquaintances ask him for jobs, friends and family ask for favors, and has likely received countless other unpredictable inquiries in past months. When we assume any top position, we need to be extremely careful about who’s in our circle and not be bashful about saying “No” to people. Assisting others is noble, but being the most effective leader sometimes means putting our foot down and drawing some clear boundaries to avoid the landmines.  

4. Categorize obligations

Scheyer’s already a key part of the program he will soon be running, so he must delicately balance the present and the future. It’s imperative that with the many hats he’s wearing this year that he categorize what must be done today, what should be done tomorrow, what’s for next week, and what’s for the months ahead. Organization and prioritization when performing multiple tasks is absolutely paramount.   

5. Make some sort of change

In Scheyer’s case, this does not need to be a dramatic overhaul of the uniforms or the court design, but a leader assuming a top job might want to do something visual to communicate it’s a different era for the organization. Perhaps Scheyer wants to change which bench his team sits on or the team values listed on the wall at the practice facility. Regardless, when we take over for someone else, it’s not a bad idea to do something tangible to signify there’s been a changing of the guard.

Succeeding a legend in any industry is a tremendous challenge that rarely goes to according script. But no matter the success of our predecessor or the past accolades of the organization, it’s impossible for us to lead by trying to be clones. We need to be brave, bold and ambitious, but we must always be ourselves.

By managing expectations, soliciting the right advice, drawing boundaries and categorizing our priorities, we increase our chances of taking the organization of today to where it needs to be tomorrow.

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