leadership - Nathan Whitaker

Don’t Transfer Blame – Instilling Accountability in Teams

by Nathan Whitaker | Feb 9, 2024 | leadership, Personal Growth, relationships, Team Building

I learned a new lesson in accountability while in Orlando to keynote an international conference for the Turfgrass Producers International, thanks to two days with the Colorado Mesa Mavericks baseball team, ranked in the top 10 of Division II college baseball. Before...

Striving For Excellence, Celebrating Wins

by Nathan Whitaker | Jan 22, 2024 | leadership, Personal Growth, Team Building

What does it mean to strive for excellence, and does it follow that we’ll always be dissatisfied? And can we still be grateful? In 1999, when I was still with the Jacksonville Jaguars, we went 14-2 but lost in the AFC Championship game to the Tennessee...

New Year, New Process?

by Nathan Whitaker | Jan 15, 2024 | leadership, Personal Growth, relationships, Team Building

When I was in school at Harvard, I took a class from the late, brilliant Stephen Jay Gould, a paleontologist and big baseball fan (the latter is what helped me understand any of his examples). He spoke and wrote often of our preoccupation with otherwise meaningless...

Mentoring, the US Army, and Me

by Nathan Whitaker | Jan 4, 2024 | leadership, Personal Growth, relationships, Team Building

I’ve been able to speak in some really neat settings, including to professional and college sports teams, on university campuses, in foreign countries…even at the Iowa Speedway. Last month may have been the most unique of them all, as I was invited to...

Patience – The Steeler Way

by Nathan Whitaker | Apr 27, 2023 | leadership, Team Building

Be patient. Mean Joe Greene was drafted in 1969 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the team actually fell from 2 wins to only 1! The next year they drafted Terry Bradshaw and won 5. In 1972 Greene was tired of the slow progress and QUIT after the fourth game (the...

2 Takeaways from the Final Four

by Nathan Whitaker | Mar 28, 2023 | leadership, Team Building

I had the privilege to speak to the Florida Atlantic basketball team a couple of years ago. They were gracious and attentive, and I enjoyed sharing with them on building teams and culture, simply trying to reinforce what they were already hearing from their...