Grey Matter

Dawn Staley: Head Coach, University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball

What It Takes to Build a Dynasty

What does it take to keep getting better when you’re already one of the best in the world? For Coach Dawn Staley, the answer has as much to do with how you think as how you play.

A four-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time national champion, Dawn has spent more than three decades at the highest levels of women’s basketball, first as a player and now as head coach of the University of South Carolina. She describes herself as the ultimate compartmentalizer, but becoming a better leader required her to learn when to set aside the instincts that had made her successful.

In this episode of Grey Matter, Dawn joins Consello Founder, Chairman and CEO Declan Kelly to discuss the losses that still stay with her, the difficult feedback that changed her approach to coaching, and why learning to understand the people you lead is essential to sustained success.

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In this conversation, Dawn discusses:

Why the losses stay with her longer than the victories
What a bad basketball game reveals about a player’s mindset
The role of pressure and disappointment in her development
Knowing when a team needs intensity, joy, softness, or composure
Her routines for clearing her head before a big game

The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Consello Group. Consello is not responsible for and has not verified for accuracy any of the information contained herein. Any discussion of general market activity, industry or sector trends, or other broad-based economic, market, political or regulatory conditions should not be construed as research or advice and should not be relied upon. In addition, nothing in these materials constitutes a guarantee, projection or prediction of future events or results.

Dawn Staley

Head Coach, University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball

Dawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and spent eight seasons in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), primarily with the Charlotte Sting. Staley also played on the United States women’s national basketball team, winning three gold medals at the Olympic Games from 1996 to 2004, and was the head coach of the team that won an Olympic gold medal in 2021. She is the only person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach.

HOST

Declan Kelly

Founder, Chairman and CEO

Declan Kelly is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Consello. He is an advisor to many of the world’s leading companies and CEOs.

Prior to founding Consello, Declan was the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Teneo. During his ten-year leadership, Teneo became one of the world’s leading advisory firms.

From 2009-2011 he served as the U.S Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland at the U.S Department of State, appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In this role he is recognized as having helped bring significant investment to the region and played a significant role in supporting the efforts that led to the historic devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, giving Northern Ireland fully devolved governance for the first time in its modern history.

Prior to his government service, Declan held senior leadership roles at FTI Consulting and Financial Dynamics, two leading international consulting companies. He previously started, co-ran, and sold his own consulting company in Ireland called Gallagher & Kelly. Before that he worked as an award-winning journalist for more than a decade.

Declan has been recognized on several occasions for his philanthropic and nonprofit work and his public service.

In 2008 he became the youngest ever recipient of the American Irish Historical Society’s prestigious Gold Medal, presented annually to one person deemed to have made a unique contribution to Irish American society.

In 2012 he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, presented to individuals of different ethnic backgrounds who distinguish themselves by their contributions to society in the United States.

He is an honorary visiting professor in management and leadership at Queen’s University, Belfast, where he received an honorary doctorate in 2011 for his contribution to the community and economy of Northern Ireland. For the last decade he has overseen the Northern Ireland Mentorship Program which has enabled more than 100 students to date to spend a year working inside leading U.S. corporations before launching new careers in Northern Ireland.

Declan has served on numerous nonprofit boards over the last two decades and has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars during that time on behalf of worthy causes and organizations. Declan is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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