Bernard Muir on Passion and Leadership

Bernard Muir is entering his 10th season as the Director of Athletics at Stanford University. Stanford has one of the best programs and departments in the country. During Bernard’s tenure, he has seen 25 NCAA Championships and 34 national titles. He also has been involved with the Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup, which recognizes the best athletic department in the country. Stanford has won it 7 times.

In this episode, we discuss what’s different about being an Athletic Director today than what Bernard imagined it would be like as a kid (6:53), why he was drawn to being an AD from a young age (8:35), what drew him to basketball (10:36), if people thought he was too serious when he was younger (13:12), where his belief in himself to dream big and be proactive came from (14:52), what he’s learned from loss (17:02), Jamaican culture (20:35), how he thinks about his kids as a father when it comes to academics, athletics, and striving for excellence (23:21), if it’s a blessing or a curse to know what you want to do with your life at a young age (25:01), what he’s most curious about as the Stanford AD (27:33), how he leverages the university so that his student athletes at Stanford can thrive (29:27), how he thinks about greatness (32:06), what qualities he looks for when hiring people (33:16), if he notices anything in particular when he makes a mistake in hiring someone (34:55), advice for when you have to fire someone (36:01), who he serves and how he serves so many people (38:19), how he says yes and no to things (41:19), what he’s most passionate about in the role he’s in (43:09), Katie Ledecky (45:21), how he helps athletes think about their identities as athletes and beyond the sport (51:15), what he does to make sure he’s healthy, good, and well so that he’s best able to serve others (53:22), the business side of collegiate sports (55:41), how he’s gotten through a strenuous and eventful last 18 months (1:00:23), and how he thinks about leadership and developing leaders (1:04:12).

You can check out Bernard on Twitter @Stanford_AD.

Thank you so much to Bernard for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

-Brian