University of Minnesota Athletics
Tru Pettigrew Joins Leadership U Speaker Series
2/17/2021 4:59:00 PM | Leadership U
Leadership U kicked off their Speaker Series lineup for 2021 on February 9th with special guest,Tru Pettigrew, vice president of player programming/diversity & inclusion with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Full of energy, Tru engaged the Golden Gopher Athletics Department as he spoke to his personal definition of leadership and what exactly that means to him. To Tru, leadership is "the process of influencing people by providing them with purpose, vision, and direction to accomplish the greater good for the team or organization." He simplifies this definition by referring to the 4 P's of leadership: process, people, provision, and purpose.
The first P of leadership, process, is something we do. Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Next, leadership should have an emphasis on people. Simply put, teams need people in order to achieve a certain result or desired outcome. If a leader does not take care of the people, a team will not be able to work toward the goal that is desired. Tru mentioned provision as the third key to leadership. Provision is a leader's responsibility to guide the direction and development of their team. The final P in Tru's definition of leadership is purpose. Clarifying the purpose of your team or organization creates a greater influence because the members of the team will then understand their impact and role on the team.
There is not a simple definition for leadership or one way of how to lead others. However, Tru did a great job of not overcomplicating leadership and encouraged that everyone has some role in leading in any group or team they are a part of.
Tru is best known for his work in guiding organizations on how to bridge the gap amongst individuals in areas that cause tension such as generational, cultural, racial, or social differences. Tru has also written a book on this subject called Millennials Revealed in which writes about the tension that a generational gap can cause in the workplace. Part of his success as a bridge builder can also be attributed to his 20+ years of marketing experience and expertise. He has worked for organizations such as HERO collective and VITAL Worldwide Millennial Marketing. He has also helped contribute to the success of brands such as Nike, State Farm, Heineken and Ford. You can learn more about Tru on his website HERE.
The first P of leadership, process, is something we do. Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Next, leadership should have an emphasis on people. Simply put, teams need people in order to achieve a certain result or desired outcome. If a leader does not take care of the people, a team will not be able to work toward the goal that is desired. Tru mentioned provision as the third key to leadership. Provision is a leader's responsibility to guide the direction and development of their team. The final P in Tru's definition of leadership is purpose. Clarifying the purpose of your team or organization creates a greater influence because the members of the team will then understand their impact and role on the team.
There is not a simple definition for leadership or one way of how to lead others. However, Tru did a great job of not overcomplicating leadership and encouraged that everyone has some role in leading in any group or team they are a part of.
Tru is best known for his work in guiding organizations on how to bridge the gap amongst individuals in areas that cause tension such as generational, cultural, racial, or social differences. Tru has also written a book on this subject called Millennials Revealed in which writes about the tension that a generational gap can cause in the workplace. Part of his success as a bridge builder can also be attributed to his 20+ years of marketing experience and expertise. He has worked for organizations such as HERO collective and VITAL Worldwide Millennial Marketing. He has also helped contribute to the success of brands such as Nike, State Farm, Heineken and Ford. You can learn more about Tru on his website HERE.
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