If there’s one thing that UTC head wrestling coach Heath Eslinger wants, it’s leaders.
In an address to the Pachyderm club on Monday, he said, "We have plenty of people who want to lead and who perform well in the spotlight, but they struggle in the day-to-day duties of their positions because they don’t know where they’re going."
He said, “To be a great leader, you have to decide where you’re going.”
He told the club that he believes it is essential for leaders in any context to step up and think ahead, casting a clear vision of aspired goals to the people who follow them.
Thinking back to the memorial service for the five slain servicemen earlier this month, he said that he was confused by something after the whole event.
The speakers, audience, and community, all prayed and sang, clamoring for an ultimate leader.
“We started with prayer because we needed help,” he said. “When tragedy strikes, you go to the source that gives hope.”
“When tragedy strikes, there’s one place to turn.”
He gave examples of leaders turning to something other than themselves, with both mayor Andy Berke and Vice President Joe Biden giving quotes from Isaiah during the ceremony.
For Mr. Eslinger, those pleas for guidance and the general trend of aimlessness he sees being propagated in society underscores a need to rethink what the community values and how society defines quality leadership.
His goal at Chattanooga wrestling is to “change what it means to be a man.” To reject the social norm that men should be defined by their sexual prowess, athleticism, or income.
He said, “At some point in our lives, it’s time for the little boy to sit down and for the man to stand up.”
That may look different for each individual, but a clear, defined vision is essential. The ability to “turn to great things because they’re great,” he said.