Moving Forward: How I Stay Focused on Service, Growth, and Family
By Dr. Brian D. Wickstrom
Leadership is filled with seasons — some familiar, some unexpected, some that stretch you, and others that remind you of who you really are. As I look back on my career across athletics administration, higher education, nonprofit leadership, and corporate operations, I see one thread that has guided me through every chapter:
Focus on what matters most — service, growth, and family.
These three values have become my compass. They are what I return to during transitions, what I lean on through challenges, and what guide my decisions as a leader, husband, and father.
Service: The Heart of My Leadership Approach
From my years working with student-athletes, coaches, faculty, donors, families, and now corporate teams, I’ve always believed that leadership is fundamentally about service.
Leadership is not about being in charge —
it’s about taking care of people entrusted to you.
Service requires:
Putting others’ needs ahead of your own
Listening carefully and empathetically
Creating opportunities for others to grow
Making decisions that benefit the long-term mission
Speaking up when it protects people, even if it’s hard
Maintaining fairness and honesty
Bringing stability during uncertainty
Some of the most rewarding moments in my career came from helping someone achieve something they didn’t believe was possible:
A student-athlete earning a degree
A staff member stepping into a bigger role
A department meeting fundraising goals
An organization overcoming adversity
A team regaining clarity after change
Service-centered leadership means you measure success not by what you accomplish alone, but by what the people around you are able to achieve.
Growth: Turning Every Experience Into Education
My life has been shaped by education — not just degrees, but experiences.
The triumphs taught me confidence.
The challenges taught me resilience.
The transitions taught me humility.
The setbacks taught me perspective.
And the people taught me compassion.
Every chapter strengthened something different:
Student-athlete years built discipline
Graduate school developed critical thinking
Athletics leadership sharpened communication & public decision-making
Higher education administration strengthened strategic planning
Corporate leadership expanded business and operational insight
But the biggest growth moments often came during seasons when:
Plans changed unexpectedly
Decisions were difficult
Criticism was louder than praise
You had to rebuild yourself and your direction
You felt stretched beyond what you thought possible
Those experiences weren’t easy, but they created the leader I am today.
Growth doesn’t require comfort —
it requires courage.
Family: My Foundation and Why I Keep Going
If leadership is about impact, family is about meaning.
My greatest joy — more than any title, project, or external recognition — comes from my family. My wife and children have been constant reminders of:
What matters
Who I want to be
How I want to lead
Why I keep pushing forward
The kind of legacy I want to leave
Family keeps me grounded, humble, and grateful. Whether I’m …
Cheering at a sporting event
Helping with homework
Talking about their dreams
Coaching youth programs
Laughing around the dinner table
Spending time together after a long week
…I’m reminded that leadership begins at home.
A career can change — roles come and go — but family is the steady center that keeps life in perspective.
How I Stay Focused During Transitions
In leadership, transitions are inevitable — some chosen, some unexpected. Through my own seasons of change, I’ve developed a simple momentum formula:
1. Focus on what you can control
Attitude.
Effort.
Character.
Communication.
Preparation.
The rest works itself out.
2. Stay anchored in your values
Values remain steady even when circumstances don’t.
3. Remember your purpose
Service, growth, and family provide clarity when everything else feels noisy.
4. Surround yourself with truth-tellers
People who know you — and love you enough to tell the truth — keep you grounded.
5. Take the next step, not every step
Progress doesn’t require a full roadmap.
Just one honest step at a time.
Moving Forward With Confidence
I don’t believe we grow by accident. I believe we grow through intention, reflection, and resilience.
Every chapter — good, hard, and everything in between — has shaped me. It’s made me a better leader, better husband, better father, and better person.
Moving forward isn’t about forgetting the past —
it’s about learning from it, building on it, and staying rooted in what matters most.
For me, that will always be:
Service. Growth. Family.
Everything else flows from there.
