The Monash University Leader of the Month for August is Joe Stacy from the Port Melbourne Colts Junior Football Club, for their impressive natural and somewhat unexpected leadership development over the past six months.
A self-described introvert, Joe organically grew into what was described as a natural leader, displaying both selflessness and inspiration for their peers.
“Early on in pre-season, the coaches worked really hard on making a good culture within our team, and made sure everyone could just be themselves,” said Joe.
“It gave me a lot of confidence, and I think it helped with both my on and off-field contributions.”
With a quiet and unassuming personality, Joe not only began to blossom as a leader due to the culture their coaches had instilled amongst the team, but also one very important aspect of their football.
“Being a part of the culture made me want to win a lot,’’ said Joe.
“So, I wanted to do anything I possibly could to help the team win. Whether that was sending encouraging messages before games against tough teams or getting around my teammates pre-game and encouraging them to play their best footy,”
“My coaches made an environment in which I could do that.”
At 16, Joe was one of the youngest members of their team, and while their leadership impressed those involved with Joe’s team, it also impressed Joe themselves.
“I found it quite easy in the end, which was quite strange,” Joe explained.
Joe‘s inspiring messages motivated their team each week with inspirational and positive comments, with the admiration for Joe from their teammates growing exponentially.
Joe’s leadership is regularly mentioned by their teammates, and was a huge facet of the teams comradery and enjoyment of being back on the football field in 2022, which is why Joe thoroughly deserves to be Leader of the Month.
Written by Zac Jennings.
