Building Championship Teams: USC Rowing Coach Kelsie Chaudoin on Leadership Lessons from Darden

When Kelsie Chaudoin set off for the University of Virginia, she dreamed of designing buildings as an architect. Today, as the head women’s rowing coach at the University of Southern California, she applies the same mindset to building a different type of structure – a championship team working to compete with the best in the country.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Chaudoin, a former All-American rower at the UVA, was associate head coach for the Cavaliers from 2020 until mid-2024. During that time, she helped the team win three consecutive ACC titles and became a Double Hoo, graduating in 2022 with an MBA from the Darden School of Business.

The Darden Report recently caught up with Chaudoin to learn more about how her business school education has shaped her approach to coaching and team management, as well as some of the key lessons she has learned along her journey from walking on to the rowing team as a freshman to coaching full time. An edited version of the conversation follows.

Kelsie Chaudoin (MBA ’22).

Q: You graduated with a degree in architecture but fell in love with rowing. Was there a moment when you realized you wanted to pursue a different career?

A: When I came in as a freshman, I was so bad at rowing, but coach Kevin Sauer really invested in me and has been a big part of my journey. Rowing never came easily to me, but I just kept working hard, and eventually the results came. By my senior year, I was team captain. The summer after I graduated, I was invited to national team selection camp and was chosen for the U-23 boat that went to the World Championships. We ended up winning gold. Standing on the podium and hearing the national anthem was the moment when I feel like my path changed. I realized I wanted more of that feeling.

Q: Being a student athlete in the architecture program must have been very demanding. Do you ever second-guess that decision?

A: I don’t regret majoring in architecture for a second. The experience taught me how to prioritize my time, communicate ideas clearly, and develop a thick skin. In architecture school, you put your heart and soul into projects that are displayed on a wall for a panel of critics who, more often than not, tear them apart regardless of quality. While challenging, the process was invaluable. Even though I’m not designing buildings now, I’m grateful for everything I learned and wouldn’t change my educational path for anything.

Q: What’s your advice to students who worry about pivoting?

A:  I feel like this is a cliché, but I’ve always felt that if there’s something that you’re passionate about and you have the opportunity to pursue it, why not do it? If you work hard towards something you’re excited about, doors will open for you.

Q: You completed your executive MBA while coaching women’s rowing at UVA. What are your biggest takeaways from your Darden experience?

A:  There are two main takeaways — aside from the relationships, which I’m really grateful for. My learning team (LT25) was amazing and we’re still all very close. The first thing I would say is knowing how to prioritize your time and realizing which things need to be perfect and which things are good enough. The second thing is to take calculated risks. Those who take calculated risks over time will ultimately end up being more successful, however you want to define that.

Q: How has your Darden education influenced your approach to coaching and team management?

A:  It has impacted it far more than I thought that it would — from communication to leadership. Darden made me a much better listener, and I think that that’s been a really valuable skill.

Because I had been a student athlete, I didn’t think I needed the soft skills, but I learned a lot about how to communicate effectively. I took Vivian Riefberg’s crisis management class, which looked at all the stakeholders affected when something goes wrong and how you need to roll out communication for those types of situations. It was really helpful having a 360-degree view of everything, not just thinking, “How do I need to support the athletes?” but also “What administrators do I need to tell? What support staff do I need to bring into this?”

My Darden education also helped me take a long-term view when it comes to budgeting for a team and its equipment and being really mindful of how all the pieces fit with my plan for how I want the team to develop.

I also learned a lot about managing people and keeping everyone engaged. I have a staff of five, but I also have to think about the student-athletes and the support staff, like sports medicine, nutrition and academic advising, and keeping everybody in the loop. With my staff, I want to make sure that they really feel like there are opportunities for growth, and they’re learning and improving because I want them to stay around for a long time.

Q: Can you share an example of how you apply a business concept or strategy from your Darden education to your coaching methods?

In Yael Grushka-Cockayne’s decision analysis class we did a case called George’s T shirts. The premise is that people who take calculated risks over time will be more successful.

I have 50 people on the team and need to figure out which eight belong in the top boat. It’s complicated. One way coaches decide who gets the spots is a method called seat racing. It involves two boats racing side by side, with one rower from each crew swapping seats between races. The goal is to identify the best combinations of rowers that make the boat go the fastest.

Seat racing gives you an answer, but there are many variables. For all you know, the wind could have picked up, somebody could have gotten tired, or maybe people just don’t row that well together. If you base decisions on just one seat race, the data isn’t very accurate. You need to figure out a way to run those seat races so that you get more consistent data. Say you run the seat race 10 times and nine out of those 10 times, person A wins, then person A belongs in the boat, even though in the most recent race, person B might have won.

To apply what I learned in Yael’s class, the calculated risk in this case is that you’re taking the person who lost the most recent race, even though they won the previous nine, so there’s a 90% chance that they’re going to be the person who makes that boat go the fastest.

Q: Rowing requires physical and mental strength. How do you develop mental resilience in your athletes, and how might this apply to developing resilience in a business team?

A: My biggest job as a coach is to believe in my athletes more than they believe in themselves, to have higher standards for them than they have for themselves, and to get them to do things that they don’t believe that they’re capable of. That starts with trust — they need to know that I have their back and that I want what’s best for them. Having a foundation of trust creates a platform for me to be able to really push them to their limits because it’s coming from a place of “I care about you, and I believe in you.”

Q: Rowing is considered the ultimate team sport. What strategies do you use to motivate your team?

A: It depends on the person because what motivates one person isn’t going to be what motivates somebody else. I think the biggest thing is showing up for your teammates every day. As a coach, I focus on being really clear about expectations and why we’re doing what we’re doing, especially if I know it’s something they might not be excited about. It’s also important to be consistent and to use data to inform decisions. That way, the team knows the coach isn’t making flippant decisions, that there is data behind it, and they can trust the process and trust the system.

One thing that I tell my team all the time is, “It’s not about you.” This was the biggest shift in my mindset from being an athlete to a coach. As an athlete, it was all about “Why didn’t I get this seat race? Why don’t I get this shot?” As a coach, I have to figure out what’s best for the team, to put them in the best position possible. It’s about them in the context of the entire team, or the entire organization. That’s when you get more buy-in to the hard work that they’re being asked to do.

A: Can you discuss how you handle setbacks or failures with your team, and what lessons this might offer for leaders in other fields?

A: One of the coaches I admire is the late John Wooden. He stressed the process and doing your best. I’ve had crews who have won races by almost 10 seconds and felt they underperformed, and crews who have lost by 2 seconds, and I’ve been so proud of them. A lot of it comes down to performing to your potential and knowing, as a leader, what your crew is capable of and holding them to those expectations.

Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning demonstrates the value of coaching and teamwork through rowing workshops in its Leading Teams for Growth and Change program. Led by Professor Lynn Isabella and Olympic rower Dan Lyons, this program helps leaders cultivate flexible, collaborative teams that can meet the demands of a changing world. With the fall 2024 session already full, the spring session of this popular program runs 2-6 June 2025.