Duncan MacLeod, a seasoned US Navy Command Master Chief and Professor of Naval Studies, leverages his military discipline and leadership expertise to inspire personal growth and success.
With a master's degree and multiple certifications, he offers practical strategies for overcoming barriers in sports, academics, and life.
His approach is rooted in four principles:
-
living intentionally
-
continuous learning
-
passionate service
-
confident leadership
Duncan's blend of formal education and real-world experience, including parenting and coaching NCAA athletes, enables him to deliver powerful, actionable messages that resonate with diverse audiences.
His vision is to empower student-athletes to lead authentic, fulfilling lives.
About Duncan
Duncan MacLeod is a husband, father, speaker, and coach with a specific focus on helping individual’s mental strength and resilience. Duncan aims to provide relevant and practical information, tools, and actionable skills that can be used immediately. These tools, skills, and information fall under Duncan’s broad vision for student-athlete development; empowering student-athletes to overcome barriers, strengthen mindset, create and maintain a present-moment focus, and achieve success.
Duncan’s vision is founded upon four key elements:
Live. Learn. Serve. Lead.
• Live: Choosing to live life intentionally and authentically, embracing the leading role in your own story.
• Learn: Embrace mistakes as steppingstones to growth. Strive to learn continuously, becoming a lifelong learner.
• Serve: Passionately serve others according to their needs. Give back to your community.
• Lead: Consciously leading with confidence, becoming the type of leader you aspire to be.
Meet Duncan, a distinguished US Navy Command Master Chief currently serving as a Professor of Naval Studies. With a profound commitment to leadership and mental strength coaching, Duncan has dedicated his career to guiding individuals toward excellence. In recent years, his mission has evolved to focus on enhancing the success of student-athletes in sports, school, and life through a holistic approach to student-athlete development.
As the father (and coach) of former Division 1 and Division 3 athletes, Duncan has a unique and personal understanding of the challenges faced by student-athletes, their coaches, and parents. He recognizes that the age demographic of student-athletes mirrors that of junior Sailors in the Navy, with both groups experiencing similar (albeit difference circumstances) pressures with injuries, confidence, building resilience, and navigating team dynamics.
Drawing on his extensive Navy experience and similar methodologies used to train "Warrior Toughness," Duncan equips student-athletes with the knowledge and motivation to become mentally stronger and more resilient, both on and off the field. His approach is grounded in the principles and techniques that have proven successful in the Navy and his civilian career, adapted to meet the specific needs of young athletes.
Duncan's impressive credentials include certification in Mental Performance Mastery (MPM) with Brian Cain, a recognized leader in mental performance coaching. He is also a certified Navy Coach and Leadership Development Facilitator with additional certifications as a Resilience-Building Leadership Professional -Trainer (RBLP-T), and a Four Lenses Coach (temperament and emotional intelligence). These certifications, coupled with his Master’s Degree in Executive Leadership from Liberty University, enable Duncan to provide comprehensive and effective coaching that empowers student-athletes to achieve their full potential. He is currently pursuing the PCC credential from the International Coaching Federation.
Follow Duncan's journey and gain invaluable insights into mental strength, resilience, leadership, and emotional intelligence, transforming the performance and well-being of student-athletes everywhere.
Speaking Topics
The Power to Choose
This talk will illustrate to student-athletes the power to choose, to harness the power of mindset, focusing on process over outcome, making effective decisions and to choose what their mindset will be. Duncan dives into the concept of fixed versus growth mindset, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and self-regulation. Attendees will learn to prioritize the journey over the destination, understanding that success is a result of consistent effort and learning from mistakes.
Duncan will also provide strategies for making better and faster decisions under pressure, a framework that will allow participants to navigate decision-making with confidence.
Finally, the audience will be guided through the process of developing a sustainable and repeatable mental reset process that will inspire a present-moment focus, to let go of issues and refocus in the moment. This talk will equip attendees with practical tools for mental resilience and peak performance in both academics and athletics.
Clarity in Chaos: Making Confident and Informed Decisions
In this speech Duncan emphasizes the importance of confidence and informed decision-making in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA*) environment. The speech will provide practical strategies for navigating uncertainty, maintaining confidence, and making sound decisions. It encourages the audience to embrace challenges, develop resilience, and seek clarity amidst chaos.
By empowering student athletes with the tools to thrive in a VUCA world, the speech aims to equip them with valuable life skills that extend beyond the sports arena.
*"VUCA" was first introduced in 1985 by economists Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus to describe management and leadership challenges in the corporate world and then it was used at the US Army War College in the 1990s to address the collapse of the USSR.
Embracing the Journey: Prioritizing Process Over Outcome
This speech looks at the importance of focusing on process over outcome and how it relates both fixed and growth mindsets. Drawing from the work of psychologist Carol Dweck, the speech highlights the differences between the two mindsets and provides real-life examples of what process over outcome looks like.
It emphasizes that a growth mindset, which believes in the development of abilities through dedication and hard work, empowers an individual to maintain a present-moment focus and mindfulness. On the flip side, a fixed mindset causes an individual to concentrate on the outcome of a situation increasing stress and the likelihood of failure.
