Tony Dungy grew up in a small, automobile part manufacturing town in Michigan where his parents, both high school teachers, taught him an important lesson early on: don’t be afraid to dream differently.

On March 26, the man who will likely become a professional football Hall of Fame coach and bestselling author shared just how he chose to dream differently in Wait Chapel with a full house of students, faculty and community members.

Adrian Martino/Old Gold & Black

The evening’s discussion, facilitated by President Nathan O. Hatch and Andy Chan, vice president for personal and career development, was the inaugural event of the Leadership Project, a brand new initiative which looks to engage the community through personal and reflective conversations with leaders from all walks and ways of life.

“We believe the Leadership Project will spark an ongoing conversation in our community about one of society’s most pressing issues,” said Hatch. “Tony Dungy seemed a natural choice to kick off such an important and meaningful initiative focused on leadership, in keeping with our mission to educate the whole person,

At the event, Dungy spoke in depth about his own personal experiences with faith, family, football and leadership.

His first experience in a leadership role, he said, was in high school, where he was the quarterback for the football team.

But he quit at age 16 because, he said jokingly, he thought he knew more than his coach.

“Then 16 other guys followed me and quit. That’s when I knew I was viewed as a leader,” Dungy said.

He did, of course, soon rejoin the team after heeding the advice of one of his mentors.

But, Dungy’s career was not always perfect.

After playing quarterback at the University of Minnesota and breaking multiple school records, he went undrafted in 1976. At the time, African American quarterbacks were few and far in between.

Then, to his relief, Chuck Noll and the Pittsburgh Steelers picked him up as a free agent. There was one catch, however  — they wanted him to play defensive back, not quarterback. He gratefully accepted this reassignment.

Dungy played with the Steelers from 1976 until 1979 when he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He ended his career as a player in 1980 with the New York Giants.

He began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the University of Minnesota in 1980.

In 1981, he rejoined the Steelers as an assistant coach.

After rising through the ranks in Pittsburgh and working with both the Kansas City Chiefs as well as the Minnesota Vikings, Dungy finally achieved his dream of becoming a head NFL coach.

In 1996, he was brought on as head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the hopes of improving the struggling team.

In 2002, he became head coach for the Indianapolis Colts.

In 2007, under his leadership, the team defeated the Chicago Bears to win Super Bowl XLI.

But despite the great success Dungy has had in his football career, he emphasized the importance of how people conduct themselves, no matter how small or difficult their task may be.

“It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it,” he said.

Dungy has carried this humility with him throughout his career, and has made it a point to incorporate it into his style of leadership, which he called mentor leadership.

He said mentor leadership simply means helping the people perform better through support and guidance.

Dungy told the crowd his go-to lines in times of frustration and anger aren’t the usual outbursts of profanity.

“You know I’m angry when I say ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” he said.

This soft approach to leadership did not go unquestioned, however.

“One GM asked me,” Dungy said, “how will you get the players to do what they need to do?”

Though some doubted that his quiet, player-centric style would work, Dungy said he stuck to his values, which he emphasized as being faith and family first — and it paid off.

Since his retirement in 2008, he has been a football analyst for NBC.

2014 was also Dungy’s first year of eligablity to be elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame, although he was not elected this year.

Students were impressed with Dungy’s presentation, and many also praised the Leadership Project and the idea of bringing such successful leaders to campus to share their wisdom and experiences with the community.

“Dungy is a great example of an African American coach who is strong in his faith, and I can definitely relate to what he was saying about leadership,” said Coron Williams, a fifth year student and varsity basketball player.

Brooks Bradway, a senior, echoed that sentiment.

“Dungy talked about unwavering commitment throughout his speech, and I think it’s admirable he didn’t give in to the pressures to change who he is.”

Laura Talton, a senior, thought the initiative to bring leaders to campus is invaluable.

“It will definitely continue to cultivate the family of Wake Forest around the commonality of leadership,” she said.

Dungy’s leadership is still very sought after.

During the question and answer session, one person in the audience asked him if he would consider taking any open coaching positions at, say, Wake Forest.

“Basketball used to be my number one sport,” Dungy said, laughing. “You might just be able to talk me into it.”