Diljeet Taylor: Authentic Leadership and the Courage to Be Different
The most effective coaches do not simply imitate an established model of what leadership is supposed to look or sound like. They understand who they are, remain grounded in their values and use that self-awareness to build meaningful relationships with the athletes they lead.
Diljeet Dosanjh Taylor, head coach of BYU women’s cross-country and women’s distance running, offers a powerful example.
Taylor’s background is notably different from what many might expect of a coach at Brigham Young University. She is the daughter of Punjabi immigrants, grew up in California in the Sikh faith and is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors BYU.
She also brings a bold and highly individual personal style to a university community often associated with tradition. Rather than minimizing those differences, Taylor has remained visibly and unapologetically herself while becoming one of BYU’s most successful and respected coaches.
A former three-time All-American runner, Taylor joined BYU in 2016 after coaching at Menlo College and her alma mater, Cal State Stanislaus. Since arriving in Provo, she has helped transform the women’s distance program into a national powerhouse, leading BYU to NCAA cross-country championships in 2020–21 and 2024.
Her success offers an important leadership lesson: authenticity does not require coaches and athletes to share the same background, identity or life experience. It creates the possibility of connection across those differences.
Authenticity Creates Trust
At SWI, we believe effective coaching begins with a principle central to client-centered health and wellness coaching: understand the person before trying to direct the performance.
In sports, this becomes an athlete-centered approach.
Athletes quickly recognize whether a coach’s leadership feels genuine. They notice whether actions align with words, whether encouragement is sincere and whether care continues when results become disappointing.
Taylor has built much of her coaching philosophy around the message, “I believe in you.” She tells recruits that she hopes to become one of the five most influential people in their lives and regularly reflects on whether she has empowered someone that day.
These commitments demonstrate that her work is not limited to preparing athletes for the next race. She wants to help them develop confidence, identity and belief that can remain with them beyond sports.
Taylor’s background may differ from that of many of her athletes, but athlete-centered coaching does not require the coach and athlete to be alike. It requires the coach to listen, remain curious and take the individual seriously.
When athletes feel genuinely seen, they may become more willing to communicate honestly, accept feedback and remain connected during adversity. That trust gives a coach the relational foundation needed to challenge athletes without losing the relationship.
Empowerment, Relationships, Enjoyment and Belief
Taylor’s leadership appears to be built around four closely connected ideas: empowerment, relationships, enjoyment and belief.
She wants athletes to develop ownership rather than depend entirely on the coach, while also knowing they are supported by a genuine relationship. She recognizes that enjoyment is not the opposite of serious performance. It can be part of what helps athletes remain motivated and connected through the demands of training and competition.
Underneath it all is belief: the coach’s belief in the athlete and the athlete’s growing belief in herself.
Together, these elements reflect an athlete-centered approach. The coach is not only prescribing workouts or demanding results. The coach is helping create the conditions in which athletes can take responsibility, feel connected, enjoy the process and develop confidence in what they are capable of becoming.
This does not mean lowering standards or removing accountability. Coaches remain responsible for creating structure, setting expectations and guiding performance.
The difference is that they do not assume every athlete needs the same message delivered in the same way.
One athlete may need reassurance. Another may benefit from a direct challenge. Someone else may need more ownership, a clearer explanation or simply the opportunity to be heard.
The standard can remain consistent while the approach becomes personal.
An athlete-centered coach might ask:
What does this athlete need from me right now?
Am I listening before moving into advice or correction?
Do I understand what matters to this athlete beyond the result?
Am I adapting my communication to serve the athlete?
Do my actions reflect the values I say are important?
These questions do not weaken a coach’s authority. They make that authority more thoughtful and effective.
Authenticity Requires Adaptability
Authenticity can sometimes be misunderstood as saying whatever we think, leading only according to our natural preferences or refusing to adjust for other people.
That is not strong leadership.
Authenticity is not the refusal to adapt. It is the ability to adapt your approach without losing the values that guide you.
Taylor has not tried to erase the parts of her identity that make her different. At the same time, she has learned how to lead effectively within a university with a distinctive religious culture and to connect with athletes whose backgrounds may not mirror her own.
That combination of personal conviction and relational adaptability is central to her leadership.
Authentic leaders are not rigid. They are grounded. Because they know what they stand for, they can adjust how they communicate without feeling that they are compromising who they are.
Taylor’s individuality appears to create connection rather than distance. Her confidence gives her the freedom to invest deeply in the confidence of her athletes.
The purpose of authentic leadership is not to draw more attention to the leader. It is to create the trust that allows the leader to better serve others.
Belonging Without Sameness
Taylor’s story also illustrates that belonging does not require sameness.
A coach can enter a community with a different faith, cultural background, personality or leadership style and still become an important part of that community. What matters is whether the leader acts with integrity, respects the people and environment around them and consistently contributes to a shared purpose.
Rather than treating difference as a barrier, Taylor appears to have found common ground through belief, service, family, excellence and the development of young people.
This is highly relevant to coaches working with diverse teams. Athlete-centered leadership does not ask everyone to become the same. It creates an environment in which different individuals can feel understood while working toward shared standards and goals.
Supporting the Person and the Performance
Taylor’s success challenges the idea that supporting the whole person must come at the expense of competitive excellence.
Her teams have reached the highest level of collegiate running, demonstrating an essential SWI principle: performance and well-being do not need to be competing priorities.
In many cases, they strengthen one another.
Athletes bring their emotions, identities, relationships and life experiences into the training environment. These factors influence how they respond to pressure, feedback, expectations and setbacks.
Coaches do not need to solve every personal difficulty. They do, however, benefit from recognizing that performance is always being produced by a whole person.
Authentic leadership begins with self-awareness, but its purpose is service. The coach first develops clarity about their own values and behaviors. From that foundation, they become better able to listen, adapt and understand the athlete in front of them.
Taylor’s example shows that authentic leadership can do more than build trust. It can empower athletes, strengthen relationships, preserve enjoyment and build belief.
These are not secondary benefits surrounding performance. They are often part of the foundation that makes high-level, sustainable performance possible.
That is where the human side of coaching and the performance side of sports come together.
Source: Inspired by The New York Times profile, “Diljeet Dosanjh Taylor, B.Y.U. Track Coach, Won’t Change for Her ‘Haters,’” published June 10, 2026.
