Run Toward the Storm: Leading a Team Through a Season of Adversity | Quin Hatfield

In this heartfelt episode of Built With Purpose, Chris Fay sits down with Quin Hatfield, head football coach at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, South Carolina and a former pharmaceutical sales leader, for a conversation about faith, vision, leading through adversity, and the kind of influence that has nothing to do with a title. It’s a personal one for Chris, too. Quin coaches his sons, and it was Quin’s message at the program’s annual prayer walk that sparked this conversation. Quin shares his journey from small town Manning, South Carolina, where football became his outlet growing up and where an uncle and grandfather who both played at Clemson showed him what the game could teach. He spent 20 years at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, growing from sales rep into sales leadership, all while keeping a hand in coaching on the side. Then, in late 2019, a door opened he never saw coming: Christ Church asked him to lead its football program. After two months of counsel, prayer, and a note from his wife that read “Where you go, I will. We’re in this together,” Quin took the leap in February 2020. Chris and Quin explore what it took to build a program with just one team meeting before COVID shut everything down. Quin talks about honoring a storied past, including a state record 55 game winning streak, while casting a new vision built around one word: Elevate. Elevate your mind, elevate your work ethic, and performance follows. They dig into why getting your seniors on board matters more than any speech from the head coach, and why peer leadership carries ten times the weight with the people watching. Chris and Quin discuss: - The prayer walk tradition that inspired this episode - Making the call to leave a 20 year corporate career for a calling - Why his wife’s blessing was the final piece of the decision - Launching a new vision with one team meeting before COVID shut everything down - How one word, Elevate, became the foundation of a program - The Thirsty Thirteen and why your seniors set the culture - Why peer leadership carries more weight than anything a coach says - Leading through injuries, a tougher classification, and a brutal schedule - What Bobby Cox teaches leaders about a consistent demeanor - The Leadership Academy and new Blueprint program shaping student athletes beyond the field - The story of the buffalo that runs straight into the storm **Most Powerful Moment** While working with his Leadership Academy to define leadership, Quin landed on three words: saying, doing, and being. What you say and what you do matter. But being, the vibe you give off and what it’s actually like to be around you, may carry more influence than both. Then he turned the question on Chris: what is it like to be around Chris Fay? It’s a question every leader should be ready to answer. **Key Takeaways** - Leadership isn’t a title. It’s influence through what you say, what you do, and who you are - Elevate your mindset first; work ethic and performance follow - Honor the past, but don’t let it keep you from casting a new vision - The best teams are player led. Win over your senior leaders and the rest will follow - Give people room to ask why, then help them move forward - Your demeanor sets the tone. Show up the same in the wins and the losses - Real growth happens when you step out in faith, not when everything is calculated - Resilience is built in the storm, so run into it **Connect with Chris & Quin** Chris Fay | LinkedIn: /cjfay Quin Hatfield | Head Football Coach, Christ Church Episcopal School