AUBURN, Ala. – Leadership comes naturally to Auburn junior linebacker K.J. Britt.
"If you're a natural leader, there's something about you that should be different. I'm not trying to follow in anybody's path," Britt said. "I believe leadership is something I was born with."
Britt joined four fellow Auburn student-athletes - teammate Derrick Brown, gymnast Allie Riddle, women's basketball's Kiyae' White and men's basketball's Anfernee McLemore – at this summer's SEC Leadership Council and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in Birmingham.
Listening to former Florida football player Thaddeus Bullard, who achieved professional wrestling stardom as WWE's Titus O'Neil, further enlightened Britt's concept of leadership.
"Being great for my teammates, every day being the same person, being a great leader," Britt said. "You've got to be open and accepting. Most people think a leader is going to scream and holler. Just adapt to who the person is. Somebody might need that, somebody might not need that. You never know what's going on in somebody's life. It opened up my eyes to all of the different types of leaderships there are."
After an opening discussion from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Bullard's presentation on leadership and perseverance, the 68 student-athletes from the SEC's 14 institutions heard from sport psychology coach Dr. Rob Bell, an SEC alum. Author Will Baggett, who works for the College Football Playoff, and SEC director of student-athlete engagement Misty Brown, concluded the two-day conference with sessions on career and personal development.
"They brought in speakers who are going to help us after our athletic careers, which I thought was very interesting," said Riddle, the only gymnast to attend the conference. "It was as if the SEC was trying to help us in the future more than now, which I thought was so cool, because they're investing in you for the long run."
Between sessions, the Auburn delegates visited with student-athletes from other SEC schools, with rivalry giving way to camaraderie.
"It's great to get to know other student-athletes outside of being on the court and knowing them personally, not just an athlete," White said.
"Being around SEC opponents, just talking, putting sports aside," Britt said. "Realizing they're a student just like I'm a student. We don't have to carry this rivalry off the field."
The conference also solicited feedback on the student-athlete experience and the time demands that come with competing in the Southeastern Conference.
"Most people want more time off so they can go see their family because not everyone is from the same state as their school, so they want to go back and see their family more than they can," Britt said. "They actually want to hear the struggles. They were open to hearing it, and they've been making changes and trying to make it more comfortable for the student-athletes."
Knowing that the league office is concerned for their well-being, now and after their athletic careers, impacted Auburn's student-athletes.
"It's a great thing the SEC is doing for us, and it's really opening our eyes to see there are people behind the scenes who care about us and care about what we're doing and want to make things better, so I really appreciate it," White said.
"The SEC is really invested in helping in any way it can, and I didn't realize that before I went," Riddle said. "It seems like this big entity, but I was really impressed that SEC was so willing and so excited to hear our feedback. The SEC, the commissioner, they all just want to know our thoughts, how they can improve it. That was something that really stood out to me is how much of a family they made it seem like."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer