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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Buying Into A Leader

“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.”

This is a quote from Walt Disney that was painted over the cast entrance to the tunnel at the Magic Kingdom (probably still there). I have found this statement to be very true. I've seen too many leaders think too much about themselves and their own capabilities. They think that they are the only ones who make things happen. The best leaders I've seen and worked for take the notion of this quote to heart, whether they're familiar with the specific quote or not.

I have seen leaders of organizations who had a vision of what they wanted to do, but went about trying to accomplish it seemingly by themselves. Too many times, leaders forget the basic crux of what this quote explains. They start believing their own press releases and hype, and start thinking that they're the only ones who can make things happen.

I've witnessed one leader who has a great passion for her vision, but has done an exceptionally poor job of selling that vision to her staff. Quite frankly, the vision statement, and sometimes the leader herself, have become a punchline within the organization. The main reason, in my opinion, is because the staff doesn't buy into her as a leader. And people will first buy into the leader and THEN buy into the vision. She hasn't done the basic things that good leaders do in order to get to know staff and gain their trust and respect.

She is leading an organization that is teetering on a divide. Within the next six months, I think it is either going to go one way and become a major force in its industry or it is going to fall the other way and completely implode. Unfortunately, my bet is on the latter. In the last three months, seven people have quit (five from one department), which equals 12% of the entire staff. There's been no acknowledgment of it and no desire to find out why. Don't get me wrong, everyone is expendable, but when numbers like that start a mass exodus from an organization, it's a sign of some major problems. A good leader will 1) find out why people are leaving, and 2) do something to correct the problem(s). Neither effort has been made.

My caution in telling this tale is for the following reason: when you start looking for jobs, really consider who the leaders are in that organization. Find out as much as you can about them, their leadership style, their vision. Use your network and ask a lot of questions. I remember hearing a conversation with a 30+ year Disney leader where another person asked him what he looked for in new assignments at Disney. He said that the first thing he always looks at is who his leader will be and what type of leader that person is. I have always remembered that and it has become a major criteria in my job searches as well. There are certain leaders I'd work for again no matter what company they'd joined. All it would take is a phone call from them asking me to come work for them. These are people I've bought into as leaders because I know and respect their leadership style. They've learned what it means to be a good leader. I have confidence that whatever vision they have for their organization will be sound.

In the next post, I'll go through some of the qualities that I think make a good leader, some of the qualities that the people whom I've bought into actually have.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Networking

The contacts you make in the sports world will be important throughout your career. Some of the things you do that may not seem like much at the time or that you do for reasons besides networking, may bring future dividends.

My mentor, JC, was the venue manager for boxing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In the late 80's and early 90's, she worked for ProServ. One of her assignments early in her career at ProServ was to meet with the insurance broker about coverage for their events. She said that at the time she thought she was being punished or overlooked by being handed this boring assignment. She became friends with the insurance broker and they are still friends today. The president of the insurance broker's company was friends with Billy Payne at ACOG (Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games). That person forwarded on her resume to Billy Payne who sent it to one of his lieutenants. One meeting later in Atlanta, and she was hired.

I stayed involved with the Ohio University Sports Administration Program for my own personal reasons of wanting to give back and make a contribution to the program that first provided the opportunity for me to make a full-time career of sports. That network has paid off with some of the best friends I've ever had, but also by presenting job opportunities, including a possible new job. The Ohio University SAFM network is very strong. It's almost like an informal family. Anytime I've placed a call to any alumni, they have always returned my call, from the time I was a student to the current day.

Building your network is one of the most important things you will ever do. It's not always important who you know, but rather who knows you. That won't get you the job necessarily, but it will often get your foot in the door and allow you to do the rest of the job of selling yourself. And that is all we as professionals can ask for--the opportunity. You never know where your next opportunity will come from, so keep your network and contacts up to date.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Returning Phone Calls and Emails

One of the things that will take up a lot of your time during the day will be returning phone calls and emails. Always return messages within 24 hours. Follow-up will give you credibility. This is an easy way to establish credibility and a good habit to develop. Schedule time(s) during your day to go through all your messages, even if it has to be before or after traditional work hours. Schedule a specific time or times during the day that you will return voice mail messages. Leave this information on your message so that people know when to expect to hear from you. Remember, even if you don't have an answer for them within 24 hours, still return their call or email to let them know you're woking on it and will get back to them.