As we continue to navigate the uncertainty of the pandemic, a number of sports are also embarking on their offseasons; a period that can bring its own share of uncertainty and change even at the best of times.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be presenting selected insights from the Sportsology roundtables in article form so that others can learn from the experiences shared by those who participated in the sessions. In this article, we’re looking at the communication learnings that emerged from the discussions.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be presenting selected insights from the Sportsology roundtables in article form so that others can learn from the experiences shared by those who participated in the sessions. In this article, we’re looking at the ‘people’ learnings that emerged from the discussions.

What matters is the long term view. What’s your organization’s north star? What are your goals and what processes are you following to achieve them? If you can answer those questions, then short term missteps can be mitigated by knowing your overall direction of travel.

The deeper we dig into the cultural practices of teams that have achieved sustained success, the more apparent it becomes that they all prioritize the simple act of making people feel valued.

The modern athlete is more socially aware and empowered than any generation that has gone before, and they want leaders who understand their views, share their concerns, and are supportive of the action they take.

Once an organization has made a commitment to a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda, there are a number of strategies that can be adopted to build diversity into its cultural structures and decision making processes.

In the age of ‘decision accountability’, front office leaders would be wise to be strategic in their approach to educating, affirming and encouraging their owners around the monitoring and measurement of their actions and decisions.

If our organizations are to become highly effective in terms of innovation and problem solving, then we need to ensure that our cultures are dynamic enough to balance accepted practice with divergent thought.

As franchises look at hiring freezes and potential 15-30% cuts in headcount as a result of the pandemic, the question becomes: who can step up internally to fill the void?

One of the dangers of the Unicorn leader myth – particularly pervasive in sport – is that it prioritizes the cult of the individual over the wellbeing of the people being led. In doing so, it sidelines the importance of collaboration, communication and empathy to constructive leadership.

As the NBA and MLS play out their 2020 seasons in the Florida ‘bubble’, teams are busy trying to figure out how they overcome the challenges posed by such an alien environment

In a 2017 interview with The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, ghSMART management consultant Elena Lytkina Botelho pronounced the death of the Unicorn leader.

As we’ve discussed previously, the great leaders we might label as ‘Unicorns’ don’t operate in splendid isolation. Rather than being an omniscient force, they are often guided by a highly competent support team and benefit from effective organizational processes.

As leaders in the sports industry, we’ve all been dealing with uncertainty in recent months as we navigate a range of unknowns related to the coronavirus pandemic. When faced with unprecedented scenarios for which we are relatively unprepared, a lack of prior experience and available reference points can make it difficult to understand potential risks and outcomes.

In a 2013 TechCrunch article, the venture capital investor Aileen Lee used the term ‘Unicorn’ to describe the rarity of privately held startups with valuations of over $1 billion. Since then the term has been adopted to describe anything that proves to be rare and magical across a broad range of disciplines.

As with the mythical beast, a Unicorn leader is considered to be so rare and to possess such magical powers that it becomes an iconic entity to be pursued at any cost. And therein lies the problem – at any cost. Magical leaders come at a price both financially and organizationally.

As elite sports prepare to make a return, they do so not only against the backdrop of a global pandemic but also unprecedented social unrest. Despite the huge amount of planning that has gone into the safe return of competition, these exceptional circumstances have seen a number of athletes express understandable concerns over returning to play on medical and/or social grounds.

During our conversations with sports industry leaders during the pandemic, we’ve heard that building – or even just maintaining – team culture has been one of the major challenges faced by teams who are adapting to a new pattern of remote work.

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, senior leaders in the sports industry have been attending Sportsology’s roundtable discussions to speak about their experiences of managing organizations through the pandemic, with communication being a frequent topic of conversation.

For many, securing a senior front office job with a sports organization is the result of decades of hard work and the realization of a long-held dream. However, it’s not uncommon for the pressures of the job to prove a significant challenge to those who take on such roles without a clear game plan for managing the intense scrutiny and expectation.