I started writing a blog to recap my time at the Sidearm Sports Leadership Forum on Sunday, the first day of #CoSIDA17 and I got about halfway through and realized that you didn't want my notes, you would rather hear about my experience, so here is version 2.0.
Saturday night I checked into the Marriott World Center and got lost (come here it's not that hard to get lost). Once settled in my room with a bite to eat, I was exhausted after all the travel so decided to take it easy, knowing there is lots of time for socializing over the coming days and my battery needed to be charged.
Early wake up on Sunday morning and I headed downstairs to register and fight with what I read on Twitter would be the 'Long Starbucks Line', must be because it was Sunday at 7 a.m. but I breezed right through. I'm not a Starbucks snop but I like their coffee but we don't have one close in Lennoxville, Tim Horton's is my go-to!
I got to meet Barb Kowal and Beau White who were very nice to give me 2 minutes during what I'm sure is their busiest time of year. They hooked me up with the @CoSIDANews Twitter credentials as I'll be posting from there at times throughout the convention.
Alright to the Leadership Forum presented by Sidearm Sports. I'll plug the sponsor as we working them and they really are great!
What a great kickoff presentation with Kraig Kann! He was the perfect first presenter of the day. He brought high energy, delivered an impactful word, made it interactive and put us on the spot at times. I'm a golfer so do understand the LPGA and some of the challenges he overcame. I appreciated his real-life examples with some of what he's done and his message was great.
The ultimate takeaway was that you have to rise above the ordinary.
He gave us a number of tools and some memorable quotes. This slide template with the green shoes came up a few times in his presentation to help him illustrate that you have to stand out. How are you going to be the green shoes?
As an SID, my colleagues will agree, we are usually the 'behind the scenes' people and can be uncomfortable in self-promotion. Kann put emphasis on selling ourselves, we are our own Chief Marketing Officer.
Kraig stayed around for the better part of the day and made himself available for 1-on-1 discussions.
Other fun quotes from the session
- You have 8 seconds to make an impression, 10 minutes to engage
- Consumers want the chicken nuggets, not the whole chicken
- Attention is not given, it's earned
Next up were a series of panel starting with "Creating Your Culture and Building Your Team"
Bonnie Caver, President, Reputation Lighthouse
Meredith Jenkins, Executive Associate AD, Auburn University
Nick Joos, Sr. Associate AD, Strategic Communication, Mizzou
This trio spoke as the title suggests on culture building and the importance of it. They stressed that it is possible to change an office culture, although it takes time, changing personnel is not always the best option. There were valuable points brought forward with getting your team to buy in and trusting them.
It was an interactive format with each presenting their thoughts for a few minutes then opening the floor to questions. It was a wonderful discussion and I personally did get some take aways.
I was worried specifically about this session about being too small of a fish in a big sea. At Bishop's we are 2500 students, we have 250 student-athletes and 9 teams. Our budget and human resources are not comparable. That being said, a team still needs a culture and I will lean on some of what was talked about here to take back to our team.
The 2nd panel was about "Leading During a Crisis" with:
Justin Doherty, Senior Associate AD at Wisconsin
Craig Pintens, Senior Associate AD at Oregon
Gail Sideman, Owner of PULISIDE
Justin and Craig were both very open with real-life situations that they were involved with and how everything was handed. They were honest about their shortcomings and stressed the how important it is that we as communication professionals speak up during a crisis. I really appreciated the openness in speaking with sensitive topics. At BU we've had our share of crises over the last 5 years and hearing these senior level administrators real-life situation made it relatable for me.
Gail was also a professional and suggested a template and practice for dealing with crises, something we will look into, however it is always tough to replicate the 'in the moment' situation.
Again there was an open discussion for the floor.
At lunch time we were addressed by Jeff Rubin of Sidearm who introduced Jack Ford. Jack is a wonderful speaker. He captured us with his story and delivery. His passion for college sports is obvious; what an ambassador! He also shared some real-life experiences including covering the OJ trial. After hearing him speak he might be added to my dream foursome for a golf round, I'm sure he would keep us entertained the entire time! I look forward to going back and hearing him speak at the kickoff breakfast on Monday.
After lunch we had another panel regarding "The Media, social or otherwise, where are we going"
Chris LaPlaca, Sr. VP ESPN
Steve Kirschner, Sr. Associate AD UNC
Michelle Smith McDonald, Freelance sports reporter
The general consensus is that no one is 100 percent sure of where we are headed with media. We know there has been change, but the future is unknown. Chris shared some of ESPN's thoughts and Michelle advocated for traditional writing, there is still a place for it. Steve spoke about the changes he's seen. A self-proclaimed talker, Steve certainly fits the bill! He has some great stories and wonderful insight but I think this is one I got a bit lost with being a smaller fish in the sea.
This was a tough panel as there are a lot of unknowns going forward and we saw some opinions but it would have been nice to hear some additional strategies from the professionals.
I'm looking forward to seeing the session later in the week about social media on a budget as that might be more relevant to us.
Finally Justin Doherty moderated a panel titled "Lead or Rally, How to Inspire Your Team" featuring:
Patti Phillips, CEO Women Leaders in Sports
Greg Byrne, Director of Athletics Alabama
These two leaders were awesome. They came across as confident and spoke very well. They engaged us at the end of a long day.
This format was good, with Justin leading the discussion and both providing great insight into each of the topics. I think both Patti and Greg would be wonderful bosses who know how to get the most out of their teams. The two shared real-life situations and what they feel worked and could be improved.
At the end we were asked for our feedback and one colleague made a great point that as SID's we would like to know what we need to do to take the next step. Again I'm sure it changes institution to institution but a conference like #CoSIDA17 is about adding tools to the tool box and this specific part of the conference we want to know how to use those tools to our advantage.
After the Leadership conference, we had the NeuLion kickoff reception, I got to meet the folks at Sidearm and caught up with my Canadian colleagues. The CoSIDA Academic All-American Ceremony was well done. Dinner with my friends from North of the border, then the 3rd period of the hockey game over a beer and it was time to call it a night.
Next up: Divisional Day Monday, full schedule capped by ESPN & Sidearm socials.
Until next time,
Marty
