One Question Leadership Podcast

@1QLeadership Question: What does it mean to be better tomorrow than you are today? In this 1Q episode from 2019, Coach Grant Teaff, former Executive Director of the American Football Coaches Association and longtime Baylor University football coach, talks with Tai M. Brown about the phrase "Be Better Tomorrow Than You Are Today." Teaff, long known as an expert on influential leadership, discusses the inherent meaning of the phrase that Brown regularly uses to close each episode of the One Question Leadership Podcast.

Dr. Kiki Baker Barnes, AD at Dillard and Interim Commissioner of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, joins @TaiMBrown on the topic of balancing priorities while serving two organizations. Dr. Barnes, in her second stint as Interim Commissioner for the conference while leading Dillard Athletics, discusses her methods of making decisions that need to be objective for one, but subjective for the other. Prioritize, strategize, and organize are the three steps that help keep her operating at a high level.

Combining Student-Athlete Development with strength and condition, Michigan State's Lorenzo Guess helps the Spartans take the Student-Athlete experience to another level. In this 1.Question Podcast interview with @TaiMBrown, Guess explains the benefit of serving in dual roles within Spartan Athletics. From coaches buy-in to earning trust of the athletes, this unique setup may be a coming trend.

Dr. Eric Wood, Deputy AD for Competitive Excellence at UCF, visits the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the intricacies of his role as it relates to the function of the athletics department. Primarily housed in the internal operations, Wood discusses his interaction with the other Deputy ADs on staff and his process of gathering information to advise the Director of Athletics on critical issues involving coaches, Student-Athletes, and those on staff with sport oversight.

Elliott Daniels, Associate AD for Student-Athlete Engagement at Michigan State, talks with @TaiMBrown about the Student-Athlete Development operation within the Spartan athletics program. Daniels explains how identifying the difference between inviting students to participate in programming versus engaging the students and bringing programming to them helped take the department to new height.

Eric Hyman, former Athletics Director at a number of institutions, helps @TaiMBrown define a number of key leadership terms such as purpose, core values, and culture. Hyman and Brown dive into a discussion on how terms such as these relate to leadership in college athletics industry. Hyman brings 47 years of experience to the conversation; serving as AD at VMI, Miami (OH), TCU, South Carolina, and Texas A&M.

Ariel Pesante, Associate AD for Governance and Compliance at University of Massachusetts, joins @TaiMBrown as the two discuss Pesante's balance of compliance and sport oversight. Pesante oversees Football, Men's Basketball, and Baseball while serving as the primary compliance officer for the department. He talks about his top priority of protecting the integrity of the institution while addressing his learning curve in sport supervision.

Kathryne Buckley, Assistant VP of Partner & Event Services for the Frisco RoughRiders, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss activating sponsorships and developing young professionals. Buckley give insight on making each sponsorship partner's experience unique when engaging with the RoughRiders. She talks about the activation evaluation process, as well as, how ideas are generated. The conversations wraps with Buckley's insight on interns and career development.

Tom Michael, Director of Athletics at Eastern Illinois, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss the type of environment that can lead to positive inflection points when hiring for an organization. Michael describes the small pieces that need to be in place for a new coaching hire to have a positive impact within athletics and in the campus community as a whole. He also discusses the tremendous influence his recent football hire, Adam Cushing, has had on other coaches on staff and the entirety of the department.

Coach Danielle O'Banion, Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Minnesota, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss the leadership lessons O'Banion learned during her four year stint as the head WBB coach at Kent State. O'Banion also discusses the lessons learned through her battle with cancer and how she applies those lessons in her current role.

Shawn Heilbron, Director of Athletics at Stony Brook University, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of communicating with the university President. Heilbron, five years into his tenure as AD at Stony Brook, talks about the importance of immediately understanding the communication style of your immediate supervisor upon assuming a leadership role. Specific to athletics, he mentions that Presidents should be in the loop on everything that could positively or negatively come across their desk.

Mike Lombardi, former NFL Executive and Author of Gridiron Genius, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss the four components of leadership. Lombardi worked with legendary professional football leaders, Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Bill Belichick. In his recent book, he outlines command of attention, command of message, command of self, and command of trust as the components necessary to be an effective leader. Lombardi points out that almost all successful leader possess three of the four components.

Jim Johnson, Director of Athletics at Pitt State, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss how Johnson's wide ranging experience enhances his current role leading the Gorillas. With previous positions at the NCAA office, as a Conference Commissioner, and other influential roles, Johnson believes that the servant leadership aspect of higher education is of the utmost importance.

Doug McNamee, President at Magnolia, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss McNamee's transition from Sr. Associate Athletics Director at Baylor to his current position leading one of the fastest growing brands in the country. As he approaches a year in the President's chair, McNamee identifies skills used in athletics administration that are directly transferable to the corporate world. He also gives insight into the culture and leadership provided by Joanna & Chip Gaines.

Greg Myford, Director of Athletics at University of Alaska-Anchorage, visits @TaiMBrown with a unique program for engaging Student-Athletes while in the AD chair. Myford has been in the chair for less than a year but has established his Direct Connect program which allows he and his executive staff the opportunity to have multiple roundtable discussions with Student-Athletes from every sport over the academic year. Myford also discusses the department's three fundamentals and 50 organizational priorities.

John Benedick, Sr. Associate Director of Athletics at MIT, and @TaiMBrown get together to reflect on Benedick's 44 years with the Engineers. With 22 years as the Swimming & Water Polo Coach and the 22 years in administration, Benedick notes that in college athletics, there is a never ending resource of opportunities to influence change. His advice to those listening is that focusing on trying to win will always pay more dividends than focusing on winning.

Zac Selmon, Sr. Associate AD for Administration & Development at Oklahoma, talks with @TaiMBrown about working for industry elephants Joe Castiglione and Bubba Cunningham. Selmon, 10 years into his athletics administration career, also discusses some of the key aspects of his role leading the fundraising efforts for the Sooner.

Kristy Bayer, Deputy AD at Emporia State, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss Bayer's transition from Head Volleyball Coach at Arkansas Tech to the deputy position for Emporia State athletics. Bayer gives insight on the decision to give up coaching, discussing that decision with her supervisor at the time, and having the final conversation with her team. She also covers her current role as Deputy AD and how her coaching background has proven to be a major asset to the department at Emporia State.

Dr. Christy Glass, Professor of Sociology at Utah State, visits @TaiMBrown on the topics of the Glass Cliff, inclusion, & leadership. Glass discusses her research on hiring head coaches in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball and CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, which found that women and people of color are more likely to be appointed to leadership positions when an organization is at risk to fail. The conversation also covers methods leaders can use when trying to diversify their staff and develop a culture.

Phil Esten, Vice President & Director of Athletics at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, talks with @TaiMBrown about the questions that should be asked when weighing career decisions. Esten was the Deputy AD at Penn State prior to his appointment to the AD chair at St. Thomas. He emphasizes the necessity of understanding the difference between what is perceived to be important and what is actually important during major transitions in life.

Henry Abbott, Founder of TrueHoop.com, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss storytelling and how it helped grow the TrueHoop blog to a point where it was acquired by ESPN. Abbott has written for GQ, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN the magazine among others. He talks about the importance of telling stories, in all avenues of sports, that go beyond the focus of the star athlete.

Jess Duff, Special Assistant to the AD at MIT, sits down with @TaiMBrown to discuss revitalizing Student-Athlete development on campus while working for longtime college athletics leader, Julie Soriero. Duff, a former basketball coach and NCAA staffer, talks about lessons learned working for Soriero. She also dives into one of her main projects since being on campus, a revitalization of the Student-Athlete leadership program.

Damani Leech, VP for Football Strategy & Business Development for the NFL, visits @TaiMBrown at the 2019 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Leech discusses methods the NFL uses to improve the game of football at the professional level and how the league coordinates with those in NCAA ranks to improve the game for all involved. He explains how the use of data, technology, and input from teams helps to design rules that make the game safer for players and more entertaining for fans.

Dave Brunk, Commissioner of the Peach Belt Conference, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss a leader's role in creating a culture of innovation. Brunk, a long time NCAA Division II commissioner, talks about keeping the conference new, unique, and relevant in the industry. From conference wide eSports, sleep masks for all Student-Athletes, opportunities for veterans, and much more, the Peach Belt conference prioritizes opportunities to improve.

Mónica Lebrón, Deputy AD at Tulane, visits with @TaiMBrown to discuss her transition from an extensive career in development to the number two spot with significant sport oversight. Lebrón, whose work in athletics started freshman year in college, talks about building confidence in her leadership and supervisory abilities as her time as Deputy progresses. She also emphasizes her gratitude for Greg McGarity (Georgia) and Carla Wilson (Virginia) for advice and support on making the move to Tulane.

Gary Pine, Director of Athletics at Azusa Pacific, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of the dwindling number of NCAA D2 football playing institutions on the west coast of the United States. Pine talks about some of the possible reasons why many schools have made the decision to drop football over the past 20 years. He also discusses the challenges such as travel and potential missed playoff opportunities that are presented with only three football playing D2 schools in the general area of the country.

Pennie Parker, Director of Athletics at Rollins College, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of serving on industry committees and boards while executing a full-time job as a leader. Parker serves as the Chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council, the President of the D2 Athletic Director's Association, and a member of the NCAA Legislation Committee. She discusses how she prepares for meetings while simultaneously fulfilling her role as AD and serving the Student-Athletes at Rollins College.

Tommy Gray, Executive Associate AD for External Relations at Stanford, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss Stanford Athletics' Business Strategy Team and its influence within the organization. Gray explains the benefits of implementing a data analysis mindset throughout an athletics department. He also addresses the potential pitfalls of trying to make everything quantitative as opposed to understanding the value of the human element.

Kirsten Ford, Associate Commissioner/SWA for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), visits @TaiMBrown at the 2019 NCAA Convention. The RMAC has seen a school come or go in each of the last five years. Ford discusses her role at the RMAC and what she does when a school is preparing to leave, and/or join the conference. She also discusses what happens behind the scenes at the conference office when changes are on the horizon.

Doug Gillin, AD at Appalachian State, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss how Gillin's time working in marketing and working for legendary Missouri AD Mike Alden helped to mold his decision making process now that he is in the chair. Gillin emphasizes how important it is for leaders to understand the sense of urgency when gathering information to make big decisions. He also gives insight on how the habits he developed throughout his career helped him prepare for his recent football coaching search.

Nan Carney-DeBord, Associate VP & Director of Athletics at Denison College, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss Denison's Development Through Sport initiative. Carney-DeBord defines the program as culture developed through leadership, mentorship, and character education. The initiative emphasizes intentionality with a four pronged focus: 1. Athletic Team Culture 2. Student-Athlete Development 3. Coaching Development 4. Professional Development.

Irma Garcia, Director of Athletics at Saint Francis College in Brooklyn, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of principled leadership. Garcia, a long term fixture at Saint Francis, discusses how she has kept a purpose and guiding principles at the forefront of her leadership. She and her staff select a theme for each year and implement programs which emphasize that theme throughout the department.

Willie Simmons, Head Football Coach at Florida A&M, visits @TaiMBrown as two discuss Simmons' use of an anonymous staff self evaluation process called forced ranking. A tool used in the corporate world, forced ranking allows a staff to evaluate itself and anonymously rank each member on a set of evaluation points. Simmons discusses how he uses this process within his coaching staff and, of course, this anonymous evaluation also includes him as the head coach.

Dr. Brian Wickstrom, Director of Athletics at UIW, joins @TaiMBrown to discuss the promise to grow an athletics department using only self-generated revenue. With commitments from the university to keep institutional funding constant and to allow athletics to keep all its self-generated revenue, Wickstrom's programs have been able to flourish without requesting any additional operating funds. This setup has helped Wickstrom increase his operating budgets at each of his stops as an AD.

Joe Karlgaard, Director of Athletics at Rice, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of engaging influential stakeholders. Karlgaard emphasizes the importance of including influential individuals in the process of making major decisions as a leader. He mentions the president as "the" stakeholder based on the inherent nature of influence the position has on a campus. Karlgaard also acknowledges that making decisions in a vacuum may not be the best idea when seeking longevity in leadership.

Lauren Adee, Sr. Associate AD for Executive Affairs at SMU, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of leaving a development position to work in strategic planning. Adee spent most of her career fundraising but recently joined the SMU staff in a new role involving strategic planning, internal controls, and more. She discusses the quantitative evaluation approach she was accustomed to while working in development and gives insight on how she will be evaluated now in a position which is more project oriented.

Craig Fink, Sr. Associate AD for Advancement & Chief Revenue Officer at UNC Greensboro joins @TaiMBrown to discuss some of the creative ways the UNCG Spartans go about fundraising. Fink talks about one of the more creative programs in which current Student-Athletes donate to the Spartan Club. Boasting 100% participation over the last five years, the True Spartan Challenge has created a culture of philanthropy among the current Student-Athletes.

Matt Donovan, Sr. Associate AD for Development at University of Indianapolis, visits with @TaiMBrown to discuss creating a successful culture for development in an athletics department. Donovan, 24 years into his tenure with UIndy, gives insight on what it takes to be successful when working in fundraising. He emphasizes that potential donors should know why they are important to the process. Donovan also speaks to the importance of the entire department asking themselves, "Are we doing the best we can do?"

Marie Tuite, Athletics Director at San Jose State, joins @TaiMBrown to discuss making collaborative decisions. Tuite talks about her process for receiving input from her staff when weighing important options. She emphasizes the importance and benefit of a strong senior team when in the AD chair as there is always an abundance of information to synthesize. The conversation rounds out on the topic of making decisions that may be in contrast to the recommendations of the staff.

Brian Sisson, Athletics Director at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, visits @TaiMBrown on the topic of getting to know conference colleagues. Sisson details his road trip to visit fellow ADs within the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He also discusses his vision for fundraising at Saint Mary's as he closes out his first four months in the AD chair.

John Cheney, Executive Associate AD at NIU, visits @TaiMBrown as the two discuss Cheney's stint as the interim Associate VP for Facilities and how that experience ties to his current role in athletics. Cheney also covers creating and implementing NIU Athletics' Facilities Master Plan, specifically as the state of Illinois entered a two year budgetary fiasco.

Wendy Wilson, Associate AD for Compliance & Student-Athlete Welfare at University of Wisconsin-Parkside, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss educating new coaches, students, and staff about compliance. Working through a 75% turnover within the athletics staff, Wilson details her process of continual education which helps onboard those new to the department. A self-proclaimed compliance nerd, she also talks about her love for learning which helps to keep her in tune with what is going on in the athletics industry.

Bill Kramer, Head Football Coach at Naples High School in Florida, visits @TaiMBrown and the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the high school coaches voice within the NCAA. Coach Kramer, nationally involved with the game of football, the coaching profession, and high school sports in general, gives insight on how high school coaches have to adjust to NCAA legislation. On the topic of recruiting and the early signing date, Kramer offers advice to college coaches as the season ends and the search for talent ramps up.

Kelley Kish, AD at Lake Erie College, revisits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to give an update on day 365 of leading Lake Erie Athletics. As she embarks on the start of year two, Kish discusses how some of her early decisions are currently paying dividends. She also talks about laying the foundation for a strategic plan as she leads the staff through exercises to help identify individual values, as well as those for the department. The conversation ends with advice for those new to the AD chair.

David Harris, Director of Athletics at Northern Iowa, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss career progression. Harris talks about his path from Student-Athlete Services to AD. He recalls solving an organizational problem at Wisconsin which caught the eye of then football coach, Barry Alvarez. He also touches on the importance of finding success in uncomfortable situations, as well as making and managing decisions. A proponent of mentorship, Harris prepares his staff for a career outside of his leadership.

Turnkey Search, a subsidiary of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, recently announced the addition of long-time media executive Rick Alessandri to the talent recruitment/executive search firm. Matt Roberts visited with Alessandri on a number of items related to the media rights and the future of media and college athletics.

Dr. Chelsea Herman, Sr. Associate AD & SWA at Cal State San Bernardino, visits @TaiMBrown at the 2018 Women Leaders in College Sports Convention to discuss the transition from internal relations to running the external side of an athletics department. Herman talks about going from educating coaches about compliance internally to her current role where she recently dealt with a brush fire at a soccer match. She also talks about the creativity necessary when leading the external relations side of athletics.

Ronald Machtley, President at Bryant University, visits @TaiMBrown to give a presidential perspective from the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. Machtley, in his 23rd year as President, tells what his philosophy was before being appointed to the committee and how his thoughts on the NCAA has changed since his appointment. He also serves on the Board of Governors and touches on why the recommendations from the Rice Commission will prove to be beneficial to all of college athletics.

Marcus Woodson, Defensive Backs Coach at Auburn, visits @TaiMBrown to discuss adjusting to new leadership when changing coaching jobs. Woodson, a 14 year coaching veteran, goes into detail about the process of maintaining his leadership values while adapting to the culture of a new program and the leadership style of a new head coach. He notes the importance of personal leadership vs leadership tied to a position and touches on how one can be much more influential than the other, especially in the coaching profession.

Ashley Stone, Director of Development Events & Hospitality at Nebraska, joins @TaiMBrown as the two discuss Stone's transition from Student-Athlete services to the development office. In her previous role, Stone helped to create experiences for Student-Athletes as they navigated life on campus and prepared for life after athletics. In her current role, she helps to create experiences for donors and potential donors who want to contribute to the success of Nebraska's current and former Student-Athletes.