Sport and the Growing Good

Becky Pany is the Senior Vice President of Sport Administration at the Big Ten Conference. She works closely with campus and conference partners to ensure that the conference offers a fair and robust sports experience.  1.        Back injury that allowed Becky to serve as a student coach and ultimately an internship and role in the athletic department at IU. 2.        Being a utility player. Learning from a variety of roles. 3.        The work of a campus-level sport administrator. A “bridge” between the program and the department (and vice-versa). Note: this is a critical and increasingly challenging role in the era of resource reallocation in college athletics. 4.        Roles as conference VP of sport administration. “Arbitrator of fairness.” 5.        The dynamics of working with coaches. Competitors and collaborators. Annual business meeting for each set of coaches. “They come together and work through all operational aspects related to their sports.” Talking through and standardizing championship manuals. 6.        How the governance process plays out for policy and rules changes. Coaches provide recommendations and then the ideas move through the chain of governance. 7.        Collaborating on complex matters like scheduling and team travel amid conference expansion. Example: how does a school’s academic calendar shape their scheduling and travel possibilities? 8.        Technologies that assist with putting schedules together. 9.        Routines with the SWAs on each campus. 10.  Values that guide her work. Fairness. 11.  Continuing to learn through relationships. Listening.

Laura Anderson is the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at the Big Ten Conference. She draws from a rich diversity of professional and personal experiences to lead the conference through a period of rapid change. 1.        Leaders who Laura has learned from. Empathy and concern for the team. Trust. 2.        Her professional background. Accounting. “How to go into a place and learn everything you can about it.”  3.        Working in a volatile industry. Drawing from a diverse set of career experiences. 4.        Main responsibilities as CFO. Overall financial operations. 5.        Big Ten’s non-profit status.  6.        Big Ten as “central repository” and advocate for various services for the conference institutions. 7.        Money flows through Big Ten office and to the schools. Investing the money to maximize the money even for short time periods. 8.        Everyday routines. Talking “a hundred times a day” in the office with a colleague. Meetings with other senior leaders at the conference office. Conversations with campus contacts. 9.        Interactions with campus athletic department CFOs. Regular individual conversations and times when everyone comes together at the Big Ten office. 10.  Key phases of the year. Financial audit. 990 tax form. January budgeting and planning. March and April roll-out to governance structure. 11.  Technology and AI. Data protection. 12.  Communicating strategically with diverse constituents. 13.  “To be successful in a finance role, you need to be a people person.” 14.  Humility. Adaptability. Grit. Personality.

Kerry Kenny has worked at the Big Ten Conference for 17 years, holding multiple positions leading up to his current role as chief operating officer. In this role, he collaborates with the commissioner and many others in leading the conference through a rapid period of change. 1.        Lessons learned playing basketball for Lafayette University. “I showed up every day.”  2.        Attributes that Kerry looks for: note-taking and listening; authenticity, credibility, accuracy, positivity. “They may not be the most outspoken, but when they do choose to speak, they have credibility.”  3.        Having a positive attitude.  4.        Knowing the names of others as a sign of respect. 5.        Kerry’s strengths. Hand-written notes. Being intentional with every interaction. Learning about others. 6.        Kerry’s key components of work: 1) being “the best #2” for Tony; 2) managing the office day-to-day; 3) point person for television and media deals, HR, scheduling, etc. 7.        What prepared him: exposure to different parts of the operation over the years. “I’ve sat in their seat.” 8.        The importance of the conference’s physical office space: replay center, meeting spaces, everyday office spaces. 9.        Importance of geography: “Chicago holds a special place in Big Ten lore.” 10.  Office’s convenient proximity to the airport. 11.  The importance of face-to-face conversation – both planned and unplanned. Creativity. Collaboration. Camaraderie. 12.  Continued learning. Staying on the cutting-edge.  13.  Routines with external partners.  14.  Nuance, skill, and discretion in communication. Being an “information merchant.” Understanding how much information to offer in a given conversation. Separating the personal from the professional. 15.  Mental preparation and “re-setting” before important conversations. Understanding who you’re talking with.  16.  “KYP.” Know your personnel. Know your plan. Keep your poise… 17.  Discipline as a leader.  18.  Stories that illustrate what is unique about the Big Ten. 

Why should coaches work with compassion? How can they do it? 1.        Coach’s perspective on coaching clinics and professional development. “It’s a collaboration of thought and ideas.” “You have to go there with intention on what you want to learn.” 2.        The importance of storytelling in coaching. “We are telling stories to ourselves all the time…So stories are part of our brain’s activity.” 3.        Cataloguing stories that lend deep insights into key points you want to make. 4.        Framing a team’s journey as a story: “We have a journey to make…What kind of story are we going to tell ourselves?” 5.        Why is compassion relevant as a coach. “As a coach, you are called to drive people farther than they think they can go. To give more effort than they are capable of. And, in the process of doing that, they’re putting their lives and limbs in jeopardy a lot of times. They are playing with this controlled abandon…You’re trying to extend that level of energy to a point where they will be able to change the contest that they’re involved in…In the process, players overextend themselves, they get injured, they lose. You have to commiserate in loss and there is compassion.” 6.        Shaquille O’Neal aspiring to be like Wilt: Being able to play heavy minutes. John Salley serving as a “go-between” for Shaq: “He wonders, do you think he’s doing a good job?” 7.        Connections between Buddhism and Christianity: “In Buddhism, compassion is the response from the Buddha. In Christianity, love is the response from Jesus. The two come together.”  8.        “We all suffer…Suffering is part of human nature.” 9.        “It doesn’t have to be the big hug, but it has to be the understanding and the care. It can even be in the eyes.” 10.  Compassion: “to suffer with.” It has an action element with it. 11.  Compassion can “come from some basic things: a touch, a greeting, a ‘job well done…’” 12.  Acknowledging challenges as a coach is important. 13.  The critical nature of turning points. 1) newness; 2) injury; 3) not going well; 4) critical incident. 14.  “Every coach who has done this for a while knows his way around a training room. Being there to support and commiserate.” 15.  Elvin Hayes’ injury at a critical time. 16.  Kobe Bryant ankle sprain during the finals: Handling it with compassion and firmness. “I’m so sorry that you’re not going to be able to do this.” Energy in coming back from the biggest disappointment of his career led to a big victory two days later. 17.  Compassionomics book. 18.  The details of compassion. Wording of questions. Touch. Physical presence. 19.  The team supporting Scottie Pippen after a personal loss. Brought him to the middle of the room and putting a hand on him. 20.  Johns Hopkins University study: Compassion reduces anxiety. 21.  Showing a team “we’re in it together.” Example from a hostile environment. Sacrificing himself for the good of the team. 22.  Virtuous cycles. Virtue compounds. 23.  Coaches are “Riding the racehorse…The team is running the race. You can rank at the reins and yell… but the reality is, we’re in this together…You need to do it in a humanistic, compassionate way.” 24.  Getting Michael Jordan to be patient with Steve Kerr, who’d been struggling to contend with John Stockton. 25.  “Some of it has to be, ‘How compassionate can we be with ourselves?’”  26.  Discipline. “Silly fines.” More serious issues. Knowing when there’s something bigger going on in a player’s life. 27.  Re-integrating someone into the fold after a discipline or suspension: It starts in the center circle before practice. 28.  Acknowledging outside events and discussing them as a team.

Practice is where teams come together and hone their ways of playing together. Coaches play a central role in creating effective practices.  1.     When looking for players, what should we be looking for? Winners. What kind of record do they have and what role have they played in it? 2.     “One of the great things about the Lakers and the Bulls teams was their acknowledgement of how important practice was. The effort that went into practice and how competitive it was.” 3.     Keeping practice competitive: Balance talent in practice to replicate what you’ll be facing in the game. 4.     Pat Summit: “A winning gym is a noisy gym.” 5.     “Gyms are noisy places…I tried to mute sound so that your voice could be heard. I think it’s really important for a coach to have a voice that’s understandable and recognizable.” 6.     Silent practices to mix things up. 7.     “Just basketball terminology practices.” 8.     Music or not in practice? (Coach Jackson’s preference was not.)  9.     Physical positioning of the coach in practice. “Move through practice with the team…I think it’s really important for you to be close to the action.” 10.  Coach Jackson’s practice plan. Connecting it all to the system. 11.  Coach Bill Fitch: 28 two-a-days in 29 days! 12.  Neuroplasticity. 13.  Repetition.  14.  “How do you keep the flow going? How do you keep the energy going?...That’s fine…but you can be hurrying to a lickin’ if you have such energy that become unintelligible…You need to play under control. Controlled frenzy. Controlled chaos.” 15.  How did you communicate with coaches throughout practice? Meeting an hour before practice. Making sure all coaches had a role, had a voice. 16.  “We all are fallible. But we are given the authority to teach and to coach.” 17.  “Credibility comes from success. It comes from voice…And also, maybe vulnerability is too strong of a word. Maybe the word is approachable. We should be approachable.” 18.  Using warm-up/stretching time to connect with players. 19.  Habits after practice. 20.  Naps to rejuvenate. 21.  Pre-practice meetings.  22.  George Mumford and the “midpoint line” to gauge team mood. 23.  How did you take pressure off the players? “Stop the outside noise.” 24.  Keep the group protected. “It’s important that we stay small and tight.” 25.  How long should a practice be? (1:45 to 2:00)

1.        Mentors who were influential for Anil. 2.        Early experiences in name, image and likeness. 3.        Experiences as General Counsel at the University of Oklahoma. 4.        “Always be curious.” 5.        Responsibility of the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer. 6.        Working with diverse constituents on a daily basis. 7.        What he looks for: People who get things done. Generalists. 8.        Providing value for conference constituents. 9.        Routines with campus-level general counsels. 10.  Conveying complex things to a generalist crowd. “It’s generally not the best plan that wins the day, but the best communicated one.” 11.  “My job is to tell you what you need to know if I was in your shoes.” 12.  Knowing when to act and when to wait. 13.  A leader who Anil admires.

Fred Krauss carries out a range of leadership roles as Director of Policy for the Big Ten Conference. He shared insights about how he collaborates with diverse partners in his everyday work.  1.        A Master’s thesis on Monday Night Football. 2.        Studying sports gamblers in Las Vegas on route to a Ph.D. 3.        Going to Law School at night. 4.        Sports Management program at UMass. 5.        Networking to get a job at the Big Ten. 6.        Director of Policy: Working with conference institutions to make sure they are well-informed and heard. 7.        What is the “Joint Group?” Governance that plays out across two groups: Administrator’s Council (Athletics directors and Senior Women’s Administrators) and Faculty Athletics Representatives. (Refer to figure below) 8.         What is the “Senior Women’s Administrator” role? 9.        The routines of the Joint Group. Regular meetings. Policies and deliberations. Close relationships. 10.   Council of Presidents and Chancellors. The Conference’s “board of directors.” 11.  Fred’s trick for doing the work: “Staying organized!”

Tony Petitti leads the Big Ten Conference during a period of significant change in college athletics. We addressed a range of questions including: What are his daily routines? Who does he collaborate with? What is unmanaged change and how does Tony engage it? 1.        Self-awareness in making the transition into his area of leadership. “The most important change” in Tony’s career. 2.        The value of “being on the ground” in his work.   3.        Always listening and having enthusiasm. “People gravitate to people who care.” 4.        The best athlete strategy.  5.        “Give people more” to do. Reward them not with just compensation, but “with more work.” 6.        “The best thing you can do for a young person is to widen their skillset.” 7.        Questions to consider: What you do. Who you do it with. How much you make. The third is least important. 8.        Keys to making sense of the college sports environment: Listening. 9.        Why it’s important to have a meaningful connection with the SEC. 10.  Unmanaged change. “If you’re a leader and you’re trying to run your organization and most of the change is happening outside of your decision-making, that’s a problem.” 11.  Working with Presidents and Chancellors. Getting them the information they need so that they can make decisions. Having group calls but also individual check-ins. 12.  Being highly transparent and sharing information. “I’d rather share more.” 13.  “Working for the Presidents and Chancellors but with the Athletic Directors.” 14.  30-40% of his calls are spontaneous, unplanned. 15.  Tony’s advice to aspiring leaders: Show that you care. Listen. Have broad interests and skills. Connect yourself to good people. 

Coaches and leaders are charged with getting their teams to buy-in to the systems they’ll run together. How can coaches garner buy-in? 1. Reviewing metacognition. Ways to get there — reflection, feedback, mindfulness meditation, prayer. 2. Having unattached NBA coach give feedback and analysis of his team throughout the season. 3. Having a mentor or two who gave coach advice. 4. The importance of practice in implementing systems. 5. “We are decidedly subjective as human beings — we see things through our own lens.” 6. Coaches need to be purposeful about how we portray ourselves to the group. John Wooden: Coaching in games is mostly adjustments — you don’t want to inhibit performance. 7. Systems as ways of “making sense” of what our teams do. 8. What are the first steps that a coach takes in being a salesperson for their system?  9. Metaphor to think about sense-making and systems: Mann Gulch fire of 1949. Norman MacLean. 10. Anticipating a 10:00am fire. Not giving due respect for the moment. How should we frame a season, an endeavor we’re undertaking with our group? Be physically capable. Use the system to guide the teaching. Repetition within the confines of the system. Teach the skills that are useful for in the moment under pressure. “For the want of a nail, a war was lost." 11. Implications of yelling: “Drop your tools!” “What is a smokejumper without his tools?” (Pulaski)  12. "You have to break bad habits and implant new habits, which requires repetition. So you have to create meaningful repetition.”  13. First steps in getting buy-in to the system. Sometimes it’s the stars (MJ, Kobe). Other times it’s others who have influence who can be key influencers in getting buy-in to the system. Boundary spanners. “Every team has that unspoken leader." 14. Improvising within a system. “A good system allows for skills that people might possess that are extraordinary.” 15. Benefits of a system: refer to Sport and the Growing Good episode #133. 16. “In an emergency, it’s much better if a decision comes from a group.” Give the team voice and authority. 17. Onboarding veterans onto a team. Having a designated person who helps them learn it. Using multiple methods. 18. Telling a player, “I see you as a leader.” Are leaders born or made?  19. “Lone wolves need to submit to the system."

Coach Jackson joined us to discuss how and why coaches should build self-awareness. Our weekly write-up on Metacognition. 1.        “I always thought there was something more to basketball than basketball.” 2.        Standing at the center circle before the start of practice. “When people come to the center circle, everything has to be in order.” 3.        Metacognition: how do we think about thinking. How do we monitor our own thoughts. 4.        During coach’s first experiences coaching in the CBA, what were his thoughts about himself as coach? “I was going by instinct.” Also drew from some past experiences. “I didn’t know what I wanted to teach.”  5.        “How am I communicating with the players?” Focus on how energy affects players. 6.        “You can’t fake it. You’ve got to be yourself.” 7.        “Coaches need to have their own life in order.” Setting a behavioral model for the team. 8.        Authenticity is more than our personality. 9.        Coaches can fall into traps – threats that undermine metacognition: a) Stress. b) “Uncritical perceptions of our own fluency – we think we know more than we do.” c) dogmatism – rigidity. 10.  Uncertainty is a good thing. But how can we embrace the “good elements” of uncertainty with still being a strong leader?  Examples from Red Holzman as he took over the Knicks – he focused on defense (what he knew), but left offense more to the players. “He made himself transparent.”  11.  “Give the team a voice.” 12.  Recognizing players with insights and calling on them. “He (Red) gave up authority.” 13.  Only about 15% of people are fully self-aware. But metacognition can be developed. Three strategies: structured reflection/journaling; feedback loops; mindfulness meditation, prayer. 14.  Self-awareness helps us regulate our behavior.  15.  Feedback loops with the coaching staff. 16.  The importance of confession – time to speak openly and freely about struggles. 17.  Mindfulness meditation. Sitting with yourself. “I thow it out there as a value, ‘but you can’t lead a horse to water.’” 18.  Zen and the Art of Archery. Implications for coaching. 19.  Coach Ron Ekker’s book. Having a player go through visualization during a period of injury. “When he got back, he didn’t miss a beat.” 20.  Tex Winter’s relaxation and visualization routines. “There’s a skill in relaxing the mind…This involves allowing yourself to stop thinking…I am just a transmission for what’s going to happen on the floor.” 21.  Using the time during the national anthem to not think.  22.  “How do you see yourself as a coach?...What’s your role?” 23.  Reflecting after different phases of the season. 24.  On visualizing before the competition: “Not only do you have to be in the now. You have to be in the before now.” 25.   You had to suffer the shipwreck through your efforts before you can seize the life raft that I threw you.”  26.  “The coach must allow the players to find the teaching.” 27.  A coach’s dream: Players teaching each other. 28.  Staying even. Energy.  29.  Giving assistant coaches a forum to lead. Discussing and reflecting with them. Helping them grow. 30.  Emphasizing the process by breaking the season down into two week sections.