Sport and the Growing Good

Jeff Staus is a highly successful varsity soccer coach at Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin. He is also the leader of “Let Kids Fly” (LKF), a unique youth soccer program that is rooted in choice, accessibility, limited travel, character development and fun. In the contested space of youth sport, LKF presents an appealing model from which communities throughout the U.S. can learn. In this SGG episode, we discussed: His parents’ hands-off approach during his childhood sporting experiences. The two questions he encourages coaches and parents to ask: “Did you have fun?” and “Were you a good teammate?” More dynamic leaders at the high school than ever before. Working hard on “making good people and creating leaders.” Concerns with the professionalization of youth sports. How LKF started. The free play model that was used by many of the top players and nations. The number of kids signed up for LKF in its first four sessions: 125 – 225 – 300 – 500+ (rapid growth). “Free play Thursdays” at LKF practices. The benefits of free play. Deliberate practice on Mondays. A games approach to deliberate practice. Developing as a player. Developing as a person. Documentary: In Search Greatness. Providing kids choices in sports. “Do as many things as long as you can.” The rationale for seasonal registration. A “flipped classroom on the soccer field.” Soliciting parent participation. Accessibility to free play and to a healthy culture of sport. Affordability as a means of accessibility. Supporting kids who want to play collegiately. Impacts of sports travel on families. Why LKF sends all teams to same tournaments. Character development. The intentional embedding of character. Fun. Looking for teachers and parents as coaches. An obstacle: building the program in the broader competitive club soccer environment. Not worrying about the naysayers. His visions of success.

Brian Bott is the founder and leader of SportsadvantEdge, a leading athlete development business with multiple locations throughout southern Wisconsin. Brian was previously the strength coach at Wisconsin and he’s worked with elite athletes at multiple levels. In this episode we discussed: 1.  Key influences on Brian: his father, Coach Shelton, Dean Matsche. “You need people you can trust.” 2.  The importance of honesty in coaching. (avoiding blaming, complaining, and defending) 3.  “As a coach, our job isn’t to be our athletes’ friend. Our job is to earn their trust.” 4.  “How close are you getting to what you’re capable of?” 5.  “How you do anything is how you do everything.” 6.  Three guiding pillars of SportsadvantEdge: 1) consistency; 2) relentless effort; 3) love and ownership. 7.  Parents taking the love of sports away from kids. 8.  Defining the process and setting goals. 9.  Always learning and adapting.

Jason Wahlers, is Vice President of Communications for the Green Bay Packers. He joined the team in 2011. In addition to overseeing communications, he heads up public affairs and community outreach. Jason joined SGG to share about his background and his leadership work with the Packers. We discussed: 1.  The value of working in minor league baseball. “I had an opportunity to do a little bit of everything.” 2.  “You learn pretty early on that you have to put your time in in this business…It’s not enough to just love sports.” 3.  The importance of consistency, unflappability, steadiness in his PR work. 4.  Relationships with the media. Being available, direct, and honest. “If you can give them time, return calls. It sounds so simple. It’s the right thing to do…Don’t waste their time.” 5.  He spends most of his time with football communications. 6.  Making sure players, coaches, and others are prepared when they step in front of the media. 7.  To be prepared in my role, you have to know what’s going on. It’s a constant monitoring of the many media platforms. 8.  Not being a “meeting person.” 9.  A benefit of working for the publicly-owned Packers: “We’re given the freedom to work.” 10. The inaccuracy of people thinking the Packers are a simple “small market team.” 11. His long family attachment to the Packers. 12. Jason’s learning and growth over recent years. 13.How sports provide a venue for meaningful conversation among diverse groups.

The long and distinguished leadership story of Fred Glass is well documented. He is widely credited as one of the best athletic directors in Indiana University history. In his forthcoming autobiography, he describes the importance of rooting leadership in clearly defined values. Similar to the great Packers coach Vince Lombardi, Fred’s leadership principles are closely tethered to his Jesuit education. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  His initial exposure to Jesuit education: his father and Brebeuf High School. 2.  Borrowing from the Jesuits as he sought to build IU athletics. 3.  The messy situation that Fred walked into as AD at IU. 4.  Healing the department before he could build it. 5.  Grad at graduation. Five characteristics that Jesuit schools want to inculcate into students as they graduate. “It’s everywhere…Every teacher has to drive these values into their students.” 6.  Everything IU Athletics did was around the pillars: Play by the rules. Well in mind body and spirit. Achieve academically. Excel athletically. Be part of something bigger than ourselves – and more integrated with the university. 7.  “If you are not a values based organization, then you don’t have much of a chance to succeed.” 8.  The difference between “GPS” and a “compass” to guide you. “Your value system is your compass.” 9.  Fred’s “living rules:” his father, Fr. Paul O’Brian, Herman Wells. 10.  “Comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” 11.  St. Francis: “Preach the gospel and use words if you have to.” And, “Seek not so much to be understood as to understand.” 12.  “A lot of people are not listening so much as they are waiting to speak.” 13.  Never interrupting other people. 14.  “Interested is interesting.” The value of asking others questions about themselves. 15.  The hardest thing about being an athletic director: firing coaches. 16.  Ignatian discernment and detachment as useful tools in getting through difficult times. 17.  “Take criticism seriously but not personally.” If you reflect on it and it’s accurate, then there’s a great opportunity to fix it. If you reflect on it and it’s not accurate, then who cares?” 18.  “Seeing God in all things.” 19.  Getting criticism – and respect -- for the positions we hold, not who we are. “You’ve got to be careful not to believe all that BS people are saying about you.” 20.  “Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth.” 21.  Fred’s vocation: leadership. 22.  The difference between asking “what’s next” vs “what’s at the end.” Choose what offers most opportunities downstream. And be open to the journey.

Paul Baniel is the Vice President of Finance and Administration of the Green Bay Packers. He’s a veteran of over 35 years in the sports and entertainment industry. Having joined the Packers in 2009, he’s one of the key leaders in guiding the franchise to new heights. Paul joined SGG as we continue our “Running a Championship System” series. We discussed: 1.  The role of sports in his life as he grew up the 7th of 10 children. 2.  As leader in Packers organization: Becoming a steward of a community asset. 3.  Stewardship: one of the Packers five values. 4.  Similarities between the Packers and Steelers franchises. “You definitely see a lot of parallels. 5.  Key phases of the calendar year: end of fiscal year; building budget; reporting. For facilities and IT, off-season is project season. 6.  “When the team is not in the building, that’s the time when we can change things in the team areas.” 7.  How communication plays out across his three departments. 8.  The Packers’ “mission, vision, values” approach. 9.  What Paul values in looking for staff members: independence, creativity, problem-solving. 10.  Servant leadership. If the team performs well “all the boats rise.” 11.  The challenge of seeking upward advancement in an organization where there is little turnover. “Sometimes you have to move out to move up.” 12.  Being introduced to servant leadership while leading at Potawatomi Casino…And applying the principles in his work with the Packers. 13.  Working with employees: “Tell me what you need and don’t beat around the bush.” 14.  Challenges and adaptations that he foresees for the future. 15.  How roots and identity influence Packers’ decision-making. “We try to display a good amount of humility in our organization.” 16.  Finding an edge as an organization. 17.  “Winning financially helps us to win on the field.”

Gabrielle Valdez-Dow is vice president of marketing and fan engagement for the Green Bay Packers. Her career in sports is long and distinguished, including work with the Baltimore Ravens, Florida Panthers, and AEG. As we continue learning about the multi-level leadership of the Packers, her perspective helps us to better understand the broader organizational context. We discussed: 1.  How living and studying in Oregon led her into the field of sports. 2.  Pearls of wisdom gleaned from her father: “love what you do.” 3.  Two influential professors on her journey: Rick Burton and Dennis Howard 4.  The difference between being a fan and the business of sports. “You have to love the business of sports.” 5.  Every day is different. “That’s the beauty of it.” 6.  Servant leadership. 7.  Being a kind of “air traffic controller” in her unit. 8.  Mission, vision, values. What’s noteworthy about the Packers? Stewardship. “Being a steward of our brand, no matter who you are, you are a steward of the brand…We drink the Kool-Aid from top to bottom. What’s best for the brand.” 9.  How she’s changed over the years: “I’ve matured. I’ve relaxed.” 10.  The character and culture is much different here…We don’t have an owner. Everything we do is put back into the team. 11.  Mark Murphy as a supporter of leadership development. Getting her a growth coach. 12.  Jill Ratliff, growth coach. 13.  “The biggest thing for me is listening.” 14.   Using Masterclass for growth for her staff. 15.  How fan engagement is changing. 16.  Getting players on “Call of Duty” and other new, innovative strategies. 17.  “Winning always cures everything.” 18.  The Packers’ community outreach efforts. 19.  Her everyday routines. Working out early. Do not look at email before exercise and morning time with husband. On your resume: add a “personal” section in order to make connections

Continuing our Running a Championship System (RCS) series, we are joined by one the key leaders in the Packers organization, Russ Ball. Russ has a long and distinguished record in football – at both college and professional levels. His wise perspectives on leadership, collaboration, and negotiation are honed from years of experience with some of the top coaches and executives in the country. We discussed: 1.  His positive experiences as a high school football player, learning to win and be a leader. 2.  The impact of his high school coach talking to Russ talking to him while they jogged around the track together. 3.  Working as a strength and conditioning coach with Dave Redding. “He had a knack for finding what button he could push for each person…He knew about them…It was the relationship piece.” 4.  Marty Schottenheimer: “One play at a time.” 5.  The Schottenheimer coaching tree, including Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher, Bruce Arians, Howard Mudd… 6.  The Schottenheimer preparation process. 7.  The many roles Russ has taken on over the years, and how he’s learned through these roles. 8.  The value of collaboration and communication across the whole leadership team. “Leaders can’t be everywhere and see everything.” 9.  Relationships are at the heart of negotiations. 10.  “Much is lost for the wont of asking.” 11.  There does not have to be a winner and a loser in a negotiation. 12.  Honesty in negotiation. 13.  The importance of precedent. 14.  “Don’t make it personal. Don’t take it personally.” 15.  “It’s ok to disagree. It’s not ok to be disagreeable.” 16.  Showing someone that you care enough to have a tough conversation. 17.  The only thing you can control in a negotiation is preparation. 18.  “If you’re so busy and you don’t ever give yourself a chance… there’s no time to take a moment for creativity.” 19.  Marcus Allen’s example of work ethic and giftedness. 20.  “Don’t count the time. Make the time count.” 21.  What’s unique about the Packers: the ownership structure. 22.  “Our responsibility is to be a productive steward of what we have.” 23.  Ted Thompson’s words about the importance of the Packers to the fans.

Since his childhood, Rudy Banyai’s life has been touched by the Packers and other Wisconsin sports teams. His father took him to his first game in 1952. Rudy has worked for the Brewers since 1974 and has been a Packers season ticket holder for 45 years. He also used to work the sidelines when the Packers played at County Stadium. Rudy's son Quinn and the rest of the Banyai family has continued the Packer-rich family traditions. Quinn also worked at Packer games – and he even met his wife Malina (also a long-time season ticket holder) on a Packers road trip. As we learn about the broader leadership context in which the Packers operate, this great father and son duo of Rudy and Quinn joined SGG to discuss: 1.  Growing up in Bayview, playing sports on the playground. 2.  First Packer game was in 1952 at Marquette Stadium. 3.  Favorite players: Bobby Dillon (one eye), Billy Howton, Babe Parilli 4.  Babe Pirelli helmet: Running into a brick wall with a Babe Pirelli helmet on. 5.  Some favorite players: Paul Horning, Ray Nitschke. James Lofton, John Jefferson. Lynn Dickey. Brett Favre. 6.  Taking the bus (and walking up to three miles) to Packers games at County Stadium 7.  Listening to Packers, Braves, and Milwaukee Hawks games on the radio with his dad. 8.  First getting Packers tickets at the Stadium Bar. 9.  Getting Packers season tickets in 1976. 10.  Quinn’s first memory of Lambeau — 12 years old: Packers vs Chargers — getting John Jefferson’s high five. 11.  Getting dropped off to walk to games …with his address and telephone # in pocket in case he got lost. 12.  Working on the sidelines at County Stadium 13.  Ditka and Forrest Gregg arguing on the sidelines 14.  Telling the owner of the Rams, Georgia Frontier, to get off the field 15.  Joe Montana stories when he played for the Chiefs — having bratwurst for his pre-game meal when playing in Wisconsin and signing Quinn’s cheesehead. 16.  Has worked Brewers games since 1974 17.  Worked the locker room area too for football games. 18.  Bart Starr: The first thing he always did was went to his wife Cherry and gave her a kiss. 19.  James Lofton’s “J” on his autograph 20.  How he got a signed football from Jerry Boyarsky 21.  Brewers: Good friends with Pat Listach and Bob Whitman 22.  When he got Mike Matheny to get Hank Aaron’s autograph for him. 23.  One of the best guys from visiting teams: Nolan Ryan 24.  Brooks Robinson: he was a true gentleman 25.  Bob Uecker. “Are you learning, kid?" 26.  Taking a bus load of Pittsburgh Pirates to Lambeau Field with Dick the bus driver. 27.  “We talk about sports…That’s our conversations.” 28.  Quinn’s friendships through the Packers. 29.  Bringing friends down to Packers games: "They were so impressed by Lambeau Field…He still talks about it to this day.” 30.  How Quinn met his wife, Malina, on a road trip to a Packers game in New Orleans. “Despite a Packer loss, it was a big gain!” 31.  Being stockholders in the Packers. 32.  I’ve been with them so long, I feel part of the team. 33.  Lambeau Field: "People just want to go there from all different nations. It’s truly a great experience." 34.  The family’s Sunday morning routine: church, hot ham and rolls, crawlers. Italian beef. 35.  When the Bucks won the NBA lottery. 36.  Going downstairs to watch Packers games growing up. 37.  Growing up all the kids wore their Packers stuff. 38.  Going to a Packers game in 1952 and seeing a Packers player with his arm chained down.

Brian Gutekunst is the general manager of the Packers. A longtime member of the organization, he was named to his current role in 2018. He is one of the team’s key leaders. Brian joined SGG to contribute to our focus on Running a Championship System. We discussed: 1.  Learning the value of competition from his father, who coached at the collegiate level. 2.  His father as a teacher: “He recognized that he had them between ages 18 and 22.” 3.  Roger Harring UW-La Crosse. Rolen Christianson. Toughness. Work ethic. 4.  Mentor: Ron Wolf. Confidence. Aggressiveness. 5.  Mentor: Ted Thompson. Tough decisions in the day to day “with steadiness, integrity and grace.” 6.  How his own experiences with injuries impacted the ways he leads as a general manager. “Everybody has value.” 7.  “It’s good to have a diverse group of people who have different strengths.” 8.  How he organizes information. “Pack Track.” 9.  “The whole idea of gathering all this information is to make good decisions.” 10.  Why the Packers do not out-source data tracking. Keeping information “close to the vest.” And, when you outsource, quick changes can be difficult to make: “If we want to make a change, it’s within hours. Not within weeks or days.” 11.  The importance of the draft room. 12.  How do you track intangibles – individually and collectively? The value of the Packers’ nine scouts who are always visiting college campuses: “I don’t think anything can replicate boots on the ground.” 13.  “Until you get them into your environment…you never 100% know how it’s going to pan out with each player.” 14.  The value of internal development of staff talent. “We get to know the person…Coming from the outside in, it can be more difficult that way.” 15.  Setting boundaries as GM. Protecting time to sit down and watch tape. 16.  Key to facilitating difficult conversations: Over-communication. “If you don’t give them the whys, then they’re going to create their own.” 17.  The influence of Mark Murphy’s management by walking around: “He’s led by example and that’s taken root throughout our organization.” 18.  Mark Murphy, who in many ways functions as other teams’ owners do, has a deep understanding of the game – deeper than most owners. The impact of his everyday leadership – especially as juxtaposed with team owners in other settings. 19.  Ted Thompson: “I always wonder what it would be like if I could still pick up the phone and ask him, ‘What do you think?’” 20.  Self-evaluation.

Running a Championship System (RCS) continues. Matt LaFleur has served as head coach of the Packers since 2019. Known as a top innovator, Coach LaFleur learned about leadership from his parents and many other top coaches over the years. In this episode of SGG, we discussed: 1.  Core values that he learned from his parents. Integrity. Honesty. 2.  Mike Shanahan: “I’ll never lie to you.” 3.  The best leaders are true to themselves. 4.  Surrounding yourself with great people. Priority in putting a staff together: “Give me the person first and the coach second…In our work there’s so much adversity, It’s so competitive. It’s a roller coaster. You’ve got to have the right kind of people to get through the tough times…Because it’s coming…It all starts with the people.” 5.  “Coaching trees” as being more about the process than the individuals themselves. 6.  Learning from other coaches. 7.  Taking time in choosing a staff, including people who are different and complementary. 8.  On leadership and developing ideas: “Talking to too many people can cloud your ideas… If you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing.” 9.  “In our messaging to our team, we are very, very basic. But I think if you ask our guys what we’re all about, they’ll be able to tell you.” 10.  “It’s a consistent message that we feed to the guys…The hard part for me, heading into year three, is that these guys have heard it so many times…It’s like, how do you give the same message but present it in a different way?” 11.  Finding ways to empower other people as a leader. “You’ve got to allow people to grow and showcase what they can bring to the table.” 12.  The importance of being present as head coach. “Try to be as visible and accessible to all of your players and staff as possible.” 13.  Role of coach in supporting player leadership: “There is nothing more powerful than a player-led team.” 14.  Strategically tapping into veteran player leadership. “It is powerful when they are delivering the message.” 15.  Hiring detailed position coaches “so that all the little things are getting the same attention.” 16.  The importance of physical space in fostering trust, comradery, and strong relationships. 17.  The challenge of making long-term schedules.