LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Through my education at the University of South Carolina in their world-class Sport & Entertainment Management program and my continued experience in the sports industry, I have been able to grow and enhance my theoretical and practical knowledge. Each aspect has taught me valuable lessons that I use daily. Some of those consist of professionalism, communication, organizational management, business structure and efficiency, and more. As for the theoretical knowledge of my courses, I gained a firm grasp and understanding of the foundations of Sports Management, Live Entertainment Management, Event & Venue Management, Principles of Marketing & Management, Resort & Club Management, Sport & Entertainment Event Management, Sports Business & Finance, Sport & Entertainment Marketing, Sport & Entertainment in American Life, and Golf Tourism. Each of these classes complimented each other in laying the groundwork for me and my understanding of the landscape of the dynamic sports industry. I have truly valued my time learning the critical foundational knowledge of the industry, projects, and further understand through assignments that my education provided me. I’m adamant that my time in each of these classes and beyond will play an important role in the development of my career in the sports business industry. The biggest thing that I have learned beyond the foundational aspects of the industry is what it takes to be successful in said industry, let alone any industry. It takes leadership! Leadership is of the utmost importance in every organization. It’s the foundation of structure and efficiency. There is not a single company that doesn’t have incredibly solid leaders at the top and leadership qualities as the core of the company.

During my time with the Atlanta Braves, I have had the opportunity to incorporate some of the things that I’ve learned while in my classes. The biggest of them being understanding the communication, teamwork, and leadership that it takes for gamedays and non-gameday events to be successful and go as smooth as possible. The leadership that I have witnessed within the organization hasn’t been easy to see but is something that I’ve kept an eye on and discovered more and more. Leadership is an important characteristic to have in any company and any role. A leader sets an example for those they work with and interact with. By being a leader in the workplace, respect and hustle are built and turned into success. Leadership gets things done! I firmly believe that leadership drives the performance of oneself as well as others. Those others are people that work with and below you. And by displaying that, instills respect, confidence, and production around you and below you to other employees. I see a lot of leadership in both my supervisor and my managers whom I work closely with all the time. Their leadership is what allows us to get our tasks done and helps motivate us to want to get them done to the highest standard. Oftentimes, my supervisor and manager will be right beside me doing the same work with me. This further creates a sense of pride in knowing that I’m not above doing this and the importance of it because if my superiors are working on something with me, it’s important and especially shows me and others that they aren’t above it either. This is something I get to witness all the time and it truly gives me a great perspective and appreciation for not only the tasks that we are working on, but them as well.

Leadership comes in many different forms and fashions. Primarily, it comes in directing, delegating, and getting the job done with results. However, leadership can come in the shape of professionalism, communication, and the willingness to step up when needed. During my time at Augusta National working The Masters, I had the incredible opportunity to do such a feat. In our brand-new restaurant, The Spring, a situation came about on the first day when there were several issues with brand new audio/video throughout the entire restaurant for displaying the tournament and its coverage. None of my managers or their manager were able to resolve the situation themselves and were about to report the issue to be fixed by the on-site head operations. I then spoke up and took charge of resolving the issue. I went to my manager and told him that I’m good with technology and a creative problem-solver. He gave me a chance and I took it and ran. I proceeded to learn the system on the fly that I have never worked with or seen prior, reset it, and manually correct the displays and audio of the 15 separate TVs divided into 3 sub-sections based on location in the building. Incredibly impressed, the site location manager from then on delegated me in charge of operating and controlling the A/V the rest of the tournament in which I handled with ease, operating the several different coverages to view as well as the overall audio. These kinds of moments are ones that I constantly recognize as ones to step in and step up to help and lead. I knew instantly that this was one of those, and whether I succeeded or not, I would give my best and display to upper managers my leadership, teamwork, and creative problem-solving nature. This instance is one of many times and is something that I take pride in as well as something that I know will enhance myself in my career and in my personal life.

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Leadership isn’t a switch or a plug that you can turn off whenever you want. It’s a characteristic and something that extends well beyond a job, location, industry, or classroom. It is a part of who you are, your characteristics, and what you are made of. It’s not something that you just happen to get or are born with. Leadership is an incredible and unique quality that you must build and work on daily because it revolves around everything you do. It’s the same way with being a team player. In essence, a leader is who you are and that is something that is valuable!