Change is certain, but you can adapt with resilience and integrity

Markets shift and trends change, but what really matters most to owners and CEOs when hiring for senior executive positions? As sports organizations navigate through a rapidly changing media landscape and an increasingly global market, they must be able to adapt to new challenges, understand financial complexities, demonstrate resilience and uphold unwavering integrity. Let’s explore these topics along with supporting book recommendations. After all, just as the sign on my fifth grade teacher’s wall said, “Readers are Leaders.” Thanks, Ms. Hernandez.

Adaptability: In today’s dynamic sports industry, executives must be capable of quickly adapting to new trends, technologies, and market shifts. Develop your ability to be flexible and responsive to changing circumstances. CHANGE is the only thing that is certain.

What will the sports betting marketplace look like in the next few years?

What will the financial impact of the decline of regional sports networks be?

How will cord-cutting affect the bottom line?

Weren’t crypto and NFTs supposed to take over the world and then didn’t (at least for now)? Budgets fell apart when the wrong crypto deals were tied to stadiums.

Weren’t we told VR would be the way we all watch live sports by 2021? Is anyone really using it?

As CEOs and C-level leaders, we need to accurately assess which risks and investments are worth taking the lead on versus which ones are better off to be later adopters. Your culture must be able to roll with the punches and find alternative solutions. One book to help develop this skill is “Winning Now, Winning Later” by David Cote. Cote offers insights into strategic leadership and adaptability.

Financial Acumen: There will be increasing amounts of private equity money flowing into sports for the next several years. With men such as Todd Boehly, David Tepper, Steve Cohen and Wes Edens, we will continue to see more team owners who made their wealth from the financial sectors. These owners expect senior executives to speak their language if executives are to manage their multibillion-dollar investments known as sports teams. Sports management programs haven’t historically taught these skills, which is why more MBAs and bankers pour into the sports industry. Executives must learn to understand the financial intricacies of sports organizations and their adjacent portfolios of real estate. To become more attuned to the worlds of these owners, leaders should read “Two and Twenty: How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win.” Author Sachin Khajuria breaks down the sector into digestible and easy-to-understand vernacular in his great book.

Resilience: Sports executives must also possess resilience to navigate the ups and downs of the industry. Leaders must develop the ability to bounce back from setbacks and challenges while maintaining their emotional fortitude amid those challenges — and the pressures of being a CEO in sports don’t stay at the office. Many team CEOs cannot be in public without fans stating their opinions (which aren’t always positive). If you haven’t read “Grit” by Angela Duckworth, you need to. Duckworth explores the importance of passion and perseverance. I couldn’t choose just one book for this category, so I’m also suggesting a favorite of mine by Jocko Willink called “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win.” You’ll quickly see how easy we have it as civilians, compared to real life-or-death scenarios, but the principles are certainly transferable to our day jobs. Be determined. Build resilience. The road is never easy.

Integrity: Integrity is the cornerstone of successful leadership. (Nearly) gone are the days of CEOs who party with their clients like they are the rock stars themselves. Agencies with immoral leaders will lose (and I’d argue SHOULD LOSE) market share. The sunset is approaching for these leaders. Team owners have zero interest opening the front page of the news to read about the toxic culture or unprincipled behaviors of their executive team. More than ever, we are asked about an executive’s value systems — How do they treat their families and friends? What are their hobbies? What is their community involvement? Do they have bad habits? How do they define integrity? Are there any skeletons in the past that might be resurrected? Owners desire and expect executives to pursue high ethical standards, honesty, and transparency. They prioritize leaders who are principled and faithful in their public positions. CEOs and their behavior are reflections of an owner’s ethical standards, conduct and reputations. I cannot overemphasize the importance of being leaders with a commitment to integrity while also expecting the same from your management team and staff. Todd Gongwer wrote a spectacular book titled “Lead for God’s Sake!” where he reminds us that our responsibility as leaders goes beyond standard performance metrics. We are on a public platform that has a massive impact on the lives of our team members, partners, owners and the community at large.

In conclusion, adaptability, financial acumen, resilience, and integrity are essential traits for sports executives to be successful for the remainder of the year and beyond. By understanding and embodying these traits through books and other resources, sports executives can thrive in the ever-changing world of sports management while upholding the highest standards

of integrity and leadership.

Chad Biagini is president at executive search firm Nolan Partners, an Excel Sports Management company, and a member of Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2023 .

Questions about OPED guidelines or letters to the editor? Email editor Jake Kyler at jkyler@sportsbusinessjournal.com