@1QLeadership Question: Where does passion fit in sales and business development?

Kevin Barefoot, Sr. VP of Business Development for Teamworks, discusses his experiences working in sales for startups. He talks about the culture at Teamworks and the company's growth. After spending a decade with WinAD, a tech startup operating in college athletics, Barefoot now finds himself in a role where he is leading and evaluating people.

• "You can't manufacture passion, but you also can't hide passion."
• "I try to create relationships that will last for 30 years"

Barefoot takes a consultative approach to sales. He believes it is necessary to have a passion for whatever he is selling. Throughout the conversation, the passion for the vision at Teamworks is very visible. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Is there a grieving period after losing your job?

Amber McCray, volleyball coach and sports administrator, shares her introspection after being dismissed from the head coaching position at Louisiana Tech. Contemplating on what she valued from the experience, what she could have done differently, and where she goes from this point, McCray gives us an inside look into the mind of a coach who is "in transition."

"God will scream at you if you don't listen to the whispers" - Amber McCray

McCray helped build the La Tech athletics fan community and increased attendance to matches while she was the head coach. Heavy on relationships and weary of the transactional direction that college athletics is headed in, she is contemplating her future in sports. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: What does it take to find success in every role?

Kortne Gosha, Sr. Associate AD for Capital Planning at Nebraska, visits with Wesley Abercrombie of Peak Sports to discuss leadership and finding career success. Gosha started his career as a football equipment manager. Since then, he has led an athletics department, hired coaches, raised money, and done a number of other things that has helped the institutions he worked for change for the better. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Can working in video production lead to a career in fundraising?

Joseph Walters, Deputy Athletics Director for External Affairs and Chief Revenue Officer at Hampton University describes how his family-owned video production business has helped him to the role he currently holds in fundraising in college athletics.

• uses journalism background to tell the story of Hampton Athletics
• considers donors as investors
• minimizes workload in his mind to avoid nervousness

Walters explains how the naming rights are applied for significant gifts and talks about his desire to turn the relationships with donors from transactional to transformational. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: What are some of the best ways to communicate change from the leadership and management perspective?

Troy Austin, Deputy Athletics Director for Development at Duke University, discusses his role helping the athletics director manage change. Interviewed by People and Culture Professional Lamarr Pottinger, Austin gives his definition of culture as "how the staff acts within its environment."

• Address points that are actually at play
• Don’t jump ahead of the facts
• Dispel rumors
• Control what’s in front of you
• Manage the leader’s message

Austin believes in leading with clear, candid communication combined with positivity. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Does the adjustment from making decisions to giving suggestions have to be difficult?

Kim Record, Sr. Associate Commissioner & Chief of Staff at the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference, talks about her adjustment to working with longtime A10 Commissioner, Bernadette McGlade. Record talks about times when challenging conversations are necessary for the team to be effective.

• trust is the bottom line of any kind of relationship
• anytime there is change, there is opportunity
• teaching, learning, and giving back are necessary for success

Record also covers learning how to become a team when many people in the office have only been together for a couple years. She believes active listening and empathy are two important skills for effective leadership. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Can a team show consistent growth if most of the players come from the transfer portal?

From the 2023 AVCA Convention, Matt Buttermore, Head Volleyball Coach at Omaha, talks about what he valued about the volleyball day matchup, which pitted Omaha against Nebraska and saw record attendance and viewership. He also gives his thoughts on transfers and NIL.

• you don't know exactly how a transfer will fit in
• we can't try to do the same things we did last year
• if we keep growing great teams, the sport will continue to grow

The conversation wraps with Buttermore sharing advice for people who want to be in a head coaching role. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown

@1QLeadership Question: Does age matter if someone has the capacity to do the job?

Tangela Cheatham, Deputy Athletic Director for Sport Administration and Senior Woman Administrator at Central Michigan, talks about being trusted with an executive level position at an early age. The woman who hired her, CMU Director of Athletics Amy Folan, was also trusted early in her career.

• credits 'supported autonomy' as a critical development tool
• most of her current responsibilities were new experiences when she was hired
• understands that she will never know everything, thus she is always willing to learn

Cheatham describes leaning on Folan to understand the depth of the Deputy position. She also gives her thoughts on impostor syndrome. Throughout her career, Cheatham has always considered caring about people as her primary skill. - One Question Leadership Podcast - Tai M. Brown