Touch the Line

I was raised by a very strong woman. 

I married a very strong woman.

I am raising three very strong women.

“I am no role model,” said Charles Barkley in one of my least favorite advertising campaigns of all time. To me, it was the wrong message at the wrong time. And while Sir Charles would elaborate later on his meaning (teacher, parents, etc. are and should be the real role models), I thought it sent a bad message to young NBA players and professional athletes, who are indeed role models to millions of fans around the world. It was a different era, a lifetime ago...and fortunately the stars and professional athletes across sports and the world today understand their role in changing the world for the better. But, I was struck today, as we come into the home stretch of Women’s History Month thinking how fortunate I am to be in a business surrounded by talented women who are those very role models for my three daughters. 

My family and I were vacationing in Disney World a few years ago, and while waiting in another line (another long, long line) my, then pre-teen, daughter Kira smiled at a passing park attendant politely ushering us down to another queue, said, “Daddy, I’d like to work at Disney World like she does.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and smiled, “Kira, you could RUN Disney World someday.” She looked up at me with wide eyes, “Is that a real JOB?” 

For their entire lives, my daughters knew a trip to “Daddy’s office” meant Disney on Ice or Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus was probably in town. Because “Daddy’s office” had a NHL-regulation hockey rink attached to it; seldom a visit went by that didn’t include dinner in a bunker suite for a NHL or NBA game. Countless Barbie Dolls and My Little Ponies narrowly escaped a trampling by a Knicks player from seats under the basket where Eliza sat on my lap. This was and is the unique and special childhood they have had. And certainly, one that would forever instill the belief in them that their professional lives had the capacity to be as big as their imaginations would take them.  

But when the show ended, and the lights came up, it was just as important to march them from their rinkside perch - where visions of Cinderella skating a perfect triple axel left them in awe and wonder - to our front offices, to see where, (I believe) the real magic happens. It was there they may have met Casey Coffman, Kristin Bernert, Nicole Jeter West, Janet Duch, Amy Scheer, Jeanie Baumgartner or any other of the incredible female executives at the World’s Most Famous Arena...now that makes an impression. Probably the same type of impression I had the first time my mother brought me to see her facilitate a leadership development training seminar for Xerox executives in Colorado Springs as a 13-years old. I will never forget watching my Mom as she made an audience of over 1,000 CEOs laugh, cry, and reconsider their business strategy - challenging them to be better versions of themselves. The role models we have in our lives matter, make impressions on how we see the world and how high we set our sights. 

My girls grew up attending New York Liberty games; high-fiving WNBA legends like Leilani Mitchell, Cappie Pondexter and Kia Vaughn and shaking hands with giants like former WNBA Presidents Val Ackerman and Donna Orender. These introductions were meaningful and purposeful. Yes, I’ll admit it - I’ve taken deliberate steps to show my three daughters what success looks like for strong women in both the locker room and boardroom. “So, Dad, she runs the league?” “Yes, SHE is the boss. SHE is in charge.” Fortunately for me, I have had the privilege of building and working in organizations full of world-beating female executive role models; and it is one of my greatest prides to have hired, promoted and mentored many of them. 

What would a trip to the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex be, without a high-five from COO Lara Price? Popping our heads into a meeting between 76ers Chief Revenue Officer Katie O’Reilly and SVP of Marketing Brittanie Boyd? Connecting with our SVP of Business Operations Susan Williamson? Checking in with Jill Snodgrass who runs our Partnership Activation Team, or Lara Toscani Weems who drives our Corporate Communications? HBSE CHRO Elizabeth Berman, Prudential Center GM Donna Daniels, New Jersey Devils SVP of Marketing Jillian Frechette and SVP of Business Operations Natasha Moody - these are some of the most impressive, influential and team-focused executives with whom I have worked in the industry; and some of the brightest and most respected minds in our organization. I see a special poise, grit and work ethic in these executives and too many other Coordinators, Managers and Directors across our organization to name. 

The exposure to strong female executives, professional athletes and coaches is one of the special gifts I have been proud to give my daughters through their childhood. As I chat with my oldest daughter Alexa, who is now interning with the Utah Jazz, I cannot help but smile in appreciation for the giants on whose shoulders she so confidently stands. The Susan O’Malley and Paula Hansons - the trailblazers and extraordinary women doing incredible work and shattering glass ceilings like Darryl Dawkins shattered backboards. When I had the opportunity to speak to University of South Carolina’s Sports Management Program, Professor Susan O’Malley (former President of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards - the first female President of a professional sports franchise), I brought my youngest daughter, Eliza, along to observe this industry icon continue to lead future generations of strong executives. These are truly special moments for me; moments I hope impact my daughters the way my Mother standing on the stage before a crowd of thousands did for a grumpy adolescent me. If you see her, you can more easily be her. 

These are intentional touchpoints for my girls – there is nothing subliminal about them. I want their expectation for their own professional success to mirror those strong female executives with whom they have had contact their entire lives. This is the expectation I want them to build for themselves. The first cubicle is a win, their own office is a victory, the seat in the boardroom is a triumph; but it is imperative they are exposed to women who are at the table and have a voice. Do they know that while their father was making copies as an Administrative Assistant with the New Jersey Nets, their mother was a rising star, promoted well past him to the NBA League office? 

Likewise, I am confident and grateful my vantage point as a husband and father provides me with perspective to this end. How do I want my daughters to be heard, inspired and championed by their managers? What struggles and stigmas did my own wife face working in the sports industry while carrying our first child? How would I expect my daughter’s future CEO to respond if and when she challenges him on pay equality? What inspired their grandmother, a working parent with five children, to pursue and achieve her PhD at the age of 65? Dreams. Equality. Opportunity. 

I remember hearing former Colorado State University guard, Lara Price, Philadelphia 76ers COO/ HBSE EVP, 2015 WISE Woman of the Year and 25-plus year NBA veteran, sharing a character-shaping moment with a young female Associate over a coffee in our Training Complex. “LP” spoke of one excruciating high school basketball practice wherein she and her teammates were punished for one teammate’s late arrival with nearly one hundred timed sprints. “Our coach screamed at us, ‘Touch every, single line. Don’t cheat your teammates. Touch every line,’” she said. Decades later, “LP” still runs, lives and works by that mantra. Touch every line, every time. What an incredible lesson - made more incredible by the fact that she continues to share it as a mentor. 

As the three young ladies in my house develop into smart, gracious and strong young women, I continue to be grateful for the proximity and interest they have in the careers and personal lives of the dynamic female executives in their Dad’s extended “work family.” 

We strive to challenge and champion our female leaders, and we value executives that bring diversity of thought, experience and perspective into our HBSE family. We don’t chase percentage points – we recruit executives who work unreasonably hard, are intellectually curious and extraordinary teammates and what we have found is that having a diverse workforce is a sustainable competitive advantage. 

So, who is your role model and what impact has she had on your life?

I want to know. 

I want to meet them. 

And I want them to meet my girls.