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Note: This story appeared in the Winter 2020 February edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
(Don't) Wait To Exhale
Why having a go-to circle helps keep you on the right track and can help you with big things, small stuff and everything in between.
by Denise Thompson – Big Sky Conference, Assistant Commissioner/Communications and External Affairs
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been so busy with your seemingly endless amount of tasks that when you do come up for air — and you need to phone a friend — you realize it’s so late you don’t know who you can call.
This is where your circle comes into play. Morning or night, Wednesday or Saturday, small or big question — someone from your circle will reply without even a second thought.
If you’re like me, you read customer reviews before you book a vacation or try a new restaurant. So, when the questions like how to market as communicators, what can SIDs do to expand their résumé, or who do we know that will be good for the latest job opening come across our emails, like clockwork the phone will buzz and in minutes you have answers from your closest friends in the business. It’s like that restaurant review but more personable and likely more reliable.
One of my go-to circles includes Scottie Rodgers, Jess Poole, Kenisha Rhone, and Rob Knox. Between the five of us we hit every region — East, West, North, and South — and have experience across different levels of college athletics including FCS, FBS and conference offices. Our job titles vary from Director of Digital Media and Social Strategy, Assistant Director, Associate Commissioner (Strategic Communications), Assistant Commissioner (External) and Senior Associate AD.
In this group, we all communicate and work together to strategize, brainstorm and bounce ideas off each other. Our goal is not necessarily about the five of us rising to the top, but more about what we can do to help young professionals, spread the word about being active and speaking up.
The conversation may start from a simple text that says, “has anyone used the SIDEARM voting system?”, “does anyone know XX from YY?”, or “what are some things that you want to see at the convention?”
Other times, it could have been a rough day at work. Maybe someone’s job description is changing and they’re struggling to keep up. Maybe someone else recently had a change in leadership and isn’t sure what to expect next.
That’s not my only go-to circle. I have a conference SID go-to circle, a school SID go-to circle, and it’s okay for them to overlap. That’s the beauty of the business.
I also have go-to circle for coaches across different sports. From Division I to Division II, from head coaches to assistants, they all give different perspectives on the current issues surrounding athletics, as well as how the communications field is changing. I bounce ideas off of them and in return provide insight on how things are seen from the eye of an SID.
One of the most interesting conversations I had with a head coach was about how interested they were about their sports information class for graduate school and how they thought about me and things I used to tell them. It was nice to see their appreciation for our industry and how it helped them in their studies.
The best thing about all of these scenarios is how someone in my go-to circle knows other people and in return, the knowledge then stretches like a family tree.
When I think of my connections within each of the circles, they involve people I consider to be engaged, open-minded, knowledgeable and go-getters. The people that make up the circles are not necessarily “know-it-alls.” They are professionals that want to grow and bring others up the ladder with them. Spreading knowledge through a simple conversation is how friendships are formed and connections are made. The rest will come naturally.
When I asked a few of my colleagues what words came to mind when they thought of their inner circle, they said “posse, family, togetherness, connected, exclusive, private.”
Steve Schaack, the Senior Associate AD for External Operations at Idaho State University shared that:
“I lean on my go-to circle all the time. These are people who give me guidance when I need it or there are other times when I just need a listening ear to make sure I’m on the right track with certain projects. These are people who are more than a go-to circle. They are people I trust.” Steve Schaack
“Having a go-to circle is a must because it helps you learn, but also keeps you grounded,” said Ryan Pfeifer, Interim Director of Strategic Communications at the University of Northern Colorado. “When we hired our new football coach I reached out to a few people in my go-to circle for help because I knew the media interest was going to be bigger than anything we have had. They gave me great pointers on how to work with the media and conduct the introductory press conference on such a large scale. Also, go-to circles are great to talk about life and get you through the hard times with people who know the challenges that come with being an SID.”
Bill Lamberty, a person I consider a walking encyclopedia, reflected on how his go-to circle involves decade-long friendships that have stood the test of time.
“As you get older, it’s important to keep the friendships you’ve made through the business alive. Even if some of them have moved on from that job or are no longer in the business,” he said.
Lamberty is the Assistant AD for Athletics Communications at Montana State University and has been in the business for over 25 years. His wisdom is legendary, but it’s Bill’s sense of humor and ability to not take everything too seriously that makes him a great person to have in your circle.
While your go-to circle is filled with a lot of information from a variety of people, it’s key to trust those individuals in which you are confiding in. Some conversations will have you on the edge of your seat and others will have you focusing harder than a coach with no timeouts and 10 seconds left on the clock in overtime down by two points. At the end of the day, the friends that make up your go-to circle are your family. You want the best for them and because of that the group joins forces to lift everyone up so you can rise together!
So don’t stress yourself trying to decipher the unknown. Reach out to your go-to circle or go-to colleague. There’s someone out there who has gone through the same things as you at one time or another.
Or as Whitney Houston sang, “Sometimes you’ll laugh, sometimes you’ll cry. Life never tells us, the when’s or why’s. But when you’ve got friends, to wish you well. You’ll find your point when you will exhale.”
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