What If the Job Fit the People?

What If the Job Fit the People? 

What Unrivaled's launch can teach us about designing work in sport

You finally get a job in sport. You love the game. You are excited about the organization. You want to contribute... Then you discover the schedule changes at the last minute. Getting help means tracking down someone who is always busy. You have ideas nobody asks for or about. The part of the job you enjoy most barely fits into your day. You still love sport. You are starting to wonder if you love working in it. Imagine being able to help design that workplace. What would. you change?

Start with the people doing the work

When unrivaled began play on January 17, 2025, the new women's professional basketball league offered another way to think about that question. Founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled created an opportunity for players to compete in the Unite4d States during the WNBA offseason. ESPN's Kendra Andrews reported its planing included asking the founders what they wanted and needed from the league. The resulting facilities included training and recovery resources, childcare, and a separate nursery and breastfeeding space. 

Look at those choices through a sport manager's eyes. Every organization makes decisions about space, schedules, resources, and whose needs receive attention .Those decisions shape the experience of working there. What would you change if the people doing the work had more influence over those decisions?

A job description cannot tell you everything about a person

Researchers suggest organizations pay attention to people' s individual strengths and interests. This includes treating employees as key stakeholders. For example, moving away from overly standardized performance management, and trusting people with more choice in how they achieve their goals (Buckingham, 2022). 

Think about two people hired as event assistants. One enjoys welcoming guests and solving problems through conversation. The other loves organizing information and spotting logistical problems before they happen. Both need to learn the essential responsibilities, though assuming every task en exactly the same way could overlook what each person brings. A manager could consider which responsibilities energize each employee, where they would like more practice, and what gets in their way. 

Development needs room in the day

Unrivaled's early reporting also described individual development opportunities. Kate Martin arrived with particular skills her WNBA coach wanted her to develop, Satou Sebally worked individually with an on-site trainer. Those examples give us a way to discuss how a shared workplace can accommodate different development goals. 

Now let's take a hypothetical community organization. An employee wants to learn sponsorship sales, but spends every shift handling urgent administrative tasks. Their supervisor encourages professional development. The calendar leaves no time for this. What would make that encouragement practical?

Perhaps the employee could shadow one sponsor meeting each month, Someone would need to arrange coverage explain the learning goal, and check afterward whether the experience helped. That is work design. Deciding how responsibilities, time, support, and opportunities fit together. 

Whose life fits the schedule?

Imagine the same organization holds all staff development sessions at 7 p.m. Some employees might have caregiving responsibilities, another hob, transportation considerations or a religious commitment. We would need to ask people about those circumstances. A person's identity alone cannot tell us what schedule or support they need. 

The organization cold rotate meeting times, repeat a session, or protect time during regular shifts. Each option has costs and limitations, The useful question is whether the arrangement gives people a realistic opportunity to participate. Organizational culture becomes visible in decisions like these: who gets consulted, what counts as commitment, and which needs the organization plans around. 

Design tradeoffs

Unrivaled also offers a reason to keep asking questions. For example, players balance off-season competition with the need to avoid burnout before the WNBA season. An opportunity can be valuable and still add demands. 

For a sport manager, that means asking what a change requires from everyone involved. If we create a development opportunity, who covers the work? If we offer flexible schedules, how do we maintain service? How will we learn if the arrangement helps? 

References

Buckingham, M. (2022). Designing work that people love. Harvard Business Review.

Andrews, K. (2025, January 24). Inside Unrivaled debut: How league looks to alter women’s hoops. ESPN, republished by ABC7.

She's One Of Us

  

“She’s One of Us”

What Belonging Looks Like on a Team

You made the roster. You have the uniform. Your name is on the schedule.

But do you feel like you belong?

Those are different questions. Being part of an organization gives you a position. Feeling

accepted and included depends on what happens after you arrive.

For sport managers, that difference deserves attention. Think about a new employee joining

an established staff, an athlete entering a different locker room, or a volunteer working their

first event. They may know their assignment while still wondering: Do these people see me as

one of them?

A moment involving Las Vegas Aces rookie Kate Martin gives us something concrete to

consider.

A Moment That Communicated Membership

On July 16, 2024, Martin went down with an injury during a game against the Chicago Sky.

While she was on the floor, her teammates and team staff gathered around her. Several used

towels to shield her from cameras.

Martin was helped to the locker room and later returned to the bench, although she did not

play again that night.

Afterward, A’ja Wilson explained why the team had responded that way. They wanted to

protect Martin’s privacy. In describing their rookie, Wilson said, “she’s one of us”

(Wong, 2024).

That phrase connects an action to a message: your place here matters, including when you

are vulnerable and unable to keep playing.

We cannot determine Martin’s feelings from that moment. We can examine what her

colleagues did and what Wilson said their actions meant.

What Do We Mean by Belonging?

Belonging means feeling accepted and included by the people around you. It is knowing that

you matter and have a place on the team (Carr et al., 2019).

Consider a hypothetical sport organization.

A new event coordinator receives a badge, a workstation, and access to the scheduling system.

The onboarding checklist is complete.

But colleagues make decisions in conversations the coordinator is not part of. They refer to

procedures nobody has explained. When the coordinator asks a question, someone responds,

“You should know that already.”

The person has access to the workplace. Their interactions may still communicate that they

are outside the group.

Now imagine a colleague saying, “We discussed this before you joined. Let me explain the

background, and then I want your perspective.”

That small interaction makes information and participation available.

Why Exclusion Matters for Teamwork

Researchers found that people who felt a stronger sense of belonging at work also reported

better performance and were less likely to consider leaving. That connection matters, but it

does not prove that belonging alone caused those differences (Carr et al., 2019).

Here is what they did: participants played a virtual ball-tossing game with simulated

teammates. Some were included; others received the ball only a few times. They then

completed a task that could earn money.

When the earnings benefited the team, excluded participants persisted less than included

participants. When the earnings benefited only themselves, that difference went away

(Carr et al., 2019). So in their experiment, exclusion reduced effort directed toward the group.

A professional locker room is more complicated than a virtual game. Still, this information

gives managers a reason to examine if their own practices invite people to contribute, or leave

them feeling disconnected.

What Martin’s Teammates Help Us Notice

The response to Martin illustrates support through visible behavior. Her teammates noticed a

vulnerable moment and acted together to protect her privacy.

Also, a fair-acting ally can buffer the effects of exclusion. Martin’s situation was not an

exclusion experiment, so we should not treat the two as equivalent.

The connection is a managerial question: What can a colleague do to communicate that

another person counts?

We should also resist declaring an entire organization inclusive because of one supportive

incident. A moment can illustrate a practice without telling us how everyone experiences the

workplace.The more demanding question is whether support extends consistently across roles

and status levels.

Would the same care reach a temporary employee, an unfamiliar volunteer, or someone

whose contribution is less visible?

Making Belonging Part of Everyday Work

Managers can begin by examining ordinary interactions.

Who receives information before a decision? Who gets invited to contribute? What happens

when someone asks for help or identifies a problem?

Carr and colleagues emphasize fair-minded allies, opportunities to share experiences, and

taking employee feedback seriously.

In a sport organization, that could mean explaining an unwritten routine, inviting a new staff

member into a planning conversation, or following up when a volunteer says an instruction

was confusing. It also means asking people what would help rather than assuming you

already know. Wilson’s statement gave us a memorable phrase. The responsibility for managers

is to consider what makes that phrase credible.

If someone joined your sport organization tomorrow, what would you do

that tells them, “You’re one of us”?

Same Words, Different Meanings

 Same Words, Different Meanings: 

Communication Lessons from a Dodgers Clubhouse

The coach gives a perfectly clear instruction. The player does something the coach did not intend. What happened?!

Before deciding someone was careless or not listening, consider the coach supplied the words, but the player and coach did not share the same assumptions. For sport managers, that possibility deserves attention. Imagine preparing volunteers for an international tournament, welcoming a new employee, or coordinating coaches and support staff. What seems obvious to an experienced insider may be unfamiliar to someone entering the setting. We often notice communication problems when people speak different languages. Speaking the same language does not guarantee we mean (or understand) the same thing. 

Connecting Before Communicating Perfectly

In 2024, Sports Illustrated described the developing friendship between Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez. Ohtani grew up in Japan; Hernandez grew up in the Dominican Republic. Both were new to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They connected through English, a second language for both. They also exchanged expressions in Japanese and Spanish. Hernandez asked Ohtani to teach him something new in Japanese each day. Ohtani asked questions about Spanish words and pronunciation. Their conversations involved imperfect language, gestures, explanations, and humor. Both described feeling comfortable with their new team, partially because of one another (Apstein, 2024).

What makes this interesting for sport management is the effort involved. They did not wait until communication was effortless before building a relationship.  They made room for questions and worked through moments where the meaning was unclear. Their example invites us to consider our own response to misunderstanding. Do we explain differently? Ask what the other person understood? Or repeat ourselves more loudly?

More Than a Language Barrier

Language differences are visible. Differences in expectations are harder to recognize. New employees might understand every word in "Let me know if you disagree" and still hesitate to challenge a supervisor. Someone else might view open disagreement as a normal way to improve a decision. The supervisor could interpret silence as agreement, while the employee believes silence communicates respect. This hypothetical example shows the problem: people can understand the words while interpreting the situation differently. 

Navigating the Cultural Minefield (2014) presents eight dimensions for examining differences in workplace expectations: 

• Communicating: How much meaning is stated explicitly, and how much depends on context? 
• Evaluating: How directly do people expect corrective feedback? 
• Persuading: What kinds of explanations and arguments do people find convincing?
• Leading: How much distance and deference are expected between leaders and others? 
• Deciding: How are decisions reached, and whose agreement is needed? 
• Trusting: How do people develop confidence in one another?
• Disagreeing: How comfortable are people with openly challenging an idea?
• Scheduling: How strictly are plans and timelines expected to guide work?

These dimensions give managers questions to investigate. They do not tell us everything about a person because we know where that person grew up. Actually, the reading specifically distinguishes between broad cultural patterns and individual preferences and emphasizes differences must be understood relative to the person involved. In other words, it depends (Meyer, 2014). We cannot use the Dodgers story to assign either player a cultural profile. We can use it to examine what they actually did: ask questions, explain, and learn about one another. 

The Information Inside the "Obvious"

Consider this hypothetical instruction to a new event volunteer: "Go through the usual entrance, check in with operations, and be ready before doors open." An experienced volunteer may know exactly what to do. A newcomer may reasonably ask: 

• Which entrance?
• Who is operation? Am I looking for an office or a person?
• What does "ready' include?
• When do the doors open?

The instruction relies on knowledge that has not been supplied. If the volunteer goes to the wrong place, we should examine the instruction before concluding the volunteer was not listening. 

A more useful version might be: "Enter through the north staff entrance at 3:30 p.m. Report to Elena at the volunteer desk beside security. She will give you your credential and radio. Please be at your assigned station by 4:15 p.m. Spectators enter at 4:30." This version makes important details available to someone who does not already know the organization. This does not mean every interaction requires a lengthy explanation. It means managers need to consider what their audience can reasonably be expected to know, and how they will discover whether their message was understood 

What Can Sport Managers Do?

A practical starting point is to notice, ask, and adjust. 

Notice the expectation behind your reaction. If someone's behavior surprises. you, identify what you expected. Did you assume they would ask questions publicly, challenge your suggestion, or interpret a deadline in a particular way? 

Ask before settling on an expectation. "What did you understand the next step to be?" is more informative than "Why weren't you listening?" You might discover an unclear instruction, unfamiliar terminology, different expectations, or a practical obstacle. Culture is one possible explanation; it should not become the automatic explanation for every difficulty. 

Adjust and check again. Explaining the missing context, agree on a process, or invite the person to walk through the next step with you. Meyer emphasizes adapting across cultural contexts requires continuing adjustment rather than finding one permanently correct approach (Meyer, 2014). 

The responsibility extends beyond the newcomer. An organization can explain its routines and make questions easier to ask. A newcomer can clarify unfamiliar expectations and explain what would help. Shared understanding takes effort from the people involved. 

From Clubhouse Connection to Professional Practice

A few months after the friendship story, Hernandez credited Ohtani with advice about where to direct his hits before winning the 2024 Home Run Derby (Capruso, 2024). That account does not establish friendship caused the victory. It adds a professional exchange to the earlier story of colleagues learning to communicate. Together, the accounts offer something worth considering: people can build relationships and exchange expertise while working through differences in language and experience. 

As you enter or lead a sport organization, you bring expectations about clear communication, helpful feedback, appropriate disagreement, and good leadership. other people bring expectations too. The next time an instruction produces an unexpected result, pause before deciding what it says about the person. 

References

Apstein, S. (2024, April 29). New Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernances aren't letting language barriers get in the way. Sports Illustrated. 

Capurso, T. (2024, July 16). How Shohei Ohtani helped Dodgers teammate Teoscar Hernances win Home Run Derby. Sports Illustrated. 

Meyer, E. (2014). Navigating the cultural minefield. Harvard Business Review.

The capacity crisis simulation

The Capacity Crisis: What Would You Do?

In professional sport, leadership decisions rarely come with easy answers. Protecting athlete well-being, meeting organizational commitments, and managing limited resources can create competing priorities—and improving one outcome may come at the expense of another.

The Capacity Crisis is an interactive leadership simulation that places you in the role of Director of Player Welfare for a fictional professional tennis organization. Through three connected decisions, you'll navigate competing stakeholder interests, experience the consequences of your choices, and reflect on the tradeoffs involved in organizational leadership.

Ready to step into the decision-maker's seat?

Watch the short video briefing below, then begin the simulation. There is no single perfect solution, and you can explore a second decision-making path if you'd like.

About the Simulation

Educator's note: This simulation was developed as an experiential learning activity for sport management education. The International Tennis Circuit and its organizational scenarios are fictional. The activity is designed to encourage critical thinking about leadership, stakeholder interests, and organizational tradeoffs rather than identify a single correct response.

Fill the Stadium

Fill the Stadium: 

What Happens When Your Star Player Can't Play?

In the real-world 

In 2025, Caitlin Clark's injury caused changes in resale ticket prices for upcoming games. What does that tell us about the uncertainty of sport ticket markets? 

Now imagine you are making decisions. 

Pretend you are a ticket analyst. Your stadium has 5,000 seats, a minimum attendance target of 3,500, and ticket prices range from $10-$40. Which price would you recommend?

Try the pricing challenge

Click the photo below to access the simulation. You may need to create a copy to be able to use it. 

Teaching this activity? 

Get the instructor guide and workbook. 

© Claudia Benavides-Espinoza

Sport Media Measurement Haikus

 

Television Audience Measurement (TAM)
Counting all the eyes,
From radio to live streams,
Sports ratings come alive.

Media Rights
Rights to show the games,
Forty to sixty percent,
Revenue flows in streams.

Analogue Broadcasting
Old signals in play,
Tradition on the screen shines,
Fading with the day.

Digitalisation
Shift from old to new,
Tech transforms the game we watch,
Digital’s the view.

Over-the-Top (OTT) Platforms
Streaming through the net,
Cutting cords, the future's bright,
Media's new duet.

Ephemeral Nature of Sport
Moments come and go,
Live thrills wrapped in quick replays,
Time’s game, fast and slow.

Information Asymmetry
Data in their hands,
Platforms know us better now,
Trust is in demand.

Audience Measurement
Count the hearts and eyes,
From radio to today,
Viewers' lives quantified.

Commodification of Audiences
We’re numbers on screens,
Measured, traded, sold like goods,
In this media dream.

Ratings
Size of the crowd's pulse,
Currency in the spotlight,
Viewers’ voices call.

Audience Turnover, Flow, Recycled
Shifting through the shows,
Tracking how we dance between,
Programs come and go.

Sampling
Small groups tell the tale,
Voices of the many heard,
Insights from the few.

Response Bias
Data’s skewed by us,
When we share our viewing likes,
Truth can sometimes hide.

Non-linear Media Consumption
Watch at any time,
Flexibility’s the key now,
No more fixed timelines.

Symbiotic Relationship
Media and sports,
Together they thrive and grow,
A dance of success.

Fragmenting Media Environment
Scattered screens abound,
Viewers split among the streams,
Old ways fade away.

Subscriber-based Platforms
Pay for what you watch,
Revenue from loyal fans,
Ads take second stage.

Digital Platforms
New ways to consume,
Streaming dreams and social shares,
Content on the move.

Old vs. New Ecosystem
Tradition clashes,
Old live shows meet new streams now,
Ecosystems change.

Creative Disruption
Innovate the game,
New tech shakes the way we watch,
Engagement reclaims.

Pay-per-View Models
One fee for the thrill,
Exclusive access unfolds,
Events live and real.

Vertical Integration
Control the whole chain,
From creation to the screen,
Leagues now lead the game.

Non-Linear Consumption
Watch when you want, friend,
Breaking from the rigid mold,
Content never ends.

Disruption
Shifting how we play,
Old ways yield to new formats,
Change is here to stay.

Fragmented Viewing
Across many screens,
Viewing habits intertwine,
Complexity reigns.

Digital Sport Platforms
Live streams, highlights shared,
Changing how we watch the games,
New metrics declared.

Stream Consumption
Views stack high and wide,
Counting clicks and watch times now,
Streaming's vast domain.

Time-Shifted Viewing
Catch it later, friend,
On-demand fits our own time,
Schedules bend and blend.

Viewer Minutes
Time spent on each show,
Engagement adds up in counts,
Metrics tell the tale.

Split-Screen Functionality
Watch it all at once,
Multiple streams in your gaze,
Engagement redefined.

Attention Minutes
Time with eyes on screens,
Measured moments of our love,
Engagement in dreams.

On-Demand Consumption
Content at your will,
Watch it when you want, my friend,
Flexibility’s thrill.

Collective Viewing
Once we gathered close,
Now alone in our own space,
Sharing screens and hearts.

Consumer Behavior
What makes us click play?
Patterns in our habits shine,
Insights pave the way.

First-Party Data
Direct from the source,
Data tells our story true,
Control in our hands.

Third-Party Cookies
Tracking through the net,
Phasing out the old ways now,
Change is on the rise.

Algorithmic Customization
Tailored just for you,
Algorithms craft your stream,
Experience anew.

Granular Measurement
Details shape the view,
Understanding users well,
Content made for you.

Content Curation
Select, arrange, share,
Content shaped for every eye,
Engagement’s the aim.

Commodification of Audiences
Audiences as goods,
Reduced to data points now,
Profit takes the stage.

Short-Form Content
Quick hits on the go,
Bites of joy in every click,
Snackable delight.

Freemium Model
Basic free to start,
Premium for the good stuff,
Choice is in your heart.

Click-Through Advertising
Click the ad, you’ll see,
Directing traffic your way,
Digital's new spree.

Virtual Advertising Models
Blend brands with the show,
Integrate with style and flair,
Viewer's gaze will grow.

Immersive Technologies
Experience the blend,
Digital and real collide,
Interactive end.

Real-Time Markets
Transactions that flow,
Based on data right away,
Insights in the now.

Metricised
Quantifying life,
Measuring our every move,
Data tells the tale.

Highlights Content
Key moments arise,
Shining bright in edited clips,
Engage without time.

Channel Preference
Choose what you consume,
Specific tastes shape our paths,
Media to bloom.

Quantify
Measure every glance,
Understanding who we are,
Numbers dance in chance.

Data Ownership
Hold your info tight,
Rights to data in your hands,
Control is the light.

Inter-Organizational Relationships
Networks intertwine,
Collaboration takes flight,
Sharing paths to shine.

Subscription Media Platforms
Pay to watch the thrill,
Access locked behind a gate,
Content’s value spills.

Audience Currency
New metrics take shape,
Evaluating engagement,
Changing how we rate.

Content Strategy
Plan the path ahead,
Maximize our reach and ties,
Engagement is bred.

Data Science Practices
Tools to decode life,
Analyzing complex sets,
Insights bring us light.

Innovation in Sport Media
New forms hit the scene,
Changing how we view our games,
Media's fresh sheen.

Sport-Television Relationship Model
Dynamics at play,
Sports and screens in harmony,
A model for change.

Digital Paradigm
Digital’s the norm,
New platforms shift our focus,
Old ways face the storm.

Total Sport Audiences
All fans on the screens,
Measuring every heartbeat,
Sports' reach, vast and keen.

Principal-Agent Theory
Trust between the lines,
Who makes the calls, who responds,
Sports and media.

Inter-Organisational Relationships
Links between the teams,
Collab and compete in stride,
Together we rise.

Demand Theory
Price and wants align,
Study how we choose and buy,
Market’s dance refined.

Sport Consumer Behaviour
How we engage, friend,
With sports content in our lives,
Patterns guide the trend.

Fujak, H., Karg, A., & Whitburn, D. (2024). Sport media has an audience measurement problem. European Sport Management Quarterly, 24(3), 582-602.